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

5. Daryl Is Ready To Die For Rick

Season 4, “A”

This moment is often overlooked because there was so much going on in “A.” When The Claimers caught up with Rick, Michonne, and Carl they wanted to kill Rick for killing one of their group back at the house where Rick was recuperating. And Michonne and Carl were in some pretty serious danger from The Claimers too. Rick ended up taking care of the problem by biting Claimer Joe’s throat out and killing him. But before that happened, the Claimers, Rick, and Daryl were still trying to talk things out and Daryl offered to die so that Rick and Michonne and Carl could live.

Daryl told Joe that he understood the Claimer’s code and he knew they wanted blood for the death of their group member. The Claimers operated on a pretty strict code and they wanted Rick to die for killing one of them. But Daryl told them to kill him instead and let him pay for Rick’s crime. Daryl didn’t die but he did get a pretty severe beating.

The fact that Daryl was willing to die so that Rick could live, and so that Michonne and Carl wouldn’t be hurt, is just one more example of Daryl’s love for Rick and the other survivors. After he felt like he was really part of the group he was always willing to do whatever it took to keep the group members safe, even if it meant his death. Daryl’s quiet heroism and deep devotion to his friends is what makes him such a great character.