540: "Paris Toujours Sera Paris" (TWD: Daryl Dixon S1E3)

[00:00:00] The Last of Us, Podcastica, The Last of Us, Podcastica, The Last of Us, Podcastica, The Last of Us, Podcastica on Google Play. Bonjour ze heads, welcome to the podcast, I'm Jason. And je me pèle Lucy. This is the Cast of Us episode 540.

[00:01:38] And this episode we're covering The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon, season 1, episode 3, Paris toujours sera Paris. Vraiment, true, true. How are you? Ca va? Bien et tu? Good, good, good. So Daryl Dixon, season 1, episode 3, Paris toujours sera Paris. What do you think?

[00:02:01] Oh, I want to go on holiday to Paris immediately. I spent most of this episode being like, why is Paris so freaking cool? I really liked it. There were some bits I liked more than others, but generally I really enjoyed it. How about you? Me too.

[00:02:19] I think they did a really good job of incorporating what's special about Paris into a zombie apocalypse show, which is quite a feat. I at first thought, oh, maybe this is a little silly, but on second watch, I didn't think that at all.

[00:02:35] I thought about it more and I just loved it. And you'll hear why when I talk about my points, but I think it's a really, really good episode. I loved it. Excellent. Well, I'm excited to talk about it. Okay, you go first. How about that cold open?

[00:02:53] What instrument did you play in orchestra? Were you in orchestra? You were in a band. I was in marching band and symphonic band, which is, I guess, like orchestra. I played clarinet and some saxophone later on.

[00:03:05] And when I was marching band, I played snare drum and bass drum. Hang on. Hang on. You played the saxophone? Well, badly. So did I. Also badly. Oh wow. See, I played clarinet for two years and then I was like, I want to try saxophone.

[00:03:21] And my band director said, no, we need you in clarinet. And I said, I talked him into it. I'm like, you know, I'm really excited about the saxophone. And so I think I might actually do a better job and practice more. And he goes, okay.

[00:03:33] And then I didn't practice more and I was horrible. And I felt bad. But anyway, marching band was like the highlight of my high school. You had good fun there, right? Yeah, we would do competitions around the country and our football team won four games

[00:03:47] the whole four years I was in high school. But our marching band was like the stars of the school. Even still, we weren't quite as high in status as the football team because that's how teenagers are. But.

[00:03:59] And so did you feel really emotional seeing a band depicted so realistically on screen? It was really dumb. It was quite dumb, wasn't it? I've just written, I like the trombones the best. I think they shoved the trombones down the throats of the Zeds.

[00:04:15] Yeah, it was pretty creative. Why the fuck not? It was so dumb. I like the hanging Zed head next to the harp. Yes, that was very crafty. The one zombie that would actually, because they were just not making music at all. They were making noise.

[00:04:31] But I like that the zombie that was tied to the drums would just hit the hi-hat every once in a while. Like he was kind of getting into it. I think what I liked most about this is I think it was quite self-aware because at the

[00:04:44] end Darryl's like, well that was a stupid detour. And I was like, yes. He's like, all right, we're out of here. That was a bad idea. Let's go to Paris. Yeah, I kind of felt like, well, it felt like Princess. Did you think about?

[00:04:58] Because it's someone he, this guy who's their contact doesn't seem to have seen anyone in a long time. He's like, are you friends? The living? Are you living? And he's like, I don't know when they first got there. So maybe he's like her.

[00:05:11] He just got so lonely and bored that he made this. But it also felt a bit like something that would come out of Fear the Walking Dead. Yeah, a little bit. A little bit. Right.

[00:05:21] And then what I loved about it is then Darryl's like, I mean, if it was on Fear, it would have taken the whole episode. That would be the difference. That would be it. Right? That would be it. They would spend the whole time with this guy.

[00:05:31] And Darryl, as soon as he sees it, he's like, nope, we're out of here. And I was like, this is a commentary on Fear. I just loved how he and Isabelle, they were so expressionless. They were neither horrified nor amused. They were just like, oh, crap.

[00:05:46] Yes, we're going then. Some fun facts about that scene. Did you understand the reference to where is Brian? He is in the kitchen. No, no, me neither. But it came up in one of the reviews I looked at.

[00:05:59] And apparently if you learn English at high school in France in a certain era, that is one of the phrases you will learn. So it's even got its own Wikipedia entry on French Wikipedia.

[00:06:12] And it comes from a school textbook called Speak English for Children in the First Year of Secondary School. So I quite like that. It made me remember the kind of shit phrases that you don't actually need or use that you learn at high school. So many.

[00:06:27] Well, the woman who wrote it is Colleen Hebert, who's bilingual French English writer. She wrote for The Returned, that sort of zombie-esque series from France a few years back. I did. So she knows. I think it was very dumb. But I enjoyed it. That's the thing.

[00:06:48] It was so dumb. I just enjoyed it. If it had lasted the whole episode, I would not have enjoyed it. Yeah, if it was the culmination of the episode was like arriving in the Demimonde and that was what was there, I would be like, are you kidding?

[00:06:59] On second watch, I think that was the point. Because what he's saying, this guy, he's saying, see music culture, it's still alive. And it's so sad and it's so untrue. Like no, dude, this is sad and it's awful. And so it feels like you're wrong. Culture's dead.

[00:07:19] Music is dead. And then when we get to the Demimonde, it's like, oh no, it's alive. You just needed to go to Paris. So I think it was a good juxtaposition where it's kind of like, no, this is pointless. It's not working.

[00:07:31] And then it's like, oh wait, no, the spirit, like toujours Paris, Paris will always be Paris. It's like, it is the spirit of art and culture is alive in Paris. So there was a point to it, even though some people I saw thought it seemed kind of pointless.

[00:07:46] And the very Darryl shoot zombie in head and goes, we're going to Paris. I was like, I want all my vacations to be announced like that in future. Just someone shoots a zombie in the head and go, we're going to this place.

[00:07:59] Yeah, because it looked like those zombies coming outside with Sylvie, because the whole orchestra, because zombies are drawn to sound. So it drew some in and it looked like Sylvie and Laurent weren't going to be in trouble. And then Darryl just comes out and shoots one.

[00:08:11] Like, let's go. Come on. He shuts it down. He shuts that shit right down. And it made for a very enjoyable opening. I thought I didn't want to think about it too much in the logistics of how he got the zombies in those positions. But whatever.

[00:08:25] A cool visual. I'm sure Greg Nicotero had a great time. I mean, if we're okay with Princess, we kind of have to be okay with this. In my opinion. I mean, these zombies were playing instruments. She did the same thing. Maybe this is what the variants will be.

[00:08:38] Orchestral zombies. Yeah, they're trying to train them to carry on with humanity. I would love that to keep culture going. Wasn't there at least one where they were smart? And I think it was actually in fear where they had him on some kind of a treadmill or

[00:08:53] something pushing something around. To be correct, it was at the oil refinery. Yeah. I mean, they're perpetual motion machines. You could definitely get a good drum player out of that, I reckon. Okay, well, I'm going to talk about culture and art because I think that's beautiful at

[00:09:14] the core of this. And Paris is always artsy and cool, even in the zombie apocalypse. And that seems sort of maybe trite, but on second watch, I really felt the depth of that sentiment. Like, I think Norman Reedus fucking loved this episode. I think he's into art, right?

[00:09:38] He's an artist and he wanted to showcase what's special about Paris on a surface level, but on a spiritual level too. And the conversation between Daryl and Isabel in her apartment, I just loved.

[00:09:52] She says, there was a bar at the end of the street when the owner pulled the curtains, only the regulars were allowed to stay. Artists, musicians, students. And she said something in French and he goes, what does that mean? And she goes, reinventing the world.

[00:10:04] And I think that's sort of like what this kind of counterculture can be like. Like counterculture is about doing things where there's not really a template necessarily. You're ignoring regular culture and you're doing unfettered self-expression.

[00:10:26] And so that means that you can't really go through the motions of it because there are no prescribed motion. So whatever you're doing is more in the moment and real and alive. You know, at least that's my romanticized vision. It reminded me of Burning Man, this place.

