Could This Character Make a Surprise Return to The Walking Dead?
It’s no secret that Beth Greene’s “death” was more than just controversial. In fact, in the wake of her death fans petitioned to bring her back, and the petition now has over 65,000 supporters (you can sign it here) and was even mentioned on Good Morning America. The blue-eyed songbird met her grisly “demise” during the midseason finale of season five when she faced off with Dawn, attempting to put an end to the woman’s leadership within Grady Memorial Hospital. Unfortunately, her attempt led to her being shot through the head and presumably dead.
Most fans may have accepted her death, but a group of fans were more adamant about the issue and thought otherwise, and The Walking Dead fandom saw the birth of Team Delusional (aka Team Defiance and TD). This group of loyal Beth fans hasn’t wavered in their beliefs that Beth is still alive and will be making her return to the show sometime soon. A fake-out death isn’t unheard of on television, and The Walking Dead even toyed with the idea with Glenn during the first half of season six, albeit the conditions are very different.
So, why exactly do fans still believe that Beth could have survived her injuries? Well, the list is lengthy and the theories are numerous.
1. Survivable Gunshot Wound
A gunshot to the head; that’s how it went down. That, my friend, is a fact. But there are still a lot of questions surrounding this gunshot. First of all, the angle of the gunshot. When watching this particular scene, Dawn’s gun is pointed at a sharp angle, which may lead one to assume that Beth is shot through the chin and the bullet traveled through her brain. This assumption is wrong, though, as behind the scene footage and Beth’s hallucinatory presence in “What Happened and What’s Going On” proves that she was shot in the forehead.
With this knowledge, as some have pointed out, the bullet would have entered her skull at a sharp angle, which in turn could have led to the bullet skimming her skull rather than passing through her brain before exiting. If this is in fact what happened, there is a chance that Beth could have survived. There are plenty of cases of people surviving gunshot wounds to the head.
This particular “fatal” injury also would have led the characters to believe that they wouldn’t have to use a knife to destroy Beth’s brain and prevent her from becoming a walker. This, out of all possible fatal injuries that one could procure during an apocalypse, is the least fatal of them all in a way, because it doesn’t require someone to make sure that the person will reanimate; they automatically assume that the brain has been destroyed.
2. Working Hospital
To add on to the previous point of Beth’s injury possibly having been survivable, she was in a working hospital with an actual doctor. It was shown multiple times throughout the first half of season five that Grady Memorial Hospital was a place where lives were saved, even if they were then trapped there. Beth’s injuries were treated there. Noah’s injuries were treated there. Trevitt was treated there, and because of Dr. Edwards’ fear that he would survive, Beth was manipulated into killing him. Carol was treated there, even though it was stated that her injuries were severe and she wasn’t improving. Grady Memorial Hospital was perhaps the only running hospital in the world with one of the only remaining doctors. If anyone could survive a gunshot wound anywhere during the zombie apocalypse, or even in the world as it is now, wouldn’t a hospital be the best place to be?
3. Theme Music
The theme music. The infamous theme music that plays at the end of every episode. The infamous theme music that is, coincidentally, silent during those episodes that a major character has died. So the theme music didn’t play at the end of “Coda,” right? Wrong. The theme music played loud and clear. Beth Greene was a major character on the show, so why did the theme music play after her death? To further add on to this point, remember how the show tried to trick viewers into thinking that Glenn was dead? Did the theme music play at the end of that episode? It sure did (of course, Nicholas had died during that episode, too).
4. Missing 17 Days
After “Coda” aired, viewers had to wait weeks before the show started back up again while it was on a midseason hiatus, and when the season finally did start again, the show had skipped 17 days. While a time jump isn’t unheard of or unusual on The Walking Dead, it was these 17 missing days that followed in the wake of Beth’s death that had some raising their eyebrows. Beth’s death was a huge event that shook the group to its core, and yet there is no mention of what happened during those 17 days or of what happened after Daryl carried Beth’s lifeless body out of the hospital. And this leads to the next point…
5. No Funeral
“It’s beautiful. Whoever did this cared. They wanted these people to get a funeral. They remembered these things were people before all this. They didn’t let it change them in the end. Don’t you think that’s beautiful?”
