Daryl Dixon/Season 1

While tracking a deer in the woods near the camp, Daryl was quite upset when he found a walker devouring the prey he had been hunting, and then taunted the group upon seeing them decapitated it, not knowing that they needed to destroy the brain. After shooting a bolt into its skull and sensing that the group that had traveled to the city for supplies had returned, Daryl went back to the camp looking for his brother, but Rick Grimes confessed that Merle had been left handcuffed on the roof of a store since he had become a threat to everyone. Daryl snapped and tried to attack him, but was stopped by Shane and informed by T-Dog that Merle was still alive. Without thinking twice, Daryl decided to go rescue his brother along with some volunteers. When the group arrived at the rooftop of the store in Atlanta, they only found Merle's severed hand and Daryl broke down in tears. ("Tell It to the Frogs")

Full of anger for what happened to his brother, Daryl aimed his crossbow at T-Dog but was forced by Rick to relent from doing anything. After putting Merle's hand in a backpack, Daryl led the group as they followed a trail of blood into a room, where they discovered that Merle had also escaped from the building somehow after cauterizing his wound. Daryl did not hesitate to go search for his brother on the streets, but Rick convinced him that it was dangerous to go alone and that they could help him if they retrieved the bag of guns he had dropped a day ago.

While carrying out their plan, another group of survivors, who had also taken an interest in the bag of guns, kidnapped Glenn and demanded the bag in exchange for his return. Daryl participated in the negotiations for the release of their companion and accused the enemy group of being those responsibles for his brother's disappearance, although he turned out to be wrong since they actually needed the weapons to protect some elders who had been left under their care. Once the conflict was solved and Glenn was released, the group discovered that the van in which they had traveled had been stolen. Daryl quickly deduced that Merle had been responsible, and then he had no choice but to resign himself to the idea of ​​looking for his brother another time. Having partially completed their mission in the city, the group returned back to the camp that night to find it under attack from some walkers and then they quickly helped defend the place. ("Vatos")

The next morning, Daryl helped collect all the bodies left of the massacre and was reminded by Glenn that their companions deserved a proper burial and not to be burned like they were going to do with the undead. When the group discovered that Jim had been bitten during the attack, Daryl insisted on killing him with his pickaxe but was stopped by Rick, who claimed that they did not kill the living. Shortly after, Daryl continued impaling the rest of the corpses with a pickaxe to prevent their reanimation when Carol asked him to let her put down her husband. The next day, Daryl was present in the last camp meeting where he said goodbye to the Morales family. While the remaining group of survivors departed towards the CDC, they left an agonizing Jim under a tree by the road as his last wish. Upon arriving at their destination, they found everything abandoned. As some walkers began to approach them, Daryl helped take care of the undead when suddenly the doors opened in time. ("Wildfire")

Upon entering the CDC, Daryl and the others were reluctantly welcomed by the sole remaining employee, Dr. Edwin Jenner, who allowed them to stay in exchange for some blood tests. That night, the group had a feast in the cafeteria and enjoyed all the luxuries the facility had to offer, beyond happy about having found a safe place. Daryl was the person most thrilled from the rest of the survivors to find out that they could even enjoy wine during the dinner and also mocked Glenn for getting drunk very fast and easily. The next morning, Daryl and the group learned that the virus that had caused the outbreak erased any conscious human traits from someone infected.

When the power generators began to ran out of fuel, Jenner revealed that the facility would explode due to a self-destruct protocol and then sealed everyone inside the control room, explaining that it would be a quick and painless death. Daryl joined in the attempts to open the door. After Rick eventually made Jenner change his mind, the survivors ran in a hurry to escape. Upon finding the top doors locked, Carol handed Rick a grenade she had found in his uniform and everyone took cover as he used it to blast one of the windows. Daryl and the group escaped as the CDC exploded and then continued their journey towards a new destination. ("TS-19")