The Walking Dead 10x06, "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.
"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: