In its 13-year history, “The Walking Dead” franchise has served up its fair share of bizarre zombie moments, but a recent episode from “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” takes the cake as the weirdest yet. This latest spin-off series follows Daryl Dixon in a “Last of Us”-inspired narrative, where he’s tasked with escorting a messianic child through post-apocalyptic France. Season 1, Episode 3, titled “Paris Sera Toujours Paris,” kicks things off with a bang by introducing the most peculiar zombie scene in the franchise’s extensive history.
The “Walking Dead” universe has always been known for its creative use of zombies. From the Governor’s tender moment with his undead daughter to Rick and Glenn donning walker guts to blend in with hordes, the show has delivered its fair share of oddball zombie scenes. However, “Daryl Dixon” has now outdone them all.
In this episode, Daryl’s insistence on heading to Paris clashes with Isabelle’s quest to find a working radio in a small provincial town. This mission, oddly, leads the group to stumble upon the strangest sight in “The Walking Dead” universe. The local radio operator has transformed his device into a stereo system and rigged up zombie puppets to form a makeshift orchestra.
What makes this scene even more bewildering is its utter irrelevance to the overall plot. It does push the group towards Paris, but Daryl was already advocating for that destination, rendering the sequence largely unnecessary. It’s a head-scratching, somewhat unsettling, and unintentionally comical moment. While not necessarily a bad scene, its inclusion seems odd.
Despite the bizarre detour, it’s heartening to witness “The Walking Dead” franchise’s ongoing commitment to imaginative zombie use over a decade after its debut. It’s refreshing to follow a show like “Daryl Dixon” that takes bold risks like featuring a zombie orchestra, rather than settling for tired clichés and well-worn tropes. Nevertheless, a horde of zombie musicians still pushes the boundaries of oddity within this already unconventional universe.