The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus: “Be Very Worried About Daryl”

We’re going to have to wait an entire week to find out what exactly will happen to Daryl Dixon following The Walking Dead‘s shocking conclusion Sunday night but at least Norman Reedus is offering a bit of insight.

The actor has opened up about the closing moments of East, shutting down all fans hoping that the blood on our screens wasn’t actually his. It doesn’t sound very good for Daryl but in this show we have certainly learned, don’t assume anyone is dead until you see a body.

“You should be very worried about Daryl,” Reedus tells THR. “At the end of the episode, there’s a comment that Dwight makes [‘You’ll be alright’] — and we’re really good about throwing you off base. That comment might not even be to Daryl. It could be to Rosita — or to anybody there. Or it could be to something that some scuffle that happens directly afterward. Do you trust that guy? Anyone automatically assuming that’s the obvious play is trusting words that come out of that guy’s mouth and we’re really good at throwing you for a loop.”

Dwight certainly had the chance to definitively kill Daryl at the end of the episode. While he may, in fact, be dead or dying, the gunshot wasn’t one which looks like an instant kill. It wasn’t a headshot. When asked why that was the case, Reedus says, “We’re telling a larger story and it’s interesting with those two characters — they don’t mirror each other, but one character has some good in him and is forced to be bad.”

It started months ago when they met in the woods but it came to a head last week when Dwight returned with a vengeance. “When we met on the train tracks and Denise gets shot with the arrow, Daryl is the first person Dwight acknowledges and talks to,” Reedus says. “There’s almost an apologetic thing in his voice for having to do this. You see what happened to his face and you know who did that. I don’t think Daryl is that guy who you can break. Maybe there’s something in Dwight that Daryl sees that that he thinks he can rehabilitate somehow or put out of his misery. And there’s something from Dwight that sees somebody [in Daryl] that he had that long conversation with in episode six: ‘This is who you want to be? You want to be somebody that gets down on your knees and doesn’t feel safe?’”

The Walking Dead comic books fans know that Dwight eventually defected against his fearless leader, Negan, and helped Rick and company win a brutal war. While it seems like Dwight and Daryl will never get along right now, Reedus’ comments make it seem like they could eventually see eye to eye and help one another find redemption.

Another thing comic book fans know, though, is that Rick and the group are going to pay for their assaults on Negan’s men. Reedus knows, too. “I imagine that’s going to come back and there’s going to be price to pay for that,” the actor says.

For Negan, though, it’s not a matter of killing his men. It’s a matter of pride. “I don’t think Negan cares,” Reedus says. “He doesn’t give a shit about [his men]. Scott [Gimple] said it the best when he said that Negan is the star of his own movie. I think besides your women, he doesn’t really care.”

We’ll learn all about Negan starting with the extended, 90-minute finale on Sunday night as Negan will be making his first appearance on The Walking Dead TV series.

The Walking Dead‘s season six finale airs Sunday at 9 PM ET on AMC.