[00:10:45] So it was really special to see that kind of a thing. Like whenever there's culture and art like that or self-expression music, glittery outfits, it's kind of a celebration. It's a hopeful thing to do. It just had a really good feeling to it.

[00:11:04] Even like going to Jim Morrison's grave and seeing there's still... Because if you go to Jim Morrison's grave in Pere Lachaise, the cemetery, you'll see a lot of roses there and booze and other things.

[00:11:19] And so to see that's still happening even in the zombie apocalypse, it's just this feeling of look, all the specialness in the world hasn't been stamped out by this whole thing. And so when Falou, this guy that they first meet... Loved him. He was great. Yeah.

[00:11:36] They take him to the Demimons and they have to go through the catacombs first, this underground passages lined with skulls and bones. It's very grim. And Daryl says, where are we? And Falou says, the catacombs brother among the remains of the 6 million who died in La

[00:11:48] Peste Noire, the Black Death. America is an infant, but here we survived many apocalypses. We will survive this one too. So going through this grim area of death that leads to this delightful club as he's delivering this dialogue is perfect because it's a metaphor for the whole thing.

[00:12:06] It's overcoming and persevering and then letting the spirit shine through. So then seeing the club, well, I've been talking a lot. Do you have something to say about this club in particular? For context, I'm sitting drinking some white wine in honor of Paris. It's actually Portuguese wine.

[00:12:23] So like, sorry, Paris, but it's still quite good. Yeah, I have a whole thing about the club because I think it's really interesting. So when I was reading... Vulture is covering Daryl Dixon this season, which is nice. I really like Vulture's TV reviews.

[00:12:39] And I was reading Lillia Murillo Thomas's review of this, and she was really taken, I think, with the Demi Monde. And she said something that really stood out to me, and people who listen to the podcast for a long time will kind of know why.

[00:12:53] She says, this is the first time really that we've seen Daryl in an urban space outside of a noisy apartment building at the Commonwealth that was still painfully local or around a subculture that doesn't involve skin suits or eating people.

[00:13:05] It's definitely the first time we've seen him in a queer space. I thought I saw a smile twitch and his shoulders relax, but it was too brief to gather any kind of meaningful analysis.

[00:13:15] And I think a lot of what you're saying about fringe society ties in a lot with queerness as well. And this was like the most openly creative and queer space we've ever seen in The Walking Dead.

[00:13:27] Like we've had loads of good LGBTQ characters and kind of across the shows, which has been really nice. But we've never seen a kind of fully fringe environment like this, and particularly trans and non-binary performers. Like they're drag queens. That was amazing.

[00:13:46] Like what I'm saying about counterculture, how it's all about not prescribing to any set thing, but it's more about just whatever's inside you. Let that come out. It's self-expression. And in whatever form that takes is okay.

[00:14:01] That really lends itself well to drag and queer, because if that's what you are, then this is the kind of space where you can feel free to let that show and celebrate it with pride. Definitely.

[00:14:13] And Demi Mong literally means a group…well, there's one meaning that's to do with skanky women. But the other meaning that I like is that it's a group of people on the fringes of respectable society. It literally means the half world.

[00:14:30] The original understanding of Demi Mong, I think, came from a book by Alexandre Dumas, who I don't think is buried in Père Lachaise, but he is buried in Paris. And it's about sex work and how that threatens marriage and kind of takes down society that way.

[00:14:46] And I think Demi Mong as a group of people who don't adhere to the norm and absorb this kind of counterculture is just really cool. I just loved it. I thought it was great. You said about having to go through the catacombs to get there.

[00:15:00] I hadn't really thought of it that way. That scene stood out to me for what he said about a mercha, he's an infant. But that idea of having to go through the death to get to the birth is so cool.

[00:15:12] And it ties in with what Isabelle says to Daryl about we were broken until the world ended sort of thing. That theme that the apocalypse brought out the best in Daryl, I think is a big thing with that character.

[00:15:26] Yeah, and I don't think I'm not getting on my bandwagon of by the way, Daryl's totally a gay man because I don't think that's the case. But I think it's interesting that he's always been coded quite asexual slash queer.

[00:15:39] Like he just had he just always been written, you know, a lot of time, but not all the time. Towards the end, they leaned into him having relationships with some women whose name I don't remember who definitely wasn't a terrible person. Traitorous dog. Yeah, traitorous dog women.

[00:15:55] But I thought it was nice to see him because one of the things I've liked about Daryl is you can do fish out of water with him, but he's very accepting of difference in terms of like, I always remember when he went for dinner with Eric and Aaron.

[00:16:12] You'd expect him, someone like Daryl, I guess, to be quite narrow minded, but actually he's very… Even threw out some slurs possibly. Yeah, exactly. I mean, you met Merle, right? And I think Daryl actually, that's probably what the writers had in mind when he first

[00:16:28] came on the scene, you know, maybe. But he's changed now and there is a part of me that's like, all right, you had to make your character who was more representative of the kind of flaws that we see in the real

[00:16:43] world, but you wanted him to be the coolest person ever possible. Fine. That's what he is now though. But there's also, I guess, an argument, isn't there? He would never have been able to… There's freedom in the apocalypse of like, he could never have behaved like that with

[00:16:59] Merle around. Yeah. They even talk about it in this episode where she's saying, he said, I never thought much back then and she said, you seem to be thinking all the time now and he said something about having changed. So they're aware that he's different. Absolutely.

[00:17:15] And I sent you an item for news about this as well, about Paloma who we see in the scene. Yeah, I have it already. So we can talk about that later. But yeah, I just, I thought it was great. I thought it was arty.

[00:17:27] I'm always with scenes like that. I'm always like, are we going to go full cantina band or is it going to be cool? And I think it was cool. I think it was cool. Yeah.

[00:17:36] So easy for that to just seem like not something that would really exist or something staged that felt staged. And I've been in spaces kind of like this. It really reminded me of Burning Man with all the art and music and ultra cool space

[00:17:56] and colorful characters and imaginative outfits. The glittery woman spinning in a hanging ring. I think I've met her, you know, I don't know. People in feathers and drag and booze and drugs, of course. And also even being a bit apocalyptic like Burning Man feels very apocalyptic.

[00:18:13] So I felt like, yeah, I want to go to this club. And I think the other cultural thing I liked was when they went to Père Lachaise, the cemetery. I loved the French version of People are Strange.

[00:18:26] But I liked that even Darryl, inverted commas, he was impressed by Jim Morrison's grave. And I was like, oh my God, is Darryl Jim Morrison? Is he the rock star? And I said, I quite liked how they're like, oh, he's an American rock star who came and

[00:18:38] died in Paris. And then Laurent is like, Monsieur Darryl, you will not die in Paris. And I was like, oh, that's kind of fun. I just like that line. I mean, Laurent is possibly full of shit. That was a bit prophetic sounding. Yeah.

[00:18:52] I mean, one of the things that bugs me about this episode that I thought was really funny was like the breadcrumbing of him going to the Eiffel Tower. He's like, if only I could see the Eiffel Tower.

[00:19:02] I'm like, you've seen it five times today, just from a distance, kid. And he's like, no, I want to go near it. And at the end when he disappears, I'm like, I wonder where he's gone. That's true.

[00:19:13] But what I loved about that is it sounded very poetic and romantic. You know, what it must be like to stand under the Eiffel Tower and look up and see the sky. And Darryl's like, so how about that radio? Yeah.

[00:19:25] He's like, it took two million rivets to make these. And Darryl's like, yeah, don't care. Fuck the pigeons. Where's the radio? Like, it's so funny. But yeah, I was like, they're really breadcrumbing this quite heavily that he's going to go to the Eiffel Tower.

[00:19:39] And I'm like, you know what, fine. But yeah, I really, yeah, the whole cultural side of it in this episode was off the scale. And I thought the Demi-Monde was just amazing. And I was very pleased that it was not the Demi-Monde that got wrecked because people

[00:19:53] were looking for Darryl. It was the rooftop settlement. I knew one of them was going to get wrecked. And I was like, oh, please don't be the nice, safe queer space. And it couldn't be because the whole point was Paris will always be Paris.

