The darkest scene in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon spinoff highlights the biggest difference in character between Daryl and Rick Grimes.
Summary
- Daryl Dixon’s darkest scene in The Walking Dead reveals his ruthless side, surpassing even Rick Grimes’ actions.
- In his spinoff show, Daryl becomes even more brutal and violent, driven by his detachment and desperation to return to his group.
- Daryl’s darker and more shut-off personality sets him apart from Rick, making him a unique and memorable antihero protagonist in The Walking Dead franchise.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’s darkest scene showed the biggest difference between Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). After nearly a decade of being The Walking Dead’s protagonist, Rick passed the torch to Daryl who became the focus of the main series for the last few seasons and now has his own spinoff. While there have been several Walking Dead spinoffs, Daryl is the first to have one focusing solely on him. It shows how important he has become to the franchise, yet one standout scene from Daryl Dixon reveals a key difference between him and Rick.
Given how long both characters have survived the apocalypse, each has had to do a lot to survive, including having more brutal and ruthless moments. These hard decisions are part of being a leader, something they would both learn as they fought to protect their group. While Daryl has always had a dark side to him, he is still a good character at heart, but after Rick’s departure, The Walking Dead made Daryl more like Rick Grimes. He had to make tougher calls and be more aggressive in his approach to wars like the Commonwealth. The Daryl Dixon spinoff shows that he may have become more ruthless than Rick ever was.
Daryl Dixon’s Torture Scene Is Darker Than Anything Rick Grimes Did
In episode 4 of Daryl Dixon, the show’s protagonist conducts a torture scene that is far darker than anything Rick has done. In an attempt to gain information about Laurent’s (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) whereabouts, Daryl interrogates a man to gain information. He tells a story about a kid from his childhood who was forced to kill a pig and by attempting not to hurt it, he only ends up damaging it more. While doing so, Daryl treats his prisoner as said pig, repeatedly stabbing this defenseless man all to get the intel he wants. To make matters worse, he reveals the whole story was just made up.
This shows the darkest side of Daryl, acting even more evil than Rick ever did. Rick is not without his ruthless moments, he kills a man by biting his throat out, executes Gareth (Andrew J. West) and Pete (Corey Brill) without hesitation, and even kills his best friend. Clearly, Rick is no angel, but while at times he showed little mercy, heartlessly torturing someone is something not even Rick did, even in his worst moments. There have been occasions throughout The Walking Dead where Daryl was more villain than hero, this torture scene proves to be perhaps his most evil moment yet.
Why Daryl Is More Ruthless Than He Was In Walking Dead Season 11
Daryl was a pretty dangerous character in season 11, yet he is even more ruthless in the spinoff show. In season 11, he was not only looked at as a leader among his people, but he also assumed responsibilities over Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming) making him extremely cautious over threats. Rather than take risks and give people second chances, Daryl was quick to turn to violence in order to settle disputes. Although he does protect Judith, Daryl ultimately leaves her at the end of the main series yet still thinks about her and even hears Judith at the start of Daryl Dixon.
This is part of the reason he is even more brutal in the spinoff. Daryl has been on his own for around a year, only amplifying the detachment from other people he has felt numerous times throughout the apocalypse. When Daryl went looking for Rick in the main series, he spent long periods on his own and is now doing so again. Being alone for so long will make him desperate to return to America and see the likes of Judith and the rest of the group. Torturing someone is simply just another step on Daryl’s path home, and it appears he is willing to get extremely violent to do so.
Daryl Is A Different Kind Of Walking Dead Protagonist (& That’s Good)
Daryl is a different type of protagonist to Rick which makes for compelling viewing. It is important that the show has a likable lead character; even if Daryl is a little more shut off and dark, he is still incredibly popular. While Rick has clear moral compasses in the form of his children, Daryl doesn’t. Beth (Emily Kinney) and Carol (Melissa McBride) brought out that softer side in Daryl over the years, but he isn’t as impacted by them as Rick is by his family. Losing his wife and best friend was the start of Rick’s moral descent, and it took the death of his son to bring him back.
With Daryl not having any allies in France when he first arrives, he is incredibly dangerous. His good nature has him agree to protect Laurent, but that is also due to the promise of getting a route home as a result. He likely has no plans on staying in France and therefore doesn’t mind creating a few enemies, although The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’s season 2 renewal may change that. Both characters have their more sinister moments, but Rick is very clearly the hero of The Walking Dead, making Daryl more of an antihero which allows them to stand out from one another and be memorable protagonists.
Categories: Trending
Source: SCHOOL EMC
