The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’s Last Ride
By Renee Hansen
Nov. 22 is Go For a Ride Day, and what better way to commemorate than by talking about The Walking Dead’s series finale and Daryl Dixon’s (Norman Reedus) last ride? The scene was beautifully set up as he said his goodbyes to RJ (Antony Azor), Ezekiel (Khary Payton), and Judith (Cailey Fleming), where she reminded him he deserved a happy ending, too. Then, viewers witnessed another touching moment with his best friend, Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride). They exchanged “I Love Yous,” and the fandom went wild.
During the last season of the series, Director of Photography for The Walking Dead, Duane Charles Manwiller, was very active on Instagram, posting many behind-the-scenes photos, giving fans a glimpse of what goes on during filming.
These posts meant so much to fans, especially during the series’ final season. During the filming of the last episode, he counted down the days with a photo of the day. After the final episode, he really pulled at our heartstrings with a video he captioned, “Daryl Dixon’s Last Ride.” (Watch below.) Excuse me for a moment; there is something in my eye.
The Walking Dead
Filming for The Walking Dead was completed on March 30, 2022. Many fans, cast, and crew used social media to share memories, well wishes, gratitude, and other posts commemorating the end of an era.
The final episode aired on November 20, 2022, and Daryl took his last ride to conclude the storyline. But it’s not over yet. The coda scene for the final episode featured two familiar faces. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) reappear to cap off the series' ending, which eventually leads to the continuation of their story in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.
Viewers saw that Michonne was still actively searching for Rick in a present-day timeline while Rick’s scenes were set before Michnne found evidence of his survival. It was a fantastic way to end the flagship series and set up the Rick and Michonne spinoff series.
The Walking Dead spinoffs coming in 2025
The Walking Dead: Dead City - season 2 - premiering in Spring 2025
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - season 3 - premiering in 2025
There is still much to come within The Walking Dead universe, but nothing will ever replace the original. Luckily, some of the same talents will be involved in the spinoffs to continue the greatness that is TWDU.
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