The Walking Dead: 5 Characters Killed Way Too Soon

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1. Merle Dixon

You’ve got to love Michael Rooker. There is simply no other actor in the world who could have brought Merle Dixon to life the way Rooker had. Norman Reedus himself was even turned down for the part after an audition, paving the way for Daryl to be written in. He was a foul-mouthed racist and a murderer, just not a good person at all, but in every scene that featured him, he was just so darn entertaining.

For two and a half seasons, the Dixon brothers never even saw each other, apart from one of Daryl’s hallucinations in the forest. When the two finally reunited, I felt like they had the most interesting relationship on the show, no doubt thanks to the chemistry between Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus. Merle was a black sheep in the group, sure, but his presence could have made for some very entertaining scenes in Season 5. It’s all the more disappointing to know that like other Season 3 deaths such as T-Dog and Andrea, the decision to kill Merle was also made at the last minute. With that, they lost one of the best actors and most entertaining characters on The Walking Dead.

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