The Walking Dead’s Mid-Season Finale Made Norman Reedus Cry For An Hour

The actor — whose two best on-camera friends, Beth and Carol, are being held captive at Grady Memorial Hospital, where Daryl and Rick are set to launch an attack — implied that there’s one particular scene that’s so heartbreaking he had to “cry himself out” so that he didn’t well up during shooting.

“I sat on an apple box with my head between my legs and just bawled for an hour,” Reedus told TV Guide. “I really wanted to not tear up during the scene, I wanted to be like I wasted every tear in my body before we started shooting so I just sat there and cried and cried and cried.”

Whether it’s romance or just human connection, both Carol and Beth have been very important to Daryl over the last couple of seasons — and each has a vocal fan base. That one of them will die seems probable given Reedus’ comments, combined with earlier statements from series creator Robert Kirkman that the finale would be deadly.

“He’s one of those characters where they keep dangling a carrot in front of him and he keeps reaching for it but the carrot falls in the mud right before he’s about to get it,” the actor added.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC. The fall finale will take place November 30.