'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon' Season 3 Can't Repeat the Franchise’s Biggest Storytelling Mistake

The Walking Dead lasted so long that many hardcore fans lost interest, leaving the once much-talked-about series a shell of itself. The idea of spin-offs was exciting, yes, but it also seemed like the franchise was going to become very bloated. Season 2 of The Walking Dead: Dead City is a perfect example of this, but the other spin-offs have been quite engaging. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live reunited Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) in a tight, compelling season. Norman Reedus' The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon spin-off has been the best and boldest of the new spin-offs, but it's coming very close to losing its identity.

Season 1 of Daryl Dixon cleverly had Daryl as a fish out of water in France, and Season 2 raised the bar when it added Melissa McBride's Carol to the mix. While it was an emotional moment to see them together again, it also caused a radical shift in the story, as the series started killing off heroes and villains left and right to focus on our two leads. Daryl Dixon is returning for Season 3, and is adding many new cast members in the process. The series can't make the same mistake that the latter half of last season made and kill off or ignore supporting characters. The show needs more than just Daryl and Carol to succeed.

'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon' Season 2 Killed Off Its Supporting Cast

Season 1 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon worked because it didn't feel as predictable as the rest of The Walking Dead. If Daryl was going to be kept around, he needed a change of scenery. While the scenario that got him halfway across the globe to France might have been far-fetched, it worked once he got there. Daryl was no longer in control when he was taken in by a nun named Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), who he eventually falls for. He was also stuck in the middle of a battle between two opposing sides, with neither being the good guy. Losang (Joel de la Fuente) leads the Union of Hope, a religious cult who thinks that young Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) is the Messiah. Battling them are the forces led by Marion Genet (Anne Charrier), who is eventually shown to be creating an army of super-strength undead.

There is a lot going on, including Daryl becoming like a father to Laurent, and although we want him to get home, that's not the focus. When Carol and Daryl finally reunite, you'd be lying if you said you didn't get teary-eyed when they met and embraced. However, all within a few episodes, Isabelle, Losang, and Genet all died, meaning Season 2 of Daryl Dixon lost its love interest and two villains. Viewers spent two seasons getting invested in those plotlines, only to have them snatched away.

Season 3 of 'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon' Has New Characters and a New Location

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon did do something right at the end of Season 2 by having Daryl move on from France for Season 3. Daryl and Carol are now alone and set to end up in Spain as they try to find a way back home to America. Come September 7, they will cross through the likes of England before settling in Spain, which means they will have to encounter an all-new cast of characters, which includes regulars Eduardo Noriega, Óscar Jaenada, and Alexandra Masangkay, and an extensive recurring cast that includes Stephen Merchant.

On one hand, it's great to see so many actors added, but on the other, the past should tell us that it's also worrisome. One or two of these will be the new big bad villain of the year, some actors will be their henchmen, and some will be new friends for Daryl and Carol. That's the way it always goes for The Walking Dead. This season can't be more of the same, in which it's the Daryl and Carol show and these people are just plot devices and fodder to carry them forward. We need in-depth stories with these characters. We need to care about them. That's what Daryl Dixon started out as, with the audience just as invested in Laurent and Isabelle as we were Daryl Dixon. To focus only on the leads leaves us with a series of two mopey friends walking around killing the undead. The Walking Dead franchise has had way too much of that already.

'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon' Needs To Improve on the Flawed Approach of 'Dead City'

The way to make sure that Daryl Dixon doesn't lose its way can actually be found in the flaws of The Walking Dead: Dead City. After a thrilling first season, the second fell off dramatically, partially because the choice was made to keep Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) apart. Why would you separate the show's two leads, when their conflict creates such great chemistry? What held Dead City together through that bad choice was its supporting cast. It was a shocker to see Maggie's own son, Hershel (Logan Kim), turn against her, but it also made sense. We got to know more about the Croat (Željko Ivanek), making him a much more sympathetic character, and, although the Dama (Lisa Emery) was more than "meh" as a villain, at least the show focused on her and didn't kill her off. When Season 2 ends, she's still standing.

While it's key that Season 3 of Daryl Dixon doesn't separate Daryl and Carol from each other, that doesn't mean all of our time should be spent with them either. The series needs to breathe and look at those around them, so that when something happens to Daryl or Carol in relation to these people, it means more. That means not forgetting about Laurent and Ash Patel (Manish Dayal) as well. The last we saw of them, the kind Ash was taking Laurent back to America on his airplane. Let's escape from Spain for a time and see them settling back in the States so we know what waits for Daryl and Carol. The Walking Dead needs its main characters. Dead City went to one extreme by separating them, which didn't work. The other end of the spectrum, putting them so close that no one else can share their space for long, doesn't work either. We need a cast of characters to get behind for the long-term. That's what made those first few seasons of the original Walking Dead must-see TV. It's what will keep Daryl Dixon going, too.