The Strolling Useless: Daryl Dixon – Solaz del Mar – Evaluation: The Showrunner Giveth and Taketh Away

The finale opens with Codron’s (Romain Levi) return—an vital character who symbolically ties collectively all seasons of The Strolling Useless: Daryl Dixon. But he’s diminished to a mute cameo, as silent as a ghost. Why convey Codron again if he’s simply set dressing?

“Solaz del Mar” – THE WALKING DEAD DARYL DIXON, Pictured:  Greta Fernández as Elena, Gonzalo Bouza as Guillermo.  Picture Credit score: Jorge Alvarino/AMC @2025 AMC Inc. All Rights Reserved

The episode continues with Daryl and Paz infiltrating El Alcázar beneath the guise of masked laborers—an unsubtle metaphor for faceless servitude. The Spanish King and his courtroom watch marionette walkers dance, a grotesque spectacle that turns predictably deadly. Daryl cuts the marionette’s strings, unleashing chaos. It’s theatrical, sure—however the pacing undercuts the horror.

Justina’s Means Simply. Truthful. 

 In a franchise well-known for thinning the herd, Justina, Paz, and Elena survive when statistically, a minimum of one in all them shouldn’t have. However this isn’t about realism—it’s about narrative intent. And in Justina’s case, survival feels much less like plot armor and extra like vindication. She wasn’t ready for rescue—she was able to combat, even when the timing was unsuitable.

From the second she hides a knife in her sleeve, Justina indicators she’s not right here to be anybody’s pawn. Her failed try to stab her would-be husband wasn’t strategic—it was impulsive, even silly. But it surely wasn’t weak spot. It was proof that Justina refused to be passive.

“Solaz del Mar” – THE WALKING DEAD DARYL DIXON, Pictured:  Irina Björklund as Valentina, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon.  Picture Credit score: Carla Oset/AMC @2025 AMC Inc. All Rights Reserved

Later, when it counted, she didn’t simply save herself—she helped Daryl save the opposite girls in captivity. After they return to Solaz del Mar, Daryl orders her to stick with a wounded Valentina. She ignores him. Unarmed and appearing on impulse, Justina strides into the crossfire between Daryl and Fede, her voice slicing via the chaos as she shouts fact to the city sq..

Her uncle stops capturing—not as a result of he’s outmatched, however as a result of he’s outclassed. Justina’s braveness shames him into silence.

She proclaims that El Alcázar has been razed:
“I’ve seen it!”

And when the city calls for Fede’s blood, it’s Justina who attracts the ethical line: “If we kill him, we aren’t any higher than he’s.”

“Solaz del Mar” – THE WALKING DEAD DARYL DIXON, Pictured: Óscar Jaenada as Fede. Picture Credit score: Carla Oset/AMC @2025 AMC Inc. All Rights Reserved

It’s a second of readability no man within the story manages—not Roberto, who’s courageous however reactive, nor Fede, who’s all bluster and manipulation.

Justina disarms the narrative, selecting vindication over vengeance. And let’s be clear: the narrative she disarms is the macho, bullet-riddled blueprint this franchise has leaned on for years. She doesn’t want a gun or a grimace to steer. She wants conviction—and that’s what makes her highly effective.

“Solaz del Mar” – THE WALKING DEAD DARYL DIXON, Pictured: Younger Daryl in Flashback.  Picture Credit score: Jorge Alvarino/AMC @2025 AMC Inc. All Rights Reserved

“Why Did I Depart within the First Place?”

Daryl’s existential monologue on the seaside is the episode’s emotional aperture—opening up his grief, guilt, and longing. He confesses to Carol that working has turn out to be reflex, a “unhealthy behavior” he’s afraid he can’t break.

“I’m scared that after I get residence, I’ll hear that voice once more… telling me to go.”

Carol affords emotional refuge—a hopeful response meant to anchor Daryl:

She’s not making an attempt to steer Daryl towards advantage—she’s making an attempt to regular him, to supply the hope that he can lastly cease drifting. Regardless of the tenderness between these two outdated associates, the second leans on contrived emotional shorthand moderately than delivering catharsis. It fails to light up the scattered flashbacks, which by no means coalesce right into a coherent arc.

Fede’s escape from lock-up and vengeance arc performs like a last-minute dash. His mom’s guilt is weaponized, the boat catches fireplace (due to course it does), and Codron sees the flames—an unsubtle beacon for Season 4.

“Solaz del Mar” – THE WALKING DEAD DARYL DIXON, Pictured: Yassmine Othman as Marga. Picture Credit score: Carla Oset/AMC @2025 AMC Inc. All Rights Reserved

The combat choreography is ok, however the emotional stakes are dulled by the plot armor wrapped round each main character. El Alcázar, as soon as framed as a fortress of energy, collapses in minutes. Fede is dropped at heel by Daryl’s ragtag band of refugees from Solaz del Mar. It’s not a climax. It’s narrative housekeeping with pyrotechnics. And albeit, it’s ridiculous.

The music, lastly, hits a nerve. The Spanish rendition of “Harm” is a uncommon second of poignancy, echoing the emotional dissonance of characters who survive however don’t heal. It’s the type of sonic storytelling the flagship reveals as soon as mastered—harking back to Ben Howard’s haunting monitor “Oats within the Water,” featured in Season 4, Episode 5 of The Strolling Useless, titled Interment.

“Solaz del Mar” – THE WALKING DEAD DARYL DIXON, Pictured: Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Eduardo Noriega as Antonio. Picture Credit score: Carla Oset/AMC @2025 AMC Inc. All Rights Reserved

Every little thing, All over the place, All at As soon as (Once more)

Like The Ones Who Reside, this finale suffers from narrative compression. Too many threads tied too rapidly. The cliffhanger—Codron watching the flames—would’ve landed tougher if it had been a face-to-face reunion with Daryl. As an alternative, we get decision with out resonance.

Did the finale work, or simply money in on franchise loyalty? Did the present truly construct momentum for Season 4, or simply mild the boat on fireplace and hope for one of the best?

General Score: 6/10