In an interview with CBR, Eriq Ebouaney and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi dive into the “unstoppable” walkers and set up Daryl Dixon’s second season.

As Season 1 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon comes to an end, the show’s heroes make hard choices to survive under dire circumstances. Daryl is thrown into a fighting pit against a new variant of walkers as his French companions have no choice but to watch the chaos unfold. But one person who does step in to put an end to the torturous entertainment is Fallou, the leader of the Union of Hope.

Fallou has been an underrated fighter in the first season of Daryl Dixon. As he’s mostly stuck in the background, he’s also been the first to put his life on the line for Laurent, a young boy destined to be the new messiah that will turn the world around after an apocalyptic break. But Laurent’s future is put on hold at the Nest for the moment, as he contemplates his desire to start a new life as an ordinary kid with no responsibilities or weight on his shoulders. To discuss their characters’ rocky expeditions to tranquility into Season 2, Eriq Ebouaney and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi sit down with CBR for a breakdown of the Daryl Dixon Season 1 finale.

CBR: Louis, Laurent has come such a long way this season. How do you feel about his arc from the first episode to the season finale?

Louis Puech Scigliuzzi: He’s evolved a lot from when Daryl came. He’s more confident, I’d say. He’s learned how to make friends. He’s being taught by Daryl a lot of things, and it’s just changing his mindset.

Eriq, viewers didn’t see much of Fallou this season. Hopefully Daryl Dixon Season 2 will include much more of him. What would you like to explore with Fallou in the second season?

Eriq Ebouaney: Maybe to be a part of the struggling and to be more involved in the journey. But for the moment, he’s the leader of the Union of Hope, and he’s trying to help Laurent and Daryl to survive.

You have such an extensive filmography. Was there anything you took from your previous roles that you applied to Fallou?

Ebouaney: Oh, to be quiet and calm, especially when you’re surrounded by walkers.

What was it like acting opposite those walkers?

Ebouaney: To tell you the truth, they were pretty scary live. Not even on-screen, but live, they were pretty scary. I couldn’t sit next to them in between shots because they were scary.

Both of you were probably glad your characters weren’t in that pit with Daryl when he was fighting them.

Ebouaney: You’re right, because the walkers just evolved a lot. We call them the hungry ones. So they’re getting hungrier than ever because they’re full of energy and everything.

Fallou seems like the type of guy who makes difficult choices for the good of his people. That being said, does he have any weaknesses that could turn him against his own people?

Ebouaney: I think he’s really into the cause because he’s very communicable and spiritual at the same time. He really believes in hope and hope is not lost. And the thing is — he just wants to help, to do his best, to help everybody around him. That’s his mission. I’d be surprised if something happened [otherwise]. But that’s the way I walk into the character [of Fallou].

Louis, there are a lot of questions surrounding what exactly makes Laurent so special. The Union of Hope and Daryl have two different ideas of Laurent. Do you have any theory on what makes him special in your mind, or is he just an ordinary kid?

Scigliuzzi: I think he might be an ordinary kid. But in a way, there’s this feeling about him. He can feel the emotions of all the people surrounding him. When we arrive at Fallou’s camp, he sees this sad lady and gives her a big hug, and tries to make her feel better. I think for that, he’s not an ordinary kid.

Ebouaney: I think an ordinary kid who grew up in a tough environment is always special.

He was born under very unusual circumstances. There is one theory that he’s immune to walkers. Do you believe that at all?

Scigliuzzi: I don’t know honestly. I hope I’ll find out, maybe in Season 2.

This is a very confusing time for him because he is growing up in a very hard world where he’s got this pressure to be this new messiah. As of the Season 1 finale, what does Laurent want in life?

Scigliuzzi: I think he just wants to be a normal kid. He says it in Episode 2, I think, when we leave the school. Even if he sometimes knows he’s special, he’s different from other kids, that’s what he wants. He wants to be a normal kid. But maybe that’s never going to happen.

Hypothetically, if both of your characters did meet their end in Daryl Dixon, how would you like them to go?

Ebouaney: [By] an unstoppable walker. It has a different energy, different vibes and different craziness. Especially with those new hungry ones, they’re very special. I love the way they run. They’re mean, and it’d be pretty exciting to be one of those.

Scigliuzzi: Probably saving a lot of people.