[00:20:07] And this was like a seed of loveliness or, you know, of life and spirit. And I'm glad they didn't crush that. Because it was kind of the point, right? It's still here. Ah, crush it. Yeah, exactly.

[00:20:21] And another aspect of this, it's a little bit of a stretch, but just celebrating everything that is special about Paris and how it relates to art, music and culture. Well, there also has to be romance because it's Paris.

[00:20:32] And so I just want to say a little bit about Sylvie and Eil flirting. His little boyfriend! Not on the run! He sees her and he's like, they're talking. And so did you always want to be a nun? And she goes, I never imagined anything else.

[00:20:47] And he goes, well, you never came to Paris. It's a good place to imagine. Which is basically saying, trying to talk her out of being a nun. I mean, he is so obviously going to die soon, but I love him.

[00:21:00] The line where he's like, my grandmother was an Argentinian refugee. She taught me to dance and to fight for freedom. I was like, oh my God. Two things. And then he twirls her. So that was lovely, right?

[00:21:12] That could also have not felt real, but this show is good at taking some of the, we've seen sort of similar kinds of things in The Walking Dead, but they just feel like we're watching a stage play or something like it.

[00:21:26] It's not something that feel, you can really feel it. But this show is good at letting you actually feel like, oh man, this space is so cool and this music is great.

[00:21:36] And we're like Laurent, who's just, or at least I was, like staring on it and kind of just taking it all in and transfixed by it. And the same thing with this little romantic exchange between these two. I really believed it.

[00:21:51] Oh, I really, I was thinking about, do you remember when we covered Anna and the Apocalypse and there was that little, the like music theater kids that really love each other. I'm like, oh my God, I hope the story differs.

[00:22:03] I don't want to spoil Anna and the Apocalypse, but they reminded me of those two. I also thought the, I'm just having a look at my notes here, the Monet having the water lilies from Musée d'Orsay there. I was like, that's cool.

[00:22:18] Because often in apocalypse dramas, the joke is like, it's worthless. So like, I'm thinking about Last Man on Earth with Will Forte. Like he's got the Declaration of Independence and I think he's using it as toilet roll.

[00:22:30] Like there's this joke of like, well, it's worth nothing because that's kind of true. But I also love that they've said, I think Isabel says they saved it. That's something like they, there's this recognition. The point is this stuff is worth something. Yeah. In this episode. Yeah.

[00:22:47] This art is worth something. It's a Claude Monet painting of water lilies, which he did many of and they've just got it right there. The Musée d'Orsay is amazing. I think it's the, is it the modern art museum?

[00:22:58] I can never remember what it's specifically for, but it's in an old, I want to say train station. I might be wrong. I've been to it one time in my life, but it was amazing. Yeah. It's fantastic. It's, it is the former Orsay railway station.

[00:23:13] I'm not making it up. There you go. I wonder if they considered having the Mona Lisa. So overrated, so overrated. It really is. Yeah. Darryl was like, it reminds me of home and I'm like, okay, he's doing like that art appreciation

[00:23:30] thing where you stare at a painting and feel something. Yeah. It's like, oh yeah, like at home we have water. When Merle and I used to walk amongst the water lilies. And shoot the frogs.

[00:23:45] One time when I was collecting ears for my necklace, I saw a frog and you're like, great story Darryl. That's awesome. You really get it. All right, let's move on. Do you want to go next or should I go?

[00:23:59] I've kind of covered, I think I've spoken to everything that you mentioned there. The only other thing was, yeah, I love the idea of surviving many apocalypses and the Pestonois, the black, black death being just one of them. That's like the bubonic plague. Is that what that is?

[00:24:17] Yes. Yeah. And it was a big problem throughout Europe for a period of about 200 years. It would come and go. One of the manuscripts I work on, well, the main manuscript I work on is actually a compilation

[00:24:28] that was done when the plague hit Edinburgh one of the times, not the worst time, but one of the times. Is it the Decameron? No, but it's very likely the Decameron. And yeah, everyone in Edinburgh got locked down and isolated and that was in the 1560s.

[00:24:45] So it was a rolling thing. It was like rolling lockdowns and rolling black plague. But I think Paris had it very badly. I think they lost a lot of population. Hence the catacombs. Yeah, I really want to go. Like they ran out of cemetery space.

[00:24:58] I really want to read about the locations that they met because that was definitely Père Lachaise. I do think they maybe blew all their budget on getting into those places though because some of the CGI is a bit ropey and some of the blue screen.

[00:25:10] I'm like, but is it worth it to have Père Lachaise in the catacombs? Probably. Yeah. But yeah, you go ahead. Absolutely. Okay. So this kind of flows into my next point, which is map stuff slash travel logistics slash tourist attractions.

[00:25:28] So we were talking about Darrell saying he was looking for a radio and I'm like, isn't he looking for a ship and just piecing it all together? It sounds like he's just looking for any way to try to get information about whether

[00:25:38] there's a ship that can go to America. And also we were talking about why they took another route instead of going through Paris. Darrell said Paris, that's a straight shot. And Isabel said, Ange will be safer. There's a man there with the radio.

[00:25:53] He can connect us to our people in the north. I'm not sure why they don't just go to Lavre where the port is. But anyway, the point is that Isabel didn't want to go through Paris because she's got bad memories there. And also she's probably right.

[00:26:07] Any city you would think would probably be good to be avoided in the zombie apocalypse you would think. I wondered if Jeunet holds Lavre so that they would need some help get there in illicit means but it's stretching it. Yeah. I mean, it does make sense.

[00:26:27] You have to kind of reason it out that way. You don't just go there and think that you're going to see a ship and be like, can you take me to America? Maybe you need some help with that. It's not an American tale. He's not Fievel.

[00:26:36] But it seems like he got over here, over there. Kind of close to how Fievel did. But if you look at a map of Paris, you can see the route they ended up taking was pretty zigzaggy.

[00:26:52] They start in Marseille on the south coast of France, went to Angers with the zombie orchestra which is about 530 miles or 850 kilometers to the northwest. And then Angers to Paris is about 185 miles or 300 kilometers northeast from there.

[00:27:12] But Paris would have been more direct as Darrell said, Marseille directly to Paris is only 480 miles. So they went about 235 miles or 380 kilometers out of the way to see the zombie orchestra. And the reviews were not good. Not so good, but you got to try.

[00:27:32] And then by the way, once they get up to Paris, it's only there are only 125 miles or 200 kilometers from Lavre. So they're like 85% of the way there already. So it's not like they have a whole bunch more ground to cover in the next three episodes.

[00:27:48] We're halfway through by the way. I know, how mad is that? I'm guessing they're going to be in Paris for at least another episode or two. Yeah, I think you're right. It would be a shame if they just dipped in and out.

[00:28:02] And then also I was thinking this is nitpicky, but I've been to Paris like three times and coming up from the south, I thought maybe it wasn't realistic that they just passed through Père Lachaise because it's kind of to the northeast, more to the east edge

[00:28:17] of Paris. And I was thinking the catacombs, which I've been to, it's not really that close to that. But then again, I looked it up and there's like a mile of catacombs open to the public

[00:28:31] for tours, but there are as many as three to 500 kilometers of catacombs under Paris that aren't people aren't allowed to go to, but in the zombie apocalypse you can. So maybe there's one right next to Père Lachaise. I don't know. I mean, they must be huge.

[00:28:43] They kind of skipped all over the city, you know? I mean, they walked past Panthéon at one point. And that's like five miles away. Yeah, that's like I went there for a conference once and it's like near the left bank maybe.

[00:28:56] Paris is, I cannot emphasize enough, Paris is huge. Like Paris is like almost as big as London, I think. Like it's enormous. Yeah, but if they're going to travel that many miles, they might as well see the sights.

[00:29:07] Yeah, I guess it's part of Daryl not like, well, I'm here. I mean, they made it like they naturally would have just passed through Père Lachaise, but I think they're like, forget logistics. We want to look.

