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| “ | See now that's right. It's not some damn lie. Look we can settle this, we're reasonable men. First we're gonna beat Daryl to death, then we'll have the girl, then the boy, then I'm gonna shoot you and then we'll be square.
―Joe teasing Rick.[src]
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Joe is an antagonist and a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He is the leader of The Claimers.
Pre-Apocalypse
Location Unknown
Nothing is known about Joe's life before or as the outbreak began. He may have been part of a motorcycle club, judging by his apparel. He may have also been an outdoors man, judging by his interest in crossbows and respect he has for those who use them. He also mentions at one point that he has liked cats since age three, and believes "there ain't nothing sadder than an outdoor cat thinking he's an indoor cat."
Joe is a strong leader to those in his group. He set down only a few rules, therefore allowing his men to do whatever they want if they don't break them. But, when a rule is broken, he has very harsh and usually lethal punishments, usually ending towards their death. It appears that he has power over his group, and is respected by them; as they rarely question his decisions. He is shown to be a savage and ruthless guy. Even though he's generally harsh, he still shows a bit of patience, especially for Daryl, when he has new comers in his group. Nonetheless, he is very questioning and doesn't simply allow just anyone to join his group.
Post-Apocalypse
Season 4
"Claimed"
Joe is one of the men who return to the house Rick, Carl and Michonne are staying in. He is first heard off-screen disciplining one of his own for being a coward. He is later physically seen when he comes upstairs and bounces a tennis ball in the back room where Rick is hiding. After Rick sneaks outside, Joe sits on the porch eating a can of fruit and whistling. With Michonne and Carl returning from their supply run, unaware of the situation, Rick readies himself for battle, until Lou reanimates, attacks the group, and Joe quickly goes back inside to dispatch the walker, giving Rick the time he needed to escape.
"Alone"
Joe is first seen with his group gathering around Daryl, while Daryl is sitting down in the middle of a road. Joe approaches Daryl, but Daryl quickly rises up and punches Joe in the face, which bloodies his nose and knocks him down. Daryl then points his ready-to-fire crossbow at Joe's face, but Joe just gets back on his feet, laughs, and says he is pleased to see that Daryl is a "bow man". Joe then remarks some more on his admiration of Daryl's crossbow, including the range and force of its projectiles. Meanwhile, the other group members all point their weapons at Daryl, as Joe talks to Daryl. Joe then warns Daryl that if he kills him, the other group members will quickly kill Daryl in retaliation. After Joe talks Daryl into lowering his crossbow, the other group members lower their weapons too.
"Us"
Joe breaks up a potential fight between Daryl and Len and explains to Daryl that if you "claim" something its yours. Joe also tells Daryl that any rule breakers will be punished by beatings or worse. Joe splits the rabbit by cutting it in half, giving the upper body to Len and the lower body to Daryl. Later in the episode Len frames Daryl for stealing his half of the rabbit but Daryl denies that he stole it. Joe empties Daryl's bag and Len's half of the rabbit falls out. Joe asks Daryl if he stole the rabbit and again Daryl denies it. Joe then asks Len if he framed Daryl and Len says no. Joe then punches Len and tells Daryl that he saw Len put it in Daryl's bag. Joe then gives orders to the rest of the men to beat him up. While on the railroad tracks, Daryl finds the Terminus signs and asks Joe if they have come across the signs before. Joe says that there is no sanctuary for them and tells Daryl that his group has been tracking down a "walking piece of fecal matter" (Rick) who was hiding out in a house they marauded, killed one of their men (Lou) and left him to turn. Joe says that he has seen the Terminus signs, and the group has used it as an end point for where Rick may have gone.
"A"
Joe and his group ambush Rick, Michonne, and Carl. Joe is about to kill Rick, counting down from 10. As he gets to 8, Daryl emerges from the woods and tells Joe to stop. Joe demands an explanation, and Daryl says that Rick is a good person. Joe, saying that Rick killed their friend and isn't a good person, stating "now that's a lie!" to Daryl, then proceeds to order his men to kill Daryl. Dan, one of Joe's group members, grabs Carl and holds a knife to his neck. Rick gets angry and tells Joe to order his men to leave Carl alone. After Joe ignores Ricks request, Rick headbutts Joe in his face causing Joe to shoot his gun in reflex (and missing). Rick then punches Joe in the face. Joe quickly counters Rick's punch and knocks Rick to the ground. Joe grabs Rick and locks him tightly. Joe taunts Rick, asking "What the hell are you gonna do now, sport?" Rick, after some thought, leans forward and bites a chunk out of Joe's neck, and then pushes him to the ground. Joe then eventually dies of either bleeding out, or not being able to breathe. Joe's entire group of Claimers are then killed by Rick's group seconds later.
