“He’s never got to do this before and he doesn’t know what it means.”

Warning: This article contains spoilers about season 2, episode 2 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol, “Moulin Rouge.”

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol is centered around bringing old friends Daryl and Carol back together. But it was Norman Reedus’ Daryl getting together romantically with another woman, Clémence Poésy’s Isabelle, that provided the big surprise of the season’s second episode, titled “Moulin Rouge.”

Watching Daryl lock lips with anyone is a rare occurrence and has only been seen once before, when he became romantically involved during season 10 of the series with Leah Shaw, whom he eventually killed. So it was somewhat of a shock when he leaned over on this week’s episode of Daryl Dixon and began kissing Isabelle.

Earlier in the episode, Daryl had invited Isabelle to join him on his trip back to America, telling the French party-girl-turned-nun, “You’re not like them at all. You’re like us.” She initially said it was not possible, but after the Nest tried to have her and Daryl killed, shattering her faith, Isabelle changed her mind, telling Daryl she would go with him “if the offer still stands.” After staring at her for a long time, Daryl then leaned in for a kiss. And then, after a brief pause, the kissing continued.

Clémence Poésy as Isabelle, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon on 'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol'

Clémence Poésy as Isabelle, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon on ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol’.Emmanuel Guimier/AMC

Considering the rarity of such an occasion, it seems like a momentous moment for both the character and franchise, but Reedus, who is always weary of attention paid to his character’s love life, implores the fanbase to not get carried away with delusions of romantic grandeur. Rather than dramatically announcing a new Walking Dead couple like Rick and Michonne or Glenn and Maggie, Reedus says this make-out session should be taken more like his character exploring the possibilities of what could be.

“I think it was an experiment,” the star tells Entertainment Weekly. “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.”

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon on 'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol'

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon on ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol’.Stéphanie Branchu/AMC

In Reedus’ eyes, Daryl is not committing himself to anything — or anyone — beyond trying something new. “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,” Reedus says. “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.”

And while fans are no doubt freaking out over Daryl and Isabelle sucking face, Reedus definitely does not want to lean into the impression that an instant love connection has been made. “I know how fandom works,” he says. “People jump from A to B in the shortest route to get there, and then they want to f—ing blow it up in neon. I know when you become popular on a TV show, the tendency is to take your shirt off in the moonlight. If this was a different type of show and a different type of world, maybe.”

Clémence Poésy as Isabelle on 'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol'

Clémence Poésy as Isabelle on ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol’.Emmanuel Guimier/AMC

As for how he and Poésy prepared for the big kissing scene, Reedus says, “we didn’t really talk about it that much. I just know Clémence knew what we were doing, and I knew what we were doing. It wasn’t grab you by the back of the head and shove your face into my face sort of situation. It was about what we were looking at and what we were talking about. There are Daryl reasons why, and there are Isabelle reasons why. She’s also coming out of a completely different situation and giving up on the people she was having faith in. It’s bigger picture stuff.”

In the end, while romance (or romantic entanglements) may have played a big part in the stories surrounding other Walking Dead characters, don’t look for it to overwhelm Daryl’s future. “We did that with Rick, and we did that with Shane, and we did that even with Glenn,” Reedus notes. “I don’t think Darryl’s the same character as those characters.”