‘The Walking Dead’: Norman Reedus Says Daryl Will Be Funny And Have One-Liners [Spoilers]

The Walking Dead is known for many things, but humor has not traditionally been among them — until now, according to Norman Reedus. Through all of the exploding zombie heads, post-apocalyptic nightmare scenarios, and evil one eyes cult leaders, we have yet to really catch a glimpse at anyone’s inner comedian. Wait no more because The Walking Dead is going to highlight this oft overlooked aspect of Daryl Dixon.

Norman Reedus recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly to discuss his character on The Walking Dead, and he spilled the beans on his characters development in the wake of Beth’s untimely demise. Reedus announced that in the mid-season premiere of the Walking Dead, we will see a lighter side of Daryl.

“There’s some really funny things [happening]… there’s some humor in Daryl in the back eight that just comes from him being him. He’s not really telling jokes, but it’s kind of funny.There’s a sense of humor to Daryl that, I think, we see for the first time because he’ll say little one-liners that are kind of funny, but he’s screaming them in your face,”

This may provide a bit of a break from the onslaught of tragedy audiences are regularly dosed with on The Walking Dead. This comes on the heels of the announcement of the show’s new direction through the upcoming episodes.

Showrunner Scott Gimple also mentioned this new aspect of The Walking Dead, saying of Carol, played by Mellissa McBride, that there will be some unexpected levity mixed in with her general kick-ass shenanigans.

“Some moments are fun and even a little funny… I’m not saying that Carol is turning into Zooey Deschanel from ‘New Girl,’ but there are moments of lightness that are still mixed in with some badassery.”

These “moments of levity” will not be seen until they reach a new safe haven, so skeptics can be assured that Daryl won’t turn into a walking one-liner factory anytime soon. By the time they reach that place, they will have had some time to process the deaths of Beth and Tyreese, two core members of the group.

First, the characters will go to some dark places, Daryl and Maggie especially, as they have both invested quite a bit in Beth emotionally. Norman expanded his thoughts with EW a bit.

“It’s one of the darkest times that we’ve ever had as a group-everyone is on the verge or giving up,” Reedus said, adding, “At some point what’s in their head is, ‘What’s the point?'”