[00:29:18] I mean, like if you're going to show sights of Paris in a zombie apocalypse show, the catacombs and Père Lachaise are perfect because they're both really grim and also beautiful, you know? I think. The catacombs are gorgeous in a really macabre way.

[00:29:36] I think that the only way they kind of justify Père Lachaise is that it's where Balu is based, but even then it's like, oh yeah, that's where they meet him. Yeah, yeah. That's where they were. I mean, that was their destination. Yeah, that is an excellent point.

[00:29:53] Yeah, I'm done. You're right. But so I just want to say a little bit about the catacombs. They're underground ossuaries, which is like the final resting place for bones of the dead built in the late 1700s as part of the effort to eliminate the city's overflowing cemeteries

[00:30:08] in large part because of the black plague, I think. Mostly they were forgotten about until the early 19th century when people started holding concerts and private events there for the novelty of it. So I guess that was based on truth. Like people thought, oh, that's cool.

[00:30:23] Let's have parties in the catacombs. Yeah, yeah. They did it in this episode. And then Pere Lachaise is a cemetery where Jim Morrison's grave is. And that's why they played the French version of People are Strange because that's a Dora song, people are strange.

[00:30:40] If you guys didn't know that. I wonder how many people listening don't know this stuff. I always assume people know everything I know, but I don't think that's always true. No, I think it's good to go over it though. Yeah, yeah.

[00:30:50] And then I was thinking, would Darrell actually be a Morrison fan? I think it's plausible, but I feel like he would more like death metal or something or I don't know. I think you'd know who Jim Morrison was.

[00:31:03] I don't know if he would be a fan, but it's a bit of a cultural thing. Like I knew neither of my parents were Dora's fans, but I always knew that. Like it's also quite a mythology around Jim Morrison being buried in Paris.

[00:31:18] I think it's one of the big things that you know. But yeah, I know what you mean. I am like, would that be Darrell's first piece of music? But I could see Norman Reedus totally being a fan. And it's the largest cemetery in Paris, 144 acres or 44 hectares.

[00:31:36] And lots of famous people are buried there. Frederic Chopin is the grave that I most wanted to see outside of Jim Morrison. Also, Marcel Proust, the novelist, Marcel Proust, the mime Marcel Marceau, playwright Oscar Wilde, writer Gertrude Stein, among others.

[00:31:54] And if you get a chance to go to Paris, I would definitely, especially this audience, go there. It's so beautiful. I spent hours walking through it. It's like a maze. And I was there when I was at Walker Stalker Con doing Walking Dead panels.

[00:32:07] So this feels like a full circle kind of thing. You did. You went off to... I think the first time I met you, you were off to Paris like the next day or something after Walker Stalker. Can we do Walker Stalker Paris if it ever came back?

[00:32:19] Can we do a Zed headcone Paris? I think Paris is too cool for that. I know. Can we throw a site? I don't think so, guys. Oh, damn. No, I don't know. Maybe not. And then the last thing, just seeing the decay of the city is morbidly beautiful.

[00:32:35] The military helicopter crashed into the top of the Eiffel Tower. So the tip is gone. I bet you will see a close up of that next time. And the Pantheon monument, like you said, which looks like a Capitol building.

[00:32:47] But I noticed the big cloth sign hanging off of it that says Fouillé, which means run away. I wanted to look up. I didn't get a chance to. I wanted to look up if Quinn's office was...

[00:33:00] If the Demi-Monde and Quinn's office was a specific place because he gives a bit of history to it about Vichy France. And it sounded really interesting, but also plausible that you could just say that about

[00:33:09] the Eiffel Tower, which was a sort of a four-year-old building in France at that time. It's great. It's just such a feast for the eyes. And it's just really, like I said, really makes me want to go on vacation.

[00:33:21] And I know, I mean, you'll hear this when we do listener feedback next time, but we have, I think Tiffany is like, yeah, I'm from France. I don't have the same feelings that you guys do about all this stuff because I've seen it a lot.

[00:33:34] I get the same thing. Like a lot of films now, the two places they tend to film are Vancouver and Glasgow, both of which I know quite well. So like I'll be sitting watching, like I don't know, the new Batman films, Robert Pattinson and I'm like, that's Glasgow.

[00:33:48] That's a square in Glasgow. I've been there. That's a nightclub. So it's quite, it is quite strange when you're watching something that you like, no. But for me, I have a different feeling. Like when I see things set in San Francisco where I live, I'm like, oh, cool.

[00:34:05] I still think it's cool. It's not like, it's not the same kind of feeling. But yeah. No. Yeah. It's always like, it's interesting. I think it's for me, as I find it harder to suspend disbelief when it's supposed to be somewhere else. I'm like, that's a good point.

[00:34:17] Yeah, for sure. Like I watching The Last of Us and I love the game set in Boston because Boston is one of my favorite cities. I've lived there for a couple of years and I was like, I don't, watching the show, I don't recognize these buildings.

[00:34:35] Maybe it's a part that I, and then I found out it was filmed somewhere else. I'm like, yeah, that's Edmonton, which is like a prairie city in Alberta. All right. What's next? We spent a little bit of time with Jeanne.

[00:34:51] Is the woman Jeanne or does she work for the organization Jeanne? She's Jeanne. Okay. And we don't know. I thought it's probably her last name, but that's all we know. Amazing French smoking roll up cigarette. I mean, they really leaned into it. Cool.

[00:35:06] I liked the scene that she had with Codron as she was walking in, Peter went, I didn't understand what you were saying. He went, this is Three Circles, right? And I was like, what? He was talking about something like really like storytelling and like abstract.

[00:35:19] And he's like, no, this is like the Three Circles people. And I'm like, oh, the CRM. And he's like, oh yeah, that's what it's called. We don't know that yet. No, I think this is like a French CRM, but the world's too divided to.

[00:35:34] I mean, I don't know. Maybe. Yeah. I was a bit like. This is Pouvoir du Vivant. Pouvoir du Vivant. Which is, which is, uh, yeah, that's the name of this organization. Pouvoir du Vivant. I think the house is called Mother's House, Maison Mere.

[00:35:52] Well, I looked that up and apparently that just means headquarters. Oh, that's cool. It seems like a double meaning because she's the woman running it. The nuns being bondsieurs as well. So we hear a little bit about Codron.

[00:36:08] He was recruited into the cause by someone who probably goes around France recruiting people like Codron. His face tattoo is part of that recruitment. So it wasn't a fashion choice. Which I didn't realize before. Yeah. And I guess it's that symbol. How come no one else has one?

[00:36:22] Do they not? Yeah, I guess not. So when you watch the opening sequence, which I'll talk a little bit more about later, but when you see those da Vinci-esque drawings, you see that symbol on there too. So that's Pouvoir du Vivant.

[00:36:36] I enjoyed his, the phrase, the American made me a liar. Like he's just sad that his brother is dead. And I thought like he promised his parents that he would look after his brother and that

[00:36:48] sort of connects him with Isabelle who promised that her sister that she would look after Laurent. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. I loved the guy they cast as the mad scientist. He looked like a little cartoon drawing of a scientist from the 1950s.

[00:37:06] Like with his grey hair and his like crazy eyes. And his lab jacket. What were they doing to that Zed? Like what were they trying to do? So the clues we get are, they say 18 seconds and that's assuming the amount of time it

[00:37:22] took them from whatever they were doing for the Zed to smoosh itself on the window. It seemed to be going quicker. It seemed to be more aggressive. It looked to me like its head might have exploded a bit. Yes, I think so.

[00:37:35] I don't think that was just slamming his head against the window. I think it kind of exploded in bits like blood zits or something. So are they trying to find a way to mass kill all the Zeds?

[00:37:46] Are they trying to find a way to make them more powerful? Like I'm intrigued. I'm not going to lie, but I would have liked a bit more, a bit more to chew on. I think, I think that's, well I think that's right where they want us.

[00:38:00] To be like what is going on here? Imagine if they were the good guys all along. They're like, oh we're just doing this so we can help everyone. And it's like, oh, okay. I think they think they are the good guys. I don't know.

