[thelastpaul]

Attempting to kill michonne after she told him to go back, that's not evil. Attempting to murder Glenn and maggie isn't evil. Merle loves Daryl therefore he's actually a good guy. Who cares that he's a horrible racist and an asshole, or that he clearly had intentions to murder Rick, possibly t dog as well. He's the quintessential sub villain of the show.

[DJ_HYDRAulics]

Attempting to kill michonne after she told him to go back, that's not evil. Attempting to murder Glenn and maggie isn't evil. Merle loves Daryl therefore he's actually a good guy. Who cares that he's a horrible racist and an asshole, or that he clearly had intentions to murder Rick, possibly t dog as well. He's the quintessential sub villain of the show.

i don't think anyone in this thread ever argued the fact that he's a racist and an asshole. one could argue that 95% of earth's population are racists and assholes deep down. Merle is just more vocal about it than the rest of us. doesn't make him an evil person, just opinionated and loud

[Grénádé]

The Governor and Woodbury will be attacking the prison and have Rick and Company pinned down and like horsemen of the apocalypse the Dixon brothers will ride in on steel horses and dispense righteous justice.

[Singlyme]

i don't think anyone in this thread ever argued the fact that he's a racist and an asshole. one could argue that 95% of earth's population are racists and assholes deep down. Merle is just more vocal about it than the rest of us. doesn't make him an evil person, just opinionated and loud

Good grief.

[DeadInDetroit]

Cut off his other hand

You, my friend, have won the internet for the day

[Not_Undead]

Merle isn't evil, he is just an opportunist.

Tell that to 'Neil'.

He damned well IS evil.

[Not_Undead]

I think that not only is Merle an opportunist, he would sacrifce Daryl if the chips came down to it. If it was a choice between survival and Daryl.. Daryl would be left as walker bait. Believe it. Merle is a rabid dog that needs to be put down.

Absolutely.

The only (even SLIGHTLY believeable) way Merle joins is if Glenn, Maggie, Hershel and Beth leave. That is not a win for Rick, but he's looney tunes now, and needs to be 'Ole Yeller'd himself.

[Not_Undead]

I can see where you are coming from, However, TG is very good at arranging "accidents" and Merle knows it; he's the one who did the work while TG made up a story. Merle knew that even if he killed Daryl during the fight, TG wasn't going to let him live, no matter what TG said to the sheep. TG would simply have Merle's injuries from the fight "treated" and then say he died of complications or some other believable story. TG couldn't trust Merle anymore and Merle knew he'd been caught lying. His best bet for survival at that point was to get out of Woodbury and his chances for escape were better with Daryl than without him.

Uh huh. Merle was dead to The Gov when Michonne (who Merle claimed was dead) 'killed' Penny.

The Gov does his dirty deeds in private, not in the public eye. He'd have Milton poison Merle, or send him on a patrol that goes 'tragically wrong'.

[Not_Undead]

i don't think anyone in this thread ever argued the fact that he's a racist and an asshole. one could argue that 95% of earth's population are racists and assholes deep down. Merle is just more vocal about it than the rest of us. doesn't make him an evil person, just opinionated and loud

No, you're wrong. The percentage isn't anywhere near that. Less than 50%, I would say. I have never known anyone personally I would qualify as a racist. Assholes are more common, but even on the internet, they are in the minority.

He's a bully, and a murderer. Evil.

[etphoto]

Trying to compare Rick's and Merle's motives to murder is pretty ridiculous. Its even more ridiculous to try and justify Merle's motives by comparing the motives to everyone else in a ZA that has committed a murder. And, I guess I'm pretty ridiculous pointing out the obvious.

To get back to the OP's question. I don't think Merle could do anything to get excepted back into the group.

[DJ_HYDRAulics]

No, you're wrong. The percentage isn't anywhere near that. Less than 50%, I would say. I have never known anyone personally I would qualify as a racist. Assholes are more common, but even on the internet, they are in the minority.

He's a bully, and a murderer. Evil.

look up the definition of "Racist". it is "Making or showing an unfair or prejudicial distinction between different categories of people or things, esp. on the grounds of race and religion". So if you ever even thought about an assumption of someone based on their color, you are technically a racist. you have never known anyone who would qualify as a racist because you live in PC america where everyone has to tone their opinions about people of other colors down to avoid problems. if you have a friend who's ever made a racist joke towards minorities, even as a joke, they are promoting racist stereotypes, which in turn makes them a racist. If you've ever been to china, you'll hear that they are very ethnocentric and constantly make racist remarks about other races. and that's 2 billion people, nearly 30 percent of the population right there. except they don't have as many liberal PC laws as America and nobody can really stop them from saying these things.
nobody see's zero color when dealing with other people. you, me, merle, daryl, and most of the earth's population are all racists deep down because we observe others based on the color of their skin and make our assumptions. only difference is that merle takes these feelings and turns them into a nonstop verbal diarrhea of racial slurs and demeaning remarks. but if he was truly an evil racist, he would not be able to work with martinez, tim, and the black crossbow guy without plotting to kill him. He's just a typical redneck who can't turn off his racial epithets.
i will concede that he is a bully. but does that really make him evil? my older brother bullied me around when i was a kid, is he evil? all the high school jocks that give nerds wedgies and nuggies, are they evil? I don't see it that way. It's not the right thing to do, but certainly not evil

