‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ Season 3 Episode 3 review: “El Sacrificio”

After being “welcomed” into a small village, Daryl and Carol are already stirring up chaos in Spain in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 3 Episode 3. They both drew some unwanted attention to themselves (Daryl taking out the fighters and Carol speaking up at dinner) which led to this week’s episode turning into more of a side quest for each of them.

While both of their quests are on the lighter side, one ends in a shocking moment that will ripple through the rest of the season.

Side questing.

The episode, titled “El Sacrificio” (The Sacrifice), starts with suspicions swirling about the missing men that Daryl took out at the end of the previous episode. With the royals threatening to cut off the village if they don’t figure out what happened to the men, Daryl and Carol’s days in the village may be numbered.

Daryl is told by Roberto that he knows someone who can help fix the boat so they can finally go home. Before setting off, Daryl gives Carol a simple task: steal a solar panel from the side of a house so they can use it on their journey home. Daryl and Roberto head out to meet Roberto’s contact while Carol immediately runs into a roadblock — the solar panel belongs to Roberto’s father.

Enter Valentina.

Daryl and Roberto arrive at a lighthouse located on a cliffside which is where this mystery person lives. They arrive at the gate and are met with armed men and a woman with a harpoon gun. The woman, Valentina, is a former cruise operator and knows how to fix and operate boats.

During a strange meeting, in which it was implied that Valentina is in a thruple with the two men who lived in the lighthouse with her, she agrees to help Daryl fix the boat if he and Roberto can get the needed piece. They go to a nearby boatyard and, after taking on some walkers that emerged from the sea, are able to locate the piece needed.

Side quest subversion.

Meanwhile, Carol discovers Roberto’s father’s secret. After hearing noises coming from a house next door, Carol discovers him in a makeshift movie theater. The two grow a bit closer in this moment as Carol learns the solar panel is what powers this projector. Carol has a conversation with Justina in which she feels guilty that her friend was taken home with the royals.

This conversation doesn’t concern Carol until later in the day when she realizes what Justina was insinuating. By the time Carol gets to Justina it’s too late, she has taken her friend’s place and is already on her way with the royals.

Overall.

The western vibe from last week’s episode was put on the backburner this week which was a letdown. It’s too early for a “side quest” episode that split up the two main characters. The original series did this frequently, but it rarely was in the beginning of a season.

It didn’t feel like a filler episode because of the boat quest and Roberto and Justina’s love story are equally as important to the season. But it did feel like a misplaced episode that would’ve been better placed later in the season.

After a more exciting and Western themed opening episodes, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 3 Episode 3 was a letdown, for the most part. It wasn’t a bad episode, but it would’ve played better a little later in the story. The introduction of Valentina, a beautiful new location, and a shocking sacrifice made for an entertaining episode overall. Here’s hoping the Western vibes return next week.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon airs new episodes every Sunday on AMC

Tyler Carlsen

From a young age, Tyler has been amazed by filmmaking and writing. When he’s not watching movies in theaters, he also enjoys playing video games and binging one of the numerous shows he’s watching at any given moment. Working with The Young Folks was a highlight of his writing career and he is looking forward to this new adventure with In Between Drafts!