[00:38:11] Well, I have a whole point on this group. Should I just go and do it? Ooh yeah, go for it. Okay. So, Pouvoir du Vivant or Power of the Living. They're a French paramilitary organization led by Jeunet.

[00:38:25] Isabelle says it's a movement that started after the outbreak when she's, they talking about the sign. Yeah, they recruited survivors. They seemingly control a lot of France because Quinn says they're allowing him to use this space in Paris. And also Isabelle says they're based in Paris.

[00:38:43] But they've got guys all the way down in Marseilles, you know, and up in the port in the north too. So it seems like they kind of control all of France. They experiment on or with Zeds.

[00:38:57] When Codon is telling his story about how he was recruited into this and he hasn't even met Jeunet yet, but now he's devoted himself to her cause. Feels like a bit of a cult of personality kind of thing.

[00:39:08] But as, what did Isabelle say that in times of desperation people are drawn to order or something? And then Daryl said, and also God. And I'm like, zing! But Codon said that the person recruiting him said they would make the world right again.

[00:39:29] So I'm like, yeah, what does that mean? Like impose order on the world? Like the empire in Star Wars or what? Because it's all a paramilitary, you know, it's very organized and top down kind of thing. He plays Daryl's audio tape for her.

[00:39:48] I'm like, wow, that was the dumbest thing. Never do an audio journal. Yeah, that's the lesson for today kids. As we podcast our 12,000 hour. Our lives to the world. So the experimentation part. So the zombies chain to a lab, scientists take notes.

[00:40:09] You hear machines beeping like they're taking measurements or something that starts twitching. It ripped a chain from the wall. So I think that shows it's exceptionally strong and then its head seemed to explode.

[00:40:20] And I think she was checking on the progress to see how, I think what I take is they did something to this zombie to make it stronger, but whatever they did also made its head exploded in 18 seconds. And they're trying to make it not explode.

[00:40:35] That's my take on it. If you look at the intro sequence, that shot of this textbook open to this page featuring this Da Vinci diagram, I think it's of a zombie now and there's a bunch of notes and one says control a la mode or control the dead.

[00:40:57] And there's a note that says Uber, which is like super Zed. No, it's actually a lift chair company. They're trying to program the zombies to take people around on their backs or pull carts or something.

[00:41:12] So and then there's also some French saying something like in that notebook, if we know how to something, the heart, it will spread more quickly. I don't really know what that means. But it's as we mentioned in World Beyond, another Walking Dead spin off, there was an indication

[00:41:28] that the zombie apocalypse started because of something going on in French labs. And then they somehow made it worse, maybe by creating more dangerous or powerful variants. So maybe Janae and her scientists started the zombie apocalypse or, but I don't think so because their group formed afterwards.

[00:41:45] So maybe they stole the zombie research and now they're using it for own purposes. Whatever they're doing, it seems like they're trying to make Uber Zeds and they want to use them to make the world right again.

[00:41:55] I'm like, dude, if you can recruit soldiers, maybe you should just use them. It seems a bit silly and maybe it's that's because I don't have it exactly right what the hell is going on. But I'm curious.

[00:42:04] Because in World Beyond, they're trying to find out more about the Zeds themselves. As far as we know, we don't know that they're trying to weaponize them per se. Yeah, I got the sense they're trying to like find a cure and figure out how to neutralize them. Right.

[00:42:21] And then this guy comes in with a gun and he's mad saying you started this and then you made it worse. And then there was an article that suggested maybe that guy was from Pouvoir du Vivant.

[00:42:30] But then I'm like, if he's mad at them and maybe I don't know. I don't really know how it all connects. But I feel like we're not really well, maybe this is me trying to make myself not seem

[00:42:42] so dumb, but I feel like we're not really supposed to know right now. But if listeners have more of an idea, I would love to know your theories. This is a thing where you can send in theories about. Definitely.

[00:42:53] It leads quite nicely into my point, because I was going to talk a little bit about going back to Isabelle's apartment and the end of that is, I think variant Zeds because they get up after they've smooshed. They move quicker.

[00:43:06] They're herky jerky, but they move more like speedier. Love it! Herky jerky! I picked that up from you. I said it the other day in like organic conversation. I was like, herky jerky? Where did I get that from? But they were, they were herky jerky.

[00:43:20] And one of them had boiler. What did they call them? Burner. Burner blood. I was a bit confused as to why Isabelle was being so flippin useless. She was just standing there like, horrified. Yeah. Well, I don't know if she's had much practice. That is true.

[00:43:35] Maybe she's just been in the abbey not having to deal with them. I don't know. Fair, fair. She has been cloistered. This is going to be a weird thing to say, but how cute was that little girl zombie? I thought she was really sweet. I know.

[00:43:50] It was sad though. It was so sad. And when she looked back, Isabelle and the little zombies like reaching out, but almost like, don't leave me again. And she'd been there so long that like vines had grown over her.

[00:44:01] It was just so sad, but she was such a cute. I don't know. They just, they did a really good job of humanizing her. Like I don't know. There's just something about her where I was like, oh, yeah, I thought adorable and sad

[00:44:13] when the zombies started falling out the windows. It reminded me of Dead City. It's like, okay, that's an urban hazard. Apparently you make noise in a city in the ZA, you get ratings ads.

[00:44:24] And then when they came up fast and they looked, I always say this, but I thought they looked really good. The zombies in this episode for the most part and the way they moved. And I just love that whole sequence. It was cool.

[00:44:36] The courtyard and I loved the natural world creeping back. So like the ivy is grown over the doors and that's what the problem is to get out. It's not something manmade and strange. It's like the city regrowing almost. I just thought that was really cool.

[00:44:52] And Daryl thought really fast and used the acid to take out the ivy. I don't know if he, like he stabbed the zombie through the chest so as not to kill it. So then he could rub it against the ivy, but maybe he could have still killed it.

[00:45:08] And also, I don't know, maybe he needed it to kind of help him. I don't know. There was like sort of a kebab maneuver going on. But he thought fast and it was clever. Yeah, and I loved him.

[00:45:20] I loved seeing Isabella's apartment again to revisit it and see how people have squatted there. There's clearly been a lot of people who've passed through it. Isabelle and Daryl get great dialogue like they get quite barbed slash funny exchanges. I loved I wasn't always a nun.

[00:45:38] Yeah, I can see that. I liked Beats the View from my old house because I think what we're seeing is the Sacre Coeur which is the church in Montmartre. By the way, Isabelle must have been quite doing quite well with her thieving to live that near to Montmartre.

[00:45:52] But good for her. And also when he says that she upgraded with God from her terrible boyfriend. I am satisfied that Quinn was her boyfriend. Yeah, from that picture thing where they sat in the photo with probably boyfriend and drug dealer.

[00:46:08] Ah, and fucking called it that he was the father of the child. Like oh my god imagine you find out your child in the apocalypse is freaking Laurent. I can do an apocalypse kill in three seconds.

[00:46:19] Yeah, there was a joke about the noisy neighbors, the neighbor on the balconies. I liked something that they did in The Walking Dead and one of my favorite episodes. Claire is that Cara wanted to get a picture of Laurie to show Judith when she grew up.

[00:46:35] And I like that Isabelle thought it was important to get a picture of Lily. It does make me wonder if Laurent does actually know that Isabelle is his aunt because we assumed it was a secret. But she's open about the fact she knew his mom.

[00:46:49] Well she had a whole story about his parents. But yeah, I'm still unclear about whether or not he knows that Isabelle is his aunt. I feel like not just because a big part of the whole story is they just lie to this poor kid.

[00:47:04] Yes, they just tell him all sorts of shit and he's like okay. Hidden goodies in the fireplace, watches, drugs, jewelry. All of which could still be valuable in the apocalypse. The drugs maybe. I'm pretty sure the drugs would be totally potent-less 12 years later.

[00:47:22] I looked up cocaine and it says after two years it loses its potency and it's not even considered like an illicit substance anymore. But I don't know about whatever else was in there. Don't tell the lads at the Demimond.

