He's one of the most popular characters on one of the most popular shows. He's everyone's favorite shaggy (probably stinky), crossbow-wielding zombie killer. Daryl Dixon, played by Norman Reedus, is one of the few characters on The Walking Dead (2010) to appear in the first season and still be alive. He's also the only main character who's never appeared in the original comics, making his survival even more impressive. Unlike the other characters, Daryl seems to have been born specifically to survive a zombie-infested world. He's unkillable. He once took down a tank all by himself, which sounds like something somebody would say about Chuck Norris.

Despite all of that, Daryl isn't perfect. In fact, part of his charm is the roughness of his edges. The problem is, those edges are especially rough. Daryl isn't just a guy who seems like a "bad boy." He's the real deal. So, as he becomes more and more popular, a lot of his worse attributes are overlooked. To be fair, the show softened the character during the most recent seasons, so it's easy to forget what he started off as. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that most people either forget or just choose to ignore about Daryl Dixon.

15 THE BIKE IS ACTUALLY MERLE'S

It's not uncommon for specific items to be associated with popular characters. Indiana Jones and his whip. Captain America and his shield. Daryl Dixon and his bike. In fact, Daryl's connection with his bike is so popular that the actor has a spin off show called Ride With Norman Reedus (2016). Daryl's bike is so important to the show that him losing it was a major story arch.

Except, it's not actually Daryl's bike. It originally belonged to Merle. During the first season, when Merle went missing, Daryl held on to his brother's belongs for when he returned. Initially, Daryl would tow the bike around as the group moved from camp to camp. Now, he just rides it wherever he goes (except for the countless times he lost it and had to find a replacement).

14 HE AND MERLE WERE GOING TO ROB SHANE'S GROUP

Despite his wild popularity and no small amount of charm, Daryl always seemed like an odd fit for the group. During the early episodes, he kept to himself and never showed much consideration for anyone else. The only person he really seemed to care about was his brother Merle. It being the apocalypse, however, fans bought that Daryl just stayed with the group just to increase his odds of survival.

The fourth season episode "Home" reveals that Daryl and Merle actually joined the group in order to rob them. If Merle hadn't gone missing, it's likely that the brothers would have followed through with their original plan. Fans should remember this the next time Daryl acts suspicious around new people. They should maybe be more suspicious of him.

13 HE'S KINDA RACIST

Based on his upbringing, and his older brother's influence, it's not surprising that Daryl isn't the most "woke" individual. Still, he and Glenn had some awkward moments during the first season that are pretty uncomfortable. The two traveled with Rick and T-Dog into the city of Atlanta to search for Merle and to retrieve a bag of weapons that Rick had recently dropped in the middle of a zombie horde. Daryl was understandably upset about his brother's predicament, and he was pretty salty to his travel companions the whole time.

At one point, Glenn actually impresses Daryl, who screws it up by referring to Glenn as Chinese (also, he uses a word for a Chinese person that isn't politically correct). Glenn responds that he's actually Korean, and Daryl just shrugs it off. Hey Daryl, that was, at the very least, kind of rude. Apologize.

12 HE CARRIED A SEVERED HAND AROUND

Merle had originally been left behind in Atlanta because he was handcuffed to a pipe on a roof. Daryl's brother had been acting like a lunatic and threatened members of group, so Rick restrained him. When the survivors fled the building, T-Dog dropped the handcuff keys and lost them. Trapped, all Merle could do was try to cut his way to freedom with a nearby hand saw.

When Daryl comes to rescue his brother, all he found was a severed hand. So what does he do? He picks up the hand, wraps it in a cloth and starts carrying it around. Why? It's doubtful that Daryl is a skilled enough surgeon to reattach a severed hand that sat in the sun for hours. It was just a weird, and gross, thing to do.

11 THE EAR NECKLACE

The severed hand is not the grossest thing Daryl has carried around with him. That would be the necklace of severed zombie ears he strung around his neck. While it might have made for some interesting merchandise and t-shirts, it's still super gross. It all went down in the second season episode "Chupacabra."

While out by himself searching for Sophia, Daryl falls and injures himself. He subsequently begins to hallucinate about his lost brother, before he fights off a group of zombies. He then takes their ears as trophies. First of all, that must have smelled terrible. Second of all, everyone is killing zombies left and right. Nobody is going to be impressed with Daryl's handful of ears. Luckily, the necklace didn't last too long.

10 HE CARRIES AROUND A SUSPICIOUS SUPPLY OF PILLS

During the first two seasons, Daryl didn't always get along with the other group members. That being said, he still had moments that showed he was a good guy. One of these moments, however, might reveal something dark about everyone's favorite crossbow-wielding zombie killer.

In "What Lies Ahead," T-Dog cuts his arm pretty deep on some jagged metal and gets a blood infection. The next episode, "Bloodletting," Daryl discovers that T-Dog is sick and offers him a big bag of pills, pointing out that it's high quality stuff. He tries to say that they belonged to Merle, but that just sounds like a good excuse. There are not many reasons why someone would carry a bag of painkillers around, and Daryl doesn't seem to be suffering from any debilitating injuries.

9 HE'S PROBABLY NOT DOING WELL

Another thing that makes Daryl's stash of illegal substances suspicious is that it contains a bag of a particular addictive substance. It's the kind that only Walter White could cook from Breaking Bad (2008), another show that aired on AMC. While it's probably not shocking that Daryl's brother, Merle, would have this, what kind of people hang out with this kind of addict that aren't also the same kind of addict?

