The 2012 TV Character of the Year: Daryl Dixon

With 2012 coming to a close, The Audio Dope will be handing out some awards for our favorite things of 2012. Our first award goes to our favorite television character of the year. Between all the fantastic shows we watched in 2012 (Game of Thrones, Dexter, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Homeland, Boardwalk Empire etc.), it was difficult to select an individual that stood out as our favorite fictional character. Despite this fact, one character stood out as being just too awesome and gnarly for us not to recognize. So without further ado….

Winner: Daryl Dixon from “The Walking Dead”, played by Norman Reedus.

What makes a fictional character great is when the viewer truly does not know the individual’s motives in the tv show. This was exactly the case for The Audio Dope when watching Daryl during our 3-season-in-1-weekend viewing of “The Walking Dead”. For those of you who watch the show, you are aware of the ambiguity of Daryl’s true emotions in Season 1. After his older brother is betrayed by the group, Daryl’s all alone, with no one to truly trust. As a result, The Audio Dope was quite unsure how we felt about Reedus’ character after the show’s first six episodes.

In contrast to Season 1, Season 2 sheds light on the true nature of Daryl’s motives and values from the get-go. Between saving T-Dawg with the dead body, relentlessly searching for Sophia, and a willingness to “do the heavy lifting”, it became clear in Season 2 that Daryl is the fucking man. Although he appears to be rough around the edges, Daryl has one of the softest hearts in the show and made us laugh more than any other character. Daryl continued to be great in Season 3 and left us with an insane cliff-hanger that will not be resolved for a few more months until the show returns to AMC.

Best Episode featuring Daryl: Season 2 Episode 5 “Chupacabra”. The episode shines light on Daryl’s personal struggles with abuse as a child, and his relentless effort to stay alive. And oh yeah, the necklace made of Walker-ears is just priceless.

Runners Up for Best TV Character of 2012:

3) Saul Berenson from “Homeland”, played by Mandy Patinkin.

2) Dexter Morgan from “Dexter”, played by Michael C. Hall.

1) Roger Sterling from “Mad Men”, played by John Slattery.