The tension between Daryl and Carol finally comes to a head.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Online Editor
The Walking Dead: “Find Me”
Season 10, Episode 18
Airdate: 3/7/2021
Over the course of ten seasons and 148 episodes, we never saw any sort of romantic behavior come from Daryl Dixon. There have been teases of it (like that season 4 arc with Beth, or even his adventures with Connie), but nothing ever has truly materialized. That completely changes in this episode.
In “Find Me” we flashback over the course of several years, and see Daryl living in the woods and searching for Rick. In the past, Carol visits him occasionally and updates him on the communities, but soon those visits come to an end. While this is going on, Daryl comes across a dog (yes, that one) in the woods, and meets the dog’s owner, Leah.
It takes awhile for them to warm up to each other, but eventually they do, and start a relationship. Daryl even lives with her for quite some time at her cabin. Eventually though, Leah makes him choose between her and searching for Rick, and Daryl chooses the latter. In a surprising twist, he ends up regretting that decision, but when he returns to Leah’s cabin, about six months before the events of “Who Are You Now?”, Leah is gone.
Years later, Daryl and Carol are hunting with Dog after the events of the Whisperer War and eventually come across Leah’s cabin, which at this point has fallen into disrepair. The visit to the cabin, and Carol’s discovery of a note Daryl left behind (which gives the episode it’s title), triggers feelings of resentment from Daryl towards Carol.
This blow-up was a long time coming. Daryl clearly cares about Carol, and actively gives her a pass on many occasions. But his anger and harsh words towards her, while shocking and hurtful, are more than justified. And Carol seems to understand and accept that resentment, but doesn’t really apologize for her actions.
This is a smart direction to head in. Now that the original cast is largely gone, Daryl and Carol really do carry this show. Their friendship largely holds things together. They should get more screen time together before the spin-off series premieres. I’m not sure that creating tension between them was a direction that I personally would have wanted, but you can’t argue that it makes sense for the story.
Carol and Daryl’s story will continue in “Diverged” set to air on Mar. 28.
SCATTERED OBSERVATIONS:
– The new method of filming in digital really was noticeable in this episode, and in a good way. There was some absolutely beautiful cinematography in “Find Me” and I loved how some scenes faded into the next one. I don’t think that’s a filming technique the show had ever used before.
– When Daryl said “I lost a brother” I knew he was talking about Rick, even before that became very clear. Still, Merle deserves SOME recognition.
– Leah’s story is not over, according to Angela Kang. I liked Leah, but I do think she would’ve worked better as a one-off character.
– That’s all for this week. Overall, for an episode that should have felt more monumental than it actually did, it was very enjoyable and moved the story forward. It definitely won’t make my list of favorite episodes, though.