[Deadpelican]

Would anyone agree that Andrea and Merle became dare I say friends if there is 1 thing that can make Merle Tolerable in group would they allow him in? For example Andrea ruturning to the group, he wanst exactly mean to her and even showed symapthy at the news of Amys death

Spoiler

I personally don’t see it being a long stint I can’t see Merles storey past season 4)

I think desperation will lead to them letting Merle in. Like Daryl said- they need muscle.

Spoiler

Those folks that Daryl and Merle run into on the highway in the preview for ep 10- I wouldn't be surprised if they were Woodbury refugees who know about a pending attack on the prison and/ or were on their way to attack it themselves when they got overrun by walkers.

Anyway, I think Daryl and Merle will get word of a coming attack on the prison and will show up in the middle of it.

[DJ_HYDRAulics]

Tell that to 'Neil'.

He damned well IS evil.

you hung yourself with that point. neil was an opportunity murder. Neil would have told TG that michonne escaped and TG would have most likely either reprimanded merle or sent him and another poor group of guys to get slaughtered by this chick that the writers gave obvious batman/spiderman-like tree scaling superpowers to. Merle didn't kill him because he was hispanic or for no reason whatsoever. Like judari said, opportunist, not evil

[Not_Undead]

you hung yourself with that point. neil was an opportunity murder. Neil would have told TG that michonne escaped and TG would have most likely either reprimanded merle or sent him and another poor group of guys to get slaughtered by this chick that the writers gave obvious batman/spiderman-like tree scaling superpowers to. Merle didn't kill him because he was hispanic or for no reason whatsoever. Like judari said, opportunist, not evil

Being opportunistic dosn't mean you're not evil.

Perhaps you and Judari are thinking of sadistic.

[Valleyaggie]

Merle didn't kill him because he was hispanic or for no reason whatsoever.

Not to nitpick but Gargulio is Italian, not Hispanic. Just sayin'.

And Merle is evil incarnate. Opportunistic (as most evil is - it's not like evil sits on the couch and waits for things to happen) and evil.

[DayWalker]

What I'd like to see is them tell Merle he could stay, but he has to let himself get tied up and let Glenn work him over as some payback. Realistically, you cannot trust Merle for a second. Given the opportunity, he will stab someone in the back, and I don't mean figuratively.

[Deadpelican]

look up the definition of "Racist". it is "Making or showing an unfair or prejudicial distinction between different categories of people or things, esp. on the grounds of race and religion". So if you ever even thought about an assumption of someone based on their color, you are technically a racist. you have never known anyone who would qualify as a racist because you live in PC america where everyone has to tone their opinions about people of other colors down to avoid problems. if you have a friend who's ever made a racist joke towards minorities, even as a joke, they are promoting racist stereotypes, which in turn makes them a racist. If you've ever been to china, you'll hear that they are very ethnocentric and constantly make racist remarks about other races. and that's 2 billion people, nearly 30 percent of the population right there. except they don't have as many liberal PC laws as America and nobody can really stop them from saying these things.
nobody see's zero color when dealing with other people. you, me, merle, daryl, and most of the earth's population are all racists deep down because we observe others based on the color of their skin and make our assumptions. only difference is that merle takes these feelings and turns them into a nonstop verbal diarrhea of racial slurs and demeaning remarks. but if he was truly an evil racist, he would not be able to work with martinez, tim, and the black crossbow guy without plotting to kill him. He's just a typical redneck who can't turn off his racial epithets.
i will concede that he is a bully. but does that really make him evil? my older brother bullied me around when i was a kid, is he evil? all the high school jocks that give nerds wedgies and nuggies, are they evil? I don't see it that way. It's not the right thing to do, but certainly not evil

Guys seriously who does Merle actually like- other than his brother Daryl?

He hates people of color... he hates Rick... he hates Glenn... he hates Damn near everyone he meets, or so it seems.

Does the adjective really matter?

Whatever adjective you use to describe Merle- whether you call him a racist, or an asshole, or a hateful bastard- all of those labels are correct but seriously, when you're talking about such a despicable human being, what difference does it make?

[Not_Undead]

I don't agree that he likes Daryl, either. He apparently treated him like dirt when they were growing up.

Daryl is his mangy dog that he kicks from time to time. Still HIS dog, though.

[Judari]

Attempting to kill michonne after she told him to go back, that's not evil. Attempting to murder Glenn and maggie isn't evil. Merle loves Daryl therefore he's actually a good guy. Who cares that he's a horrible racist and an asshole, or that he clearly had intentions to murder Rick, possibly t dog as well. He's the quintessential sub villain of the show.

Tell that to 'Neil'.

He damned well IS evil.

