The Walking Dead’s Daryl Just Might Be Gay

By Nick Venable | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

the walking deadWatching AMC’s The Walking Dead will bring to mind a lot of questions, such as, “What’s Rick going to yell at now?” and “When is Carol’s luck going to run out?” Less likely are questions about these characters’ sexualities, since this is a series with a severe lack of bone zones. One Walking Dead comic reader openly pondered if Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon was gay or not, and creator Robert Kirkman’s answers seem to imply it’s a definite possibility.

In the fan-favorite letter column in The Walking Dead #130, reader Nick Muller compares Daryl to the comic character Jesus, another loner-type badass who was revealed to be gay quite a few issues after he was introduced, and wonders if Daryl will see a similar outing in the future. And Kirkman, never one to just blatantly reveal anything, is pretty up front about how he and AMC execs have been looking at the issue. Here’s part of his response:

All I can say is that it’s been discussed. We have very specific ideas about Daryl’s sexuality (or the seeming lack thereof), and if there’s ever a quiet period in the show where he’s not constantly distracted by crossbowing…we’ll tackle it on the show.

And just in case you’re thinking AMC would balk at spinning one of TV’s most macho characters into a homosexual, know that isn’t the case at all, as Kirkman says AMC “absolutely would” allow that reveal to happen. I’m totally on board with the decision, even though it probably wouldn’t have any direct effect on the show’s proceedings. Unless, of course, it becomes a public issue and one or more of the other male characters turn into total bigots. I could do without more gay-bashing on TV in any form, so here’s hoping it would be as subtle as it is for Jesus in the comics.

It would make a lot of sense where Daryl and Carol’s relationship is concerned. Fans have been wanting the two characters to hump it out for years now, but it hasn’t happened yet. (Maybe.) Plus, there was the episode which mostly centered on Daryl and Beth getting trashed together inside an abandoned house. She was 18 by that point, right? If there was any time to show Daryl’s love for vagina, that should have been it. And yet, he chose to just get angry and put arrows into things.

the walking dead
Not even trunk sex, Daryl? Not even TRUNK SEX?

It’s good to know that The Walking Dead is multifaceted enough to inspire conversations about post-apocalyptic homosexuality AND Lego trailers. Let us know in the poll below what you think of this possibility.

[yop_poll id=”46″]