‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Will Love Norman Reedus’ Season 8 Promise

The Walking Dead‘s seventh season was tough on its characters, which also made it a little harder for fans to enjoy. Luckily for both, Season Eight sounds like it is going back to a place where they will be happier to be.

Daryl Dixon actor Norman Reedus, who had one of the tougher experiences as his character was humiliated and abused by Negan for much of Season Seven, is very much looking forward to Episode 100 and beyond as the show prepares to launch it eighth season.

“It feels like our original show again,” Reedus promised in an interview with CNet. “I didn’t love last season, shooting it. I didn’t see anyone. I was crying all the time. I was naked and eating dog food. It was just no fun. This season feels like our show again.”

Season Seven was darker than any before it because of the introduction Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan. The character wreaked havoc on the series and its characters for 16 consecutive weeks like no villain before him. “I’m not gonna lie, that did suck,” Morgan said of the Season Seven premiere on The Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season‘s Blu-ray. “I hated doing that.”

Into Darkness

For Reedus, Season Seven was dark from the first episode Morgan was speaking of.

While talking to ComicBook.com about the unforgettable Season Seven premiere, Reedus offered his perspective of Daryl’s journey for the most recent 16-episode run. “He goes very, very dark,” Reedus described. “He does certain things that he can’t go back from. He goes to a very, very dark, dark place. It’s a combination of hatred. It’s a combination of self-loathing. It’s different from when he first started on the show. He has a big chip on his shoulder. He thought people wouldn’t like him. He didn’t give a shit. He hates you, too. It turns now into he kind of hates himself. He hates the world that we’re in, and he doesn’t lose the fight in him, but he definitely no longer sees anything good in the world, that’s for sure.”

It wasn’t until the Season Seven midseason premiere until Daryl started to form a semblance of himself again. The Hilltop reunion offered characters and fans the first bright spot of The Walking Dead‘s seventh season. 

“Iconic Sequence”

Reedus is not the only cast or crew member making promises about Season Eight, though.

ComicBook.com caught up with Paul “Jesus” Rovia actor Tom Payne shortly after The Walking Dead began production on its eighth season, and the actor seems to be as excited for the coming episodes as anyone.

“I think Season Eight, that we’re getting into now, it’s completely different, first of all,” Payne said. “I always told myself I wouldn’t say what I’ve heard other cast members say every other year, which is, ‘Oh, the next season is gonna be this! And the new episode is so many superlatives and so many words you use!’ And I’m like, ‘Come on, you can’t say the same things every year!’ But then I had to bite my tongue and says, ‘Well, actually…’ Season Eight, the first few episodes are out of this world amazing. We’ve all been getting them and going, ‘Wow, okay we thought that was amazing!’ and then the next episode is amazing. The audience is going to be very happy with the direction we’re taking. We’re all really happy.” 

More Walking Dead

The Walking Dead‘s sibling series Fear the Walking Dead returns September 10th. The Walking Dead will return for its eighth season on October 22, 2017. The Season Eight premiere will mark 100 episodes overall for the popular AMC series. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.