AMC’s The Walking Dead will welcome back its favorite amputee this upcoming season in the form of none other than Merle Dixon.
Merle’s presence in Season 3 was outed over a week ago when actor Michael Rooker was photographed on the on-location set in Georgia. AMC likely realized they couldn’t keep a lid on Merle’s return so they decided to release the first official image of Rooker, in character as Merle, that reveals how Merle covered up his arm after the Season 1 incident.
As a quick recap for those who may have forgotten, Merle and Rick crossed paths in Season 1 and Rick ended up handcuffing Merle atop an Atlanta, Georgia building to keep the rest of the group safe from Merle’s unstable personality. Merle eventually escaped by sawing off his hand and subsequently used an oven burner in the same building to cauterize the wound.
Since then Merle has been missing in action, though he did appear in a hallucination to his brother, Daryl (Norman Reedus), after a tumble into a river bank. Season 3 should see the redneck brothers reunite, though Merle might be surprised to see how Daryl has matured and come to appreciate the group he’s been with since the zombie apocalypse began.
The big reunion will be when Merle and Rick come together again, especially considering Merle’s anger management issues and the hate he must carry for the man that lead him to cut off his hand. Combined with the Governor as a new lethal adversary, the return of Merle should pave a path to dark times for Rick and his friends.
The Walking Dead returns with 16 all-new episodes in Season 3 beginning this October.
