I'll start this post off by stating that I watched The Walking Dead when I was a teenager and stopped after Season 4 because I was a teenager and they didn't have any other seasons, so I just basically dropped the show. Recently decided to rewatch the series and actually try finishing it. I just finished Season 2 so it's fresh in my mind.
Now on to Daryl, I remember googling "Worst Walking Dead Characters" and Daryl Dixon was #2 on one of those lists. The reasoning was that he was "Just as racist as his brother Merle" and that people only like Daryl because his actor "Norman Reedus" is considered attractive.
As a hetero dude, Im not afraid to admit who is attractive and who is not. I think Rick and Shane are both more attractive than Daryl and you don't see them make the best character list above Daryl usually. And the racist point is just ridiculous, he may be ignorant about his comments to Glenn but he never looked down on anyone because of who they were.
Now onto why Daryl is actually a GOAT. Again want to remind whoever reads this that I mostly just know what happened in season 1 and 2 because the other two seasons I saw were when I was a teen and don't remember much (except for character deaths). The reason why Daryl is most respectable is because he is one of the few characters who actually follows his own moral compass, despite being in company with Shane and Rick who at this point have completely differing ideologies. Daryl constantly looked for Sophia, despite Shane thinking it futile. Daryl also joined in when they killed the barn walkers, despite being against Rick's best interests.
Those are just two examples, but Daryl followed what he personally believed and not because he had allegiances to either two. He revealed the truth of what happened to Randall even though he knew that would prove Shane guilty. Daryl was also never naive, knowing Shane lied from the start about Otis. He was also one of the few to agree with Dale that the "group was broken". He had his own knowledge and knew what he believed.
Another thing that makes Daryl iconic is his signature crossbow. Rick has his revolver, Carl has his silencer, Negan has his bat(Yes, I did spoil the show a bit for myself), and Michonne has her katana. It's a small detail, but it's often what makes a character notable and because they have a signature weapon they often become popular because audiences recognize them more easier.
Finally, this is something I found cool and was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this. During the burning barn scene, you can see Daryl watching from afar. The episode before or maybe 2 episodes before is when he first started to don the angel wings jacket that he's known for (maybe he's worn it before, but it seemed like a regular jacket before this point). To me it's a symbolic scene of a fallen angel watching paradise (heaven) burn from afar. Then immediately goes out of his way to save a human from danger (Carol). I think this scene is so cool, kinda bad on Daryl for not getting involved at all during the barn siege of walkers, but for what we got i think it's worth it. I'm curious what others think about this scene too!
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