TV shows have a habit of dropping characters like a hot potato. There are many reasons a character can disappear from a series, such as the actor landing another gig or the writers running out of ideas for them. However, no matter the explanation, it’s not fair to the audience, who spend their time and energy investing in someone who doesn’t get a fair shake in the end. The Walking Dead, in particular, struggles to do right by its ensemble cast. It’s hard to blame the show sometimes because there are so many mouths to feed, but in the case of a character like Heath, there’s no good justification for him falling off the face of the Earth and never returning.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The Walking Dead typically just kills someone it no longer sees in its future, such as Sasha Williams, who is a mainstay in Rick Grimes’ group until she decides to pick a fight with Negan that ends with her turning into a walker and having to be put down by her friends. But she’s not the only one to suffer this fate. In fact, one character finds themselves in a similar situation after The Walking Dead does right by them by picking up their loose thread.
One of The Walking Dead’s Best Characters Gets an Extended Vacation
Rick can’t catch a break after waking up from his coma in The Walking Dead Season 1. His family is gone, the world is full of monsters, and he’s got little to no resources. Fortunately, with some help from Morgan Jones, he’s able to make it to Atlanta and runs into another group of survivors. They help Rick navigate the undead city, and everything is going swimmingly until a herd blocks the path out. As the group decides what to do, Michael Rooker’s Merle Dixon starts making trouble, forcing Rick to make a tough choice. He leaves Merle handcuffed to a roof, which doesn’t sit right with the man’s brother, Daryl Dixon, who is back at the group’s camp. Rick agrees to go search for Merle, but when he and Daryl get back to the roof, he’s gone, having sawed off his hand to escape.
The situation doesn’t sit right with Daryl, but everyone else moves on, since Merle wasn’t exactly a nice person. The group makes it to a farm in Season 2 and lives there until a herd overruns it. Andrea isn’t able to regroup with her friends and finds herself surviving alongside Michonne Hawthorne at the start of Season 3. The world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though, and Andrea and Michonne soon find themselves captured by a group of people from a place called Woodbury. Leading the charge is none other than Merle, who isn’t sporting a bandage on his injured arm but a bayonet prosthetic.
Merle Dixon’s Return Sets Up The Walking Dead‘s Most Emotional Moment
Bringing Merle back into the fold complicates matters greatly for The Walking Dead. When Rick and his crew initially learn where Andrea is and what’s going on at Woodbury, they want to do what they do best: fight. However, Daryl wants to hear his brother out, especially because he feels like he failed them. Of course, Woodbury’s leader, The Governor, has his own plans, wanting to wipe out anyone who’s a threat to his community. Merle siezes the opportunity and plays nice with Rick, hoping to get a second chance on the side he thinks will eventually win the war.
Down the line, the Governor and Rick cut a deal that everyone believes will end the fighting and allow both communities to live in peace. However, Merle doesn’t buy it, so he goes to kill the Governor and his men. While he gets a few good licks in, Merle dies near the end of Season 3 and turns into a walker. The usually stoic Daryl breaks down when he has to put his brother down because, despite all his flaws, he still loves him. Despite being a show full of death, Merle’s end is easily one of The Walking Dead‘s most heartbreaking moments, being a reminder of how impactful a redemption arc can be, especially when it gets a multi-season build-up.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in theย ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Warner Bros. Animation / Cartoon Network Studios -
Image Courtesy of Shueisha