Death
Killed By
He is killed when he ambushes Rick, Michonne, and Carl. Daryl tells Joe not to hurt them which leads to him getting beat up by Harley and Billy. Rick punches Joe who counters with a pistol whip, knocking Rick to the ground. Rick gets back up but Joe locks him with his arms then taunts him and says "What the hell you gonna do now, sport?" Rick, in response, bites Joe on his neck and rips out his jugular, causing Joe to either die from bleeding out or not being able to breathe.
Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Joe has killed:
Relationships
Len
| “ | He's a lying sack of shit and I'm sick of it. Teach him all the way.
―Joe to his group regarding Len's behavior.[src]
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From all appearances, it appeared that Joe merely tolerated Len. As the leader of the Claimers, Joe intervened and defused the tension between Daryl and Len. When he saw Len frame Daryl for theft, it resulted in extreme-disciplinary action against Len that results in Len's death.
Tony
It is evident that Joe sees Tony as a person that he trusts. Tony is often taking point and participating under Joe's rules. Before his death, Tony appeared to be shocked at the sight of Joe being brutally killed by Rick.
Lou
| “ | That's enough for a reckoning.
―Joe, after telling Daryl the story of Lou's death and Tony seeing Rick.[src]
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Lou was a fellow group-member. It was likely Joe had a good relationship with Lou as Joe and the rest of the Claimers made it their mission to track down Rick and kill him to avenge Lou's death.
Harley
From what we see Joe and Harley have a stable relationship. Harley seems to always execute the orders of his leader.
Dan
From what we see Joe and Dan have a stable relationship. In fact, Dan always executes the orders of his leader. Dan seems to be very shocked and scared by Joe's death although this is most likely Dan worrying about his own safety now the other Claimers had been killed.
Billy
From what we see Joe and Billy have a stable relationship. In fact, Billy always executes the orders of his leader.
Daryl Dixon
| “ | This man killed our friend... you say he's good people. See now that right there is a lie. It's a lie! Teach him, fellas, teach him all the way.
―Joe betraying Daryl and orders Billy and Harley to kill him.[src]
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Joe and Daryl had a somewhat good and genuine relationship, as Joe spared Daryl after finding him alone, instead of having his men kill him for his supplies. He later forced Len to share a rabbit that he had claimed with Daryl, as Daryl was unfamiliar with the rules. Later he has his group kill Len for trying to frame Daryl for the theft of the other half of the rabbit, and his trust in Daryl is reinforced for telling the truth and later shared his drink with him. All respect Joe had for Daryl was lost when Daryl called Rick, Michonne, and Carl "good people". He then made his people "teach" Daryl by attempting to beat him to death, which backfires when Rick kills him by biting his neck. Daryl shows no remorse at all for Joe's death.
Rick Grimes
| “ | You screwed up, asshole! You hear me? You screwed up! Today is a day of reckoning, sir. Restitution. A balancing of the whole damn universe. Shit, and I was thinking of turning in for the night on New Year's eve. Now who's gonna count down the ball dropper with me, huh?
―Joe holding Rick at gunpoint.[src]
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Joe despised Rick deeply, due to Rick killing Lou and leaving him to reanimate. It is because of this that Joe becomes strongly bent on tracking Rick down and killing him as revenge. Joe later mentions to Daryl that he and his group were tracking Rick and they planned to run into him at Terminus. Joe also stated that Tony was the only one who saw Rick's face and that was enough to avenge their fallen group member. Joe was the one who held Rick at gunpoint and coldly stated that his men were going to beat Daryl to death, then murder Michonne, and then Carl. He taunts Rick and makes it a point that he would then kill Rick himself after they all had their fill. This would backfire as Rick bites Joe's neck and the Claimers are dispatched by Michonne and Daryl.
Appearances
TV Series
Season 4