Daryl’s Sebastian Threat Further Sets Up Him Taking Rick’s TWD Death

Warning: Spoilers for The Walking Dead season 11, episode 14

Daryl’s threat to Sebastian in The Walking Dead reinforces the idea that he will take Rick’s comic death. Despite there being plans for a spinoff with Carol (Melissa McBride) speculation about Daryl dying has been mounting for a while. Some are theorizing that Norman Reedus’ character will somehow meet his end in The Walking Dead series finale.

As for how Daryl could die, there’s a common theory that his journey will end in the same way that the comics ended Rick Grimes’ story. The final issue of The Walking Dead comics shocked readers by killing off its protagonist. Following the conclusion of the conflict between the Commonwealth and the rebels, Rick was accosted by Pamela Milton’s trouble-making son in the middle of the night and shot to death. Of course, the TV version of Rick isn’t dead and could still die onscreen, but it’s hard to imagine him meeting the same fate now that he’s been separated from the rest of his group. The show could, however, give his comic ending to a different character.

The Walking Dead season 11, episode 14, titled “The Rotten Core”, supports the theory that Daryl will get Rick’s death. In the episode, Daryl responded to an apparent threat to RJ and Judith with one of his own. After grabbing Sebastian, Daryl promised to “gut” him if he dared to threaten them a second time. Sebastian was quick to defuse the situation and seemingly showed no ill will toward him at the end of the episode, but his overall behavior in the series (and the actions of his comic counterpart) prove that Sebastian is the type who holds a grudge. What Daryl did could be enough to motivate Sebastian into getting revenge later.

Daryl solidifying his role as Sebastian’s principal adversary in The Walking Dead season 11 part 2 has dangerous implications for his future. Earlier in the series, Sebastian did have issues with Eugene (Josh MrDermitt), but his attention has since turned to Daryl, who has irked him on more than one occasion at this point. The way things have been slowly escalating between them suggests that more has yet to happen between the two characters. What transpires in the episodes to come could further deepen Sebastian’s animosity toward Daryl.

Since his hatred toward Rick is what put him on the path to killing him in the comic, it does appear that the TV version of his character is being positioned to go down a similar road with Daryl, but AMC’s planned spinoff complicates the situation. The setup with Sebastian has created a sense that their Daryl and Carol spinoff plans are really just a misdirect to trick viewers into thinking that Daryl can’t be killed off. Alternatively, The Walking Dead season 11 may pay off this storyline in a different way by having someone like Carol kill Sebastian, which would prevent Daryl’s death from happening.

The Walking Dead releases new episodes on Sundays on AMC.

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