‘The Walking Dead’ season 7, episode 3: Norman Reedus on Daryl living for Glenn

Sunday night’s new episode of “The Walking Dead” was an emotional one for Daryl, and also a really excellent one for Norman Reedus as a performer. He started the episode stripped down and eating dog food, but by the end of the hour, he did have a rather promising offer, if he chose to accept it: He could end up working with Negan rather than against him, and follow a path with the Saviors that was previously accepted by Dwight.

So why specifically go against it? While in some ways this would seem obvious, the reasoning is far more specific than you would first assume. Just take a look at what Norman Reedus had to say to Entertainment Weekly:

“[In] that first scene, even being in that jail cell, Daryl’s thinking he deserves it. Like, whatever happens to him, he deserves it, but he can’t say he’s Negan because it would give up all of the hope that Glenn had. Glenn was this optimistic guy. He was his friend. He’s done so much and that’s the last thread of humanity that he has left, is saving face for his friend. It’s as much for Glenn as it is for Daryl, you know? That’s the last thing he has left.”

Hopefully, the memory of Glenn will be enough for some characters to cling to the future and hope that things can turn around and get better for them. For Daryl, his biggest issue is that he’s still locked away at Negan’s compound, and as Sherry told him / we saw, there aren’t exactly many methods of escape for him. We know Daryl is a badass, but what in the world can he do when there are dozens of people trained for the purpose of taking out threats? This is what Robert Kirkman and Scott M. Gimple did that was so smart with this particular storyline; they’ve made the Saviors into legitimate threats that are just as dangerous, if not more so, than many members of Team Rick. That’s not something you really see all that much anymore in an age where the heroes almost always seem to be overpowered over the villains.

If you missed it, head over here to read our review for Sunday night’s new episode. (Photo: AMC.)