Beth Greene said those exact words in season four episode 13, “Alone,” just after she and Daryl enter a funeral home and discover the walking and decomposing bodies of walkers. But unlike normal dead walkers, these ones are dressed in nice and clean clothing, and whoever was dealing with them was applying makeup to make them appear human again. Whereas Daryl is slightly disturbed by it all and makes a joke of it, Beth sees the beauty in it.
And yet, this girl who saw the beauty in funerals, never got one herself. A burial for Beth is never mentioned or shown. In fact, viewers have no idea what happened to her body; the question has never been addressed in the show or outside of the show. Meanwhile, every other major character has been given some sort of closure. Bob was buried. The Walking Dead even showed Rick and Tyreese digging graves for Gareth and the other members of Terminus. This has led many to wonder what happened to Beth’s body and why, if she is truly dead, her burial wasn’t shown on screen or even briefly mentioned.
6. 5B Preview
After the season five midseason finale, a preview for the second half of the season was shown, and it began with a shovel digging into dirt; it began with a grave being dug. With Beth having just been shot, many viewers immediately assumed that the grave was being dug for her and that viewers, as well as the characters, would receive closure and be able to say goodbye to Beth Greene one last time. But you know what they say when you assume, right?
So season five picks back up, and what do we discover? The grave being dug in the preview wasn’t meant for Beth, rather, it was meant for Tyreese who met his demise. So why the trickery? Why make viewers hopeful to see Beth being laid to rest only to cheat them out of that?
7. Her Presence is Still Felt in the Show
Since her death, Beth’s presence has continuously been felt in the show. It was felt in “What Happened and What’s Going On” when she appeared as one of Tyreese’s hallucinations. It was felt, perhaps even more heavily, in “Them,” when Carl gives Maggie a music box, which has since been confirmed to symbolize Beth. (Don’t forget that this music box was broken at the beginning of the episode, but after getting the grit out of the gearbox, the music box comes back to life by the end of the episode). It was also in “Them” that Maggie discovered a blonde walker locked in the trunk of a car. This walker was meant to resemble Beth, a fact that was confirmed in the commentary for the episode. Her presence is still felt throughout the show as Daryl wears her knife at his hip.
8. The Sheriff’s Hat
The iconic sheriff’s hat. The hat was worn by Rick since episode 1, then passed down to his son, Carl, after he was shot. Many tend to forget that Beth Greene once wore the iconic hat, too, in episode 16 of season four, “A,” during a series of flashbacks depicting the prison becoming a home as Rick, Carl, Hershel, Beth, and Judith stand outside in the prison yard.
So how could a hat have anything to do with Beth Greene surviving? Well, this is when things tend to delve a bit more into theories. Everyone who has worn the sheriff’s hat has been shot. Of those three, two have survived gunshot wounds. Rick survived a gunshot wound in season one. Carl has survived two gunshot wounds: Otis shot him in season two, and in the latest episode, he was shot in the eye. He has survived both times. Is the sheriff’s hat a good luck charm of sorts? If everyone who has worn the hat on the show has been shot, and two have survived, does this mean that Beth has really survived?
Other Things Adding to the Suspicion:
1. Flash at the Beginning of the Credits
Have you noticed it? The short and barely noticeable flash that plays at the very beginning of the opening credits? No, you haven’t? Don’t worry; it’s so quick that it’s easy to miss. This flash has many people wondering what exactly is being depicted, and some claim that they see Beth in the clip. It does appear that there is a woman in a yellow shirt running. Who wore a yellow shirt? Beth Greene.
2. Filmed Scenes that were Never Shown on Air
Filming spoilers. The thing of dreams for some, and the thing of nightmares for others. Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that there were many scenes shot and locations used during filming for season five that never made it to the screen. The majority of these scenes involved a blonde woman, who could only be assumed to be Beth and a white house. When the spoilers first came out, most believed that scenes were being filmed of Beth reuniting with the rest of the group. But, as stated, these scenes never made it to the screen and nobody knows what exactly took place in them.
