Cool your jets there, Daryl Dixon lovers, because he isn’t going to be getting romantically involved with Isabelle anytime soon. At least, that’s according to star Norman Reedus, who was just as surprised by that kiss last night as we were on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol. Long known as the character least likely to settle down since he first debuted in the franchise back in 2010, Dixon has had a hell of a journey from his days fighting off Walkers on Herschel’s farm until now, where he’s in France trying to make his way back to his native soil.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Reedus said the kiss between him and Clémence Poésy’s Isabelle that came after Daryl tries to convince her to come back to the States was more of an exploration of his character than anything else. Longtime fans of the series that spun off into The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon in 2023 know first-hand that he’s far from the type to have any sort of romantic relationship, especially when it comes to kissing, which he’d never done on-camera before until last night.

“I think it was an experiment. It was, ‘What is this?’ It wasn’t a ‘This is it!’ It’s a ‘What is this? And what would that look like and how does that feel?’ I don’t think there was an intention to get to second base. I think it was more of scarily parting these curtains to look at the idea of it.”

Reactions to the kiss on social media have been swift, with many either loving or hating the moment, with no “let’s see where this leads” in between. Daryl has been such a mainstay in the franchise for so many years that fans feel they have an intimate connection with his character, so to see him break from the norm has been somewhat jarring to a lot of people, especially when you factor in that Isabelle went from being a French wild child to a devoted nun. Not exactly his type, is she? Then again, does he even have a type?

How Norman Reedus Interprets Daryl’s Kiss With Isabelle

When you’ve spent the majority of your life fighting off zombies in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, eventually you’re going to have to take a step back to try and see the forest through the trees and ask yourself the question: Is this all there is? For someone like Daryl, those moments have been few and far between, as he’s always just kind of seen what’s in front of him while trying to survive day-by-day. Reedus says he interprets that kiss as one of those epiphanic moments, but cautions fans not to get their hopes up about an instant love connection.

“I’ll tell you my interpretation of it, is that he’s never got to do this before and he doesn’t know what it means. He’s been running and fighting his whole life, and is asking himself: Have I been doing this wrong? Should I have just found someone and settled down in a farm and just had those moments of life before I die? Or is the fighting and fighting the way I’m supposed to go? He’s questioning the whole big picture.”

With four episodes still left to go in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol, it will be interesting to see where all this leads. Will Daryl eventually find true love, or will things end tragically the same way they did with Leah all those years ago? You’ll have to tune in on Sunday nights on AMC to find out.