Norman Reedus: Daryl and Leah’s Walking Dead relationship “not what it seems”

The latest episode of The Walking Dead, “Find Me,” takes us back to the time the show skipped following Rick’s “death” in season 9. The episode gives us an origin for Dog, but it also sees Daryl falling for the dog’s owner, Leah, a mysterious woman he meets while hunting for Rick’s body in the woods. Things get get off to a rocky start when Daryl finds her cabin — she immediately points a gun in his face — but they bond over the course of the episode until Leah mysteriously disappears.

At that point, Daryl had clearly made his mind up: he wanted to be with her, so much that he left a note hidden in a chest in the floorboards. “I belong with you. Find me.”

Why did she leave? Where did she go? These are all questions we hope will be answered in due course. In the meantime, actor Norman Reedus talked to Entertainment Weekly about Daryl’s love interest.

Firstly, there’s a reason it took 10 seasons to finally get into Daryl’s love life. It sounds like Reedus even fought against it. “It was interesting, because I’ve been fighting having something like this happen since day one,” Reedus said. “And I was like, ‘Please don’t hook me up with anybody. Everyone’s going to yell at me about it!'”

And indeed, fan reaction was mixed. Some thought it was nice to see Daryl have his first-ever love story. Others, not so much, particularly those invested in Daryl’s longtime friendship with Carol. “I woke up this morning to a lot of messages being like, ‘How could you be with her? What’s wrong with you?'”

Whatever he thinks about giving Daryl a romantic storyline, Reedus was determined to give it his best shot. “I wanted to handle it with very gentle gloves on,” he said. “I know what people think. I know what I hear. I know what my character would think about it. And I don’t know if I was a hundred percent ready for it, but it’s got more to it. I’ll say that.”

"And I’m like, ‘Well, it’s not really what it seems to be.’"

How mysterious.

Where will Daryl and Leah’s relationship go from here?

There are plenty of ways Leah could return. For example, in the comics (SPOILERS incoming), Michonne learns that her long-lost daughter Elodie is a citizen of the Commonwealth, a huge community that will play a big role in season 11. Since Michonne seems to be going in her own direction, maybe they can change it so Daryl finds Leah in the Commonwealth instead?

As if adding insult to injury, Daryl and Carol’s relationship was shattered after Daryl blows up at Carol over some of her questionable recent decisions. But with them both featuring in a spin-off show together after The Walking Dead ends, we know they’re making up sooner or later.

The Walking Dead season 10 continues Sundays on AMC. After the first two episodes followed Maggie and then Daryl, the next will focus on what’s going on with Gabriel and Aaron.

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