I adore when showrunners reveal consequential characters' origins. The episode begins with Madame Genet's backstory. Like King Ezekiel, a humble zookeeper, Madam Genet was a janitor who cleaned up after ill-mannered schoolchildren at the Louvre. A job where she was invisible. As the janitors discuss a possible strike, Madame Genet (Marion) remarks that the government will only screw people over.
In S5:E12 of the TWD, ‘Remember’, Carol counted on being invisible when she arrived in Alexandria. As a result, Deanna Monroe gave Carol a job cooking dinner for older residents. When Carol arrives at Maison Mere, the man immediately assigns her to the kitchen because he could not see the warrior woman she embodied. Once inside Genet's compound, Carol witnesses the execution and immediate reanimation of individuals by injection. Before she's discovered, she hears a researcher say, "We need soldiers we can control." Carol uses her position in the kitchen to somewhat recklessly ask if anyone knows the American, Daryl Dixon. Given that the season consists of only six episodes, it is necessary to expedite Carol and Daryl's meeting. Therefore, we can forgive Stéphane's (the guy with the face tattoo) two-minute revelation to Carol about the purpose of Madam Genet's torture. Daryl is at the Nest, and Carol tells her English-speaking professor that she will leave immediately. She does—only to be caught because her English professor friend traded information about her to Madam Genet to save his husband.
At the Nest, Sylvie prays for courage to protect Laurent. Regrettably, she raced around, shouting for him. Trapped and fighting, Sylvie plunges over a wall. Sylvie's death felt like the old Walking Dead, which regularly killed off characters you've come to admire. It's affecting. Losang, the spiritual leader of the Nest, exhibits more brokenness than I had anticipated. His interpretation of Sylvie's death is, "Her faith was weak." Moving forward with Laurent's celebration, Losang explains that because Sylvie loved Laurant, using her as the ‘hungry one’ made the test more poignant. Losang manufactures a valerian root-honey drink for Laurent, which he initially refuses. Losang insists, "Drink it anyway," ostensibly drugging the boy. Based on his actions, I wonder if Losang's faith was as strong as Sylvie's.
Daryl, Isabelle, and Fallou blended into the celebration crowd by this time. Losang pulls Sylvie to attack Luarent. Daryl kills her. Isabell and Fallou grab Laurent, and a chase ensues. Daryl orders Laurent to wake up and take Isabell and Fallou to their secret training spot. Daryl injures and kills countless Nest residents. Fallou and Laurent get away. Daryl and Isabell do not. They end up in chains, separated by a thin stone wall. Daryl tells Isabell about his faith in their return to America and Laurent's happiness. Daryl confides that he was once a man who was searching for the unknown and discovered something—depaysant. Isabell says Je t'aime more herself than Daryl. Daryl remained silent. Was she heard? Did he understand her? Does he feel the same way?
Betrayed by the English professor, Carol tells Madame Genet
the truth about her search for Daryl. She recounts tricking Ash into flying her
to France to find her daughter, landing in Greenland, and barely escaping
psycho-environmentalists. It doesn't matter what Carol said because Madam Genet
knows where Daryl is. When questioned about her reasons for searching for
Daryl, Carol shrewdly responds that she wants to kill him. Carol's gambit is to
make herself an instant ally by sharing a common interest with Madame Genet.
Madam Genet agrees to take Carol to the Nest. On the road, Madam Genet
describes Paris' decline amid the viral outbreak. She recalls her confinement in
the museum, surrounded by religious artworks depicting suffering. She says she
only understood these works after the ZA. She explained that art seeks to make
sense of chaos and destruction in the world. Madam Genet says, "Prayers
didn't help then and don't help now. Religion is not hope; it is control.” It
is evident that Madam Genet harbors a dangerous distrust towards both the
government and religion. Lack of faith in others and in institutions often
leads to anti-establishment radicalism. Carol sees this in Madam Genet's
actions, such as killing 'volunteers' to create super-soldier walkers and
making people eat off the floor. But will Carol's realization be too late?
How are you liking Season 2 so far? At the end of the show, Madam Genet is seen killing people outside the Nest, including Carol, most likely to make super walkers. We know that Carol and Daryl will get back together, but what will happen to Isabell? Does Daryl ever say "I love you back"? Send me a message, and we'll talk about it.
Overall Rating:
9/10
Lynette Jones
