D.J. (TV Series)

"No. It's him. Finishing what he started."

- D.J. accusing Daryl of murdering Justin

Don Johnson, better known by his nickname D.J., is a former antagonist and a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He is a former high ranking member of the Saviors and the former second-in-command of Jed's Savior rebels. After the apparent death of Rick Grimes, he becomes a member of the Alexandria Safe-Zone.

Personality
During his time as a Savior, D.J. was like many other members; an aggressive extortionist and raider that imposed his will onto others. After the Saviors are defeated, D.J. remains unwilling to cooperate and follows Jed on his rebellion against their new leader Carol, and accuses Daryl of killing off Saviors while working on the bridge, “finishing what he started”.

However, six years after the apparent death of Rick Grimes and the fall of the Sanctuary, D.J. has a change of heart, opting not to follow Jed in continuing the Savior ways and joining Alexandria, eventually becoming a trusted and civil member who watches over the gate, escorts newcomers to holding, and helps transport Magna’s group to the Hilltop, holding no grudge against his former enemies.

As of Stradivarius, D.J. is shown to have an unwavering loyalty to Michonne, as she is shown to have complete trust in him, referring to him and Siddiq as “her men”.

D.J.'s most noticeable trait seems to be loyalty. Just as he was staunchly loyal to Negan, he is loyal to Alexandria and Michonne seven and a half years later.

Location Unknown
Nothing is known about D.J.'s life prior to or as the outbreak began. He may have lived somewhere in or near Washington D.C.

Post-Apocalypse
At some point in the apocalypse, D.J. somehow came into contact with a group named "The Saviors" which he subsequently joined.

"How It's Gotta Be"
D.J. is among the Saviors to accompany Negan to the Alexandria Safe-Zone as they demand Rick's surrender. When negotiations fail, the Saviors launch grenades into Alexandria and they are ordered to find Carl alive. D.J. and Norris spot Carl through the smoke and chase after him. However, Carl is able to escape into the sewer in time thanks to a smoke grande, prompting D.J. and Norris to keep searching for him.

"The Lost and the Plunderers"
D.J. and Norris carry the coffin containing an undead Dean and follow Gary into Negan's conference room. They are ordered to drop off the coffin and leave. Later, D.J. accompanies Simon to the junkyard where he participates in the massacre that leaves all of the Scavengers dead. At the Sanctuary, D.J. receives a call from Rick so he gives the walkie talkie to Negan.

"Still Gotta Mean Something"
D.J. is on guard duty with two others at the Sanctuary's front gate. He approaches Negan's car with his weapon raised but lowers it when he realizes Negan is alive. He tells him that he knew he wasn't dead to which Negan replies that he knows and then tells D.J., to keep his arrival a secret as he wants it to be a surprise for everyone else.

"Worth"
D.J. is promoted to lieutenant and plans the final assault on the Hilltop along with Negan, Simon, Dwight, Gary and Arat. Later, he is among the Saviors to open fire on the other Saviors (including Gary) planning to overthrow Negan. He also witnesses the fight between Negan and Simon inside the Sanctuary and Simon's subsequent death. He also helps capture Dwight, who was revealed by Laura to be a mole working with Rick and the survivors.

"Wrath"
D.J. is part of the Saviors' ambush on the Militia. When D.J. attempts to open fire, his handgun explodes due to having been loaded with faulty ammunition manufactured by Eugene. He is injured as a result, clutching his hand but survives unlike many other Saviors. D.J. was later knocked out by Jesus, keeping Morgan from killing him and can be seen being tied up by Jesus. Later, D.J. returned to the Sanctuary alongside Laura and the other surrendering Saviors.

"A New Beginning"
At the Sanctuary, D.J. works alongside Daryl, Rosita, and Regina in gathering the corn and husks from the crop fields to convert into biofuel.

"The Bridge"
Having moved from the Sanctuary to the work camp along with dozens of other Saviors, D.J. is part of the team of laborers working to build a bridge connecting the communities' trade routes. While working on the bridge, he witnesses Justin manhandle Henry before he is knocked to the ground.

"Warning Signs"
On the road, D.J. and a small group of Saviors stop Maggie and Kal from bringing food to the Sanctuary to question her about their missing people. D.J. watches as Jed steals a tomato out of the back and takes a large bite. Maggie says she'll mark him down for it while D.J. and the other Saviors let her pass.

At the camp, the Saviors are furious with the news of Justin's death. Alden promises they'll get to the bottom of it but is punched in the face by Jed, who claims he isn't one of them anymore. Carol steps in with her gun at her hip, stopping Jed.

While Norris suspects Anne, D.J. accuses Daryl of being the culprit and grabs an axe in preparation to retaliate, with the rest of the Saviors following suit. Arat tries to calm him down while Daryl points a crossbow at him. Before a fight can erupt, Rick rides in the middle of the group with his gun drawn and warns everyone to back off.

At night, D.J. and Jed stage an ambush for Carol and Rick in the woods, with Jed pretending to be a walker to get Carol to lower her guard. As carol prepares to kill the supposedly reanimated Jed, D.J. blindsides her and pushes her into Jed, who holds Carol at knifepoint while Rick points a gun at his head. Jed explains to Rick that this is about getting their guns back for protection before leaving, before instructing Rick to hand over his gun to D.J. Rick pretends to comply, giving Carol the opportunity to sneakily pull a knife out of her sleeve and stab Jed in the shoulder while Rick points his gun at D.J. and forces him to his knees.

The next morning, D.J. is seen walking back to the Sanctuary with the rest of the Saviors, abandoning the construction project.

"The Obliged"
At the camp, as Carol packs up, an armed Jed and several Saviors, among them D.J., return. He reveals he knows that Oceanside's been killing the Saviors and he needs her to step aside so he can enact his revenge. Carol pretends to surrender but attacks him again. However, more Saviors show up and a shoot-out ensues.

