The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol is set to feature a major character reunion and continue its titular character’s journey through post-apocalyptic France. The first season of the spinoff series was a welcome change of pace for The Walking Dead universe, leaning into the fish-out-of-water elements of Daryl in France and telling a rich, character-focused story. With Melissa McBride’s Carol joining Norman Reedus’ Daryl across the ocean, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 adds an explosive new element to the mix.

All the key players from the first season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon return as well, including the supposedly messianic Laurent (played by Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) and resistance leader Fallou (Eriq Ebouaney). In the first season, Daryl found himself tasked with keeping Laurent safe, and the second season is set to explore their relationship further. With The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 stepping away from France, the stakes for Laurent, Fallou, and the rest of their French companions are higher than ever.

Screen Rant interviewed Louis Puech Scigliuzzi and Eriq Ebouaney about their work on the latest season of the spinoff. Scigliuzzi and Ebouaney discussed how they fit into The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 conflict and the show’s exploration of themes of hope. They also spoke on the arrival of Melissa McBride, and what it meant to see her and Norman Reedus reunited.

Louis Puech Scigliuzzi Discusses His Return In Season 2

Laurent Looks For Normalcy, Scigliuzzi Finds It

Screen Rant: Louis, so much of Laurent’s story in this show is how people see different things in him and want all these different things from him. But can you talk about what he wants and what he’s after in season two?

Louis Puech Scigliuzzi: I think he’s definitely trying to find peace in his mind, because he has a lot of interactions with people he has to reassure, because he’s the Messiah. He’s meant to kind of reassure people and maybe it’s sometimes a bit too much for him. He’d like to kind of be reassured as a normal kid would. He’s got a lot on his shoulders, and I guess he just wants to be a normal child. I think that’s what he’s trying to find.

The first season of the show was your first acting job ever. You were in this whole new world. Was there anything you learned from doing that first season that made this one easier, more comfortable, or more fun?

Louis Puech Scigliuzzi: I’ve gotten [much] more comfortable, because it’s now been two years that we’ve been working on that spinoff. I got to know everybody, and it was the same crew all along the way. It’s like family. It’s the Walking Dead family, and we just created that, and it is just so nice. We all have fun. At first I was really stressed working, [which] is normal. It’s my first show ever and it’s my first acting job, but now I’m just so much more relaxed.

Eriq Ebouaney: I would just want to add [that] it was his first gig, but he was so at ease, so natural, and he nailed it. I love him.

Eriq Ebouaney Talks Fallou’s Continuning Fight

Even Though Ebouany is “Too Old For That S***”, When it Comes To Fight Scenes

Eriq, last season we met your character as the leader of a resistance movement. Where do we pick up with him in this season, and can you talk about what his struggle is this time around?

Eriq Ebouaney: He’s still the leader of that group called the Union of Hope, and trying to succeed on his mission to protect the Messiah, Laurent, and help Daryl succeed and to find his way back home.

We chatted last season, and I remember you [joking] that you were too lazy to do the fight scenes, or that you didn’t want to do them.

Eriq Ebouaney: To tell you the truth, it’s still the same thing. I maybe look tough and stuff like that, but I’m too old for that s***. I need to keep in shape, so sometimes it’s fun to run all over the place, run after the walkers and the zombies and fight, but it’s so tiring. I’m sore all over my body after all those scenes. It’s still tiring, but we have some of them in season two. [There is] much more action in season two, even if my character’s getting into something different at the same time. He’s changing.

Scigliuzzi & Ebouaney Reflect On The Arrival Of Carol

“It Changes A Lot”

This season, it is a huge deal that Carol is here. Is there anything that both of you can say about what the arrival of Carol means for your characters?

Eriq Ebouaney: The fact that Carol is here brings back the old days of The Walking Dead. She brought more emotions and connections and friendship, and the love, and we just need to go with that flow. It’s awesome.

Louis Puech Scigliuzzi: It changes a lot in the story, of course. It’s a really big impact on how Darryl’s going to try and find his way with Carol to go back to America. She came there to find him and to take him back home, so I guess that’s what she’s here to do, but for the characters, it just brings more everything. There’s more action, there are more emotional scenes, there’s more of everything, and I think that really makes the season even better.

Eriq Ebouaney: And the fan base will love it.

Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride have worked together for so long, of course, but you two are the ones who have been living with him in France, working on this show. As actors, what is it like to have all of those relationships come together? 

Eriq Ebouaney: For me, it was a bit like having an aunt that you didn’t see for a while. The aunt is coming back home, so you just want to embrace her and bring her to dinner and lunch. We just were so thrilled to have her back. Even if we didn’t know her before, she was part of our family at the same time.

Louis Puech Scigliuzzi: It felt like, as soon as we met her, we all became friends with her. She’s such an open-minded person, she’s so kind, and she’s all smiling and making everybody laugh, because she’s a really funny person. Carol is a bit hard as a character, but off-camera, she’s really a sweet and funny person.

About The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book Of Carol

The new season picks up where The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon left off, following fan-favorite characters Daryl Dixon (Reedus) and Carol Peletier (McBride). They both confront old demons while she fights to find her friend and he struggles with his decision to stay in France, causing tension at the Nest. Additionally, Genet’s (Anne Charrier) movement builds momentum, setting Pouvoir on a violent collision course with the Union of Hope in the fight for France’s future.