Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon episode 1.

Summary

  • The Walking Dead spinoff reveals the devastating impact of the zombie outbreak on Western Europe, specifically , hinting at the wider continent's fate.
  • The Daryl Dixon spinoff creates an exciting opportunity to explore other countries and continents affected by the apocalypse, while also introducing intriguing mysteries of its own.
  • The estimated population of is now less than 0.3% of what it was before the outbreak, emphasizing the deadly nature of the virus. The spinoff promises to answer more questions about the fallout of the outbreak.

The Walking Dead finally revealed the impact of the zombie outbreak on Europe. There is a heavy focus on America in The Walking Dead universe, but thanks to the new Daryl Dixon spinoff, fans now know what happened in Europe. Norman Reedus stars as Daryl, who washes up in and explores the outbreak on a completely new continent. The show gives a brief description of how he ended up there, but more importantly, it provides plenty of insight into what happened in . Outside , the spinoff also hints at the outbreak's impact on the wider continent.

While there has been slight exploration of the zombie apocalypse's impact on the rest of the world, this is by far the most it has been covered in The Walking Dead universe. 's setting creates a great opportunity to explore other countries and continents, which makes the start of Daryl Dixon even more exciting. It wastes little time answering questions about places outside America while also creating plenty of interesting mysteries of its own. There may still be the lingering question of how the outbreak happened, but at the very least, the international impact of it is much clearer now.

Western Europe Fell To The Walking Dead's Zombie Outbreak

An image of Daryl Dixon in front of the Eiffel Tower in The Walking Dead

Daryl Dixon's premiere reveals that Western Europe was devastated by the zombie outbreak. At the beginning of the episode, Daryl finds a map and a tape that relays a lot of information in a short amount of time. An Irish man recorded a message of his journey exploring Europe, mentioning that "Nowhere is safe." He references Spain in his tape, claiming that he intends to visit Marseille in the hope of finding somewhere safe. On the map Daryl finds with the tape, several areas have markers on them, suggesting Ireland, England, Spain, and Portugal have all fallen to the apocalypse.

With Daryl discovering is also impacted, it is likely neighboring countries such as Belgium and Switzerland are also overrun with zombies. If this is the case, there is a high chance all of Europe has been infected. At the very least, it can be assumed Western Europe is in a similar state to the U.S. It is one of many Walking Dead mysteries the Daryl Dixon spinoff can answer, allowing the show to expand the franchise's lore. With the outbreak teased to have started in , Daryl Dixon may be essential to The Walking Dead's overall story.

Is The Entire World Infected By The Walking Dead's Virus?

Rick Grimes facing a helicopter in The Walking Dead's final episode.

With the revelation that and Europe are affected by the outbreak, Daryl Dixon raises questions about how much of the world the virus has reached. Daryl Dixon has not yet solved this mystery, and there's no guarantee it ever will. With the inability to communicate globally, it's hard to say how anyone would have such information in The Walking Dead universe. However, the CRM posited that the entire globe was affected in World Beyond. Given they have certain agendas that suggest they want to believe this, the CRM can't be trusted. Despite this, it does seem increasingly likely that they may have been right.

The fall of Europe suggests that nowhere is necessarily safe from the zombie outbreak. In The Walking Dead season 1, it's revealed that it doesn't take a bite to become infected, meaning everyone who dies will return as a walker unless their brain is destroyed. If this applies to both the U.S. and Europe, it makes sense that it applies everywhere else. Therefore, it's presumable that the virus has spread worldwide. However, unless the franchise branches out to the likes of Asia and Africa, this may never be fully verified. Still, Daryl Dixon makes it a safe assumption.

Walking Dead Reveals How Many People Are Left In

Rick Grimes Daryl Dixon and Laurent in The Walking Dead

Alongside the information regarding Europe, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon also reveals how many people are left in . Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) is one of the central characters introduced in the Daryl Dixon premiere. He predicts Daryl's arrival, and some of the nuns believe Daryl could be the one to deliver Laurent to their allies in Northern . With there being an emphasis on Laurent being special and having a high level of intellect, there appears to be a level of accuracy in his population prediction. He estimates there being fewer than 200,000 people left in , with Daryl assuming way less.

Even if this is an estimate, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon revealing how many people are alive in seems like an intentional way of giving the audience an idea of how the country was affected. Laurent mentions how there were 67 million people before the apocalypse, further emphasizing how deadly the outbreak was. If Laurent is accurate, it means 's population is less than 0.3% of what it was pre-apocalypse. The Walking Dead's latest spinoff answering such big questions in its first episode alone bodes well, promising more mysteries will be answered about the fallout of the virus.