Daryl Dixon: The Book Of Carol Episode 3 Review: L’Invisible

We’ve reached the mid-way point of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon-The Book Of Carol, and what we have learned is that becoming a leader in the apocalypse is engrained internally. Some of the best leaders in the apocalypse were not leaders in their previous life. Much like Carol, who was an abused housewife. Daryl who was hiding behind the footsteps of his racist brother. Negan who an avid-gamer and gym-school teacher. And now Genet who was once a janitor in the Louvre.

The episode starts off in a flashback while Genet is being treated horribly by upper management. We also see her current second in command Sabine by her side even then before the outbreak took place. They had plans to start picketing for better healthcare, which is very relatable in today’s society.

In season one, Laurent told Genet she was sorrowful, and she took that despair out on other people. In L’Invisible, we come to understand why when she had to witness the death of her husband. The museum went under lockdown, which they thought was a bomb threat. She tried as hard as she could to get to the love of her life, but security kept them from each other.

In their last moments with one another they touched each other’s hands through the glass, a walker came from behind and devoured his neck as Genet was forced to watch. And that is how evil Genet was born. It just goes to show you that extreme pain can change anyone in this world.

Carol and Genet: Two leaders. One Hero

Onto present day, Carol stares at the Mona Lisa, the same painting Genet stared at after the loss of her husband. The leader of the Pouivor asks our Queen of the apocalypse what she sees. Carol sees only sadness but Marion thinks there is more hidden emotion to one of the most famous pieces of art of all time. Carol has some curiosity of whether it is authentic or not and Genet reveals she knows it is because she was the one who took it off the wall. A pretty badass response but Carol doesn’t know quite what to make of it.

It doesn’t take long for Carol to see the power Genet holds after one of her own refuses to eat the crappy lentil soup for offering. The leader wastes no time to force the man lick it up off the floor. Carol was both disgusted and a little impressed. Welcome to Maison Mère.

Another one bites the dust

Sylvie has lived her entire nun life believing in the prophecy of Laurent. Growing up beside him, as if he were a brother. And now that they’ve gotten to the Nest to make a home, things go awry in the moment of an eye.

In a turn of events, she now believes that if Laurent is bitten, he will die. The other former nun tried to warn the others about the impending dangers that were going to reach Laurent, but her time was cut short when she was surrounded by Losang and Jacinta’s warriors and fell hard from the parapet.

It seems like the waste of another good character that we didn’t get to see enough of. She was a great fighter and a great friend to Isabelle and the others but didn’t get her due. Sylvie died trying to save Laurent, but it didn’t do a lot of good. Fallou, Isabelle, and Daryl had already made it back into the Abbey to rescue Laurent as Losang endeavored to use the newly turned Sylvie to bite a drugged Laurent in somewhat of a poetic way. She couldn’t save Laurent in life but worked mightily to save him in death. Fortunately, for Laurent Daryl took her down before the bite could occur.

A lot of great actions scenes in this sequence. I would recommend adjusting your television brightness to watch this in full effect. As cool as it is to see Daryl back in action and running up and down stairs, between alleyways in such a medieval looking place, it’s become quite tedious to watch Daryl take down some men and get trapped and taken into custody for the 12th time. Despite that Daryl has spectacular moments of physicality. 

Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer

Carol is back at Maison Mère keeping up the appearance and pouring soup in between asking questions about her American friend. It might not have been the best move to let her motives be known, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Carol takes on many facades throughout the episode. At one point lying to Codron about Daryl being her brother because she senses that familial loss in him. Carol being Carol will use everything in her arsenal to her advantage. 

“I’m sure you would have done the same for your Daryl.”

Carol is now cornered after her new friend Remy sold her out to protect his husband. And just when you think she’ll be pressured into tell Genet the truth, she goes a fascinating route by telling her she wants to kill him. Genet assumes this man had to do something terrible to Carol to come all this way for that type of revenge. Possibly, a woman scorned.

Carol and Genet may be worlds apart as far as their missions in life, but they have more in common than meets the eye. Both forged from pain and heartache and unable to forgive themselves for the loss of their loved ones. It is a rebelliously impressive move to use Genet to lead her right to Daryl, and shows fans the strategic intellect Carol possesses. 

There is one interesting semblance between Remy and Carol. Both two people who are willing to risk everything to save the one person who means the most to them. Remy comparing the way he feels about his husband to the way she feels about Daryl. Which does bring up the question if they are just friends, why do we need this type of parallel?

What we have learned:

• The Nest is no safe haven, and it never was.
• The Union has become nothing more than a cult now, who is reliant too much on hope.
• Carol is officially the night in shining armor to save Daryl, and nobody can handle a horse like she can.  
• Pouvoir is not the enemy we knew from season one.
• Laurent knows he could never survive a walker bite, even through belief.
• The Union isn’t much more than a fairy tale. That religion is about control, not hope.
• Pourvoir is a resistance, and what we know about resistance is it’s in place for a specific power that is unjust.
• Laurent knows his family is dying all around him because of a made up story of belief.