3. Suspicious Activity on Twitter
Social media is the place where fans go oftentimes to keep up with their favorite shows and actors, and it is social media that has also fueled the belief that Beth Greene is still alive. Accounts associated with the show have, on multiple occasions, tweeted things that may seem suspicious. Skybound Entertainment’s official The Walking Dead account has tweeted “Beth is back!” and “Beth is alive!” tweets before. In one such case, the tweet was in relation to Emily Kinney’s surprise appearance at the season six fan premiere. Regardless, deeming a dead character as being alive and being back is likely to raise a few second guesses
Whether you believe that Beth could be back or not, I think that we can all agree that Beth Greene is a character that has been, and always will be, greatly missed.
Weigh in on the conversation with your opinions below, but remember, please be kind and respect each other’s opinions.
49 comments
This article is amazing and gives a voice to many theories and analysis that were not only thought out but adopted because of the precedents the show and comic series set for us. Tptb tells viewers to look for the eggs, forshadowing and parallels in the narrative. They pride themselves in saying that everything means something and there are no coincidences. Thank you for addressing these ideas in such an unbiased and respectful way. TD had gotten a lot of flack for theorizing and doing what they ask us to do. These theories would not exist if the character and actress wasn’t treated differently like every other? Historically. We know what to expect when a character dies. They get a funeral and are honored onscreen to provide closure. They don’t mislead us and then just forget about discussing said character. There are so many more reasons even that TD think that Beth lives, while looking into precedents that the show and comics have set for us. The sheriffs hat was also worn and passed by characters that survived in the comics. Beth has resembled Andrea from the comics in several ways. She has the same scars, which were stated as such on ttd. She was beginning the age gap romance with Daryl Dixon as did Andrea with Rick and dale. Beth also was shot in the head and characters on the show continue to refer to her as lost or gone, not dead. They used Dutch angles for the headshot scene which can be used in film when tptb want viewers to questions what the saw on screen. Andreas headshot pic in the comics is identical to Beth’s if you place the pics side by side. Andreas shot was thought to be fatal but grazed her skull and she was found alive. Beth was given similar accessories like her braid and beeney hat. Rick said bringing Noah back to Richmond was the only physical way to honor Beth and both Daryl and Maggie were missing during those mysterious 17days. Every character who is not put down and are part of team family has a burial, grave marker or funeral, as proof that they even buried the goat.They build up her character, sId she was strong, saved herself and wanted to change. Those who don’t change somewhat die. Beth changed not to mention she found the Washington, D.C. Spoon foreshadowing her journey there. Emily has never been able to have her death panels at the comic cons to address her fans which occurs for every other dead character on the show. Tptb tweeted rip to every dead character after the death and during the marathon run on tv, for every ep where the character died except for Beth Greene. Thank you again for taking the time to write this for so many of us that have questions regarding our favorite character. We simply ask tptb to answer our questions, give us closure or BringBethBack. This article is amazing! Great job!
There so much hate within the fandom, and I think that a lot of people choose to just hate something without ever looking into it and actually considering the reasons that someone believes something. So this article was sort of a way to present a few of the topics that I’ve seen come up most within TD and topics that aren’t really arguable…they are concrete facts that people can’t deny. But they are facts that raise eyebrows.
Thank you so much for bring this to light. I think it’s more than just a small group of people who question her death, and it’s great that people can read this and know, there are others out there who believe. I’ve known since the moment it happened, her story wasn’t complete. And all these points lead to an amazing comeback!
Great article and great work!
Yeah, I’d definitely say that there are probably others out there who have had the thought cross their mind a time or two that maybe Beth isn’t really dead, and others who have questioned the circumstances surrounding her death. But, I guess that we’ll just have to wait and see to find out the truth.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This article is amazing and such a great collection of all of the things we have all been saying for over a year now! I can’t wait to show this to people when they say that I’m crazy and there’s no way she could have survived. The working hospital is one of the biggest things for me!
Thank you so much for writing a wonderful piece about such a beloved character that often does not get the credit she so rightly deserves!
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this!! This is a fantastic article and it’s wonderful to see so many of the theories of TD being presented in such a manner. Thank you, as well, to all the individuals that continue to create metas, theories, gifs, etc. for TD to refer back to.
