Does Carol have a new Walking Dead love interest on Daryl Dixon?: 'There is the possibility of romance'

The season 3 trailer for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon shows off a lot of things. There is the scenic Spanish countryside giving off serious spaghetti western vibes. There are fireballs of zombies on the loose. There is a shipwrecked boat… because Norman Reedus’ Daryl and boats just don’t seem to go well together.

But there was something else in that trailer that couldn’t help but catch our eye: fan-favorite Carol (Melissa McBride) sharing a very tender moment with a strange man. Obviously, it is always big news for invested fans whenever Carol or Daryl get involved with another person. Last season, it was Daryl who had an ill-fated romance with Clémence Poésy’s Isabelle. This season, it looks like it may be Carol’s turn to have all the feelings.

The quick shot shows Carol’s face in very close proximity to a character named Antonio (played by Eduardo Noriega). He is the father of Roberto (Hugo Arbués), a young man deeply in love with Justina (Candela Saitta) — and that love will have far-reaching consequences throughout the season.

So have Carol and Antonio just shared a kiss? Made it through an intense life, or death, encounter? What’s going on here? We asked McBride to shed a little light on the situation with this possible love interest.

“Once they get to Spain, they encounter these people living in a village,” McBride tells Entertainment Weekly. “As Carol heals up, they have a thing in common. We'll see what these common denominators are between these two. They also have a path that's very similar, although I think they're teaching each other things. They're learning from one another.”

Walking Dead chief content officer Scott M. Gimple confirms the pairing is one to keep an eye on, and says Carol may be in a place to be more receptive to the idea of it after getting on the other side of her Sophia trauma last season.

“That moment was tender,” says Gimple. “What does that mean? And what does it mean for Carol, even generally in this world, to be a bit lighter and to have that burden lessened? What possibilities does that open up? I think Antonio could be one of those possibilities.”

Whether things will end well for these two aspiring lovebirds is always a major question when it comes to The Walking Dead. So is if characters will even allow themselves to give in to the possibility of obtaining long-term happiness in a world of constant death.

“Carol and Antonio have this very compelling relationship as they get to know each other,” showrunner David Zabel teases. “They get to know each other gradually, but as they do, there's a real warmth between them and there's an understanding between them because of where he's coming from in his life and where she's been in her life.”

The storyline of Daryl and Carol intervening in the town’s arrangement of trading young women for protection will draw Carol and Antonio closer. “She's very committed to helping him and helping his family and the situation that Daryl and Carol find in this town,” Zabel says. “And so, over time, the intimacy grows and there's an openness.”

The showrunner notes that it might be a new feeling — for both characters. “Both of them have been closed-off people for a while, but as they get to know each other and the story progresses, with Carol being in sort of a more advanced stage because of what happened after the end of season 2, the intimacy grows. There is an interest in seeing what happens between them.”

That’s putting it mildly when it comes to this fanbase, and Zabel’s comment that “there is the possibility of romance” will only increase that interest. Answers will begin to fall into place when The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premieres Sept. 7 on AMC.