Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3, episode 2, “La Ofrenda”.Despite <em>The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon</em> season 3 moving the plot away from France, the show’s new villains have plenty of similarities to season 1 and 2’s main antagonists. Although there are still plenty of unknowns regarding the story in Spain and the protagonists’ overall role, it looks like the spinoff has already teased the project’s next villains.
After Daryl and Carol left the UK in season 3’s premiere, the pair ended up in France following a shipwreck, eventually arriving in a community called Solaz del Mar. While its leader, Fede, possesses some potentially sinister traits, it seems like El Alcazar may be Spain’s true antagonist, as the group’s unorthodox traditions were rightfully questioned by the leading duo.
They may not have directly opposed Daryl or Carol yet, nor do they have a bad relationship with Solaz, but it’s clear that not all the residents agree with El Alcazar’s customs. Interestingly, Daryl Dixon season 2’s main villains carried themselves in a very similar way, using many of the same excuses as the Spanish faction to justify their immoral actions.
El Alcazar Feels Extremely Similar To Daryl Dixon’s Other Villainous Factions
Just like L’Union and Pouvoir, El Alcazar hid behind a message of being its country’s saviors as a way of manipulating the masses and becoming more powerful. All three groups seem to believe they are the key to the future, and their exploitative nature makes it hard to ignore how like-minded all these factions are despite their different methods.
El Alcazar appears to rule several different communities, bringing them supplies every year in exchange for one of the village’s young women, presumably to marry them off. While we haven’t seen everyone involved in this faction, Guillermo Torres seems to be one of the most influential members, as he will supposedly be the next king of Spain.
The fact that there is still a political system makes the group feel similar to Pouvoir, which essentially acted as the new government of France. Like El Alcazar, they treated their followers well, but only if they fell in line, and they often forced young men to sign up as soldiers, much like how the Spanish faction takes women away from their families.
Additionally, these offerings aren’t too dissimilar to L’Union almost sacrificing Laurent. Having believed Laurent was immune to The Walking Dead‘s virus, The Union of Hope was willing to let a zombie bite him to prove the child was some kind of messiah, using religious beliefs to justify their cult-minded behavior.
With god being mentioned on several occasions in Spain, it draws further parallels between El Alcazar and L’Union, with all three groups creating hierarchies and forcing their followers to adopt certain philosophies, even when it requires some unenviable sacrifices.
How El Alcazar Differs From L’Union & Pouvoir
It’s hard to overlook the similarities between El Alcazar and Daryl Dixon‘s French villains, but there are some notable differences too. Although L’Union and Pouvoir eventually joined forces against Daryl, they were initially enemies, highlighting that France’s factions were relatively divided overall, with many small groups opposing Pouvoir in particular. In contrast, El Alcazar seems to unite Spain.
Their tradition of exchanging resources for women is undeniably wrong, but while some individuals have issues with this, most of the country’s survivors begrudgingly accept this. As a result, El Alcazar has a much better public reception than any of France’s villainous groups, who were essentially in conflict with one another for the entire first season.
Likewise, Spain having a future king, annual ceremonies, and regular visitors make it seem more like an actual country, albeit not an entirely democratic one. In contrast, France is still lawless despite the villains attempting to stamp their authority, and after Daryl Dixon season 2’s ending, there is no dominant faction leading the survivors, with L’Union and Pouvoir ultimately failing.
As a result, El Alcazar comes across as a morally dubious regime that successfully brought Spain together and has helped it somewhat rebuild, whereas Pouvoir was an opportunistic group that failed to properly assert control. Meanwhile, L’Union turned from a once respected religious group to a desperate cult whose message became lost, suggesting Spain’s antagonists are much more respected.
Daryl Dixon’s Villain Groups Make Europe Drastically Different From America
With Europe’s villains all feeling like authoritarian regimes, the continent’s evil factions certainly stand out compared to America’s key dangers. In the US, most of the major villain groups feel like a pool of survivors creating their own rules and attempting to survive by any means necessary, which often involves extreme measures such as cannibalism, theft, and murder.
Although groups like the Saviors did have delusions that their methods were the only way to live in such a cruel world, most American settlements didn’t attempt to convince everyone that they were the only hope for the future. The Walking Dead‘s CRM is perhaps the only exception but they weren’t like most typical antagonists.
|
Daryl Dixon Season 3 Episodes |
Release Date |
|---|---|
|
Episode 1 – “Costa da Morte” |
September 7 ,2025 |
|
Episode 2 – “La Ofrenda” |
September14 ,2025 |
|
Episode 3 – “El Sacrificio” |
September21 ,2025 |
|
Episode 4 – “La Justicia Fronteriza” |
September28 ,2025 |
|
Episode5 – “Limbo” |
October5 ,2025 |
|
Episode6 – “Contrabando” |
October12 ,2025 |
|
Episode7 – Solaz del Mar” |
October19 ,2025 |
On the other hand ,most of Europe’s major enemies seem to believe they can restore some sort of balance to the world and have goals beyond simple survival. Pouvoir even experimented on the dead and tried to use them as a tool ,highlighting just how unique France and Spain’s foes really are.
Seeing the likes of Pouvoir and El Alcazar have such a big influence over their countries in <em>Daryl Dixon</em> further emphasizes what sets them apart from America’s villainous communities ,and it feels fitting that these contrasting cultures have led to some wildly different survival tactics.
The Walking Dead : Daryl Dixon
7/10
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Norman Reedus
Daryl Dixon
Clemence Poesy
Isabelle Carriere
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