That sums is up perfectly 🙂 Thank you, thank you!
I love this article! And I fully believe that we have not seen the end of Beth’s story. One of the main reasons is because the writers and producers dedicated an entire episode focusing on Beth and Daryl in season 4’s “Still.” This truly is one of the primary reasons I believe her character is not dead. Think about it: This was the ONLY 2-person episode The Walking Dead has ever produced. That is HUGE. As such, the dedication and commitment to the storyline of these two characters is critical to the show’s ongoing storyline as a whole.
Scott Gimple himself said in a panel that the show is about hope. And here you have a character whose entire being embodies just that: Hope. Beth was basically a background character, one who attempted suicide, but overcame that, and several seasons later, was brought to the forefront of the show and featured with one of the show’s biggest, most beloved characters, Daryl Dixon. SHE is the one who brought him out of the darkness and gave HIM hope. Gave him faith. Gave him a reason to embrace the goodness in himself and be a better person.
Good storytelling does not just write a character like that, and then kill her off for no reason. Or for shock value. There’s a reason for that. Scott Gimple even says that there is a reason Beth is alive. I believe that reason is to carry the message of hope along.
You had me at “Still,” my favorite episode of TWD. The porch scene…yep…you had me at “Still,” my friend.
Anywho, I fully realize that in a zombie apocalypse not everyone’s story would be complete, not everyone’s story would have the chance to come full-circle. And that was the case for Beth. That being said, this is a show, and part of a show is giving the viewers characters that they love and stories that they want to invest their time in. Building Beth up only to kill her before she could show the rest of the group how strong she had become, and killing her in the way that she was killed, wasn’t a very satisfying story to me.
Thank you for posting about this! I am a huge fan of Beth and I have hope that these theories are true and we’ll see our girl back on the the Walking Dead. That being said, I understand why people don’t subscribe to the theory that she just survived somehow, because it is incredibly unlikely… But I have faith and hope that we’ll get answers or even closure, because I think if Beth fans got closure/Burial right from the get go, there wouldn’t be a TD , Team Defiance or Team Delusional. Since we didn’t get closure and because of all the weirdness and unanswered questions we were left to speculate.
I would have to agree. Because there was no closure, no final burial scene where fans, and characters, got to say goodbye, questions started to arise and there was a ton of speculation. As I’ve stated in the article, the preview for 5B had fans assuming that the grave was being dug for Tyreese, but then when 5×9 finally aired, it turned out that fans were wrong. So during the entire hiatus Beth was sitting in the fan’s mind…her death was kept fresh and alive…people were waiting for that final moment of closure, but it never came. Fans were cheated out of that…out of something that everyone else receives, even the enemies and bad guys. And closure doesn’t necessarily always come in the form of a burial scene, as was scene with Hershel. Closure with Hershel, which fans had to wait an entire midseason hiatus for, came when Michonne plunged her katana through his zombified head, putting him down. That was closure. But all that fans got with Beth was Daryl carrying Beth out of the hospital and Maggie falling to the ground in a heart-wrenching scene.
i’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be implied that she was buried. because, if they didn’t bury her, then that means they found out she was still alive, right? because they bury their dead. but, if they found out she was still alive, then she would have been still with them. so why isn’t she still with them? because it implied that she was buried.
Actually, as I was doing my research for this article, I found a few things out. Some fans believe that the group may have been forced to leave Beth’s body behind…too many walkers and they had to get out fast. But, this is just another theory.
Omg this is brilliantly beautiful, have you been in the tag on tumblr : #teamdefiance??? We are theorist and analyze things, we believe I’m Beth Greenes possible return to this show that DESPERATELY needs her back.
We believe in*
What a great article to share with others. I always flounder when trying to speak about this stuff from memory or pull it up in the tumblr tags. This is such a great article! Thanks for writing it Allison!
Sorry folks…she’s dead. RIP Beth ?
#RIPBeth Gone but never forgotten.
This is a nice try but unfortunately you’re just working from confirmation bias here. You and the rest of Team Delusional have simply decided you want her to be alive (mostly because you thought she would have a relationship with Daryl and you’re upset you didn’t get to see that, though there are a few who are actual fans of the character in her own right), so you make everything else fit into the narrative you want. It’s not the narrative the show has put forth, however. I guess it’s fun making up your own, but that’s what fanfiction is for. I’m not trying to be harsh, but the metas you guys create about the symbols you see are the most obvious example of confirmation bias I’ve ever seen.
This article was simply meant as a way to provide the facts that Team Delusional works with, hence why not theories are included. Would I love for Beth to still be alive? Of course I would. She has been, and always will be, my favorite character. But I do realize what kind of show this is. It’s a show where nobody is safe. People die. That’s just how it is. So, yes, I would love for Beth Greene to make a surprise return, but will she? Most likely not.
I would love Beth to be alive but if you look at the lack of funeral as a “sign” then you must consider this… If the group did not give her a funeral it would only be because they knew she was not dead. And if they knew she was not dead, they would never have left her behind.
Unless something happened for them to leave… I mean, they left their people before. Daryl, Michonne and Bob left Tyreese with a horde of walkers – basically leaving him for dead. The group isn’t as heroic as you think – they’re survivalists.
And yet Andrea got left behind at the farm. Merle got left behind on a rooftop. Carol was presumed dead and a grave was dug for her. No. You’re right. No one gets left behind ever. Merle came back. Andrea came back. Carol came back. Those are all factual events.
My thought is she could be dead why else would Daryl be carrying her out of the hospital. Maggie sees her and completely loses it. I supposed it’s not impossible but it kinda looks like Beth is dead
I was kinda wondering about the no burial thing myself…
I can’t wait for the day that she returns, and all of team delusional is proved right. All the people who have doubted us the whole time, who have called us crazy, who have sent us hate, will feel so stupid when they realize we’ve been right the whole time. The day will come, and I’m so ready for it.
Im not sure if she is coming back, but I hope with all my might that she does come back.
This was a beautifully written article, and you make some very valid and believable points. I would LOVE to find Beth still alive. Unfortunately, I am absolutely certain the wound on her forehead was an entry wound, as it was clearly seen in ‘Coda’ her head exploded in the back, and blood and brain matter spraying everywhere. I’m so sorry to have to say it, but Beth is dead for good. It’s total b.s. that she was never given a burial, and Tyreese’s death episode was supposed to be Beth’s “closure” too….it’s so wrong. ? RIP Beth Gone but not forgotten ??
The show only has so much time to wprk with per episode. Just because Beth’s funeral wasn’t shown it doesn’t mean there wasn’t one. Lori being ‘put down’ by Carl, then being pressumably consumed by a walker, was not shown onscreen. We only saw her lose consciousness. That doesn’t mean that Lori is alive. Her death was neccessary in developing the story, most notably a gear shift in Rick’s overall demeanor and who he needed to become in order to be a better leader. Beth’s death changed Maggie in a similar fashion. To selfishly bring her back would set Maggie’s character development back somewhat. She is who she is NOW because of what the deaths of Beth, Herschel (and others) have made her.
I do appreciate that many viewers and fans are fond of Beth in her own right, but if any deceased character was to return, why should it be her? It kind of makes a mockery of a show revolving around survival and brutality if someone who is visably shot in the head and doesn’t serve enough of a purpose to return is ressurected. I liked the way they closed Beth’s chapter. She was portrayed as brave and wise; a good friend. She matured, eventually. If Andrea, Lori, Dale, Herschel, T-Dog etc don’t get a second chance to redeem themselves, have romances and a 2.0. new badass persona than why should Beth Greene?
I’m not at all saying that Beth Greene deserves to come back above any other character that has died on the show. The article simply presents the unanswered questions surrounding her death.
As for Lori, there was closure for her. Did we see Carl shooting her? No. But we did see graves and crosses in the prison yard meant for those that were lost during that incident at the prison. Closure.
And, yes, I would have to agree with you that Beth’s death did serve to further the development of many characters, most prominently among them Daryl and Maggie.
It would be so awesome to see beth come back!!!!! Daryl would be so so happy……and so would Maggie!!!!!! OH YES BRING HER BACK!!!!!!!