I feel like you guys are taking a black & white stance on evil and in your line of thinking then yeah, Merle would be considered evil. However, most things in life are more complicated than that and I think it applies in this situation as well. The term evil is more subjective anyway, however to me I wouldn't consider someone evil unless they didn't have the capacity to see how their actions effect others and the inability to sympathize or have tolerance. Merle has shown empathy with Andrea, tolerance with the people of Woodbury (there were plenty minorities there and even though he did try to kill Michonne race was not a factor in that), and although he can see how his actions effect others he just doesn't care. That last part is what makes him an asshole. He only cares about himself and his brother. He is a sub-villian of the show no doubt but being a villain doesn't necessarily make you evil.

[Not_Undead]

He is a sub-villian of the show no doubt but being a villain doesn't necessarily make you evil.

That is exactly what is does. Villain means evil person.

You think he's not evil because he can tell the difference between right and wrong? Because he can empathise? No, those keep him from being a sociopath.

Doing evil means you're evil. What GOOD has Merle ever done?

Some things ARE black and white.

[Judari]

That is exactly what is does. Villain means evil person.

You think he's not evil because he can tell the difference between right and wrong? Because he can empathise? No, those keep him from being a sociopath.

Doing evil means you're evil. What GOOD has Merle ever done?

Some things ARE black and white.

For me, truly being evil means beyond redemption, especially in the context of movies/tv. Evil and villains aren't black and white, don't believe me? Just look up all the definitions of evil and villain on TV tropes, here's a link: tvtropes. can be the villain but that doesn't mean they are beyond redemption. Merle is perfectly capable of being a functioning member of the group... as long as its in his best interests. But really arguing semantics will get us nowhere, I'm just saying how I see it in terms of movies/tv and the link I provided backs me up on it.

[DJ_HYDRAulics]

Being opportunistic dosn't mean you're not evil.

Perhaps you and Judari are thinking of sadistic.

in the ZA, opportunistic murders are sadly a part of everyday life. if merle is evil for doing this, than so are a lot of people in the ZA. it all chalks up to survival. Merle doesn't need to kill people to feel happy about himself like a truly evil person does. An evil racist person would be like hitler or pol pot. or maybe even the DC snipers or the KKK members

[Kardy]

what show have you been watching? the chips have already come down to that and merle chose daryl over survival. He halfway threatened TG in episode 8 during the planning by saying "nobody touches my brother" with a stern look.This no doubt caused TG to trust him less and could potentially have lead to his death knowing the way TG throws anybody who challenges his authority under a bus.
also during the death match, TG promised life to the winner. Merle could have easily popped out his arm blade and killed daryl to show all 70 villagers that he was on their side. However, he chose to put on that little show so they could both get out. I doubt merle would ever throw daryl under a bus and if he does, the writers definitely f*cked up

The other members of the Woodbury goon squad took Merle's bayonet when they pushed him into the center of the circle.

[DJ_HYDRAulics]

Guys seriously who does Merle actually like- other than his brother Daryl?

He hates people of color... he hates Rick... he hates Glenn... he hates Damn near everyone he meets, or so it seems.

Does the adjective really matter?

Whatever adjective you use to describe Merle- whether you call him a racist, or an asshole, or a hateful bastard- all of those labels are correct but seriously, when you're talking about such a despicable human being, what difference does it make?

no one here ever argued the point that he was a racist or an asshole. The writers have made it clear that he obviously is. However, is he pure evil? definitely not. calling him that definitely oversimplifies the character. the problem is most viewers can't see past the racist and sexist remarks and see him for what he truly is. a person that is trying to survive in this world. who says he hates people of color? just because he spews racist remarks? Did we not forget that he was in a team with 5+ different "persons of color" and they worked pretty well together in woodbury?
what also makes him not evil in my eyes is the fact that he does show loyalty and respect to his kin. He easily could have thrown daryl under the bus at any time to save his own ass. He made it pretty adament to TG though that nobody touches his brother or else. TG expects merle to be a little lapdog and nod his head at all his orders. This loyalty to daryl is what made TG start to distrust him and eventually threw him under a bus.
so tell me, how can a truly evil man show 3 of a good man's best traits in the entire world? loyalty, honor, and respect to kin. seems impossible to me

[DJ_HYDRAulics]

That is exactly what is does. Villain means evil person.

You think he's not evil because he can tell the difference between right and wrong? Because he can empathise? No, those keep him from being a sociopath.

Doing evil means you're evil. What GOOD has Merle ever done?

Some things ARE black and white.

villain means evil person? wow, call up webster. we need to change the dictionary definition!
the definition is :"A person or thing responsible for specified trouble, harm, or damage"
so if a good sumaritan that donates clothes to the poor, works at a soup kitchen, and takes care of kids at a nursery tried to beat the red light and gets into a car crash with me, she is technically a villain to me. So is this woman evil?

a sociopath is actually a perfect example of pure evil. They need to hurt others in order to feel better. merle is not. he needs to hurt others to survive just like everybody in the ZA. which makes him opportunistic.