8 Reasons You're Allowed To Hate Daryl From The Walking Dead

8. His Brother's Dickish Ways Rubbed Off On Him

In the early episodes of The Walking Dead, Daryl was known just the littlest Dixon. His big brother, Merle, was the primary antagonist against Rick and his ragtag group in the second episode, wherein Merle is left to die, chained to a pipe on a rooftop swarming with walkers. For a brief period after this, Daryl is a belligerent, unpleasant jerk to the rest of the survivors. As the season progressed, his edges softened, but he still remained firmly entrenched in the backwoods-y, morally questionable code of the Dixons. It would take a long time to shake the demons of his brother, because even when Merle wasn't physically there, he was always there in spirit to try to drive a wedge between his little brother and the group he'd chosen to stay with. Obviously, Daryl never went full-on "dark side" toward Rick or anyone else, but there were many times early on when Daryl wasn't the cool, calm, all-around nice dude he is now.