Everyone’s heard the story. Norman Reedus came in to audition for the role of Merle on The Walking Dead and the producers found him to be too sympathetic, but liked what he brought to the part, so they created a brother for Merle, Daryl, to get him on the show. Within a couple of seasons, Daryl was every Walking Dead fan’s favorite character.
When Andrew Lincoln left The Walking Dead recently, Reedus was promoted to series lead and Daryl replaced Rick Grimes as the show’s main protagonist. The decision was a no-brainer, but there are plenty of other great characters on the show.
Daryl Is The Best: He’s A Total Badass
Whether he’s riding around on a motorcycle or shooting arrows into walkers’ heads with his crossbow, Daryl is a total badass.
In a story about apocalyptic survivors fending off hordes of the undead, being a badass goes a long way toward winning fans over.
Closest Contender: Carol Peletier
In the first couple of seasons of The Walking Dead, Carol suffered tragedy after tragedy. She was abused by her husband, then he was killed, then she lost her daughter in the most traumatizing way possible (she was missing for a long time, then emerged as a zombie, then got shot in the head right in front of her mother).
Carol pulled through from these traumas and eventually became one of the toughest characters on the show. She saved everyone from Terminus, she washed her hands of the intercommunity warfare and moved into a cottage out of the way, and she was the only character who would murder a child for the good of the group.
Daryl Is The Best: He’s Hiding A Heart Of Gold Under A Tough Exterior
When the audience first met Daryl at the beginning of the series, he was emotionally closed off. However, as he developed throughout the first couple of seasons, it became apparent that he was hiding a heart of gold under a tough exterior.
The Daryl at the beginning of the series had been shaped by Merle’s bullying. Living with other people, and eventually without Merle altogether, allowed Daryl to open up and reveal the sweetheart he really is.
Closest Contender: Michonne
When she was introduced in the season 2 finale, Michonne instantly became a fan favorite just from the fact that she was armed with a katana and went around with two armless walkers tethered to her to carry her stuff.
Fans have gotten to know more about Michonne as the series has gone on, like her backstory and her unexpected sense of humor, which was brought out by a heartwarming bond with Carl. As a result, Michonne's popularity has only increased.
Daryl Is The Best: He Shares Great Chemistry With Everyone
In a TV series, especially one with a huge ensemble cast like The Walking Dead, the mark of a great character is one who can bounce off of the supporting players around them.
Daryl is a prime example of a character who has great chemistry with whomever he shares the screen with. Whether he’s paired up with Rick or Carol or Michonne or Beth or Glenn or pretty much anyone, Daryl makes a classic dynamic out of it.
Closest Contender: Hershel Greene
When he was introduced in the second season, Hershel came off as kind of a jerk. He wanted Rick and the group to get off his farm and he kept walkers in his barn. However, losing everything he has and almost everyone he loves in the season 2 finale really humbled Hershel.
He took Dale’s place as the wise old man of the group and performed the role much more effectively than his predecessor ever did. Fans cheered when Hershel pulled through after losing his leg and wept when he subsequently lost his head.
Daryl Is The Best: He Might Be The Last Man Standing
In season 4, Beth told Daryl that he’ll be “the last man standing.” Everyone else is doomed to die in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, but he’ll be fine. While Robert Kirkman and the show’s producers keep insisting that no one is safe, it’s fair to say that Daryl probably is.
But he’s not safe just because fans love him and the producers will keep him around for fan service; he’s safe because he’s a born survivor who feels more at home in a lawless, zombie-infested world than a functioning society.
Closest Contender: Negan
Only Jeffrey Dean Morgan could take a character as sadistic and reprehensible and violent and morally bankrupt as Negan and make him totally lovable. In his first appearance, Negan killed two fan-favorite characters to make fans hate him (one more than the number of major characters he killed for the same reason in the comics), but audiences were still entranced by him.
There’s something captivating about a character who just doesn’t give a damn and goes into people’s homes and takes whatever he wants and commands his own army. Plus, Negan's language is rather colorful — although not quite as colorful as in the censor-free comics.
Daryl Is The Best: He’s Got The Most Interesting Arc
Ironically, the character who doesn’t have reams of source material to draw his arc from has the most interesting arc on the show. Daryl has arguably grown the most out of anyone on the AMC series.
Abraham was the same guy when he died as he was when he was first introduced into the series. Daryl, however, is a completely different person now than he was in season 1.
Closest Contender: Rick Grimes
Rick is the character that Walking Dead fans have been following since the beginning. Audiences didn’t get to see any of the apocalypse until Rick awoke from his coma three months into it, and they discovered the grisly state of the world at the same rate he did.
Andrew Lincoln played the character’s transformation from a clean-cut sheriff into a deranged lunatic beautifully, challenging the concept that TV protagonists have to be of sound mind. Fans didn’t always agree with Rick’s decisions, but he was always captivating.