I don't care that Merle's gone. What do you do with shit that's on your shoe? You scrape it off.

 

I liked his character as the nessesary evil, but won't miss him.

 

I feel bad for Daryl. I think that was the point.

Merle's story added tragedy to the entire episode. Rooker played him so well that I enjoyed his scenes but no - he won't really be missed. He wasn't a good person. The conversations with Michonne added layers to Merle - some humanness.

He did make a redeeming choice in the end but I'm going along with your other side of the coin train of thought....

What he did was, once again, leave Daryl behind. Rather than face the consequences of his actions and go back and fight with and for his brother, he opted for a drunken suicide mission. Rather than go through the uncomfortable work of making amends to the group he went searching for an escape from reality and ultimately opted out.

 

I might be alone here, but yes, I am sad that Merle is dead. It's not just because he made one good choice, it's because he decided to dig deep down and go against everything he knew (selfishness, malice, hatred) and turned things around to help others -- something that nobody in Rick's group, nor the Governor's group, ever expected him to do. This episode wasn't just about Merle being a jerk and suddenly changing his mind-- it was about his redemption, and his attempt to make things right for all the wrong he has done. We went all three seasons thinking Merle was nothing but a coldblooded recluse, but in his final moments he showed everybody that he was human after all.

The saddest part for me was Daryl's reaction. However, I didn't only feel bad for Daryl. Merle earned my respect doing what he did, and I legitimately felt crushed when he ended up getting beat down, killed, and turned for his actions.

 

I am. As described in the show's title "a sorrowful life" Merle is a tragic character.

Think of his tough upbringing and his need for drugs and violence to self medicate. Was he a dick to everyone? Sure but to paint him as simply a bad person is too simple a way to label people.

He never belonged anywhere and the biggest thing you can give is to sacrifice your life. He never killed without purpose, he was a conflicted man who was trying to live

 

I don't/wont miss Merle. But the fact remains he was a dynamic character a little like Shane. He only cared about himself and Daryl and he would've done absolutely anything to keep Daryl safe. So yeah he was selfish and an ass and racist. But he was a fun character to watch because you always knew he was going to stir the pot.

I'm thinking Daryl is going to go into a hard ass mode until he dies and be more cold and selfish like he was to start the show.

 

But if you remember back in season one, Daryl was very much like Merle. I started out hating him and didn't really start to like him until season two. In the pre-apocalypse world, they both chose to be assholes. Granted, Merle was always worse but Daryl wasn't a great guy either. It wasn't until Daryl had his first semblance of a real family within Rick's group that he began to change. Merle, on the other hand, got caught up with the Governor and became crueler and meaner. But, I do think he was starting to slowly become a better person, and we saw some of that last episode.

 

Daryl wasn't the one abandoned on the roof.

Daryl's transformation was done over a period of a year, while spending time with decent people. He found a place with Rick's group where his contributions were valued and respected.

Merle's propensity for violence were his only redeeming quality for survival in Woodbury.

It's like two mistreated dogs, one found a home, then other was set up for pit fighting.

 

That is a great analogy.

 

I felt bad for Daryl. A part of me wanted to see Merle transform into a decent human being had he lived. He would always have rough edges to him. A person doesn't change that much. He may never have really ever fit in with the group, but for the fight ahead he would have done all he could to do damage to the Governor. Then perhaps he would move on. He wouldn't be able to stay with the prison group unless he was totally committed to them. Don't know that he would ever put the group before himself. At least he made a dent in the Governor's manpower.

 

As cathartic as such an outcome would be, it was not possible. Merle realized that he was damaged goods - his addiction ran deep into his character. How many prison mattresses would you go through with your bare hand(s) because you were jonesing for a fix?

If he had intended to survive his foray against WB, he wouldn't have gotten drunk first. He knew that the only way he wasn't going to make his brother's life much worse was to sacrifice himself. It shows that there was some germ of decency in him. Thank goodness Michonne brought it out.

 

What do you do with that ass hole who doesnt give a s**t about Merle? Look at them like s**t! lulz jk

 

Me an asshole? Whatever gave you that idea?

 

Haha. My ass. lulz

 

Why I wasn't supposed to care about Merle? He was alright. He did some bad things but in the end he did something for the group whether it was suicidal and stupid or not.

 

I was sad cause merle was funny. He was real blunt and told people exactly what he thought of them, no sugar coating. Thing was that is was all mostly insulting and people don't generally like that lol. BUT aside from the racism, that I hate, he was smart and a strong fighter in that kind of world

 

I just re-watched this episode and Merle (and Michael Rooker's acting) is incredible here; he makes the breakdown of his hard shell a subtle and believable process in his perfect delivery of emotion. He's a more sophisticated actor than I remembered the first time around. He's broke my ****in heart!