Daryl Dixon is the reason why there were not one, but two deaths in The Walking Dead Season 7 premiere. If you’ve managed to avoid spoilers this far, stop reading now because we have many feelings about this.
[WARNING: THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 7 SPOILERS AHEAD]
We knew Abraham and Glenn’s deaths were going to happen eventually. Neither character made it to see the All Out War storyline in the comics, where Rick finds the courage to challenge Negan, but we digress. The showrunners dug the knife in deeper when they decided Daryl would have his little outburst. Even Norman Reedus told ComicBook.com his character knows he made a mistake by not controlling his emotions.
"I think it weighs heavily on him," Reedus said. "I don't know that anybody in that group blames him for anything, but he blames himself more than anything. It really brings him down to a certain level where whatever shitty thing is thrown at him, he is just going to take it."
While the loss of Abe and Glenn will have a deep emotional impact on Rick’s group, Daryl have the hardest time getting over what happened. He is now a prisoner of war in the Savior compound. Negan decided to take Daryl with him as insurance for Rick’s group to behave. Reedus told ComicBook.com Daryl will be in a dark place and he hates himself. Daryl doesn’t see any good left in this world.
Well, Daryl isn’t wrong. Glenn was the last good person remaining after the apocalypse. He wasn’t jaded like the others in the group. He always did the right thing to protect his loved ones. For example, Glenn refused to let Heath kill any of the sleeping Saviors. Glenn recognized the turmoil in Heath and didn’t want his to experience what it was to take a life. He broke his own moral code to let someone else keep theirs. Glenn was the last bit of hope left for Rick’s group.
So yes, Daryl, Glenn’s death does fall on your shoulders. If he would’ve done what Negan asked, Glenn would have lived to see the birth of his son. The show did a great job really playing up that plot point to fans. Like, “See, we let Daryl live, but he’s directly responsible for Glenn’s death.” Well, technically Rick’s lapse in judgement led to Abraham and Glenn’s death, but that’s a different rabbit hole we refuse to fall into.
Catch The Walking Dead Season 7 at 9 p.m. Sundays on AMC.
