Daryl is one cool customer. One of my favorite reasons to like Daryl is that he really is the only character that doesn't need to be apart of the group. It's entirely his choice to be there, and as a viewer you have to wonder why he would put himself in harms way. He could disappear into the woods and eat all the dirty squirrels he likes, but something keeps him there and that is what makes Daryl's character truly grounded.
So what is the reason? It's fairly simple, it has a lot to do with Daryl's backstory that we haven't seen, but has been hinted at. Daryl was a neglected child and beaten severely. Norman Reedus explains to MTV, "He's looking at them for a very different kind of survival, for interaction that he's not used to, which is a new world for him."
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MTV: What is it about Daryl Dixon that's just so f---ing cool?
Reedus: Well, it's hard not to look cool while holding a crossbow, first off. But he's interesting in that he has a different sort of struggle than anyone else. He's trying to just get along with people for the first time, I think. That one moment where Carol reaches down to kiss him on the forehead and he [recoils], he thinks he's about to get hit. There's this damaged thing about him that's really interesting. And when you have a backdrop like "The Walking Dead," it's even more powerful. But you have Rick and Shane fighting for what's the best thing in this group, and Daryl is just sort of trying to find his footing. He's not used to people telling him he's worth a damn. So once people start telling him that, his first reaction is fight or flight. He's such an interesting person. You could have that personality type in a Wall Street movie and he'd still be interesting.
MTV: Daryl has made a lot of personal progress this season, but will Sophia's death set him back? How does he react to finding out that she's gone?
Reedus: It's going to be interesting. It sets him back in certain ways, in that the hope's gone. That little girl that he's looking for, if she's one of them, he doesn't really give a crap anymore. You can have these so-called leaders of the group saying "do this, do that," and he doesn't really need them anymore. So you find out that Daryl sort of separates himself a little bit. He reacts violently to anything emotional revolving around that story line. There's another side of that in that he's looked upon more as one of the leaders now, so there's a new set of responsibilities that Daryl has to deal with. Whether he wants them, whether he wants to take them, [is another story]. But it's interesting to see him looked upon as a leader. Fireworks fly. It's not necessarily something he wanted or asked for. He's not super thrilled about it.
MTV: Daryl has had some of the best zombie kills of the series. Which one was your favorite this season?
Reedus: Ooh. My best kill of the season? Well, I like last season, the double-ax to the throat. That was fun. [This season], I liked slashing the zombie churchgoer across the face; that was kind of fun. And I liked shooting the well-dressed zombie in the woods [in the season premiere], that was kind of fun too, then cutting his chest open and reaching inside of him, the gut bag. That was cool. That was a lot of fun. That was Andy and me being, "Ooh, gross!" You'd put your hand inside and it goes [makes a balloon deflating noise], and they put tubes of hot air that would blow in your face with gas inside the intestines. It was disgusting. [Co-executive producer and makeup effects designer] Greg Nicotero is completely twisted.
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