Those reunions would be amazing. I’m sure they’d have viewers shedding a few tears. But also, let’s not forget about a Beth and Judith reunion…Beth cared for her at the prison, so knowing that Judith was alive would be amazing to see.
Not gonna happen. Sure people can survive gsw to the head, but not whern the exit wound is the top of the skull. If it were a fake out they would have addressed it already like they did with Glenn. Also, Beth was no where near the caliber of character that comic Andrea is, so that doesn’t fly either. The Washington spoon I feel was a foreshadowing of it all being a lie.
It is odd that even though we see the gun under her chin Beth is clearly given a bullet wound on her upper forehead, suggesting a bullet trajectory nearly identical to Gabby Giffords. When Glenn fell off the dumpster under Nicholas, I recall strong reactions that if he survived then the show would “lose credibility”. I think we have now seen that they can save someone who appears to be dead, and the only thing that is lost is our own sense of certainty. If you research how to survive a bullet wound to the head, you will find that the first two dangers are cross-brain wounds that hit a main artery and cause death by blood loss, and a shot from under the chin which destroys the lower brain causing death by the loss of breathing controls. The third mortal danger is swelling, which peaks three to five days after the injury. And lets all be honest, none of us can fully explain how Rick emerged from his coma in the hospital without care or fluids. So the writers only need four things to bring Beth back. First a “survivable” bullet path (check!). Second, her body needs to be left behind rather than buried, say in a trunk that serves as a coffin. Third, the hospital residents need to find her body within a couple days, perhaps trying to track our heroes down after they recover from their initial shock. And fourth, they just need a doctor with a little skill and a motive gif saving her. After seeing Glenn survive in season 6A, this is totally possible. The writers of the show don’t have any insurmountable obstacles to bringing her back. The hardest part would have been the angle of Hhe gunshot wound, but I think between Coda and Ep.509 we can all agree she has a Gabby Giffords type wound, suggesting a bullet from her upper forehead to her upper skull on one side only. No re-filming necessary, they have already paved the way. Oh… One last thing, Mrs. Giffords has had a long and heroic rehabilitation period (years). So the more time that passes, the more plausible it will be to encounter Beth Greene with a Washington DC spoon in her hand and some degree of memory loss, looking for her family.
Great points. I love this article. It is thought provoking and interesting. I’m in TD, so I especially love this article, but unbiased, it still gives positive attention to TD and the fact that Beth could be alive.
This was amazingly written, and really distilled a lot of evidence into clear points. Thank you so much for this.
Love the article, and I want to see Beth again!!!
Hi Allison!
Sorry I’m so late to join the party but I was only turned on to The Walking Dead last summer by a friend so I had some catching up to do. But I am finally caught up and ready for Season 7! Hopefully this next season will be the one in which Beth will return, as I think if they wait for any future seasons it might just prove anti-climactic and that would be a shame. Besides, we were all hoping and looking for her return in Season 6, so we’re due! (:o)
As an English major myself, I found myself in awe of your well-thought-out, though-provoking and detailed write-up, which reminded me of the research papers I would LOVE to write in college! Topic sentences and then well-researched facts to support them. Yum! Anyway, so after I read this articles and saw you were an English major also, I smiled to myself in appreciation of your talents, as it all then made sense.
Anyway, getting back to Beth and her demise, I was SO furious when that happened, more so than with any other character’s death. So much so that days passed even weeks and I couldn’t shake the frustration! So you all have no idea how happy I was not just to find online that SO many other shared that frustration, but also to then find that The writers and producers of the show had actually buckled to the pressure and had only to figure out how to bring her back!! NICE!! It is true then obviously that there is strength in numbers.
Anyway just wanted to put in my two cents…
Aw, what a sweet comment! It really put a smile on my face. And high five for being an English major…you’re going to do amazing things!
And yes! Beth! So many people were angered by her death because they felt that she was truly just beginning to realize and utilize her strength. She still had so much potential. There are so many questions surrounding her death and so many things that seem suspicious. It’s been awhile since she died, but TD is still going strong (head on over to Tumblr and you’ll find an entire community of TDers still discussing Beth, her death, and the possibility of her return).