The most important aspect we’ve learned is this has become Daryl’s fairy tale. We all witnessed Carol’s fairy tale with King Ezekiel and the Kingdom. When Carol said goodbye to that life she promised she would never forget because it did mold her. I think the same thing goes for Daryl. This group of people helped his development but it was never meant to be his true happy ending.

That point holds true after Norman Reedus admitted to EW that the intimacy with Isabelle was more of an experiment and not some overblown romance between the characters. It has now opened up that side of Daryl to not be afraid of feelings in the future. Life is too short, especially the way the world is now. It opens up more doors and layers to Daryl that the main show was always afraid to touch.

RELATED: Daryl Dixon-The Book Of Carol Episode 2 Review

One of my favorite scenes from this episode is Carol and Genet stopping in front of the Louvre. She admits to Carol that she once worked there as a janitor. There has always been a fantasy of a higher power. The Deluge painting was something that spoke to Genet way back then. A desperate family wanting to make sense of the chaos and destruction that humanity brings upon itself. Believing in a higher power did not help them then, and it will not help them now. It’s a greatly written scene that speaks of the historical apocalypse versus the fictional one we see in this series.

“I love you…do you?”

Daryl and Isabelle are put in cells side by side. Losang wants to know Laurent’s whereabouts. They are left to talk among themselves and freely talk about it out in the open. Doesn’t seem smart, as they could be spyed on at this moment. Luckily, with this writing, it doesn’t amount to anything.

As the time passes, Isabelle asks Daryl to tell him a story, and he once again tells Isabelle the story she already knows. This time with a twist, admitting something changed, and he began to care, no matter how much he was fighting not to.

Still, Daryl’s main focus seems to be about getting Laurent to America and allowing him to be a real child for the first time in his life. In a bit of a selfish turn, Isabelle asks what she would do in the Commonwealth. Daryl astonishingly answers, they can sleep in late, take long walks, and watch the sun go down by the river. Who knew? All things we’ve never seen Daryl do before.

He also mentions catching fireflies and asks Isabelle if she knows what they are. Like Tinker bell, she says. This connection is ironic because in season one, Daryl was very much like an outdated version of Peter Pan in Hook. If you know anything about Tinker bell you’d know she has unrequited feelings for Peter. That comparison grows even more when Isabelle tells Daryl she loves him, and it’s met with silence and a straightforward glance.

Is Daryl too scared to say it? Hopefully we find out in the final three episodes.

On a side note, I’m not a fan of all these Peter Pan references. There were jokes made in season one about this but I didn’t think showrunner David Zabel would take it so literal. This all might have made sense if it was accomplished over a decade ago when we first meet a young Daryl Dixon who was very child-like.

Presently, we have a Daryl Dixon who has overcome great loss and heartache but also became one of the most developed characters of The Walking Dead. It’s as if they want us to believe Daryl has no past and former loyalties and bonds. It just doesn’t work for fans who are expecting the heart-warming side of Daryl that made fans fall for him since season one.

Pet peeves:

• The biggest pet peeve of this episode was with Isabelle. She wants to know what’s in it for her after pushing Daryl into a relationship with herself and Laurent that he wasn’t ready for. Isabelle was begging Daryl to guide them to the Nest, so Laurent could become the future of France. A few weeks into being there, there was growing doubt we did not see the first season. They even went as far as thinking they could bring their priest back to life by sheer faith in prayer. It’s nice that logic kicked in, but it makes the first season seem redundant.
• In season one we saw a Laurent who desperately wanted to be a child. Now we see him wanting to be the light and hope of France. He is about as back and forth as Daryl is on which group of family he belongs to.
• Losing Laurent. Daryl taking down a barrage of men. Getting held captive. These are all things we’ve seen before. It made Daryl’s story very lackluster for this episode.

“I’m giving you what you asked for.”

Genet rallies the troops and Carol doesn’t have much time to get herself out of this mess. This large group were all sacrificing themselves for the biggest fight against the Union yet. Each one shot by the cocktail to turn them into the scariest breed of walkers yet. The war to end all wars.

It’s challenging to really know who the true enemy is in this story. Genet explains that they are the resistance fighting against a controlling religious movement. She makes many valid points now that we know more about the Nest. The Cause is more an uprising forced to defend themselves. Marion Genet is like a powerhouse for the small people. However, both sides are guilty of killing their own and countless others in the war to free France.

Genet’s goal is for Carol to turn and attack Daryl in a Sasha vs. Negan situation. Of course, tensions can’t run too high because we all know Carol is surviving through next season. But the excitement is still there throughout. Daryl and Carol are now just moments away from their reunion. 

MVP’s:

Carol (Melissa McBride) and Genet (Anne Charrier) take the MVP awards this week. Their acting and emotion raise the bar that a former religious prophecy and more abductions just can’t touch. I would have loved to see more episodes with these two. They both exude so much power and strength as characters and leaders. Genet knew right off the bath that Carol was a force to be reckoned with.

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About the author: Shay has been writing as a journalist professionally for years. Her most common topics to cover are dreams and horror but she looks forward to getting her feet wet with new and exciting genres and projects. @SaltLifeShay