Warning: Spoilers for The Walking Dead season 7’s premiere follow, although if you don’t already know what’s happened, you’re probably not going to be interested in this post anyway…
Tomorrow’s episode of The Walking Dead will see us catching up with Daryl for the first time following the events of the season 7 premiere, where Negan brutally murdered Glenn in retaliation for Daryl striking him as he came to the defense of Rosita. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, actor Norman Reedus has revealed that Daryl blames himself for Glenn’s death, and that he can “never forgive himself”.
“He goes into a very dark place,” states Reedus. “He completely takes the weight of that and just carries that with him. He never forgives himself and he takes full responsibility… The weight of Glenn’s death is going to weigh on Daryl heavily, I know it does. He gives up, he loses the fight, he’s keeping to himself, whatever’s happening to him, he thinks he deserves it. He’s going to let it happen, which is crushing. To take somebody wild like that — a wild, pure, honest fighter like that — and just strip him of his desire to fight back or fight for anything, it’s crushing.”
SEE ALSO: Daryl and Dwight featured in clip from The Walking Dead season 7 episode 3 – ‘The Cell’
Reedus also went on to tease how the events of the premiere will affect the whole group – and indeed the show – going forward: “It’s a different season now. We’ve never not been in control or at least thought we were in control. You have to break down heroes to see them turn into bigger heroes. Hopefully those heroes make it and hopefully those heroes find their way back to the type of people that fight for freedom and fight for their friends. It’s just a different season. It’s uplifting and it’s heartbreaking all at the same time, it’s a very emotional ride this year. It’s a very bold move, but the payoff is really big.”
SEE ALSO: Follow all of our coverage of The Walking Dead here
The Walking Dead Season 7 airs on AMC on Sundays in the US and on Mondays on Fox in the UK.
Originally published November 5, 2016. Updated December 16, 2019.
