The Walking Dead 10×06, “Bonds,” aired a key interaction between best friends Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) when Carol, fresh off her separation from ex-husband King Ezekiel (Khary Payton), spurred Daryl to take his friendship with Connie (Lauren Ridloff) to the next level. When out in the woods searching for the walker horde corralled by Alpha (Samantha Morton) and the Whisperers as part of a seek and destroy mission, Carol asks about Connie, telling Daryl, “I see things.” With a chuckle, Daryl says it’s “not like that. Not at all.” Asked why not, Daryl has no answer.
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“Aren’t that many people left to find out there these days, much less good ones like her,” Carol says. Daryl, largely avoiding the interrogation, asks, “What’s it matter?”
“‘Cause it does. You don’t have to be alone,” she replies. “Years pass, Daryl. You can’t hide out with a dog forever.”
Carol isn’t the only one sniffing out a potential Daryl and Connie love connection: Connie’s sister Kelly (Angel Theory) found herself wondering if there’s something brewing between the two in the Season 10 premiere.
“What I really enjoy about those two together, they have such an interesting dynamic and chemistry, which just has popped from the beginning. I think what we’re showing is that they certainly have a blossoming friendship and connection,” showrunner Angela Kang previously told EW of the ‘Donnie’ dynamic. “We see that Daryl has been teaching himself sign language, which certainly says something, that in the mildest form he is doing his best to welcome somebody who needs to use ASL to communicate.”
Asked if there would be more story between the two, Kang answered, “I can’t spoil anything. You’ve just got to watch for that. I think the audience and the characters are very much in the same place, is what I’ll say.”
If Daryl is closer to finding love on The Walking Dead this year, Reedus isn’t telling.
“I think Connie, he sees her as an equal. She’s an asset, she’s a badass,” Reedus said at ACE Comic Con Midwest in October. “There’s lots of times Daryl’s like, ‘I’m gonna head this way,’ and she’s like, ‘I’m coming with you.’ I’m like, ‘No, you’re not,’ she’s like, ‘Watch me.’ And I like seeing that character branch out and put in the effort to be able to communicate with her. I think that’s really cool.”
He continued, “I like her character, I like my character, I like our relationship. I like my relationship with Carol, of course.” Reedus also noted there’s “a lot of Daryl and Carol this year,” but the ‘Caryl’ relationship is one that gets “really complicated” in Season 10.
Whether or not ‘Caryl’ ever turns romantic, Kang says the longtime best friends are “soulmates.”
“I think they are soulmates, whether or not their relationship ever goes into romantic territory. They are tied to each other in this world and have been through so much together,” she previously told TVLine. “They love each other, and they trust each other. They care what happens to the other. And yet that can be very complicated when there’s so much trauma and this bigger thing that’s taking over the communities.”
Here’s what fans had to say after Sunday’s scene between the two:
Slide 1
I donโt normally push for stuff like this but can Carol and Daryl just…do it already?! @WalkingDead_AMC #TheWalkingDead
โ Horror Business (@thehorrorbiz666) November 11, 2019
#twd #TheWalkingDead
โ TV & Coupon Talk (@TVnCouponTalk) November 11, 2019
Daryl telling Carol he’s not into Connie hmmmmm is it because he’s thinking about #Caryl??
Slide 2
Sorry Caryl shippers, but Carol is a Donnie shipper herself. #TheWalkingDead
โ Abraham Ford (@TheAbeFord) November 11, 2019
So…. Carol is a #Donnie shipper! She wants to see #Daryl and #Connie together๐#TWD #TheWalkingDead
โ Creative Par-Tees (Angie and Randy) (@CreativeParTees) November 11, 2019
Slide 3
The Caryl scenes are my favorite ๐ค๐คซ @wwwbigbaldhead @mcbridemelissa #TheWalkingDead
โ Raven ๐ (@RavenGillians) November 11, 2019
Is Carol that oblivious to his feelings?! Are you all?! If that didnโt speak volumes, I donโt know what does. โค๏ธ #Caryl #TWD
โ MugsyMel #TWDfamily ๐งโโ๏ธ โค๏ธ (@MugsyMel) November 11, 2019
Slide 4
Gotta love Carol shipping #Donnie like everyone else ๐ #TWD https://t.co/75w5hjrYQB
โ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ (@kerryxxgoldwyn) November 11, 2019
Carol knows about #Donnie and sees what we see #TWD ๐ฅฐ pic.twitter.com/dKdkIS0DTF
โ Margo (@iMargo_CEO) November 11, 2019
Carol knows #TheWalkingDead #TWDFamily #Donnie pic.twitter.com/yRx5QOIivc
โ Best of Daryl Dixon/Norman reedus ๐น (@BestofDixon10) November 11, 2019
Slide 5
The most adorable scene. Love how UTTERLY obvious it is the reason Daryl’s not into Connie is sitting right next to him, and he can’t tell her. TELL HER DARYL! #caryl #nuttyforCaryl #TWD
โ Ikkleosu (@IkklesaTwit) November 11, 2019
Carol: Why not?
โ ๐JENNNNN๐ (@ZedWordJen) November 11, 2019
Daryl: (internally)#TWD #TWDFamily #caryl pic.twitter.com/ibGq3pMXSX
#NuttyForCaryl #Caryl #TWD โค๏ธ pic.twitter.com/0tMOqIaTnQ
โ ฦ โถโ (@iNorMel) November 11, 2019
Slide 6
Daryl: it’s not like that
โ Katelyn Joy (@katelynjoy101) November 11, 2019
UGHH YES IT IS! #Donnie @WalkingDead_AMC @AMCTalkingDead
Iโm very much enjoying the relationship between Connie & Daryl. The chemistry between @LaurenRidloff & @wwwbigbaldhead is beyond natural. @AMCTalkingDead @WalkingDead_AMC #WalkingDead #Donnie #Caryl
โ T. S. Jones (@TSJones4) November 11, 2019
If Carol is ok with #Donnie then #Caryl shippers should be too #TWD #TWDFamily #TheWalkingDead #SilenceTheWhispers #WeAreTheWalkingDead
โ John Wood (@jwood326966) November 11, 2019
Slide 7
girl bye #NuttyForCaryl pic.twitter.com/GMczavE4m3
โ maddie ๐ฌ (@pookiesmcbride) November 11, 2019
SAME! #NuttyForCaryl https://t.co/HfKXOQL20D
โ Gaby R. (@GabrielaRangelB) November 11, 2019
Daryl: not at all
โ Angelica #Bonds (@angejimenezm) November 11, 2019
Carol: Why not?
Dante: The heart wants what it wants.#TWD #Caryl
Slide 8
#Donnie & #Darl is happening people!! #twd
โ Devin ๐ (@dp__whiteboy) November 11, 2019
Daryl we all know that it is like that!
โ โจRose๐น (@RoseCV7) November 11, 2019
I’m glad Carol sees the same thing that many of us see about Daryl and Connie!! #TheWalkingDead #Donnie pic.twitter.com/P4J194CyJ2
#donnie is coming sooner than we think #TWDFamily #LIVETWEET #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/E9G9mi0tnM
โ Julian Cannon๐@C2E2 2020 (@julianexcalibur) November 11, 2019
New episodes of The Walking Dead Season 10 premiere Sundays at 9/8c on AMC. For more TWD intel, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.