Daryls Walking Dead Flashback Makes A Rick Grimes Reunion Inevitable

A Daryl & Rick reunion has been on the cards ever since Andrew Lincoln left The Walking Dead, but Daryl's flashback surely makes one inevitable.

The Walking Dead just elevated a future reunion between Daryl Dixon and Rick Grimes from hopeful possibility to near inevitability. Andrew Lincoln departed The Walking Dead in season 9, with Rick Grimes abruptly taken away by the Civic Republic's mysterious helicopter. But since Rick was last seen gravely injured and falling into a river, the folks of Alexandria assumed their former leader deceased. Though the survivors eventually move on, Daryl spends years diligently searching the river banks for any sign of Rick, before the Whisperers arrive to draw his attention away.

While Andrew Lincoln is no longer part of the zombie apocalypse on TV, Rick will return for the upcoming Walking Dead movie, which will likely feature the Civic Republic as villains, and dovetail with Michonne's open-ended season 10 farewell. As Daryl was the one who held onto hope the longest, however, many Walking Dead fans have been hoping that he and Rick will be reunited in the film, proving to Daryl that his brotherly faith was not misplaced.

Another meeting between Daryl and Rick previously looked hopeful at best, but The Walking Dead season 10's recent flashback episode goes a long way toward setting up resolution for the zombie apocalypse's best bromance. "Find Me" reveals that Daryl met a woman called Leah during his search for Rick, and after the longest game of hard-to-get known to man, they developed a romantic relationship. Unsurprisingly, Leah got sick of Daryl spending so much time hunting ghosts by the river, but he carried on regardless. When Daryl finally decided to choose a life with Leah over eternally seeking Rick's soggy corpse, it was too late - his girlfriend had mysteriously vanished.

Leah's addition to The Walking Dead makes a Rick and Daryl reunion far, far more likely. After The Walking Dead's big post-Rick time skip in season 9, it seemed that Daryl kept looking for his friend out of sheer grief. Now, viewers know he actually gave up a chance at love in order to honor his fallen brother. Having paid such a high price, Daryl's character is in desperate need of closure. The famous loner needs to know that giving up Leah and spending endless nights alone in the wilderness wasn't for nothing; his gut instinct was right all along. That moment of vindication when Daryl claps eyes on Rick Grimes and can finally say "I told you so" after so many years will be crucial.

Although it's unlikely that Rick Grimes will ever turn up on The Walking Dead's TV show again, Daryl would be a natural addition to the upcoming movie cast. Arguably the franchise's most popular character, Daryl Dixon would be conspicuous by his absence were he not spotted alongside Rick on the big screen. And Daryl wouldn't be alone in benefiting from the arrangement - Andrew Lincoln's protagonist gains a strong, trustworthy fighter in the inevitable battle against the Civic Republic. Rick's clearly on a mission in The Walking Dead, and just as Daryl's eager to find him, Rick will be eager to get his brother onside.