The Walking Dead: 30 most heroic moments of all-time

7. Merle Sacrifices Himself For Daryl And The Others

Season 3, “This Sorrowful Life”

Merle Dixon was never someone who would be mistaken for a hero. He spent his whole life only looking out for himself, and sometimes for Daryl also. But that changed after Merle went with Daryl to the prison after they escaped from Woodbury.

Merle could see that Daryl was in a good place and had the respect and love of the people around him. Merle might have been a little jealous of that, since he had never had that. But he also wanted his brother to have the chance to live and to thrive in the group. And he knew that he’d never be accepted into the group. Too many bad experiences had occurred for Merle to ever be truly part of the group.

So when Rick decided to give Michonne to The Governor to try and make peace, Merle was the one who kidnapped her with the intention of taking her to The Governor. But along the way he changed his mind. Michonne’s words had a powerful effect on him. Merle did something truly heroic for the first time in his life.

He let Michonne go. And then he continued on by himself to try and kill The Governor so that Daryl, Rick, and the others would be safe. Merle took out a lot of The Governor’s forces and wounded The Governor, although he couldn’t kill him. In the end, he was killed. Merle gave his life for his brother, and that one heroic moment became his legacy. While Merle may have been a terrible person for most of his life he chose to end his life by giving it for his brother and that selfless act makes him a hero.