[buzzfactory]

Dont get me wrong - I dont think death = development, Id prefer it if they stopped with the 'can do no wrong superman' stuff and had him live but I just cant see that happening in the slightest. So for me personally, id rather him die now so I can remember what id call the real Daryl, instead of something I consider that's tainting the walking dead.

[thelastpaul]

I think he needs to be moved to the new Walking Dead show that's supposed to be coming out. Been saying it for a while now. Get him off the main show and have him lead the new one. It's the most logical thing AMC could do to ensure good ratings for the 2nd show. Plus they get to keep a fan favorite and this would also mean more screen time for the true lead of the main series, as well as others that should be 2nd in command on the show that aren't because of Daryl (Abe, Ty).

[Daisy]

Every major character has had superhero moments. Michonne in the last episode, for example. Taking out 20 or so walkers after walking in the herd undetected was pretty superhero. And Tyreese took out as many on the way back from the medical supply run during the killer flu episodes. Carl also survived an unlikely situation in the zombie pig pile in After. Etc. I like the Daryl character because he has come so far from where he began. 

 

 I really don't think the story needs to kill off its characters to advance. What advancement happened with Andrea's death? Everyone had plenty of reasons to kill TG. Even Michonne. And Shane's death did not advance the story any more than keeping him around would have. It would just have been a different story. 

 

I agree with the first bit of your post, but Shane had to go. Not only his death advanced Rick, Lori and Carl as characters and their dynamic with each other, but his presence was clogging the storyline to a point where it was impossible to progress in any sort of way without having to deal with the triangle. There really was no other way to move forward. Daryl might not be liked by some, but he's not an hindrance to storytelling. Characters like Shane and the Governor are not meant to stay for the long run, they're meant to have a sell by date exactly because of the role they take. 

[Nareen]

I agree with the first part of Lioness' post as well as Daisy's reply.

 

I'm not a Daryl fan girl and he hasn't been that interesting to me lately because he hasn't had that much story.  That may well change in upcoming episodes now that everything has gone to hell.

 

Michonne is at least as much a superhero as Daryl but I suspect she gets a pass because she "should" be there.  

 

No offense to comic lovers but since I haven't read the comics, I really don't care about these other comic characters that Daryl's presence impacts.  Most of them sound more of the same to me anyway.  Neither have I found Tyreese very interesting so far. Michonne is growing on me.  

[Jayne23]

Totally agree with Nareen Tyreese is sooooo boring and whiny in so many ways.
I would like to see Daryl actually get some story line besides just having to save all these
other people.....I loved it when he had to engage with Bob and handle things. I like it when he had
to deal with being back with meryl and how he had to decide what was best for HIM
Right now they haven't given character story lines for everyone and left him as the hero who
stays quiet .....at least he is not signing "I got you under my skin" how creepy was that???

[Mrs. DD]

I agree with the first bit of your post, but Shane had to go. Not only his death advanced Rick, Lori and Carl as characters and their dynamic with each other, but his presence was clogging the storyline to a point where it was impossible to progress in any sort of way without having to deal with the triangle. There really was no other way to move forward. Daryl might not be liked by some, but he's not an hindrance to storytelling. Characters like Shane and the Governor are not meant to stay for the long run, they're meant to have a sell by date exactly because of the role they take.

Shane's death also confirmed to Rick what Jenner had told him, that they're all infected. So technically Shane's death had a huge impact on the show.

[Pickles312]

Imagine the impact it would have though on the group much later on if
 

Spoiler

he took the role of Glenn and Negan beats him with Lucille easily and swiftly and gory.

[Lurwalker]

I am not a Daryl fangirl but I do like his character as much as most of the regular cast. I also do not read the comic but do read the synopsis posted about the issues. I like that Daryl isn't included in the comic as it leaves us clueless as to where they are taking him. I am not into the TV series following the comic as canon and am glad to a degree that they are messing around with end results instead of sticking to final outcomes. I am also in agreement with an above poster who stated that there is no reason why the writers can't write in Rick's personal relationships with the upcoming characters, anything is possible. I personally don't want to see any of the original characters come to an end anytime soon as so many have been killed already and so few are left. We all know that his character will go eventually as everyone will but I have to disagree with you as I hope that he is kept around for awhile.

[General Ian Zane]

Han Solo needs to be frozen in carbonite.

 

I was comfortable with daryl developing the role of becoming a leader in an apocalypse.

 

Not much of a fan of the daryl 007 who throws grenades down tanks after stopping FMJs with a rotted corpse while

everyone else is getting beaten to a pulp. shot, and running for their lives.

