A new Walking Dead trailer shows emotional Daryl Dixon scenes

AMC releases a new Walking Dead 10c trailer featuring a troubled and emotional Daryl Dixon with problems coming from every corner.

The trailer for The Walking Dead’s 10c has landed. Now, we can get a more detailed taste of what these bonus episodes will focus on and which stories they will tell.

While Maggie and Negan’s dynamic and the situation surrounding them are driving the 6 episodes, it’s also clear both from the trailer and the synopsis that we will see a lot of drama for all the characters who are featured.

The scenes in the trailer give us a glimpse of the emotional journeys some of the lead characters are going to go through, and it seems that Daryl is one of the characters whose inner life is going to be explored during this short run of episodes.

The official press release for 10c mentions that the characters reveal their more vulnerable side, whilst content supervisor Scott Gimple talked about the intimate nature of the episodes and the fact that we’ll see deep dives into some of our favorites. For Daryl fans, it is something that has been a long-time coming.

Despite the fact he’s now the leading man and featured heavily in most episodes, in some ways, there’s still so much about Daryl we don’t know. He has been the strong silent type for the show’s duration; we still have a lot to learn about Daryl’s heart and mind.

It feels like these episodes will be a perfect place to explore that, and there is certainly fertile ground for that in Daryl’s arc at the moment.

While other characters seem to be dealing with one major issue – Maggie coping with Negan, Gabriel’s faith, Carol’s fatalism – Daryl seems tangled up in almost every story whilst still dealing with his own issues.

The most obvious issue Daryl has seems to be caused by the new character Leah. We know very little about how she comes into the story, except that Daryl seems to stumble into her cabin, and she is loath to let him leave – with a big gun and the ability to easily dispatch walkers to back her up.

Whatever Leah’s story, Daryl seems to be central to it, or perhaps she is someone who will be able to give us insight into Daryl that we haven’t seen before. Either way, it seems likely Leah’s story will have ripples going forward in one way or another.

Leah isn’t the only woman causing problems for Daryl through 10c, as he deals with the return of his old friend Maggie.

Maggie and Daryl have had a close bond since they went together to get food for newborn Judith – though it was a bond that was strained when Negan killed Glenn and Daryl blamed himself.

Since that day, Daryl has been especially protective of Maggie and little Hershel, so her return will cause turmoil in Daryl’s life now that Negan is seemingly part of their group. Not only did Daryl’s closest friend, Carol, release Negan, but Daryl has also worked alongside Negan and accepted his help and truthfulness.

As much as Daryl wants his family altogether and wants Maggie and Hershel back in the fold, how can he do that and still allow Negan the time of day? How would that sit with Glenn’s widow?

We also know from the episode synopsis that this problem is part of the equation in his current complicated relationship with Carol, which also appears to be causing him heartache.

In “Find Me,” Daryl and Carol have an adventure that goes sideways, and whatever happens there leads to tension between the pair, which is explored in the opening of “Diverged” – as revealed in the table-read video AMC released.

What is the cause of this tension? Is it overflowing tension from Carol’s suicidal attacks on Alpha, or her release of Negan without consulting anyone else, or is it something more far-reaching?

In both the table-read for “Find Me” and the trailer, we hear a line from Carol to Daryl: “We both know this world – the dead – it’s going to catch up with us eventually.” It’s a line that expresses Carol’s mindset and seems to show that she’s lost all hope. This is something we know Daryl can’t bear to hear from her.

Throughout season 10, he urges her to open up to him and think of the future they have and work towards that, rather than looking back. Perhaps that difference of mindset and Carol’s self-destruction is the root of the tension that seems to permeate their interactions in 10c.

Although, looking back is evidently part of Daryl’s story for this run of episodes, given the description of “Find Me.” The synopsis says that finding an old cabin takes Daryl back to the time after Rick went missing – the 6 year period was skipped over in the season 9 time-jump.

It’s a period we know almost nothing about and was obviously one of great turmoil for Daryl. He withdrew from everyone he loved and returned to his man of the woods persona, shutting himself off from regular contact while he both mourned and looked for Rick.

Exploring Daryl’s emotions during that time is an exciting prospect, especially if we know more about what drove him away and eventually made him come back.

One of the most captivating shots in the trailer is a soaking wet Daryl screaming into the rain. We don’t know for sure if it’s flashback or current, but seeing Daryl that visceral and raw, expressing emotion so freely in a way he rarely does, is already moving, no matter the cause of his anguish.

Norman Reedus doesn’t often get a chance to fully explore the emotional, expressive side of Daryl that we know exists, and it’s something he does beautifully. Giving Reedus a chance to shine as a vulnerable, open Daryl who is dealing with his past and his future will be a slice of welcome meat in this bonus episode sandwich.

Hopefully, these episodes will give Daryl a chance to work through some of his own heartbreak and personal stories. Freeing himself from the past may allow Daryl to move forward with positivity and hope towards the future he wants for himself, as the man he knows he wants to be.

The Walking Dead returns with the season ten bonus episodes on February 28 on AMC.