The Walking Dead Season 5 Spoilers: Daryl Dixon in Major Danger

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) is one of the most beloved characters on AMC's The Walking Dead, and he's not even a character from the comic book. But fans of the crossbow-wielding Southerner could be in some serious pain soon based on a new promo image for Season 5 of the show.

The photo, posted by EW.com, shows Daryl gagged and bound, but not in the disturbingly Fifty Shades of Grey way. This is more of a "about to get tortured and beaten to death" kind of way. Check out the photo at the top of the page.

In more uplifting news, ComicBook.com posted photos of Reedus and Melissa McBride filming scenes together as Daryl and Carol, for Season 5. At the end of Season 4, Carol was with baby Judith and Tyreese after killing Lizzie, while Daryl was locked in the train car in Terminus with the rest of the survivors. But based on these photos, the two friends reunite, presumably early in the season.

Daryl and Carol's relationship is one that does not exist in the comics because Daryl Dixon is an original character created for the show. This is just one of many ways the series has deviated from the source material in its first four seasons. In an interview with Collider, showrunner Scott Gimple discussed the "butterfly effect" of those changes:

"It's funny - back in the day when I started season two, I was all 'We must hem to the comic' and [creator Robert] Kirkman was like, 'Well, let's have some fun. I've done this all before.' I certainly won't abandon iconic things from the comic. I definitely want to stick to the comic as much as possible but that's also impossible with Daryl Dixon and characters that are alive but dead in the comic. There's a butterfly effect. But that's actually an incredibly fun part of the [show]. I would say that even the inventions we have on the show are inspired by the comic."

Why do you think Daryl is tied up? Who did it to him? Will he survive? Let us know in the comments below.