[This story contains spoilers from The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol season two, episode two.]
When The Strolling Useless: Daryl Dixon – The E book of Carol producer and author David Zabel sat all the way down to work with the remainder of the crew on breaking season two, six phrases instantly leapt to thoughts: “We’ve obtained some work to do.”
With two out of six season two episodes now launched, the titular heroes have but to satisfy head to head. For anybody feeling impatient, you’ll must blame air journey within the zombie apocalypse. As Zabel and the writers began chipping away at story beats to convey Carol (Melissa McBride) from Maine to France, it grew to become clear that she would wish not less than one main detour alongside the way in which.
Enter: Greenland. On this week’s second episode, Carol’s journey to search out Daryl (Norman Reedus) leaves the not-a-badass on a aspect quest of kinds, stopping for gas over in Greenland. Carol and new pal/pilot Ash (Manish Dayal) are instantly overrun with overgrown subject zombies.
“This one began with me,” Zabel tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We didn’t wish to simply have Carol pop into France and make issues too simple. And we knew that the aircraft actually couldn’t go direct. It was gonna must make a cease someplace. So we began speaking about Greenland and, who can be in Greenland? If we discovered any individual nonetheless in Greenland, would they be? What would the walkers be like? We talked so much concerning the walkers, the marshy walkers, after which we talked about who can be there, and the way would that make an fascinating story?”
Zabel’s reply to that final query: introduce a pair of ecologists hellbent on saving humanity, in their very own manner. The scientists debut as heroes, saving Carol and Ash from their sure demise on the maws of the marsh walkers. Nonetheless, this being The Strolling Useless, these Greenlanders have an ulterior motive: they wish to kidnap Ash, procreate with him and slowly repopulate mankind. Neither Carol nor Ash are notably enthused with the concept, and the 2 scientists find yourself lifeless — considered one of them killed by the opposite, the second killed by Ash.
“We had this concept that two scientists may have survived, alone of their station,” says Zabel. “After the apocalypse, they’d managed to proceed to dwell there. We managed to spin a very good story out of that. I actually love that one. In a special world, we might have spent much more time in Greenland, however we solely had six episodes.”
In line with Zabel, the episode order for Daryl Dixon got here with plusses and minuses. It allowed for a decent, propulsive narrative, but it surely additionally meant leaving just a few completely different story concepts on the ground.
“It actually was the hardest factor,” he says. “You find yourself having to place so much to the aspect once you actually wished to discover. We’re not missing for story right here. We’re simply missing actual property.”
In fact, The Strolling Useless: Daryl Dixon – The E book of Carol solely has 4 episodes left in season two, but it surely’s already in manufacturing on season three. What’s extra, the present can be shifting locales, with manufacturing having moved to Spain. In different phrases, Daryl and Carol (or, not less than their present) are on the transfer — which implies, one other cease in Greenland may very well be within the playing cards some day… and if not Greenland, then definitely some place else past France and Spain.
“We thought of different locations,” says Zabel, teasing different places The Strolling Useless almost visited this week as an alternative of Greenland. “There are a few different choices on the market. You by no means know.”
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The Strolling Useless: Daryl Dixon – The E book of Carol season two releases new episodes Sundays at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on AMC. Comply with together with THR‘s season protection right here, and maintain monitor of the franchise spinoffs.