Melissa McBride on Carol and Daryl on 'The Walking Dead': "You Never Know"

Carol's relationship with King Ezekiel is The Walking Dead's hottest new romance but one which depended on Daryl's approval.

In the Season Nine premiere, King Ezekiel was seen proposing to his love Carol after an 18-month time jump allowed them to spend plenty of time together off-screen. Carol, at first, denied the proposal and insisted he put the ring away. However, after a late night conversation with her long time pal Daryl, she got the blessing a went ahead with the engagement in Episode 9x02.

"She's not ready [in Episode 9x01]," McBride admitted to ComicBook.com. "For her to accept means a couple of things that she is totally committed to him. And what it meant before this ever happened is like, 'Okay he's king. Self-appointed king.' What does that mean really? Well yeah, this self-appointed king that meant I had to do everything. So there's still the residual feelings but then on the other hand she knows that they are completely different people. And for her I imagine it's very difficult." In fact, McBride's Carol has not worn a ring since she shed the one her abusive husband put on her years ago prior to the apocalypse.

While making herself vulnerable was a brave choice in itself, it did not come without the Episode 9x01 conversation with Daryl. "His blessing did mean a lot to her," McBride said. "She wanted to know if he is still gonna be cool!"

As for whether or not there is still hope for Carol and Daryl romantically, a storyline many fans have begged for since the early days of the AMC show, McBride can't rule anything out officially. "You never know, you know?" McBride told ET (via FanFest). "I love how they have each other's back. I love their relationship. Whatever it is, I love their relationship. The fans can look forward to more Daryl and Carol scenes."

Carol and Daryl have a lot in common in terms of their experiences. More so than Carol and her King. "They're very different," McBride said. "They have the playing the roles in common, and those little survival tactics in common, but they're very different. A nice yin-and-yang. I'm kind of excited to see her open herself up to maybe experience a little romance."

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and watch ComicBook.com's After The Dead each Sunday night following new episodes.