 

I wonder what Gimple wants to do with his character, versus what the suits are making him do?

 

And for that matter, they could tone down the lethality of a certain Katana as well.

[Boss]

I'm kinda on the fence on whether he should die or not but I don't think he should die for the reason OP said. Being Rick's right hand man isn't the only way to develop characters. If anything the writers should show a bit more creativity in developing these other characters.

[Boss]

I think he needs to be moved to the new Walking Dead show that's supposed to be coming out. Been saying it for a while now. Get him off the main show and have him lead the new one. It's the most logical thing AMC could do to ensure good ratings for the 2nd show. Plus they get to keep a fan favorite and this would also mean more screen time for the true lead of the main series, as well as others that should be 2nd in command on the show that aren't because of Daryl (Abe, Ty).

They could've even had him and Merle leave the group in season 3 like they were going to (instead of coming back an episode later) then catch up with them later in the new show.

[walkerbait13]

That pretty much sums up my feelings.

Very doubtful if it would happen, but I'd like to see

TWD Game ***major spoiler***

Spoiler

Daryl go out like Lee. Just doing something random and bam, he gets bit. That is how life is. That would be even more shocking to me, than him going out in some guns blazing, heroic way.
I'd even like it, if they amputate his hand (or whatever limb is bit) and he doesn't survive. That would show that even the strongest don't always survive.
Again, it's very doubtful that they would do it or even kill him off at this point, but I'd prefer it goes down something like that.

That would be a good way. Something he has no control over. Something random. Getting sick, cutting himself on a rusty piece of metal, getting bit randomly. Something that he couldn't stop.

[JesusMonroe]

Yea im sorry you found the title harsh, it was just meant as a tongue in cheek joke, im not really that bothered about daryl I just fancied posting something.

 

Don't worry about it. I was just cranky that day :/

[daenerys]

The comics and the show are completely different entities.  I don't see why Daryl had to die, if anything he has to live because so many other major characters are being killed off .  For me, the show is about the characters and it's hard to become attached to someone who was introduced mid way through the series and is given roughly two lines per show.  Daryl is one of the originals and he is also one of the main reasons why I continue to tune in each week.

[slimymeteor]

The comics and the show are completely different entities.  I don't see why Daryl had to die, if anything he has to live because so many other major characters are being killed off .  For me, the show is about the characters and it's hard to become attached to someone who was introduced mid way through the series and is given roughly two lines per show.  Daryl is one of the originals and he is also one of the main reasons why I continue to tune in each week.

 

I agree.  The characters from season 1 are far more valuable now that most of them have been killed off.  That's part of the reason of why I think Daryl should stick around.  As a big fan of the comics, I also like having Daryl on the show because he isn't in them, and I think it's cool that the show has an exclusive major character like that.

[Neganite]

Imagine the impact it would have though on the group much later on if

Spoiler

he took the role of Glenn and Negan beats him with Lucille easily and swiftly and gory.

Exactly this, I said this is my hope for Daryl, can you imagine the reaction and the hate for Negan, people would be demanding Negans death. Then if done right like in the comic as they see Negan more and more they start to like him as a villain.

[Nareen]

I feel the same as those of you who want Daryl to survive because he is one of the few surviving characters from Seasons 1 & 2.  Frankly, I'm starting to lose interest in TWD because there are so few of those characters left and TPTB continue to kill them off.  They are the people with whom I started this journey, to whom I became attached and whose loss diminishes the story for me.

 

Michonne has finally become interesting to me but the other new characters, both the ones already there and those to come, don't so anything for me.

 

Part of the problem is that I'm unwilling to become interested and attached to characters only to have them die. If I'm not interested in the characters, I'll lose interest in the series.  

[@Hargraves24]

I just don't like that he's untouchable because fans like him. I got excited when the walker approached him during the prison assault. I thought...do they have the sack to kill him? I was disappointed.

[Lioness]

We have Rick, Carol, Daryl, Glenn and Carl left from the originals. In addition we have newer cast members: Maggie, Beth, and then even newer cast members: Michonne, Tyreese, and Sasha and finally we have Bob, Lily (?) and Tara.

 

Of all of these people I strongly care about Daryl and Rick and would probably stop watching the show if either of them are killed off.

 

Carl (for Rick's sake), Carol, Glenn, Maggie (for Glenn's sake), Michonne and maybe Tyreese (based on new knowledge about his role in upcoming the episode) should live also but I would not drop the show if any of them died. I really like Sasha and hope she gets more of a role and isn't just pushed into a relationship with Bob. Relationships seem to kill character's independence and daring. IDK about Tara, Bob or Lily but I would like to see more of Lizzy as long as she is not the psycho killing the animals.