Another reference to Breaking Bad came in the fourth season episode "Still." Daryl tells Beth a story about his life pre-zombie outbreak, and he mentions a drug dealer that he knew. His description fits with what Jesse Pinkman looks like, and according to Daryl, this unnamed dealer used the same catchphrase as Jesse.

8 HE ABANDONED THE GROUP

After spending some time apart, Merle and Daryl had grown in very different ways. Daryl grew to respect Rick and formed close ties with other members of the group, especially Carol. Meanwhile, Merle joined up with the sadistic Governor. While he was loyal to the man, Merle also had no qualms with abandoning him once things turned sour. That is exactly what happened when he was reunited with Daryl as members of opposing groups.

Daryl was thrilled to have his brother back, and hoped that he could be integrated with Rick's crew. Merle, on the other hand, had no interest in hanging out. Ever loyal to his older brother, Daryl took off with Merle, abandoning his friends. Sure, he eventually convinced his older brother to turn around, but Daryl still showed that he was partially willing to walk away from the group.

7 ABOUT THE CLAIMERS AND CARL

After the Governor's assault on the prison, Daryl and Beth were separated from the main group. Beth is eventually kidnapped, leaving Daryl on his own. He's picked up by a group known as the Claimers (their whole deal is that whoever first claims something can keep it). They're not good people, and unbeknownst to Daryl, are hunting Rick, Michonne and Carl (who had previously killed one of the Claimers). Daryl slowly becomes a valued member of their group.

When the Claimers catch up to Rick, they make some pretty graphic threats against Carl. It's not entirely clear what they had planned, but regardless, Carl was still a young kid at this point. Sure, Daryl helped save Rick, but it's strange that he fit in so well with a group like this to begin with.

6 MOONSHINE

The pairing up of Daryl and Beth was one of The Walking Dead's most surprising moments. The two characters never interacted much, but they ended up hitting the road together after the fall of the prison. The two bond in the episode "Still," where they come across an abandoned country club. Beth, still a teenager, finds a bottle of Schnapps. Daryl refuses to let her drink it, saying that her first drink needs to be something better.

Then, he takes her to a shack in the woods that he found earlier and gives her some moonshine. When Beth questions the safety of drinking moonshine, Daryl assures her it's good stuff. All manliness aside, Beth was a young girl who had never had a drink before. Schnapps is a much better choice that random moonshine from the woods. Like... c'mon, Daryl!

5 JUST DRIFTING

Daryl first appeared on the TV show, and hasn't appeared at all in the comics (up to this point). That made him a complete mystery to fans. As the show went on, Daryl's life before the apocalypse remained a relative mystery. Aside from having an abusive father, not much else was known. The episode "Still" finally revealed what Daryl was up to before the outbreak.

It turns out, before the zombies showed, Daryl was just drifting around with his brother. Granted, Daryl also reveals that he's never been to prison. Still, it seems like the best thing that ever happened to him was the end of the world. If not for that, he'd still just be the younger brother of a seemingly low level drug dealer.

4 HE BELIEVES IN TORTURE

The Walking Dead doesn't have any problem forcing its character to make dark decisions. The world has fallen apart, and even good people have to do bad things to survive. Watching Rick Grimes go from a good natured cop into a hardened warrior who has no issue with killing is the crux of the show. Still, most characters started off being uncomfortable making these choices. Daryl, on the other hand, was pretty cool with doing terrible things right from the get go.

In the second season episode "Triggerfinger," Rick captures Randall, a young teenager who is part of a seemingly hostile group. The group struggles to get information out of the boy, but Daryl just jumps right to torturing the kid. Once again, this is a young guy, and there's only circumstantial evidence that his group is hostile. That's enough for Daryl, however.

3 HE KNEW THAT SHANE KILLED OTIS, BUT DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING

One of the darkest moments in The Walking Dead came in the second season episode "Save the Last One." Shane was slowly going down a dark path emotionally, and it culminated with the murder of Otis. The two men went on a medical supply run after Otis accidentally shot Carl. Cornered by a horde of zombies, Shane cravenly shoots Otis in the leg. He leaves the injured man to be devoured by the horde while he escapes safely.

Obviously, Shane kept this story from the group. Daryl, however, notices that Shane was carrying Otis' gun, and correctly assumes that this means foul play. Oddly, he doesn't say anything about it. It's not like being aware of a group member's descent into homicidal insanity would be important or anything.

2 HE HAS A BAD TEMPER

In the final episode of the first season, "TS-19," the group thinks that they've found sanctuary when they reach the CDC, where a single doctor remains. They celebrate their first safe night in a long time. It's cut short, however, when it's revealed that the building will soon explode. Even worse, the doors have sealed, and according to the final doctor, there's no way to open the door.

Obviously, it was a jerk move to let people into a building set to explode without warning them. Still, the doctor was the group's only hope of escape. So what does Daryl do? He tries to decapitate the guy. Once again, it's understandable to be angry, but come on Daryl! Think ahead at least a few minutes. Don't murder the only guy who can possibly unlock the doors.

1 HE GOT GLENN KILLED

The seventh season premiere "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" contains the most controversial Daryl moment of the entire show. The group watches helplessly as Negan bludgeons Abraham to death with his barbed wire covered baseball bat. Negan continues to brag, which causes Daryl to jump up and attack him. After Daryl is restrained, Negan punishes him by murdering Glenn.

Obviously, Negan is to blame for Glenn's death, at least more directly. Daryl, however, still played a big part in it. He knew Negan's men were ruthless, and that Negan has no problem of killing indiscriminately. The other members of the group may have forgiven Daryl, but that doesn't change the truth. If Daryl had just controlled himself, Glenn would still be alive.