With great reward comes great sacrifice. That is pretty much the mantra The Walking Dead has lived by through its many seasons to date in both the original series and all its spin-offs. Characters are forced to make difficult decisions. They come across new groups and must decide to trust them or not. They get close to people only to lose them. They lose, love, gain, and lose again. Every step in the right direction seemingly takes them two steps back. This formula has continued in the spin-off series The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.

The second season called The Book of Carol is well underway, and in episode four titled “La Paradis Pour Toi,” the long-awaited reunion between Daryl (Norman Reedus) and his best friend Carol (Melissa McBride) finally happens. But their joy is short-lived because it also marks a tragic death.

What Happens Before Daryl and Carol Reunite?

In the previous episode, Daryl and Isabelle (Clemence Poésy) were captured and locked up by Losang (Joel de la Fuente), who was desperate to get to Laurent’s (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) location. Losang and his number two, Jacinta (Nassima Benchicou), intended to gather the people of The Nest and purposely have a walker bite Laurent to prove that he was immune and truly is a Messiah. Daryl and Isabelle, however, know better. As much as Isabelle wanted to believe, she would never put her nephew through that. Deep down, she knows that while he is indeed a special child, he is also just a regular human.

While in captivity, Isabelle declares to Daryl that she loves him, a sweet follow-up to their passionate kiss in Episode 2. He does not reply in kind, but it’s clear that it’s more out of fear than not actually feeling that way about her as well.

Isabelle is taken out of the cell and handcuffed to a chair where she’s interrogated by Losang. While he tries to convince her that he needs the boy to save them all, Isabelle says she can now see that what he truly fears is losing power. “What you’re doing is desperate, misguided, and savage,” she tells him, to which he replies that it sounds like Daryl talking. “No, that’s me,” she confidently replies.

When the opportunity strikes, Isabelle attacks, cutting Losang’s face with a piece of metal she was hiding in her hand. He grabs a knife and savagely stabs her in the stomach, seemingly instantly regretting what he has done. Isabelle is assumed dead, but she weakly gets up and tries to make her way somewhere. This is when she runs into Carol.

How Carol and Daryl Reunite

After finding Ash (Manish Dayal), and convincing him to fly her to France in his plane under the ruse that she’s searching for her daughter, Carol begins furiously searching for Daryl. Through a series of clues and information revealed by Codron (Romain Levi), along with narrowly escaping death at the hands of Genet (Anne Charrier), she discovers his location and heads there. With the help of Codron, she makes her way through the building to search for her friend.

When she arrives, however, there’s a lot going on. She must fight enemies to make her way through the building. As Carol weaves through outdoor corridors, she runs into a woman who is visibly hurt. As Carol does, she brings the woman to a safe location and tries to help. She sits her down and introduces herself as Carol. The look of recognition in Isabelle’s eyes shows that she understands exactly who this American woman is.

Just then inside the building, a scared young man locks a gate to keep out walkers. When he discovers a chained Daryl, he opts to break him free to help. As Daryl powers down the hallway with his medieval flail, taking out walkers one by one, he reaches a woman at the end and slowly walks towards her to see it’s Carol.

The pair embrace as the tears fall. It’s a beautiful moment. But one that’s marred with sadness as well, when Carol brings Daryl to Isabelle, who is near death. White as a sheet, Daryl is insistent that he will bring Isabelle with him to safety and to get help. But Isabelle insists it’s over. She is ready to head towards the light, and it’s beautiful, she says.

In her dying breath, Isabelle asks Daryl to “just make sure he’s OK,” speaking of Laurent. “We can do that together,” Daryl says as Carol looks on. “Make sure he’s taken care of,” she reiterates, “and that he knows I’m always with him.” Daryl nods in recognition, realizing at this moment that Isabelle is not going to make it.

The happy moment becomes instantly somber, but at least Daryl has Carol to comfort him.

What Happens Next

Despite not having seen his best friend for some time, Daryl has little time for pleasantries, nor for grieving. He has to spring into action, find Laurent, and take him to safety. If he felt an obligation to protect Laurent before, he’s even more determined now that it was Isabelle’s dying wish. Carol accompanies Daryl as they leave The Nest, which is burning to the ground. As they walk and talk, Carol brings a sense of calm to Daryl as only she can, and they have a brief moment to catch up. “You were supposed to come back,” Carol says as she talks about how she flew halfway around the world on a hunch. “Yeah, I was trying,” he replies.

Daryl later explains his relationship with Isabelle. “She needed my help and I needed a way home, so we made a deal.” He describes Laurent as the glue that held them all together and adds “I never ever stopped trying to get home to you. But the longer I stayed here, the harder it got.” Carol recognizes at this moment that Daryl loved Isabelle, but again, he refuses to admit it out loud. Instead, he tells her that Laurent is going home with them, to which Carol smiles and says, “I know.”

And so, as beautiful as the moments are that the two share with one another, from quiet conversations to viciously fighting off enemies, it’s bittersweet because someone near and dear to Daryl was lost in the process. Isabelle could have easily been spared, gone back with them to The Commonwealth as Daryl intended. But fans know that for Daryl to do what he does best, he can’t be tied down by anyone or anything. The only person who can capture Daryl’s heart, even if it’s not romantically, is Carol. Isabelle was collateral damage, but a main character who will be missed.

As for the dynamic duo, while there are still two more episodes left in season two, fans know that season three has already begun filming in Spain. So, there’s likely lots more to come from this fan-favorite pair.