Thus far, ‘The Walking Dead‘ breakout stud Daryl Dixon has crossbowed hundreds of zombies, as well as far more hearts of the show’s fans, female and male. I mean, that dirty scowl, those biceps, that good-guy-redneck swag? Like he’s one of those guys that when he reeks of sweat, it doesn’t make you want to pinch your nose, it makes you want to tear off your clothes. High five, internet fellow-thinkers!
Daryl (and his now-deceased brother Merle) are not characters from the comic book series on which the TV show is based. Yet Daryl, played by Norman Reedus, has proven to be one of the absolute most popular characters on the show. Reedus delivers a toughness and a vulnerability to the role that has won a legion of fans. He is one of the few characters from the show that has scored loads and loads of solo merchandising from tee-shirts, posters and bobbleheads to action figures and cardboard standees.
Would the fan-favorite character retain his massive following if it turned out… he was secretly gay?
The question has been raised by viewers who point out that despite his sexiness, he hasn’t really sealed the deal with the females closest to him. The main case in point is Carol, who everyone involved with the show seems to dismiss as more of a sister figure for Daryl. Recently, Daryl and Beth went on the run together. Now, maybe it’s just me but EWWW! The thought of pairing them together has never once entered my mind, since Beth is, oh yeah, a TEENAGER. AND Daryl was close to her father Hershel. Ick! Even that ho Andrea didn’t try anything with him!
So does that make him gay? The answer might surprise you.
In the comics, there was a gay male couple, Eric and Aaron who played a minor part in the series. Eric died recently, but Aaron is still part of the cast.
More recently, a truly awesome character, Paul Monroe, nicknamed Jesus (that Gee-zus, not Hay-zoos) was introduced and quickly distinguished himself as possibly the coolest addition to the comics since Michonne. After he’d been appearing in the series for over a year (real time) it was recently, subtly revealed that he was gay.
It’s unclear whether any of these characters will pop up on the show, but what of our intense loner Daryl? Comic creator and TV show executive producer Robert Kirkman stated:
“All I can say is that it’s been discussed. We have very specific ideas about Daryl’s sexuality (or the seeming lack thereof), and if there’s ever a quiet period in the show where he’s not consistently distracted by crossbowing… we’ll tackle it in the show.”
When pressed as to whether AMC would actually reveal that fan favorite Daryl verify that he was gay, Kirkman replied, “For the record, they absolutely would.”
Things look to be intense at the opening of this upcoming season, but there have been many quieter, character-driven episodes recently. Who’s to say what we may discover in the upcoming season?
What do you think? Is Daryl’s sexuality that important, considering that it’s played absolutely no part in the TV series so far? Or would the decision to declare him one or the other ruin him for you?
Oh by the way…
Source: ComicBook.Com
