The Walking Dead: Karl Makinen Weighs On Richard, Daryl, And War With Saviors

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 10 follow.

Until tonight, Richard was easily becoming a fan-favorite character on The Walking Dead. He was the voice of the audience when it comes to going to war with the Saviors, often being the only character who was ready to take aim and Negan and the Saviors.

However, fans might have pulled the reigns back on their fandom when Richard was willing to use Carol as bait to get King Ezekiel to join the war. Such a plan put Richard actor Karl Makinen in an intense scene with Daryl Dixon as they set out to attack their enemy.

“First of all when I read the scene and I saw the scene that I had with him, I was so excited,” Makinen said. “A fan favorite, and there I am, and I get to work with [Norman Reedus] in this four piece great scene, but then I realize like, what happens at the end is he kind of turns on me, or doesn’t agree with me, and that really is what, ultimately, I wanted, which is a real downer for me, because now I feel like I’m buttin’ heads up against these doors and I’m not getting through to any of them. This was a big one of me, too. I believe looking at Daryl’s journey through the whole show and seeing what he’s put up with, and with his brother, I think that I think that we could probably see eye to eye again down the road.”

Makinen is very confident Richard and Daryl will get along, one day. “In the world that we’re living in, he can’t like the Saviors,” Makinen points out about Daryl. “He knows how bad they are, and I know how bad they are. My ploy to try to do what I want him to do to Carol, was probably not thought enough through as Richard should have, but my passion and my drive is coming to wits end and I’ll do anything to try to take down the Saviors. I don’t know. You saw what happened, so I mean I do think that we could see eye to eye down the road some, but it would be tough to get there.”

Given Richard’s intense desire to take on the Saviors, it is easy to wonder why he remains so loyal to King Ezekiel and the Kingdom which he serves. “I’m loyal and true for sure, so what he tells you to do, I will do,” Makinen says. “You can see my passion. You can see my drive. You can see my commitment. You can see what I really need to happen. It is a little bit of a balancing act, because you got the king there who I’m loyal to, and then you have my overwhelming drive to take down the Saviors. So, I wonder that’s probably my inner turmoil going on there, too.”

Of course, it’s not all about Richard’s relationships with Daryl and Ezekiel right now. Another character who he may have a bit of conflict with given their ideologies landing on opposite sides of the survival methods spectrum is Morgan Jones.

“I think that he’s the one person that really gets to me, because he’s had so many opportunities to see how this is going down and why he should change his mind, and I am so frustrated with him not getting behind this,” Makinen said of Richard’s view on Morgan. “It really, really it is a challenge for my character to see him want to always find an other way besides killing, and it doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t understand it all, because they’re killing people, so why shouldn’t we kill them? His way of thinking, I don’t agree with at all.”

MORE NEW BEST FRIENDS: Jadis Actress Tells All / Who Was Winslow? / What Happens When Jadis Meets Negan / New Best Friends Complete Recap / Karl Makinen On Richard’s Intense Episode & Future

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.

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