Norman Reedus Reveals Daryl's Goal In 'The Walking Dead' Season 8B

Heading into the back half of The Walking Dead Season Eight, Daryl Dixon will solely have the survival of his people on his mind.

Norman Reedus opened up about the back half of The Walking Dead's current season while speaking to Entertainment Weekly, where he revealed Daryl's "main goal is to protect the people in his camp." In fact, there is little limit to how far Daryl will go for Alexandria and its allied communities.

"Shooting a stranger in the face to get that goal, he thinks it's worth it," Reedus said. "I think that's some of that dirty fighting street knowledge that he's throwing around. Rick wants his people to survive, but he also wants to save everyone else. He's like, 'The stranger over there, that's a worker. He's got to be part of it.'"

Juxtaposed to Rick is Daryl's view of the situation. "Daryl's more like, 'No, no. This is our group and we need to keep these people safe,'" Reedus said. "He's almost more loyal in a way to what's around him because these people kind of turned him into something they need to be proud of. I think that's his family. I don't think he has a messiah complex; he's just doing what he needs to do. That's part of that street stuff."

Of course, Daryl's actions aren't without cause. "If they weren't in a big war, I don't think he'd just go around shooting people in the face, but they're out there, there's a war going on, and war's dirty," Reedus said. "You have to have that dirty fighting street sense to get through something like that. I think sometimes Rick, his desire to save everyone sometimes can be seen as weak to Daryl. When Daryl and Rick come to blows fist to fist, that's what that is. He doesn't love him any less, but he's like, 'You're being weak. You need to step up.' They're both right."

The Walking Dead returns for the second half of its eighth season on February 25, 2018. Fear the Walking Dead will debut its fourth season after The Walking Dead concludes its eighth, at 10 pm ET on April 15. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.