[00:47:40] There was a sweet moment with them talking about reinventing the world and being someone who was always thinking. And I like the way that it highlighted how different Daryl's path has been because Daryl would never have hung out with intellectuals at a cafe debating politics and science and

[00:47:55] the end of the world. But somehow he is, and rightly so, one of the ultimate survivors of it. And he sees himself as not a thinker and Isabelle's like no I think you're someone who was always thinking and I think she's probably right.

[00:48:09] I think he is someone who thinks and observes and feels quite deeply and though he is impulsive at times. And yeah generally I just really liked that sequence and I like that Isabelle got a new jumper slash sweater from the wardrobe.

[00:48:24] Yeah you can see if any clothes are still left. Yeah I mean why not? Yeah I like that whole thing in the apartment. I'm glad they went back there. It made me realize why they showed the girl in the first place.

[00:48:35] I should have known that she was going to be a zombie eventually. I particularly liked the dialogue between them, some of which I quoted before about you know art and music and stuff and the bar that only let the regulars in.

[00:48:49] But then the part you just mentioned where about thinking and you seem like someone who's always thinking and he says no I don't know things happen, things that change you you know. And she said maybe we're the same that way broken until the world ended.

[00:49:04] And I just felt like this was a moment where they kind of became closer, they connected in a way where they're not just seeing each other other than just a means to an end for each other.

[00:49:17] You know at least especially her with him she really was like I'm glad we met and he's resisting a little bit more because that's how he is but it was just kind of a nice little connecting moment for them. Yeah I thought so.

[00:49:29] I still don't see it as romantic but I don't know I like it. I like that dynamic and Daryl is capable of having good friendships with people of the opposite sex so like I'm here for it.

[00:49:39] It's much easier for him to do that I think than to romance. And Isabel I think must have had quite a lonely life after losing her sister so it makes sense to me that she's feeling attached. Well she's been a nun too.

[00:49:49] Yeah, yeah hanging out with all the bonsoirs. Cool. Okay talk a little bit about wheeling and dealing with Quinn. Adam Nagaitis great actor glad he's in this really enjoy him. Yeah I mean I don't have the same attachment to him as you guys who've seen him in other

[00:50:11] things so to me just hearing other people's reaction to him made me look at him a little differently like okay now I'm expected I'm expecting to be more impressed with this guy than I was in the first episode where he just seemed like a typical douchebag right.

[00:50:28] Here he comes off so cool he's just kind of casually ordering people around and also ignoring people which they're trying to get his attention and he just sort of offhandedly will say something

[00:50:40] and just keep walking or come with me and doesn't wait to see if they're coming because he knows they will kind of thing. He's good at playing that vibe of the boss. But after the homing pigeon Daryl wants a radio like I want a real radio.

[00:50:56] Sorry are homing pigeons a thing in the US as well? I don't I'm sure there's people who like play around with them as hobbies but they're famous more in Europe I think. Yeah I feel like it's quite a British English thing to have homing pigeons but it's big

[00:51:13] in Europe as well so I just wondered if like in America you'd be like what the fuck are they doing over there but like yeah it is legit a thing it's just a bit weird for this context.

[00:51:24] Homing pigeons I read have been used for going back to ancient times I think but in Paris in the French Revolution in World War One and World War Two so I mean France I shouldn't say not Paris. There you go.

[00:51:40] But anyways so Falou knows people they can trade with but they need something valuable which is why they go get the drugs and Department of Subvention just believe there. And then yeah he finds the pictures of Quinn that seems like it's her boyfriend and she

[00:51:58] says I was young and very stupid. And then when they get to the club and you don't know it's his club although I was spoiled on that I read it. They're dealing with some other guys over on the table at the side and they want to

[00:52:14] see what they've got to trade and they may or may not have information it felt very cantina from Star Wars dealing with Han Solo to get passage to Alderaan because they are looking for a ship you know. It kind of felt like that.

[00:52:28] And then Daryl got spooked and I and wanted to leave and I didn't quite get it like he looked over at another guy that seemed they seem to be giving signals back and forth but I was looking did does that guy have a face tattoo.

[00:52:41] I don't think he did so I wasn't sure why Daryl just wanted to suddenly call off the whole deal. Did you get that atmosphere seemed to change quite quickly. Yeah I think it was just the I don't know it seemed to be just the kind of language

[00:52:55] the vibes. Yeah. I had vibes. Yeah. And then Quinn shows up and calms thing down. So then I thought oh the presence of this guy and this whole environment. I was thinking about Isabel this could like bring up old habits or ways of thinking or

[00:53:12] being or feeling for her. You know how it is sometimes when you've healed from something and then you go back into that environment you may relapse or feel bad about yourself but she declined the champagne so she seems like she's staying strong. She knows who she is. Yeah.

[00:53:28] And then Quinn tells her he's going to ask around and see we can find out about passage to America and she says we have things to trade and he goes well that would be insulting

[00:53:37] so you just think okay he considers her a friend he's going to help her. But then I was a little confused about this next part too she tells Quinn that her sister

[00:53:45] has the son and he's mad that she didn't tell him he had a son but she didn't even know he and her sister slept together. Yeah. As you're telling her that you cheated on her.

[00:53:58] I wonder if he assumed that Lily had told her like that was it all but I was a bit like why would she know. Like I wondered. He just seems like a gaslighter to me like you're a narcissist.

[00:54:10] Yeah and the way they played it I wondered if she'd started to suspect when she's like get Laurent away move him back to her. I did wonder if she but then she did seem genuinely shocked when she found that out and I was like.

[00:54:23] What are you talking about she said. She never said and then he's getting all his vibe changed and he's like up in her business saying he saved her and he uncovers the marks on her arm and apparently he pulled her out

[00:54:36] of a bathtub bleeding when she cut her wrists. But how much of her doing that had to do with him in her life anyway we don't know. He seems like he would have been a pretty crap partner.

[00:54:46] Yeah then he says you want me to help you you know the terms and I'm like what are the terms that she'll give him Laurent. Okay give him Laurent. And why does he want this kid. I honestly like it was a little vague right.

[00:55:04] Yeah I didn't really and then Darrell's like forget this and I'm like what is your understanding of this Darrell are you just seeing that he's vibe has changed so you're like let's get

[00:55:12] out of here or do you know what he wants because I'm not sure exactly what he wants. I didn't know if he just wanted her to tell Laurent that he was his father or that he wanted to keep him or what.

[00:55:21] No I think it was access to the kid. But I was a bit like yeah sure let him spend half an hour with him and see how much he likes it and then if he really does like him after that we'll discuss it but this kid's a lot.

[00:55:33] He's kind of a lot. We love him. She's like okay you can have him and he's like oh I just wanted you to tell him that I'm his father and she's like no you can have him. You can have him that's fine hope you like Rubik's cubes.

[00:55:44] He's like what no what come back. She's like I'm off to the nunnery. But yeah it seemed to be access to and kind of a relationship with his son was my understanding of it anyway. Which man they could have handled that conversation a lot better.

[00:56:01] It really was very poorly communicated. Oh can I meet him versus you fucking owe me. Yeah you fucking owe me a child. She's like what? Huh? That wasn't very smooth and I felt like it could have been written a little better to

[00:56:14] make a little more sense but whatever. So then she's mad at Daryl. That was confusing too. She says I asked you for help because I needed it. I didn't need a hero I never did. And it's like well you kind of needed a hero.

[00:56:27] So you did fuck all with those zombies mate but yes. But yeah she's saying I didn't want you to step in with Quinn I guess. She's just I think she really was thrown off balance by him and she's kind of taking it out on Daryl.

[00:56:40] She apologizes later and wants Daryl to stay and everything. It seems like he's been a controlling partner in the past and it's majorly triggered her seeing him and finding all that. And so then Kodron shows up at the Demi-Mon looking for Daryl and that's when we find

[00:56:57] out Quinn has an agreement with J'Nai that he can operate this club. Then later Kodron's guys break in so I think the implication is that Quinn sold out. He let them in right? We don't know for sure but.

