While many fear the lumbering hordes of the walking dead as they advance upon us with snapping teeth, over the years I’ve come to be more wary of something far more unpredictable and damaging – a late era season finale of a Walking Dead show. While some use the final episode to wrap up their storyline and other go all in the leave a tantalising ending to guarantee that viewers will be back next season, the last finale of Daryl Dixon just shows how chaotic the current crop of writers have let things get.
It may sound odd that I’ve come to dread the ending of a modern Walking Dead show, especially considering that Dixon’s last season finale was a rare ray of sunshine in an otherwise turgid season, but the slash and burn attitude of season 2 actually benefitted the season as it left its mangled plotlines behind in France. However, after an excruciatingly slow start, Season 3 eventually built itself up into something worth watching again – so a finale that aims to once again turn everything on its head would actually be unwelcome at this point. Has the show headshotted itself at the final hurdle? Let’s looking in and find out.
Daryl and Paz’s quest to rescue Justina from El Alcázar has finally brought them to Guillermo’s home base just in time for the matching ceremony and as the servants are all conveniently required to wear masks, they find it absurdly simple to blend in and even get a gig where they’re both serving drinks during the main event. While they witness the sort of ghastly class divide that fits a zombie project to a tee (Walkers are manipulated with ropes while dressed as royalty in some fucked up marionette show), when they finally spot who they’re here for, it’s a simple matter for Daryl to free the Walkers and cause some instant chaos.
While Daryl goes after Justina and Paz goes after her one time love, Elena, back in Solaz del Mar, Carol heads out to reduce a captive Antonio who is being tortured by a vengful Fede. However, they soon find that the Mayor has a tighter grasp on his people than they thought as they are soon betrayed. Meanwhile Daryl continues to dole out his own particular kind of diversion and finally succeeds in freeing Justina, while a vengful Paz understands while Elena was so reluctant to leave Guillermo when she finds that she has a son – but that doesn’t stop her from getting payback with the business end of a sword, so after decimating Spanish “royalty”, it seems alls well that ends well when it comes to the business of El Alcázar; but that doesn’t mean that things are hunky dory back at Solaz del Mar.
Capturing Roberto to join Antonio and Carol in a strangely elaborate and very public execution by Walker, it seems that Fede will finally get to tie off all his loose ends, but with Dayl and Justina making a bee-line to their location, can Fede’s hold on his town remain firm?
Considering that The Walking Dead has a often troubling habit of burying it’s more important moments by frantically putting everything out on the street, Solaz del Mar proves to be something of a controlled and oddly dignified finale that makes perfect sense when you realise that the end in truly nigh. With the already announced fourth season of Daryl Dixon apparently being the last, the season three finale resists from rushing its way through any major plot developments or shocking twists and simply leaves the show in a smart place to take a break before the next season can build on it to hopefully end things right. Is their an accusation to be made that the episode is somewhat dull for a finale? Certainly, the biggest revelation that’s offered here is that Daryl admits that he’s finally ready to go home after following his constant urge to move on, but also confesses that he’s scared that the impatient voice will kick back in if he stops. However, while there is a noticable lack of crazed twists (last season virtually saw everyone bite the dust), it does mean that the final season doesn’t have to blow through and episode or two of the next season to start from scratch like this season had to.
It’s actually quite refreshing to see a modern season of The Walking Dead actually stick to the script and follow the plot right to the end without throwing in random wild shit to keep you off your toes. The checklist is simple: Daryl has to rescue Justina, Paz has to rescue Elena and Carol has to rescue Antonio with the added bonus of Fede being exposed as a prick for no extra charge; but thanks to the show remaining nice and focused, the episode has the breathing space to slip in some nice little moments.
I’ve always been a sucker for some weird Walker shit and while having snarling members of the undead roped up and being forced to dance at a celebratory dinner is utterly ridiculous the second you drop even an once of logical thought on it (never even mind the danger issue, just imagine the fucking smell while you’re eating), it provides one of those classic Walking Dead images that the franchise is once again remembering to supply.
As action goes, director Daniel Percival endures that the setpieces in both El Alcázar and Solaz del Mar move cleanly and briskly – but not too brisk that anything that occurs has no weight. Are the characters once again swaddled in plot armour as they quickly take advantage of unlikely benefits that seem completely set up to aid their mission? You bet your fucking arse – this is The Walking Dead, remember – but nothing is too audacious as to pull you out of the episode and it ensures that there’s no real lull in the story.
The only real down point is that the ending doesn’t really make good with a climax that finds a good balance between gripping cliff hanger and just a regular old ending. Fede is captured, then escapes, tries to kill Daryl, fails and escapes again and the only real shocker here is that the boat that’s supposed to get everyone back to America pays the price and goes up in flames. It’s hardly an “OH MY GOD” ending, but considering that the season has managed to claw itself back from those worryingly dull early episodes, I’ll happily take it.
So, after managing putting Dixon back in my good graces (seriously, the up-and-down quality of the show is enough to give you motion sickness), what does Season 3 leave for us other than a burning boat and the apparent return of Codron? Well, while I’d argue that a rogue Fede is hardly a future antagonist on the level of the Governor, if season 4 truly is the final word on Daryl, I’m fully expecting those random flashbacks to his childhood to play a much larger role; but considering that Daryl Dixon is somehow once again on the better end on the Walking Dead scale, it would seem a bit mean to complain.
Proving that sometimes a season finale doesn’t have to shoot at the moon to be effective, to complain about the rather basic ending would ignore the a season that somehow started incredibly weakly, yet somehow blossomed into offering up some of the best Daryl Dixon moments the entire franchise has ever seen (episode 5, I’m looking at you). With the final season looming on the horizon, the actual quality of Dixon’s last ride is still as up in the air as ever, but at least his trip to Spain put him on some solid footing. Eventually.
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