Warning: spoilers ahead for Daryl Dixon season 2, episode 5.
The franchise isn’t known for keeping characters around very long, butThe Walking Dead: Daryl Dixonhas achieved the impressive feat of burning through three separate villains in season 2 alone. Most seasons ofThe Walking Dead’s main series would clock in around the 16-episode mark, but since season 12 plans were replaced by a string ofThe Walking Deadspinoff shows, the standard has been six episodes per season forDaryl Dixon,Dead City, andThe Ones Who Live.
Naturally, the truncated length of each season has limited each spinoff’s ability to refresh its villains as regularly asThe Walking Deadused to. Themain villain throughoutDaryl Dixonseason 1 was Genet,Dead Cityseason 1 had the Croat (who was revealed as a follower of the more powerful Dama, but only in the finale), and the big bad ofThe Ones Who LivewasTerry O’Quinn’s Major General Beale.Daryl Dixonseason 2 ignores that format, batting an impressive average of one villain every two episodes.
Daryl Dixon Season 2 Switched From Genet As A Main Villain To Losang
Villain Switch 1: Genet To Losang
Season 2 began very much asDaryl Dixonseason 1 ended, with Pouvoir Du Vivant leader Genet gunning for Daryl and his allies at the Nest.The spinoff initially committed to sticking with Genet as its main villain, revealing her backstory through a series of pre-outbreak flashbacks, and bringing more depth to her character through illuminating conversations with Carol that explained her motivations and psychology more fully.
Joel de la Fuente’s character standing as the sole main villain when credits roll on episode 4 is not an outcome many would have predicted.
In a surprise twist,Genet only served asDaryl Dixonseason 2’s main villain for the first four episodes, courtesy of Carol and a well-placed dart of variant serum. That Genet would die at some point could have been predicted in advance, especially after confirmation thatDaryl Dixonseason 3will move onto Spain, but Genet dying two full episodes before season 2’s ending was the real shock. As the story’s overarching fountain of wine-flavored evil, Genet looked destined to at least hang around until Daryl departed France.
What Daryl & Carol’s Reunion Means For Daryl Dixon Season 3
With Daryl and Carol officially reuniting in season 2 of The Walking Dead’s European-set spinoff, season 3 looks set for a slew of major changes.
Instead, the final scene ofDaryl Dixonseason 2’s fourth episode promoted Losang into the vacant main antagonist spot. Seeds for the switch had already been sown - Losang openly criticized Daryl’s attitude in episode 1, and his plot to use Laurent as a ceremonial sacrifice was a rather overt sign of his increasing wickedness in episode 3. At first,Daryl Dixonlooked to be teasing Losang as Genet’s new best friend in the hunt for Laurent, so Joel de la Fuente’s character standing as the sole main villain when credits rolled on episode 4 was not the outcome many would have predicted.
It Looks Like Jacinta Will Be Daryl Dixon Season 2’s Real Final Villain
Villain Switch 2: Losang To Jacinta
Switching from Genet to Losang at the end of episode 4 was surprising, butDaryl Dixonseason 2 sends further shockwaves by switching from Losang to a totally different character at the end of episode 5. After Daryl repeatedly clatters him with a human skull,Losang is very likely dead, and if not, he won’t be swinging his staff around any time soon. The dying moments ofDaryl Dixonseason 2’s penultimate episode then show Jacinta, Losang’s second-in-command, gingerly regaining consciousness after Codron chivalrously decides against finishing her off.
Jacinta was influencing Losang from the shadows and whispering poison in his ear.
The scene where Jacinta stirs provides a very strong indication that she is nowDaryl Dixonseason 2’s third, and presumably final, major villain. With one more episode still to come in season 2,Daryl Dixonstill needs an enemy threat - the finale would be a rather uneventful 50 minutes if Daryl’s biggest problem was figuring out how to fit four passengers onto Ash’s plane.Jacinta must, therefore, be elevated to the once-again-empty main villain berthat the beginning ofDaryl Dixonseason 2’s final episode, cementing her as the third big bad in only six episodes.
Daryl Dixon’s Plane Twist Has Been Staring Everyone In The Face Since Season 2 Began
Daryl Dixon encounters a major plane dilemma in season 2 of his The Walking Dead spinoff series, but he really should have seen it coming.
As shocking as that may be, Jacinta’s rapid climb from minor nuisance to supervillain certainly did not come out of nowhere. Long beforethe Union betrayed Daryl Dixon, it became clear that Jacinta was influencing Losang from the shadows and whispering poison in his ear. Shady but cunning, Jacinta touted Daryl as a bad influence, encouraged Losang to proceed with Laurent’s ritual, and even went behind her leader’s back in an attempt to assassinate Daryl and his allies.
What Jacinta Taking Over Means For Daryl Dixon Season 2’s Finale
There Are Pros & Cons To Daryl Dixon Season 2’s Final, Final, Final Villain
From one perspective,Jacinta was always destined to becomeDaryl Dixonseason 2’s final boss. The drawback is that audiences know virtually nothing about her.Daryl Dixondug deep into Genet’s past to give Anne Charrier’s character a fleshed-out backstory, while season 2 spent enough time exploring Losang’s conflicted, deteriorating morals to make the Union’s corrupted leader compelling. Jacinta, however, remains a mystery, andDaryl Dixonseason 2’s finale may not have enough time to change that. There is a real risk that, without any real insight into why she’s doing what she’s doing, Jacinta will feel hollow as a final villain.
Jacinta looks far more likely to follow Genet and Losang intoThe Walking Dead’s hall of deceased villains.
In terms of where Jacinta goes next, Losang’s death does little to change her mission. Despite Daryl and Codron’s best efforts, plenty of soldiers in the Pouvoir-Union alliance remain, including Genet’s former lieutenant. Jacinta, meanwhile, is unlikely to have shifted from her goal of capturing Laurent. The Union still seems convinced that the prodigal teen is some kind of messiah, and Pouvoir is, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, going along with that notion. Losang and Genet may be dead, butas long as Laurent remains on French soil, any villains still breathing will chase him.
If AMC hadn’t already confirmed thatDaryl Dixonwill relocate from France to Spain in season 3, one might have assumed that Jacinta was being primed for a larger role in the next run of episodes - that season 2’s finale was just the beginning of a bigger journey for her. Because Spain is confirmed as Daryl and Carol’s next stop, Jacinta looks far more likely to follow Genet and Losang intoThe Walking Dead’s hall of deceased villains.
Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Melissa McBride (Carol) and the only current cast members confirmed to return forDaryl Dixonseason 3.
The fact thatDaryl Dixon’s French storyline is rapidly coming to an end makes Losang’s death in episode 5 even more surprising. Sticking with the familiar face - the one audiences have more investment in - would have perhaps made for a more meaningful last opponent for Daryl. Instead, it appearsThe Walking Dead:Daryl Dixonseason 2’s ending will throw its weight behind a character who has barely featured until now, and is almost certain to be absent when season 3’s Spanish adventure begins.
“La Gentillesse des Étrangers”
“Au Revoir les Enfants”
November 3
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
In a post-apocalyptic France, the series follows Daryl Dixon as he navigates the complexities of a new landscape. Separated from his familiar world, Daryl faces unexpected challenges and forges new alliances while confronting the lingering threats of a walker-infested reality.