[00:57:12] He definitely tipped them off to where Daryl was I think. Yeah yeah didn't like Daryl. And then Daryl screams out get Laurent meet me back at your place and then there's that

[00:57:23] fight with Kodron where he almost kills him choking him but then the guys fire so it disrupts it and then Daryl falls through the roof. The end. The end. Imagine if Daryl died oh wait no that will literally never ever happen.

[00:57:40] I mean I always think about that scene with Beth where she says he's going to be the last man standing. Yeah you're like yeah probably. Yeah. What else? If people are looking for Adam Nagaitis where to start The Terror is great and Chernobyl

[00:57:57] also good but The Terror is the first thing I saw him in a kind of serious role. It was very good. Was that scary? The Terror psychologically yes. I'd be really interested to know what you think of it.

[00:58:13] We were talking about it the other day in relation to Adam Nagaitis and I was saying we watched it when we first moved over to Canada and we didn't really have any friends. It was like very snowy outside and we watched very snowy The Terror.

[00:58:25] I don't know if I could have watched it during the pandemic because it's quite claustrophobic and locked down but there's some great actors in it. Jared Harris and Kieran Hines. It's really worth watching. Yeah Isabelle and Quinn interesting dynamics.

[00:58:41] I think we're going to find out a bit more about that. I didn't really understand why Laurent had such an extreme reaction to what he overheard because what he overheard was Isabelle saying she doesn't believe in coincidences, Daryl

[00:58:56] saying make something up you're good at it which is a bit of a sick burn, her saying everything about Laurent's birth was horrible, him asking her when you're going to tell him

[00:59:04] about Quinn and putting forward that he might just be a regular kid who got lucky and lived rather than the Messiah and that just causes this like I hate you both and then he like runs off possibly to the Eiffel Tower.

[00:59:17] I didn't think, I don't know, I didn't feel like they revealed that much. I mean maybe the stuff about Quinn. We don't even know what he heard exactly either but even if we can presume he heard and understood

[00:59:29] everything, let's say that, then he found out that she'd lied to him about his father and then it was Quinn. But Daryl saying you should tell him the truth and then Laurent's like I hate you both and

[00:59:46] if I was Daryl I'd be like hey, I said she should tell you the truth. Like man, this kid, he whack, his hormones all over the place. He's had a day, he's off to the Eiffel Tower to work through some shit.

[00:59:59] I was sad to see the rooftop community get destroyed, thought it was really cute. We find out that there's 64 people there, the 64th member is a baby who was born recently. My first thought when I saw it was that's going to get wrecked.

[01:00:12] It looked not dissimilar to one of the communities we saw in Dead City and I kind of liked that because like urban setups might be formed in similar ways even in different countries.

[01:00:22] It reminded me a little bit of the community at the stadium, I don't know if it was a stadium but in Fear the Walking Dead season 3 that they found this big collective like market or something. Yes, I remember that.

[01:00:40] I like the line we all have a person who waits for us somewhere. I love the idea of carrier pigeons carrying urgent messages and I just thought that was really interesting and funny.

[01:00:51] He said we all have someone who waits for us and then Daryl looked down kind of contemplative. Who do you think he was thinking about? At first it seemed like he was like not me but then I'm like no, no, he has people.

[01:01:05] He has a lot of people. Yeah Judith probably and Carol too. Maybe RJ but I don't know if he remembers. Oh yeah, RJ, he exists. That per kid man, he's interesting. The mythology of Laurent continues to bewilder me a little bit.

[01:01:28] Like Falou being like you are the one and these people giving him gifts and him going to help. I've just written help some sad women which is probably a bit undercutting poor Sonia's arc of being widowed and being sad about it.

[01:01:40] And Isabel, I don't know, my hackles went up a bit when Daryl's like that's a lot to put on a kid and she says God chooses our burdens. I'm like… Yeah, I mean that thing about when Daryl says to her maybe he's just a normal kid and

[01:01:57] you need him to be this other thing or whatever he said right? That's kind of what I was saying about Isabel last week that how much of this is just her being selfish like putting all of this on him because she wants it to be her purpose

[01:02:08] to help the Messiah. And so she's putting this poor kid in dangerous situations dragging him across a zombie infested country to fulfill this thing that she has inside of her. Yeah, so yeah that's my kind of thoughts on the rooftop company. I enjoyed…

[01:02:23] I've been using this app called Notion to do my notes and it lets you do toggle headings which I like. And my last bit about the roof I've written back on the roof do rooftop boogaloo which is…

[01:02:34] I just thought it was funny so I thought I'd share that with the group. The rooftop chase was kind of cool, lots of jumping and shooting. I'm going to get a bit annoyed if there's another Codron Daryl fight where they just

[01:02:46] are stopped from someone being killed by some happenstance of someone shooting at them or whatever but it was still quite entertaining to watch. And yeah, interesting finish with the roof caving in. Hope Daryl's okay.

[01:03:00] I'm sure he will be but he might be very badly injured so we'll see. So I actually thought about Laurent. The more we watch this the more I think you're right that the central relationship in this series is Daryl and Isabelle.

[01:03:18] And Laurent is a prominent character but it's not like The Last of Us where it's Joel and Ellie, you know? It's not Daryl and Laurent. It's Daryl and Isabelle. Yeah, I think so. And I like that.

[01:03:30] That's one thing that differentiates it from The Last of Us for all you haters out there. But people are reacting to Laurent as if he's their savior and a religious figure starting with Falou but all throughout the episode, you know, they know of him already.

[01:03:48] And I thought that was an interesting dynamic and the way that the actor plays it, I think he's really good actually. He's not nervous about it. He doesn't shrink away from it but he also isn't full of himself about it either which

[01:04:07] actually does make it feel even more like there could be something to it which I think is what the show wants us to feel, you know? He has a depth and a stillness to him that feels pretty natural and you could see people

[01:04:20] who want to believe that he's the messiah easily being able to believe that. So that's good. Then when he goes up and hugs this woman Sonia whose husband died and she smiles and Falou says, Parisian was right.

[01:04:33] And then when he tells Daryl you will not die in Paris and but he's also still kid like like when he's in the Demi-Monde and he's transfixed by the singer and he's like trying to talk to her and everything. I think he's good. Yeah.

[01:04:46] Yeah, I think he's going on a little journey which I like. Yeah. Reading about Laurent's namesake Saint Laurent, he usually is called Saint Lawrence I learned in other cultures and Lawrence is another name for Larry. So now I think of this kid as Larry. Larry. Little Larry.

[01:05:09] All right, let's get into some notes. Let's get into notes. I enjoyed the… So Adam Nogaitis' accent is Northern. It's from Lancashire. He's from Lancashire and I did like that he greeted the boy with hello lad which is just quite an old fashioned way of greeting a child.

[01:05:32] So that really made me laugh. Also his waistcoat was very extra and I enjoyed that little costuming decision there. I think my overall thoughts were that Paris as a setting is really fucking cool and once

[01:05:47] again we have wrecked another community just by one of our group being there and that is something that we should all really think about. Absolutely, but they won't. They won't. They'll just keep doing it. Just keep turning up. The Walking Dead, toujours sera the Walking Dead.

[01:06:05] Oh I did also… I thought it was funny that… funny slash annoying that all anyone can say about Laurent's mom from the photo is like oh she was so pretty and I'm like yeah that is her worth but it's

[01:06:16] understandable because all they have is an image of her so of course they're going to say that she's really pretty. Yeah and for me when he said that I thought oh that's a nice old fashioned thing to say

[01:06:28] that I know a lot of people are going to hate but I thought it was nice. But even the nightclub singer is like she's very beautiful and I'm like wait until you find out she fucked her husband.

[01:06:40] What if Darryl said oh she's very pretty and Laurent's like that's problematic. Yeah, you know he would though. He would say that. You know who would? Alden. Alden would say that. Alden. Fucking Alden. Alden and Laurent. Alden and Laurent.

[01:06:54] Oh my god Alden is the guardian that Laurent needs. They'd have a great time. He's gone unfortunately. Oh Alden. So a few notes I loved when they're in Isabelle's apartment and Darryl's like oh we should get

[01:07:09] going and opens the door and sees zombies right there close to the door. Yeah. Ah crap. No can't go that way. That was almost like something out of a naked gun movie or something. Literally yes.

