Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’s Season 3 PremiereWe returned to the world of The Walking Dead with the Season 3 premiere of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) were completely by themselves, with no other character to interrupt their sweet and cheeky banter. But the novelty of that can only last so long, and eventually, we need a supporting cast for the storytelling to work in this franchise.
It’s not the first time this spin-off has had to introduce a brand-new cast of eclectic characters, especially since Daryl washed up on the shores of France by himself. So, following this “new country, new cast” rule, we meet Julian (Stephen Merchant) in a post-apocalyptic London, a character who has so much potential and who also dies nearly twenty minutes later.Leaving every single supporting character behind was jarring enough, but killing off the first person we see in Season 3 is just frustrating – we don’t expect them to become as iconic as Daryl and Caryl but give them a fighting chance!
‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ Season 3 Premiere Is Already Making Mistakes
At the beginning of the Season 3 premiere, Daryl and Carol emerge from the treacherous Chunnel and arrive in London, which is eerily desolate and overgrown. When they meet Julian, he is as eccentric as you would expect someone living by themselves for years to be. They convince him to sail his boat to North America, relying on his nautical expertise. When it looked like it would be smooth-sailing all the way across the ocean, that’s when the storm hit. Julian was injured, leaving the naval handling to the two inexperienced travelers, which inevitably led to a shipwreck. Julian dies in the process, diligently following the “new country, new cast” rule as he never made it on shore alive.
What makes his death more blatantly frustrating is that Daryl essentially holds a brief water burial for Julian, as if we are supposed to care about this character who’s been on the screen for only twenty minutes. The Walking Dead is known for its brutality, especially since its early seasons were ruthless with major character deaths, but we never genuinely invested in Julian for his death to make an impact. If anything, he was just as valuable to us as the boat was: simply a means to an end. On top of this, Daryl and Carol may be the heart of the spin-off, but they can’t very well be the entire show. Why are we instantly putting an end to a supporting cast?
Julian Was a Promising Character in ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’
To add insult to injury, Daryl Dixon didn’t just throw away any old minor character, but one with so much potential. Julian had the burden of representing the entirety of London considering he was allegedly the last man left standing. His backstory effectively reflects this. Turns out, London had cut off the Chunnel to prevent the infection from coming into the population, but when the situation became out of control in the city, the only escape route was boarded up, trapping people in the chaos. Julian had lost everyone he loved in an effort to escape, so he stayed in the city, surviving on his own wits until the pair came around and convinced him to use the boat.
Julian’s characterization was also fleshed out on the boat, where his comedic exterior hid an insecurity of failing other people due to his own skills. He underestimated his naval skills and feared everyone’s lives would be lost on his account. The balance between the light-hearted jokes and these more vulnerable rumblings led to a character we could’ve potentially fallen in love with if the spin-off gave him a chance. Instead, he was reduced to a narrative device who outlived his usefulness when he taught Daryl and Carol how to handle a ship’s ropes and tiller. It seems like another case of The Walking Dead wasting potential, just like they did in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live when Michonne’s (Danai Gurira) traveling group died in one fell swoop.
‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ Completely Wastes Stephen Merchant
Daryl Dixon also misses out on an opportunity to capitalize on Merchant’s incredible performance in the episode. He fits perfectly into the universe, embodying that delicious dark humor that comes with the post-apocalyptic scene while bringing the European setting to life. Merchant’s Julian leaned into British stereotypes, especially through his breathless, rambling explanation as to why he calls walkers “squids,” but only as much as Carol and Daryl lean into American stereotypes in this new steering-wheel-on-the-wrong-side country. It’s never obnoxious, but simply an ironic and subtle kind of humor that pairs perfectly with the show’s gravitas.
Merchant’s silky smooth delivery is also a welcome contrast to the conversations between the two central characters of few words. Daryl and Carol have known each other for so long and so thoroughly that mere glances exchange so much information, and their dialogue is usually rapid quips or is pared down to the necessities. Julian not only forced them to speak more, but provided another form of comical interaction that made the city that they spent so little time in feel more dynamic and memorable. It is a testament to Merchant’s performance that he was able to make an impact via his limited screen time, one that suggests he should have become part of the supporting cast. Daryl Dixon Season 3 may have started out strong with Daryl and Carol’s evolving relationship, but it missed a huge opportunity by killing off the first character we met.
