I know The Walking Dead is all about shocking moments, and many think that Lori’s death was the biggest shocker of last season, but I would have to argue with that. Anyone who reads the comics had a sense that Lori’s death may have been coming, and honestly, we ALL hated Lori too, so it wasn’t like we were really that upset about it.
But Merle? Merle was kind of cool, in a sociopath kind of way, so losing him was definitely tough. But it was how Daryl dealt with it that was downright shocking.
We see Daryl come across Merle after he is zombified. The kicker is, you get a real sense that Merle sort of recognized Daryl. Let’s not forget, those two were in bitter opposition at the end, so it is not like they parted ways on the best of terms. Next thing you know, fan favorite Daryl sees his zombie brother munching on some brains, and he knows what he has to do.
Truthfully, it was a pretty heartfelt moment. As Merle is crawling towards Daryl, you can see the apprehension in Daryl’s face. You can see the tears well up in his eyes and you can sense him steadying himself. He has to do it, for Merle, but we had never seen Daryl more bothered by something up to that point.
It was a shocking and powerful scene in an otherwise wildly inconsistent (but consistently entertaining) show.