Naive sweetness on The Walking Dead? You better believe it!
While much has been made about the violence and deaths on the AMC hit series, a quietly emerging love story between fan favorite Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) has quickly grabbed the attention of fans, but will they ever actually get together?
We caught up with Reedus and executive producer Gregory Nicotero at Paleyfest 2013 for the answer! Plus, we chatted with Danai Gurira and executive producer Gale Ann Hurd about when Michonne (Gurira) and Merle (Michael Rooker) will face off!
Of their potential romance, Reedus explains fans probably shouldn't expect to see Daryl make the first move. "There's reasons why people fight. People fight because they're protecting somebody or they're trying to prove a point. I'm trying to play Daryl like he fights because he's always had to fight. His back's always been up against the wall, so when it comes to Carol, I don't think he's one of those guys that has any sort of smooth moves," he says.
Nicotero addresses Daryl's lack of game, saying, "I have a really good position because I know all the characters; I've been on set with them every day and you always look at the way Norman handles things and he's always very tentative. He never really ever 100 percent commits. Any time there's an interaction between him and Carol, it's always kind of tentative. I like that about them, that there's a naive sort of sweetness about them. Whether it ever actually connects, I don't know, but that tension really is great."
Reedus says that tentativeness is more realistic, highlighting the moment where Carol kisses Daryl's forehead and he flinches away from her. "This storyline has molded a little bit towards that; damaged people gravitating towards each other is more interesting," he says. "When a guy meets a girl, it's awkward. There's all these little awkward things to play instead of guy-girl kiss; that's a soap opera. We're not really doing that."
As for a different kind of hookup fans are eagerly anticipating, we had to know when we'll see an epic showdown between Michonne and Merle. "They definitely have some key scenes together, I'll give you that," Hurd teases.
The Walking Dead airs Sunday at 10 p.m. on AMC.
To hear more from Gurira and Reedus, watch our interviews with them above!