D.J. survives the shoot out and at some point during the six year time skip he decides to move to Alexandria rather than remain with Jed's group of former Saviors.

"Who Are You Now?"
Six years later, D.J. is now a trusted citizen of Alexandria. When Magna's group enters Alexandria, D.J. and Siddiq rush to meet the group and to ensure they are unarmed. He prevents Magna from heading to the infirmary to be with Yumiko and instead escorts her and the rest of the group to holding. Later, he accompanies the group to the infirmary and watches over everyone.

The next day, D.J. watches as Magna's group prepares to leave and rides on horseback along with Michonne and Siddiq to escort them to the Hilltop.

"Stradivarius"
D.J. accompanies Michonne and Siddiq as they escort Magna's group to their rig. He steers the wagon carrying the survivors as he chats with Yumiko. Upon arriving at the site of the big rig, they find it in a shambles and realize a larger herd had passed through. After putting down the zombies and gathering items that were salvageable, they continue towards the Hilltop. They camp out in a building for the night and D.J. awakens when Michonne destroys Luke's ancient violin. He listens as Luke tells the story about Neanderthals and music before eventually returning to sleep. The next morning, D.J. and the others quickly flee the building after realizing a herd had arrived. They are able to fight enough of the zombies to make it to their horses and wagon and flee the area. Upon approaching the Hilltop, they are met by two guards on horseback who inform the group that Rosita Espinosa was found injured in the woods. D.J. and the rest of the group continue their way towards Hilltop and safely make it into town.

"Evolution"
D.J will appear in this episode.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims D.J. has killed:
 * Gary (Alongside Norris and Arat)
 * Numerous unnamed Scavengers (Alongside members of the Saviors)
 * 10 unnamed Saviors (Alongside Norris and Arat)
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people.

Negan
During the Saviors' war against the joined forces of the Milita, D.J. was unquestionably loyal to Negan, telling him he knew he wasn't dead when he goes missing and keeps Negan's arrival a secret, as well as assisting in executing Simon’s traitors.

Simon
With Simon being second-in-command of the Saviors, D.J. followed his orders without question, such as executing all of the Scavengers. When put to the test, however, D.J. shows himself to be ultimately loyal to Negan, as he isn't a part of Simon's coup and, in fact, executes the conspirators alongside Norris and Arat.

Arat
Although they are only shown interacting a few times on screen, D.J and Arat appear to be good friends. When D.J grabs an axe at the bridge campsite in retaliation for the murder of Justin (TV Series), Arat is the one who calms him down and convinces him to stand down. D.J's reaction to Arat's death is yet to be seen, but he leaves the bridge campsite the following morning with the rest of the Savior workers after Arat is killed.

Norris
Norris and D.J. seem to be friends, and are often paired together on missions. When D.J. grabs an axe to retaliate against the other communities after Justin is killed, Norris is the first to back him up by picking up a weapon as well. D.J.'s reaction to Norris' death remains to be seen.

Jed
D.J. and Jed seemed to be good friends. Jed made D.J. the second-in-command of his rebel group, showing that he had trust in him. D.J. assisted Jed in ambushing Carol and Rick and later joined him in raiding the campsite. Despite this, D.J. does not join Jed's group of marauders after the Sanctuary fails, opting to live in Alexandria instead. Actor Matt Mangum stated that D.J's loyalty to Jed was more out of a sense of survival than actual loyalty.

Michonne
Although they do not interact with each other during The Militia's war against the Saviors, it is likely Michonne held the same animosity towards him as she did every other Savior, and would have killed him as she did any other. Likewise, D.J. would probably have few qualms about killing Michonne.

Six years after the apparent death of Rick Grimes, D.J. has become unwaveringly loyal to Michonne and Alexandria, meeting Magna's group with suspicion at the gate and escorting them to Hilltop with Michonne and Siddiq. Actor Matt Mangum stated that D.J has a large amount of respect for Michonne.

Daryl Dixon
D.J. and Daryl have a poor relationship, with D.J. accusing Daryl of murdering Justin due to his animosity towards him. D.J. goes as far as grabbing an axe in preparation to retaliate, with Daryl returning the sentiment by pointing a crossbow at him. It's unknown if D.J.'s attitude towards Daryl has improved after he joined Alexandria.

Season 8

 * "How It's Gotta Be"
 * "The Lost and the Plunderers"
 * "Still Gotta Mean Something"
 * "Worth"
 * "Wrath"

Season 9

 * "A New Beginning" (No Lines)
 * "The Bridge"
 * "Warning Signs"
 * "The Obliged" (No Lines)
 * "Who Are You Now?"
 * "Stradivarius"
 * "Evolution"

Trivia

 * So far, D.J. is the only known survivor in the TV series to renounce his antagonistic ways twice, the first time being after Negan was defeated and the second after the shootout at the campsite. He is also the only known member of Jed's group to have done so. This is despite his former status as Jed's second in command.
 * D.J. is the only known member of Jed's group of rebels that is still alive as of "Who Are You Now?".
 * Excluding Eugene, D.J. and Laura are Negan's last two known surviving lieutenants. Coincidentally, they were also the last Saviors to be promoted to lieutenants before Negan's defeat.
 * D.J is one of five Savior lieutenants to renounce his antagonistic ways, with the other four being Laura, Arat, Eugene Porter and Dwight.
 * According to actor Matt Mangum, there was a cut line in the episode "Stradivarius " where Siddiq asks Michonne to allow him to come with her on the journey to Hilltop with Magna's Group, stating that "All D.J talks about is horses." This is likely a reference to Matt Mangum's horse tattoos, which have appeared in the show before.