The Walking Dead star teases Eugene and Stephanie’s relationship

The Walking Dead season 11 is set to introduce a host of new characters. One of these is Stephanie, who already has a growing relationship with Eugene. 

In October, The Walking Dead will end its tenth season with a huge battle between our heroes and the Whisperers, hopefully giving us a satisfying end to the long-running Whisperer War story arc. And with six additional “extra” season 10 episodes coming in early 2021, it really looks like the writers want to tie up some loose ends so that they can open up the world even further in season 11, which is set to introduce a host of new characters.

One of these is Stephanie (Margot Bingham), who we’ve only ever heard talking to Eugene (Josh McDermitt) over the radio.

In the latter half of season 10, you might recall that Eugene was using his trusty hand-built radio to scan for signals from other unknown communities. Eventually he came across Stephanie, a mysterious woman from a large and far-away community. As the episodes go by, they continue to chat with each other until they agree to meet at her chosen coordinates in Charleston, West Virginia. That’s when Eugene, along with Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) go towards the end of the season, coming across Princess (Paola Lázaro) along the way.

If you’ve read Robert Kirkman’s comics, you’ll notice that this entire storyline is pretty faithful, despite numerous changes elsewhere in the season. This means that, in season 11, we’re very likely to be introduced to the Commonwealth, the huge community where Stephanie is from.

In the upcoming episodes, we’re going to see Eugene finally meet Stephanie face-to-face. During the Walking Dead Comic-Con@Home panel, McDermitt teased what’s to come for his character, including what his relationship with Stephanie will look like:

"I don’t know that he’s thought about [what she looks like]. They have similar interests, and I think he’s connecting with her on a level that he never really connected with Rosita on. They’re kind of into some nerdy things, and that’s awesome, and she likes his weird references, and she has probably her own weird references."

And obviously when Eugene and Stephanie have is different than what he had with Rosita. “I think Rosita and Eugene have a great relationship now, but when we first meet them together, it was a bit more adversarial, it was built on lies of having to cure the apocalypse,” McDermitt explained. “They were obviously able to get past that, but what he’s building with Stephanie is a stronger foundation, this is starting on more solid foundation.”

While McDermitt refuses to confirm that Eugene will be in a relationship with Stephanie, he does seem to imply that something is going to happen between the duo. For Eugene, a love life is “something he’s never really experienced,” but there’s always time.

"If you’ve ever been in a relationship and you’re able to grow in that sense too, I think that’s a place that’s probably lacking in his life. I’m not saying he’s definitely going to be in a relationship with Stephanie, but I’m hoping that there could be something more there so that he’s able to grow within the boundaries of being in a relationship."

There’s much to get excited about in the upcoming episodes of The Walking Dead. We’ve got everything from the highly anticipated battle against Beta and the Whisperers to the return of fan-favorite Maggie. We can now add Eugene’s relationship with Stephanie and the discovery of the Commonwealth to that list.

The Walking Dead season 10 finale will air October 4!

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