The Walking Dead Properly Answers The Biggest Question About Daryl Dixon's Villain

Warning: spoilers ahead for Daryl Dixon season 2, episode 3.

Genet's motivations feel much clearer after Daryl Dixon season 2 dives into her life before The Walking Dead's zombie outbreak. Leading the formidable Pouvoir Du Vivant group and controlling most of France in The Walking Dead's present timeline, Ann Charrier's Genet has proven a worthy adversary for Daryl Dixon's titular protagonist. With a calm menace and a frightening determination to destroy her enemies, Genet has undoubtedly earned herself a spot among The Walking Dead's premier villains. For all her strengths, however, Daryl Dixon has struggled to accessorize Genet with a proper reason for hating Daryl's group.

Since Daryl Dixon began, Genet has sought to wipe out the Union and kill the rebel faction's young figurehead, Laurent. The precise reason why, however, has never been obvious. Pouvoir is easily the dominant force in France, leaving the Union as more of a nuisance than a genuine threat. The Union also refuses to openly engage Genet in combat, and holds no realistic ambitions for a French revolution. Moreover, Genet's obsession with killing Laurent contradicts her firm assertion that he isn't the Christ-like figure the Union claims. Put bluntly, Genet should have bigger priorities than chasing down nuns and children.

Daryl Dixon Season 2, Episode 3 Properly Explains Why Genet Hates The Union

Genet Holds A Grudge Against God

Daryl Dixon season 2, episode 3, "L'Invisible," sheds some light on Genet's motivations by delving into her past as a member of the Louvre's pre-apocalypse maintenance staff. The flashbacks not only explain precisely why Genet is hellbent on taking down the Union, but also why she views one shaggy-haired child as a threat to her power over France.

While traveling with Carol, Genet recalls an epiphany she experienced not long after watching her husband get eaten alive during the outbreak's early days. Trapped in the Louvre, Genet came to see the museum's religious paintings as proof that humanity's belief in a mystical higher power is borne from a need to understand the savage and chaotic nature of the world. As Genet has been insisting to her followers, Carol, and anyone else who will listen, the paintings highlighted to her how faith is dangerous, and believing in a God prevents humans from taking the necessary steps to survive.

Genet's flashback, on the other hand, reveals a deeper truth. The Daryl Dixon villain's distaste for religion is really fueled by her trauma from the early days of the outbreak. Genet watched the dead come back to life, witnessed her husband's gory death, then lived among survivors inside the Louvre who were desperate and defeated, all while being surrounded by religious imagery. Genet's anger toward the Union and Laurent is merely her bitterly lashing out because no deity swooped down to save her and the Louvre survivors.

Genet is, consciously or otherwise, lying to herself in Daryl Dixon. Rather than seriously believing the Union's defeat will bring a strategic advantage, Genet just wants to crush those who have faith in a divine power because said higher power abandoned her when she needed it most. With this in mind, it becomes obvious why Genet is expending such great time, effort, and resources on defeating a group that poses no real threat to her authority.

Weirdly, Daryl & Genet Are Actually On The Same Side In Season 2

Daryl & Genet Just Need To Talk & Everything Will Work Out

Understanding the hidden driving force behind Genet's villainous actions in Daryl Dixon season 2 reveals a surprising truth: she and Daryl are actually on the same side. Ultimately, Genet seeks to squash the Union's faith by removing Laurent as its symbolic idol, whether by killing him, capturing him, or proving he's not really the messiah. Now that Daryl knows the Union's is convinced Laurent has immunity to the zombie virus and intends to put their theory to the test, he essentially wants the same thing as Genet.

If Daryl gets his way, he will be taking Isabelle and Laurent back to the Commonwealth as soon as possible, leaving the Union to crumble without their child of prophecy. Relocating Laurent to the United States would ensure he's no longer Genet's problem, while the Union's downfall would end Pouvoir's long-running feud against Losang's religious community. If Daryl and his new friends escape, Genet wins the war.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that Daryl and Genet will have the opportunity to conspire together before Daryl Dixon season 3. The former is locked up within the Union's jail, and Genet's forces are preparing a full-scale assault on Mont-Saint-Michel, meaning violence has become inevitable. While a decisive clash between Pouvoir and the Union has already been put in motion, however, Daryl and Genet may yet come to a resolution concerning Laurent's future.

Since Laurent has already escaped Mont-Saint-Michel, Genet will be forced to continue pursuing him, while Daryl will be forced to continue trying to thwart her. Should the two sides ever come face-to-face in Daryl Dixon season 2, they might be able to resist killing each other long enough to agree that taking Laurent to the US is an option that works for both parties.