'The Walking Dead'
“The Walking Dead” returns to AMC for its fourth season in October. AMC

Good news and bad news for fans of Daryl Dixon, a fictional character in the AMC hit “The Walking Dead.” The good news is that the crossbow wielding heartthrob has resurfaced in a new photo from the highly anticipated fourth season. The bad news is that his face is covered.

The new season four set photo was obtained by Entertainment Weekly, and it shows the motorcycle riding zombie survivor donning a black bandana from his nose down while wearing his usual black leather vest. While EW acquired the photograph, it didn’t gain any background information on what exactly is happening in the shot. [Click here to see the photo.]

Fortunately, we have a creative mind and came up with a couple of theories on why Daryl is covering up:

1. The Smell Of Dead Bodies – Daryl could have stumbled across the Governor’s slaughtering grounds from the season three finale. Thanks to the hot Atlanta sun and some zombie action, we’re thinking that those former Woodbury residents are smelling pretty ripe right about now.

2. Zombie Clean Up – The Governor set a bunch of walkers loose in the prison yard at the end of season three. While the background in the photo is blurred, the white lines could possibly be that of the prison’s fence. With more people moving into the area, Daryl and a couple of others could be clearing up the yard of zombie’s to allow for more freedom.

3. No More Tears – Daryl was bullied by fans after crying over his brother Merle in the season three finale. Potentially, the bandana is a way to hide anymore tears?

Walking Dead
Someone pass this man a tissue. AMC

4. Nuclear Explosion – Thanks to some camera happy “Walking Dead” fans, we know that the AMC show was filming at an Atlanta power plant. The photos only showed production tents set up, but rumors circulating around the site tease that it’s a “fairly large filming event,” with about 200 extras on hand. Could Daryl be covering his mouth and nose from inhaling smoke from a zombie nuclear explosion?

“The Walking Dead” returns to AMC for its new season in October. Click here to see the photo of Daryl Dixon in season four, and let us know what your theories are.