Surviving a zombie apocalypse is difficult on The Walking Dead, but the Daryl Dixon backstory shows Norman Reedus’s TWD character suffered through some tough situations long before the fall of society. Norman Reedus played the fan-favorite since season 1 of the AMC drama debuted in 2010. In the decade-plus run of Walking Dead since, Daryl emerged as a vital member of the group, acting as Rick Grimes’ right-hand man and a leader in his own right. Following the conclusion of The Walking Dead, Reedus prepares to headline a spinoff (called either The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon or Rise the Dead, depending on which reports turn out to be true) taking the story to Europe for the first time.

However exciting his future may be, Daryl Dixon’s backstory is just as intriguing — and incredibly dark. Daryl was officially introduced in the season 1 episode titled “Tell It to the Frogs.” He and his older brother, Merle Dixon, were members of a survivor group and after Rick left Merle handcuffed on a rooftop, Daryl integrated into the new group anyway and began to open up at times, particularly bonding with Carol and Beth Greene. Out of all the character arcs on The Walking Dead Daryl’s arc featured notable growth, pushing him from a loner to one of the key leaders. As one of the last surviving original faces of the series, his journey was especially remarkable since Daryl’s character didn’t come from the comic books.

Daryl Had A Tough Childhood As Revealed In Walking Dead

Since Daryl wasn’t a character in Robert Kirkman’s original The Walking Dead comic series, everything about his backstory comes directly from the show — and much of who Daryl Dixon is stems from his harsh upbringing. Daryl’s admiration for his older brother was established in The Walking Dead season 1, and the Daryl Dixon backstory exposition has revealed they grew up in the mountains of Georgia with their parents. Whereas their father was an abusive alcoholic, their mother also neglected her sons until her untimely death due to a house fire caused by a lit cigarette. Since Merle spent a lot of time in juvenile detention, Daryl learned how to fend for himself. He continued to do so when Merle joined the military, but they eventually reunited, living as drifters.

Daryl also learned a lot of his survival skills on his own, which he revealed in the Daryl Dixon backstory during the show’s run. After his mother’s death, he found himself lost in the woods for nine days. He had to survive on his own during this time without food or shelter, and he had to eat wild berries and even used poison oak as toilet paper while out there. After the nine days, he finally made his way back home and learned his dad didn’t even know he was gone. While Merle was in the military, Daryl’s dad physically abused him, leaving deep scars on his back, something that Merle never knew about. It made Daryl believe he was less important than others around him.

While moving from place to place, Daryl enhanced his survival skills, becoming an expert hunter and tracker. Merle got into drugs prior to the events of the apocalypse around the time that Daryl realized he didn’t have a purpose in life. When the world was turned upside down, the brothers stuck together, but thankfully, Daryl let go of his brother’s hateful views after Merle’s death in The Walking Dead. He forged his own path by not following in his brother’s footsteps and finding hope in even the darkest of situations. Merle was never a great mentor, but Daryl has the chance to guide other survivors for a better future in the remaining seasons of The Walking Dead and beyond.

The Walking Dead Origins Showed How Daryl’s Past Shaped His Moral Compass

The spinoff series The Walking Dead Origins had an episode titled “Daryl’s Story,” but this wasn’t a Daryl Dixon backstory. Norman Reedus narrated the episode that allowed him to talk about what led him from a loner before the series started to a “protector and guardian of his chosen family” by the end of the series. This wasn’t really about his past, but was about his journey on the show, with events told from his point of view. It showed what helped influence the man he became, and the deeper insight into his worldview gave viewers fresh perspective on how his troubled past and backstory shape who he is on The Walking Dead.

While Merle was his brother’s greatest inspirational figure, Daryl was able to differentiate right from wrong. Daryl spent considerable time away from Merle, and these periods where the younger Dixon brother had to make his own way led to him developing his own sense of morality. Seeing Merle end up in prison for his lack of ethics would also have helped Daryl create an established sense of correct and incorrect conduct.

It’s Daryl’s innate morality that distinguishes him from his brother, although when The Walking Dead begins he’s not yet fully understood how important his moral compass is to him. His journey to understanding this, as seen in The Walking Dead Origins, made him one of The Walking Dead‘s most endearing characters, and the fact Daryl will lead his own spinoff series next is hardly a surprise.