'The Walking Dead' season 7 spoilers: Daryl is in bad shape, has no will to fight
Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) would rather die than dishonor the memory of his fallen friend Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun).
In the latest episode of "The Walking Dead" season 7, Daryl endured torture at the hands of Dwight (Austin Amelio) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who were trying to break him.
Daryl was brought to the Saviors' Sanctuary, where he was locked up in a jail cell, fed dog food sandwiches, emotionally and mentally tortured, and even shown a photo of Glenn's corpse. All this in a bid to get Daryl to join Negan's crew.
Despite the continuous torment, Daryl rejected all the options Negan presented, opting instead to suffer through everything. Even after Sherry (Christine Evangelista), Dwight's wife, tried to warn Daryl to just do as he was told, the broken Daryl did not budge. At the end of the episode, he was back in his cell, where he continued to wrestle with Glenn's brutal death and his role in it.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reedus said that Daryl blamed himself for Glenn's death. According to the actor, while nobody saw Glenn's murder coming, and despite the fact that Daryl would never have intentionally put any of his group in harm's way, Daryl knewsthat Glenn wouldn't have died if he had not stood up to Negan.
"He full-heartedly blames himself," Reedus said.
As for what's going on in Daryl's head as the Saviors are tormenting him, the actor said, "He's letting it all happen."
"He thinks he deserves to be there, and he thinks whatever the Saviors throw at him, he thinks he deserves it," he explained. "He's not fighting back at all. He's lost the will to fight," he added.
When asked to talk about Daryl's state of mind moving forward, "The Walking Dead" executive producer Greg Nicotero told Entertainment Weekly, "He's in bad shape. He's in really bad shape."
"Daryl has one thing left and that's his honor, his word and his name and he's not giving it to Negan," Reedus said.
"The Walking Dead" season 7 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.