Daryl Dixon Speaks, But The Walking Dead Fans May Not Like What He Has to Say

Norman Reedus opens up about the bloody ending of the penultimate episode

By Chris Harnick Mar 28, 2016 1:46 PMTags
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We need to talk about Daryl Dixon. There's no way The Walking Dead did that to him, right? Right. Right? Warning, spoilers ahead.

In "East," Daryl (Norman Reedus) took off on his own to go after Dwight (Austin Amelio) following the death of Denise (Merritt Wever). Since this crew runs deep, they didn't let him go out on his own and Michonne (Danai Gurira), Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) followed his trail…only to get ambushed by Dwight and the saviors. The episode ended with a gunshot, blood on the camera lens and Dwight saying, "You'll be alright."

"Exactly what you see happens, happens. It's not a trick. It's definitely Daryl getting shot. I won't tell you where he's getting shot. But you see [Dwight] pull the trigger, and that's Daryl's blood," Reedus told TVLine.

So this isn't a Glenn and the dumpster situation again. Guess The Walking Dead learned its lesson there.

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"You should be very worried about Daryl. At the end of the episode, there's a comment that Dwight makes ["You'll be alright"]—and we're really good about throwing you off base. That comment might not even be to Daryl. It could be to Rosita—or to anybody there," Reedus told The Hollywood Reporter. "Or it could be to something that some scuffle that happens directly afterward. Do you trust that guy? Anyone automatically assuming that's the obvious play is trusting words that come out of that guy's mouth and we're really good at throwing you for a loop. So… food for thought."

Daryl let Dwight get away in the burned forest, a mistake others paid for with their lives. The guilt is strong here.

"The fight between Daryl and Dwight is very real — that sort of fight on who you are and who you're becoming and what you've given up is very real right now, and I think Daryl's making that as real as possible with him. He's forcing him into that eyeball to eyeball right now," Reedus told EW.

MORE: See the first look at Negan on The Walking Dead

Reedus is remaining mum on whether that was a kill shot, but let's be real for a minute: it wasn't. There is no way The Walking Dead would let Daryl go out that way and have fans still in its corner. Meanwhile, check out a preview for the finale above. That's Morgan (Lennie James) finding that missing horse with a stalker not far behind.

We know the finale will introduce viewers to Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan, the ruthless leader of the Saviors. Did you peep the etched in image of Lucille (the barbed wire baseball bat) on the gun Carl took from the armory?

"It's the most hardcore finale we've ever had. It's rough. It's the most gut-wrenching finale yet. And it's one of — if not — the best episode I've ever seen of our show. It's mind-blowing," Reedus told TVLine about the finale.

"It's super shocking and it's pretty hardcore. Andy said he was late for work because he read it all night; Josh said he threw the script; Lauren threw up," he told THR. "It's gnarly. I was instantly curious. I had ideas what would happen and it made you feel sick and it was painful."
It's on.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays, 9 p.m. on AMC.

Watch: How Have "The Walking Dead" Stars Changed?