The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’s guilt and friendship with Negan

The Walking Dead episode “Home Sweet Home” gave us a look at Maggie’s return, introduced us to a new group, the Reapers, and also gave us some emotional moments. We listened to Maggie remember her lost love ones, watched Kelly and her struggle to find Connie, and Daryl struggle with guilt.

Daryl Dixon has grown from a redneck with a chip on his shoulder to a leader and loyal friend. He is as hard as nails but can be tender when needed. We’ve seen him fight with the best of them, but we’ve also seen him sit next to Judith and talk about her father. He doesn’t speak often, but when he does, he chooses his words wisely, and he thinks things through.

The upcoming episode is titled “Find Me” and will follow Daryl when he was searching for Rick. This will fill in some of the holes in the story of Daryl.

Daryl Dixon’s guilt surrounding Glenn’s death

When the whole gang was in a kneeling position waiting to see who Negan was going to pulverize with Lucille, everyone was emotional and scared. Daryl has always been a flight or fight kind of person, and he chose to fight. Many people blame Daryl for Glenn’s death, especially Daryl himself.

With the return of Maggie comes many feelings and memories of the deaths of Hershel, Beth, Glenn and many others. For Daryl, Beth and Glenn’s memories probably hit the hardest as he was very close to Beth, and he feels some responsibility for Glenn.

The Daryl we now know has grown by leaps and bounds from the squirrel hunter we first met in season one. He has lost many people and gained a loving family that he never had as a child. He will always carry the weight of his childhood with him but has experienced some healing by received love and affection as an adult.

Having Maggie and little Hershel back with them will allow Daryl to watch over them, and in this way, he will honor Glenn. He is happy to see them healthy and thriving and back home.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Norman Reedus had this to say:

"“Daryl really took it hard, as did Maggie, but he took it upon himself that it was his fault that it happened. And he took that with him into the whole next season with the torture and all of that stuff. And they had conversations, Maggie and Daryl, about forgiveness and it’s not your fault and all of these things. I think it gave them a closer bond. Having Maggie come back, it’s a reminder of better times and of the people that we’ve lost.”"

This also brings up the subject of Daryl and Negan and where they stand. I don’t think Daryl will ever forgive Negan for what he has done. They can come to terms with one another and live side by side as long as they are fighting on the same team but don’t expect a bromance between these two characters.

"“And then we saw Daryl save Negan by killing Beta for him. We saw these things happen, but we don’t have a friendship bracelet with Negan right now.”"

The Walking Dead’s next episode, “Find Me,” is a deeper look at Daryl and his time away from the group while searching for Rick. AMC will air this episode on Sunday, March 7. If you are an AMC+ member, you can watch this episode now.