Norman Reedus Reveals Bittersweet Reaction To The Walking Dead

Norman Reedus, who has played Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead for more than a decade, has a bittersweet reaction to the show coming to an end. First airing in 2010 on AMC, The Walking Dead quickly became a phenomenon, telling the story of a group of survivors led by former Sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) who navigate the dangerous world of a zombie apocalypse. Although Rick has since left the show, Reedus' Daryl remains one of The Walking Dead's key characters and is even slated to get his own spinoff show, which is expected to be released next year.

The Walking Dead left viewers with a tense cliffhanger in season 11, episode 16, with Lance (Josh Hamilton) and his soldiers taking over the three major communities of Hilltop, Commonwealth, and Oceanside before flipping a coin to decide the fate of Oceanside's residents. It's currently unknown how the series will wrap up but viewers can be assured that Daryl will survive whatever is to come since he will be getting his own spinoff. Carol (Melissa McBride) was originally slated to appear in the Daryl spinoff show, but the actor recently dropped out in order to take some time off from TWD universe. In a new interview with Iron & Air, Reedus reflected on his long tenure on the show and shares a bittersweet reaction to filming his final episode. The actor explains that the show coming to an end didn't really hit him until he was driving home from the show's Georgia set for the last time, calling the ending "weird and sad" but saying that it also gave him a "feeling of great accomplishment." It hit me driving home from the set. The sun’s coming up, and there’s a certain route I take through the woods to get back to my house in Georgia. And when I finished that ride and I got to my gate, I was like, 'Whoa, that’s the last time I’m going to do that.' It was weird and sad, and it’s also like a feeling of great accomplishment, in a way.

Daryl is one of the show's longest-surviving characters. With Reedus having been heavily involved in all 11 of the show's seasons, The Walking Dead has now been in his life for more than 12 years, an impressive tenure for any actor. Although Reedus is returning for Daryl's spinoff show, the end of The Walking Dead understandably marks a significant moment for the actor, especially considering how beloved his character is and how popular the show has been throughout the years. It remains to be seen what characters from The Walking Dead will appear in Daryl's spinoff show, but, for Reedus, wrapping filming on The Walking Dead means an end to working with the same people he's been working with for years. As Reedus explains, completing 11 seasons of The Walking Dead is a major accomplishment, especially in an age where many shows don't survive longer than two or three seasons. While Reedus is sure to survive the remaining eight episodes of The Walking Dead, other fan-favorite characters might not be so lucky. For now, viewers still have a few months to wait before they get to experience the emotional end of The Walking Dead for themselves.