Some ‘Walking Dead’ Fans Are Blaming Daryl for What Happened to Rick

Angry Walking Dead fans are blaming Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) for the brutal injury that Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) sustained in the closing moments of 904, “The Obliged.”

After learning Maggie (Lauren Cohan) was en route to Alexandria, Rick radioed relay Rachel (Mimi Kirkland) and ordered Maggie not be allowed into the community unsupervised lest she take her revenge on her husband’s jailed murderer, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

Daryl offered Rick a ride on his motorcycle, later racing past the turnoff point. When Rick realized Daryl deceived him and the relay was sabotaged, the estranged best friends erupted into a scuffle that left them trapped in a man-made pit.

A nearby herd of walkers, drawn by sudden gunfire from the midway camp, forced Rick and Daryl to put aside their issues and work together to make their escape. Once freed from the pit and confronted with the overwhelming sea of approaching walkers, Rick opted to stay behind and lead the herd away while Daryl alerted the camp.

Wanting Rick to lure the herd to the nearby unstable bridge that would then collapse and send the walkers into the sea below, Daryl argued against Rick going off alone.

Rick, refusing to sacrifice the bridge that would connect the survivors, rode off and shepherded the herd until his spooked horse bucked him off — directly into the path of a piece of rebar.

The episode ended with Rick impaled and surrounded by walkers, a predicament some viewers are now saying was caused by Daryl. Star Norman Reedus, however, says the two brothers found themselves in a pit — literally and figuratively — because Rick has long been blinded by fulfilling the dream he promised late son Carl (Chandler Riggs), who envisioned a better and brighter future for all.

“It was a great way to end things because the thing about Rick and Daryl’s relationship this season is that Rick’s just blinded by this idea of bringing these communities together and building this bridge,” Reedus told Deadline.

“He defeated Negan and Carl wanted a better life for everybody, and before he died he wrote these letters and these letters really affected Rick. He’s blinded by this desire to build this bridge when like everything’s going against him and 90 percent of those people don’t even want a bridge, they don’t even want anything to do with each other.”

While it isn’t likely to absolve Daryl in the eyes of his detractors, Rick does make his escape from the rebar. 905, “What Comes After,” will send off Lincoln from the series — but Rick Grimes may yet survive his final episode.

The Walking Dead airs Lincoln’s final episode Sunday, November 4 at 9/8c on AMC.