10 Reasons Why The Walking Dead Is Currently Better Than Ever

Once upon a time, between late-Season Six and the finale of Season Eight, it looked as though the writers really didn't know what to do with Daryl Dixon. He had spent so long being Rick's closest friend and right-hand man, but being absent from the comics meant that the writers were always trying to find a way to fit him into the various stories.

So, he was cast aside. Held hostage by Negan, tortured and beaten down, he barely speaks, shuffles about, and has no real input in the overarching story.

Come Season Nine, then, it was fair to worry about where Angela Kang and the writers would take him. But when Rick left the show, it was Daryl who stepped up to fill his shoes, adapting to the new world and becoming one of the Survivors' most prominent leaders.

Close with all the main characters, from Judith to Carol, Lydia to Aaron, he is no longer the brash, violent man he used to be, but the exact person the rest of the characters need. It will be interesting to see where the rest of the show takes him, and what will become of him when he goes off on his new adventures with Carol, because he really is the best the show currently has to offer.