Spoilers below for the most recent Walking Dead episodes, so be sure to catch up before reading on.
The Walking Dead Season 9 has certainly broken a few hearts so far, with Rick's exit leading the charge on that front. Things haven't been all dark, however, with the first six episodes proving time and again that romance and love cannot be eradicated by the zombie outbreak. (Can we call them Eze-carol?) The exclusive new clip below, for the episode "Stradivarius," hints at Aaron and Jesus' comic book relationship coming to live-action. Check it out!
Okay, there are some more hectic things than potential romances happening by the end of the clip, but let's go in sequential order here, shall we? Now, just because Jesus and Aaron are having a random conversation, that doesn't necessarily mean romantic sparks are flying. However, there are other factors at play here.
For one, neither one of the men is currently seeing anyone, at least as far as we know. Aaron's former partner Eric died back in the All Out War, and we have yet to learn about him having any other trysts while raising his adopted daughter Gracie. On the flip side, Jesus hadn't been shown to have had any meaningful romantic relationships on the TV show just yet.
As such, they're both presumably single and presumably in need of some stress relief that doesn't come easily with other characters. (No pun intended.) There aren't a ton of other gay men living large in these communities, after all, so the pickins are pretty slim.
Even beyond just the simple convenience, though, Jesus and Aaron really do like being around each other. In the clip, they specifically talk about how much trouble they would be in if they were discovered by higher-ups in the Hilltop and Alexandria. Clearly not everybody in this universe will break the rules to spend time with someone else, so that speaks to how much the two men want to hang out and have a meal together. Nothing says romance like a secret mid-day tryst.
In the comics, things weren't much different for the two characters. Jesus did have a temporary fling with a dude named Alex, which is how it was confirmed that the latter was gay. It's during the Whisperer War arc that Robert Kirkman brought Jesus and Aaron together at last, and the timing on the TV show couldn't be better for this new coupling to assert itself.
Of course, that Whisperer threat is what's guiding the back half of this clip, as Jesus and Aaron catch sight of a flare that leads them to a bloodied and exhausted Rosita. She shares a bit of disturbing news with them -- Eugene got left behind -- which will no doubt guide part of the action in the rest of "Stradivarius."
Rosita says she left Eugene back in a barn, which means viewers are missing some of the puzzle pieces for what happened to the two of them after they hid from the Whisperers. One might have assumed they escaped with all their faculties intact, and only had to worry about washing all that mud off. Unfortunately, that's not the case, and Eugene and his groovy hair might be in major trouble out there somewhere.
Did Rosita leave Eugene purposefully out of spite, or was the situation truly so dire that she couldn't find a way to help him? Even though it was years ago to the characters, Eugene was Public Enemy #1 in Rosita's eyes during his stint with the Saviors. Plus, he started to confess his love for her right when they were being chased, even though he knows she is with Father Gabriel. (Another double-take of a Walking Dead romance.) So maybe she was just trying to avoid him in any way possible, even if it meant leaving him behind to die.
Will Eugene make it out of that situation alive, or will he become one of the first Whisperer victims? Will Aaron and Jesus hook up, or will having to save Eugene from people wearing walker skin turn them off of romantic notions for the near future? Also, so many questions about Aaron's arm, but those can wait.
Find out when The Walking Dead airs every Sunday night on AMC at 9:00 p.m. ET. With only two episodes left to go in the first half of Season 9, primetime will be a bit lighter in the near future. Remedy that by bookmarking our fall TV premiere schedule and our midseason TV premiere schedule.
