Norman Reedus is one of the few actors in The Walking Dead universe who's been involved from the very start. His beloved character, Daryl Dixon, has been explored in so many different ways over the years; he's been placed in the most tortuous situations and still managed to come out fighting.
The main show only sparingly explored Daryl's traumatic and enigmatic past. Fans knew that his childhood was a sensitive topic for him. It was previously revealed that he lost his mother in a house fire, and that his father was physically and emotionally abusive towards him and his older brother, Merle. In the new season of spinoff Daryl Dixon, the episodes actually contained scenes harkening back to Daryl as a child. It's the most intimate depiction of his past we've seen to date, and according to Reedus, the show will continue to explore the secrets and trauma of Daryl's past in season 4.
"That's part of season 4 as well," Reedus told Entertainment Weekly. "There's a past life trauma that Daryl has, which was introduced in the original series back in America, of how he lost his mother. She burned in a house fire. We never got into that story. So this is not a retelling, because we never really told it, but it's the answers to some of those questions. And I think at this point in his life, after all he's been through and his time alone, he's starting to remember things in ways that are really f---ed up."
"You tell that story about when you were a kid throughout your life, and you sort of just tell the abbreviated version of it forever," he further explained. "And then that becomes fact, but you never really get in into the minuscule parts of those stories because there is no time, or because you don't want people to really know who you are, or it's none of their business. But Daryl's being stripped away of all these things. And as he's growing and going through all these experiences, things are starting to become clearer. And that becomes a big part of season 4 as well."
By the end of season 3, both Daryl and Carol were mere moments away from sailing back to the United States. However, the boat (their only means of escape) caught fire and they found themselves back where they started. "It's just another giant slap in the face," Reedus said.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 4 will be the spinoff's final season. But will it be the last we see of Daryl? We doubt it.