Why The Walking Dead Fans Are Not Happy With Daryl In Season 11
"The Walking Dead" has come a long way since the days of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) surviving in the woods near Atlanta. Since then, the group has fought its way through a number of "safe" communities, including Woodbury, the prison, and Terminus — while also coming across villains like Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the Whisperers. Fans were also shocked when Andrew Lincoln left the series back in Season 9 — although he's meant to reprise the role in a trilogy of movies alongside Pollyanna McIntosh, whose character, Jadis, aka Anne, saved Rick from the bridge explosion.
But although Rick isn't the focus of the main series anymore, "The Walking Dead" does just fine without him, and it will wrap up its story in Season 11. It's not the end of the universe, however, AMC having expanded the franchise with spin-offs like "Fear the Walking Dead," "The Walking Dead: World Beyond," and 2022's "Tales of the Walking Dead." Then there's another untitled series, which will follow the further adventures of Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride).
Speaking of Daryl, Season 11 has been a dramatic affair for the biker hero. He falls in with the Reapers when he finds his ex-lover Leah (Lynn Collins) with the group of ex-soldiers. This doesn't exactly end well when she realizes that he's a member of Maggie's (Lauren Cohan) group. On a larger scale, there's an ensuing struggle between Hilltop and the Commonwealth, a huge settlement of survivors, and "The Walking Dead" fans aren't happy with Daryl in Season 11.
Fans don't like seeing Daryl Dixon allied with the Commonwealth
Although Daryl spends most of Season 11 with Leah and the Reapers, Episode 9, "No Other Way," ends with a surprising six-month time jump where he's leading a squad of Commonwealth soldiers against Hilltop. The Commonwealth is a massive settlement that houses 50,000 survivors and has a working society that is almost like life before the outbreak — aside from a surprising class system. It's not exactly the type of place where Daryl would fit in, and fans aren't happy that he's a member of their army.
@LaciMarieKnight spoke for most of the fandom by tweeting, "For the love of zombies NOOO!!!," and @shift3_3 echoed the sentiment, adding, "I wasn't [sic] expecting that. I screamed."
On the other hand, it seems like most fans assume Daryl has another agenda completely. @KaylinMullins24 thinks the hero has a plan that involves pretending to be a soldier, tweeting, "I Hope Daryl is not going against the group now, I know he would never do that. I think Daryl has a plan as a trooper to help his group." Meanwhile, @JuliaBernoski13 theorizes, "There better be a good reason, Daryl would never turn against his own. I will stand by his decisions but right now I'm [a] little sus and worried." Let's hope the show has a good answer for the reveal in Episode 10.