Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon could be next character to go as TV series departs from comics

The character may have become too much of a problem for creator Robert Kirkman and showrunner Scott Gimple

Clarisse Loughrey
Monday 21 March 2016 08:12 EDT
Comments
Daryl Dixon
Daryl Dixon

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

*Warning: spoilers for The Walking Dead comics, and for the TV episode which airs 21 March in the UK, below*

Though Daryl Dixon may be pretty much everyone's favourite character on The Walking Dead, he's creating some major headaches for creator Robert Kirkman and showrunner Scott Gimple. Problematically, he's a major character entirely original to the TV series, and his notable absence from the comics has caused issues in adapting storylines for the screen.

His inclusion has caused some fairly major alterations in the past; perhaps most notably in the death of Tyrese, who as actor Chad Coleman explains; "The creation of Daryl, more than anything else, is probably the reason why I’m not on the show. I was [Rick’s] right-hand man [in the comics]."

And the show's writers have once more arrived at a very similar problem, with both Daryl and Abraham essentially competing for the role of Rick's right-hand man, with the introduction of Jesus potentially making a third. Uproxx has now weighed in with the theory that it's inevitable one of these three characters will die by the season finale, and that the finger of death now appears to be pointing towards Daryl.


Their reasoning strings from the episode 'Twice as Far', which sees Abraham spared the fate of getting shot through the eye with an arrow by Dwight, and tragically killed; Abraham's death in the comics was instead handed to Denise.

Though Gimple could be reserving Abraham for a later death as the first victim of Negan, it seems more likely he's been chosen as the outlasting right-hand man. Jesus seems safe, considering he's such a recent introduction, and his connections with the Hilltop Colony prove vital in later storylines.

That leaves poor Daryl (alongside the comics' original victim Glenn); and with the death at Negan's hands set to be the biggest of the series and a memorable introduction to the comics' most villainous creation, it seems increasingly likely Daryl will be suffering his final breath at the close of season 6.

The Walking Dead airs in the UK on Fox, 9PM.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in