[01:07:23] When Fallu says that early into the ZAA a military helicopter crashed into the Eiffel Tower and knocked the tip off and he says when the wind blow the metal groans and earlier

[01:07:36] he said I think that was the noise they heard when he said Paris is crying and I'm like that's so very Parisian. That whole poetic metaphor. Paris is crying. And like Scotland would be like I don't know what the fuck that is. It's just noise man. So annoying.

[01:07:52] Fuck that. So Darryl confirms that the nest will take Isabelle and Laurent the rest of the way where they're headed which is also called the nest because later Laurent asks Sylvie what it's like to be at the nest.

[01:08:04] So it seems like the nest is maybe the name for this whole group but also their headquarters up north maybe. I like that because if their headquarters is as we suspect in Mont Saint-Michel it does look kind of like a nest. Yeah and it's probably an infested nest.

[01:08:20] Yeah. Yeah. An infested nest. An infest nest. In Resident Evil nest is an underground lab run by the evil corporation Umbrella that creates zombies and other creatures. So I don't know if that was deliberately foreboding. I got two more. No.

[01:08:40] I got one more and that is that I don't think so far that this show has ever used the word Walker and I kind of love that. Yeah I think that's right actually. Yeah.

[01:08:52] Because I remember when we first started talking about The Walking Dead me and Karen and we wanted to cover it because we loved zombie movies and so we would refer to them as zombies.

[01:09:03] It took us a while I think to start calling them Zeds, call them zombies and somebody wrote in and goes they're not zombies they're walkers. And I so I sent them or I mentioned a clip from Robert Kirkman where he said he wanted

[01:09:16] to make the zombie movie that never ended. Outside of the universe zombies exist. Insane inside the universe. I don't know. Or the other way around. Yeah but now we've seen that every group has a different name for them so then it makes

[01:09:32] it a little more reasonable not to just have to call them walkers all the time. Yeah. Yeah. Because they're also what stinkies and whatever else people say. Stinkies. Butt heads. Butt heads. Doobs. Dweebs. Nerds. That's Ferris Bueller. Goons. Like yeah okay cool. Geeks. Goonies. Douchebags. Amazing. Infected News.

[01:09:57] All right we're back and it's time for some news. One thing I wanted to mention that's not Walking Dead specific but it is that the Writers Guild of America and major studios and streamers have reached a tentative agreement on a new

[01:10:49] three year contract that promises to end the 146 day writer strike. Yay! Hopefully they got good terms. Yeah they seem pretty happy about it. At least that's what they're saying you know. We don't know the terms yet because well if you haven't been following this it's like

[01:11:07] everyone should know the writers have been on strike. So have the actors and so they haven't really been able to produce new TV which over time would mean that we would have to shut down Podcasts Guild because we need TV to be coming out.

[01:11:22] But because of all this new ways of getting content through streamers instead of cable TV but the revenue streams have not followed along with that so writers can't even make a living doing this anymore. So they needed the terms to change.

[01:11:36] So the two parties have agreed on all deal points but they still have to draft the final contract and formally agree on it and the members of the Guild have to agree on it and everything.

[01:11:45] So it's not 100 percent done but it seems like it's coming up pretty soon. The WGA said we can say with great pride that this deal is exceptional with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership. Excellent.

[01:12:00] The actor strike is still ongoing but I read there's hope that this will spur agreements on that side of thing they're facing similar issues about AI and video games I think. Yeah and residual payments and so they can hopefully use the writers agreement as some

[01:12:17] kind of a template. And then second and last Drag Race France season one winter Paloma played Coco in the show this week and digital spy dot com had an interview with her. So I thought I'd read some of that.

[01:12:36] They said how did you become involved with The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon. She said one day my phone just rang and it was my agent who told me they want to meet you for The Walking Dead. There was no audition. It was just a meeting.

[01:12:47] I wanted to see me and hear me speaking English. And I was like OK why not. The casting director told me there's no one else in mind for the character. It's for you. I've been waiting for you. So it is you. I've been waiting for you.

[01:12:58] So I passed the test. It was good for them. And the first day of shooting Norman Reedus just jumped on me gave me a big hug and was like oh my God I'm so happy to meet you. I'm a fan. Yay.

[01:13:11] Later in my dressing room the script writer told me that Norman asked them to write a part for me. He told me Norman is a very big fan of drag race in general but of France in particular. One of his dreams is to make a show with RuPaul.

[01:13:25] Norman has a show you know on his bike in America. Ride with Norman Reedus. He wants to invite RuPaul onto that. She goes on Norman is married to Diane Kruger. She's half French half German and she lives in France.

[01:13:36] The night after my first day of shooting she wrote to me congratulations on the shooting Norman was so happy we have seen every episode of drag race. And I was like oh my God you are the inspiration for the role of Coco the costume designer.

[01:13:49] I had said I want to be Diane Kruger in Inglorious Bastards. So it was just a perfect match. That's kind of cool. So I think maybe if not for Diane Kruger we might not even have this series because it

[01:13:59] really to me feels like Norman Reedus just pushing for a lot of what we're seeing you know. I could be wrong. I should try to get an interview with him.

[01:14:08] I don't know if we can still do that but I wonder if he I mean because there's this whole thing about filming in France. I wonder if that's where they're based at the moment because you know she clearly lives

[01:14:16] there and yeah I just I wonder if that was part of negotiations for this. Was it needed to be in France so that he would do it like you're saying. I think yeah Diane Kruger might be to thank. And I just think he's so he's creatively involved.

[01:14:30] He's an executive producer and here we found out he asked them to write a part for her you know for what's her name Paloma. The last part isn't so nice they said. Is there anything you can tease for fans of drag race who might not normally watch shows

[01:14:46] like The Walking Dead. And she said my fans and drag race fans are so happy to see me on the show. The other part is another story because The Walking Dead fans are not all fans. They're not all LGBTQ plus friendly.

[01:14:59] They're like what are you doing on this show. Well it's the future. And they said we're sorry to hear you've had to deal with that negative reaction. And she says no I just saw a few comments but when you make a big move like this when

[01:15:09] you want to change the world and the world's point of view there's damage on the road. It's a risk. Oh damage on the road. Yeah that's a bummer. I loved some lines that Paloma had as Coco when she said boys will be boys and welcoming

[01:15:25] ladies gentlemen and everyone in between it felt like a very organic way to get some representation into this show so yeah. Fuck the haters I say. All right that is our show episode 540. Thanks so much as always for listening to le monde.

[01:15:47] Next episode we'll have listener feedback for this episode. Season 1 episode 3 Paris toujours sera Paris. If you want to write in or leave us a voice message about it you can find all our contact information at podcastica.com. While you're there be sure to check out our other shows.

[01:16:03] One show coming soon is Loki season 2 and Kirk Manley who you if you've listened to he and I did Moon Knight podcast together. He's guested on here. He's the one that does all the Walking Dead tribute posters you may have seen out there.

[01:16:21] He's a brilliant artist very good artist and he's doing the Lokiverse podcast with Alex who did the From podcast. Oh cool team. And Sydney who's kind of new but she did some YouTube live stuff. And The Power with us. Something.

[01:16:41] Oh yeah she did The Power on this podcast with you guys. Yeah we love Sydney. I love Sydney. Yeah. So yeah they're all having a great time just digging super deep into Loki and talking all the details and everything.

[01:16:50] So right now they're doing they're covering the first season you know I think a few episodes at a time just to get people caught up on it and then once season 2 comes up they'll go week by week on that. Excellent. Yeah.

[01:17:05] And last I'll say this episode was made possible by Patreon supporters like Tank Hulthuis who pledged their support at Patreon dot com slash Jason Kabassi. So thank you to Tank. He's helping to support my podcasting and he gets ad free episodes of each episode. Merci beaucoup Tank.

[01:17:27] All right. That is our show. Thanks for listening. Don't get bit Sam Brunon.