When viewers got their first look at Merle Dixon on the rooftops of Atlanta way back in season one, they were treated to some fundamental 'white trash' stereotypes, elevated only by Michael Rooker's natural charisma. Despite that, the character's absence in the wake of the group finding his hand marked him as a particular point of fan interest, with the question of his potential return coming up time and again, until he finally reappeared in season 3. As a loyal servant to The Governor, Merle went on to hunt down and attempt to kill Michonne, kidnap Glenn and Maggie and brutally torture the former before being put on the outs by his leader under the belief that Merle had betrayed Woodbury. After escaping the town, Merle and Daryl split off on their own, with the much-changed Daryl acknowledging Merle for the scumbag he was shortly after and returning to the prison with his outcast brother in tow. Eventually, Merle sacrificed his life in a failed attempt to take out The Governor and give his brother a chance at living at the prison with the people he cared about without more conflict. Beforehand, the character was able to reflect upon his choices to Michonne, revealing that he remembered every life he had taken for The Governor and that it was far too late for him to turn back from the man he had become.
Writer, film enthusiast, part-time gamer and watcher of (mostly) good television located on the fringe of Los Angeles, who now has his own website at www.highdefgeoff.com!