[Matt]

Daryl's death would do absolute wonders for the story. Because he's an essential asset to the group, his death would knock them multiple pegs and shake up the dynamic between everyone remaining in a long-term way.

 

Not to mention I'd finally be able to take that whole 'no one is safe' spiel at least somewhat seriously. As it is now, I just laugh out of embarrassment for Kirkman or whoever else when they bring it up.

[Daisy]

Daryl should die eventually and most likely will before the end of the series, but not yet. If anything he needs some further character development before going.

 

As for losing interest because of characters dying, I mean it would make no sense for all the originals to be still alive by now in a show about zombies, some had to go. And I quite like that, cause in most shows you can't even get scared for the characters as you know they'll live in the end, while with the twd it has been difficult to guess who was gonna die and what was gonna happen. It keeps me on my toes and it's different, and one of the reasons why I like it. 

 

I think that when it comes to caring about characters in this show we're supposed to feel a bit like the characters themselves; scared to get attached because they might just go suddenly. But I don't find it all that difficult to care, even for the new ones (well most of them anyway). For instance, we haven't seen much of Sasha, but we've seen that she's brave and gutsy and she and her brother love each other a lot, so I do care about her. Mind you, I don't care about her as much as I cared about Hershel who I watched for longer, but I'm certainly not indifferent to the new characters.

[Absolutanjul]

I agree with others that for a new right hand to advance it doesn't necessarily mean Daryl has to die. I am hoping to see his fall from grace in the next few episodes when he is cut off from the people that gave him his strength. I predict he downward spirals back into his loner mindset which should be interesting since he now has the dangerously inexperienced and spirited Beth to babysit.

[General Ian Zane]

Daryl doesn't need to die, but he does need to fall from the gods.

 

I understand the original poster's meaning. But so much of the show has been modified due to Real Life.

 

Herschel had to become Dale 2.0 and then mix that in with a an Obi Wan / Gandalf brew. Shane was around for too long.

Tyreese was inserted at an odd time.

 

Daryl just needs to be more human. If they keep up with the mythology memes, his fall from grace will happen. He is the American

rebel rogue ala Han Solo and so many other american mythological scripts. I'd like to see them move him another direection but tropes are so memetic and lucrative .... we will see.

 

Hopefully, with the group split up, new roles for characters will emerge from their predicaments. I'm looking forward to seeing that.

 

As for Rick's right hand man role having been lost opportunity twice, due to the no-vacancy sign due to Dary, that is true. In the show, Rick is not constantly losing his right hand (cough) man and I think that does change the nature of the characters who stick by him as well as Rick.

 

In any case, either the show can follow the comic characters more, or it can do something new. What really matters to me is that the character behaviors take on a more fluid, realistic course and that the narratives continue to develop depth. No more disjointed storylines, flip-flops, second-chance landings, disjoint behaviors, and pantomimed theses.  More of the quality stuff. Then anything is fine by me. But having recently read the comic, I'm not sure its what it is about.

 

I mean, seriously, if I was totally honest about the comic governor... for example, I was shocked, quite frankly, about why an eye patch sadist with classic comic book goons was considered so spectacular.

 

oops, I ranted. doh

[PlaneJane21]

I love Daryl and don't want to see him go. However, like others here, I preferred the "caustic social reject with anger management issues" Daryl over the more simpatico Daryl we're seeing now.

 

Daryl's always been a bit of a superhero. It was just easier to stomach it when he was also the underdog as well. A big reason why I rooted for him so much back in the early seasons was because he was so undervalued and unappreciated by the group. Now he's become their golden boy too and doesn't really need me anymore, if that makes any weird kind of sense.

 

I was expecting and looking very forward to seeing a season-one-Daryl type of explosion once he learned that Carol had been kicked to the curb. I felt so cheated when they postponed the confrontation for several episodes, then gave us no real confrontation at all, and had the Governor abruptly show up before it could be resolved.

 

I can only think of one positive to killing off Daryl. At least then maybe Walking Dead fanfiction would no longer be a cesspool of stories about nothing but OCs playing footsies in a cabin with him.

[Lubec]

There is no rule that says TWD the TV series needs to follow the comic in terms of characters and their importance.  It doesn't even need to follow the storyline (I hate the word arc).  Daryl can be there until the final episode.  Remember there are far more people that just view the TV program than "read" the comic.  I don't think those people care what happens in the comic all that much.  I see the comic as a loose, very loose guide not the actual script dictator.