The Walking Dead season 6: viewers revel in most heartwarming moment yet after last week's nightmare

A rare romantic twist has overjoyed (most) fans

The Walking Dead: season six, episode ten: "The Next World"

After the horror that was last week's mid-season six premiere of The Walking Dead, the fans were owed something nice - and thankfully, that's exactly what they got when the latest episode culminated in the most romantic twist yet.

Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and samurai-wielding fan favourite Michonne (Danai Gurira) hooked up.

Naturally, Twitter set alight.

Some people were a bit alarmed by the plot development, however.

For the most part, the episode - set an unspecified amount of time on since last week's events, which saw Carl (Chandler Riggs) take a bullet to the eye - follows series originals Rick and Daryl (Norman Reedus) on a food run outside the walls of Alexandria.

It's when Rick returns home that the moment occurs. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Scott Gimple revealed that: "The Andrea story from the comics has been broken up and given to several different characters. This is one of those instances."

Andrea (Laurie Holden) was killed off in the climax of the show's third season and was the one who introduced Michonne to the group.

Reflecting on the moment, Michonne actress Gurira told Variety: "The idea that he gets home and the one thing she wants to do is go plop on the couch next to him and spend time with him — in my head I was laughing because she’s in love with him and she doesn’t even realize it."

The episode, titled "The Next World," also saw the introduction of Jesus (Tom Payne) - a big character from the graphic novels the series is based on - and the surprise return of Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh), albeit in zombie form.

In the UK, The Walking Dead airs every Monday on Fox at 9 PM.