The Intellectual Zombie: Merle Dixon : #13

Merle Dixon

Actor Biography

Merle Dixon is played by an actor named Michael Rooker. Rooker was born in 1955 in Jasper, Alabama. He made his acting debut in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) and since then has mostly played the roles of brutes, villains, and psychopaths. He occasionally has a role as a "good guy". Regardless of which type of character he plays, Rooker is an amazing actor.

Who was he before the Apocalypse

Much of Merle's upbringing was discussed in my previous blog about his brother, Daryl. Here's a little review just in case you forget.

Merle and Daryl lived somewhere in the mountains of North Georgia with their neglectful parents. Since he lacked love and guidance from his family, Merle chose to act out against society, which led him to frequently be thrown in juvenile institutions. He raised Daryl to share the same beliefs and be tough and unforgiving in the cruel adult world that both of them faced. Despite always talking proudly about taking care of Daryl, Merle was often absent from Daryl's life and didn't give him the emotional support that a big brother should.

At one point in his life, Merle joined the military. As a result, he has increased physical strength, tactical abilities and skill with firearms. His time with the military came to an end when he punched a sergeant, which got him dishonorably discharged. Soon after, he was court-martialed and sent to prison for sixteen months.

When the Apocalypse began, Merle and his brother Daryl traveled to Atlanta in hopes of finding shelter.

Personality and Progression

When we met Merle in the first season, he was a stereotypical Southern redneck. He was extremely ill-tempered, racist, violent, and quick to express his beliefs. Much like his younger brother, Merle is an expert tracker and hunter.
In the first season, after sending a stream of racist insults at T-dog and brutally beating him up, Rick handcuffed him to a pipe and left him there. Since they didn't have a key, he promised to come back

Merle reaching for the hack saw.

and the next day he returned. Unfortunately, A day was too long for Merle. Rick and the group returned to find that Merle had grabbed a hack saw from the ground and cut off his own hand to escape. This was the last we saw of Merle for over a full season.

The next we saw of Merle was during the third season, when he was the right-hand man of The Governor. Hah, that's ironic because Merle no longer has a right hand for himself. Instead, he has a badass looking hand-blade attachment.

Dat badass hand

While working with The Governor, Merle did many terrible deeds. However, after Rick's group attacked the town, Merle was considered a traitor and fled Woodbury with Daryl.

After re-joining Rick's group at the prison they were living at, his personality began to change. He appeared to somewhat lose his violent and racist side. He was even shown asking for forgiveness from those of the group who he had once wronged. Merle was doing all of this because he wanted to fit in at the prison so he could be with his brother.

He later makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect his brother and fights a group of Woodbury soldiers who had been planning an ambush, all on his own. This was his biggest and final act of redemption, as after taking down eight Woodbury soldiers, he is killed by The Governor. After his initial death, his reanimated body was found by his brother, Daryl who through tearful eyes, killed him again.