Glad you appreciated my comment about your writing skills. Personally, I’m not a JUST-graduate. I graduated in 1982, ha ha. But have had a very successful freelance proofreading. editing and translation business after graduating, so I was able to continue my love of the language long after I finished college, as I see you’re doing also. Anyway, keep up the excellent work!
Now, back to The Walking Dead…Thanks for the reference, but I’m not on Tumbler nor on Facebook or I’d certainly look you up on there. But just wanted to make one more observation:
In one of the last eps of Season 6 (which I only finished seeing about two days ago)–and forgive me, but I don’t recall exactly which ep it was, but it was either #15 or the Season Finale–Morgan, while trying to explain his personal viewpoint that everyone is not a lost cause, says to Rick: “People do come back.” Don’t know about you, but especially because I had only recently read your article, that comment of his jumped out at me. Another subliminal message to viewers and fans? Could he not only have been talking about people’s HUMANITY “coming back”, but also about characters who are supposedly dead, like BETH? Well, my vote is for the latter possibility. Let’s keep hoping…
Just wanted to put that out there…
Hi, I’m a new fan of TWDd and a new Bethyl fan as well. S7 begins tonight and I stumbled on this article and felt I had to respond as many other commentors did. This was so well written and really laid things out in a logical way. I was devasted when Beth died in Coda. It took me by surprise and seemed so off to me. I’m not ashamed to be a Bethyl fan and as I read this, it struck me that there may be another theory to add to your list…
Beth, if I’m correct, was between 17-19 years old in S5 when she ran away from the prison with Daryl. I’m guessing that Daryl is in his late thrities/early forties so, by putting the Beth character away or “on she shelf” for a few seasons, when she comes back, it gives Daryl an entire season worth of story line to find her and follow hint’s/cluse that she is still in fact alive, and, even better, she’s twenty-one when he finds her so no controversy over the age gap (or not as much controversy.) This opens it up for Daryl to finally be the man he is destined to be and be that man for Beth. His long journey could end this way.
TPTB could be saving this revelation for a big comeback cliffhanger type of show that leads into a new season.
We can hope…right? But the main reason is Daryl invested so much in Beth. She brought him to life during the episode at the funeral home. Too much went down with him to leave that story untold.
Yours is an interesting theory, Allie. Meanwhile, personally, all I know for sure is that, no matter HOW they bring Beth back, I am SOOOO ready!
When Maggie needed medical help (before that Negan massacre happpened), I thought taking her back to that hospital where Beth was killed would have been the perfect moment and place to bring her back, as I can see the group taking Maggie there for medical assistance and finding (to their shock, amazement and joy) Beth alive and well, perhaps being explained that, after the shooting (and supposed burial), she dug herself out of her own grave (basically after having been buried alive (unintentionally, of course, by the group) and somehow afterwards either made her way back to the hospital or was found by a hospital employee and was rushed into surgery etcetera and, having no way to know where her group was now, stayed there and had been there ever since. But now with the Negan interruption, I have no theory as to how, when or where Beth will return. I just hope she does.
Like the poster above me I am also late to the party, but I’m sure glad I showed up!
I only started watching TWD after the s7 premiere (odd first episode to watch, I know!) but I caught up quickly and like everyone else in America, Daryl is my favorite character. In particular, I absolutely love the relationship he had with Beth. It was short lived on screen, but I adore their friendship and by the time she was abducted I was convinced he had fallen for her, though I am not sure even he himself knew what those feelings were and how to handle them. (Hence his awkwardness and inability to coherently verbalize anything he was feeling at the dinner table in “Alone,” his head being so clouded that for the first time ever he just casually opened a door without checking and without his crossbow in hand, and the fact that he had taken to self mutilation to cope with losing her in “Them.”)
I also love Beth and I so, SO wish we would’ve been able to see them continue the conversation they were starting at that table. The character development seemed to be headed in that direction and I was getting excited for it.
That said, I do not believe Beth is alive. I believe she is in fact dead, which makes me so angry I cannot see straight. It was such a waste. A waste of a growing character, a waste of a growing relationship, and a waste of all things sensible. I just keeping asking WHY they would give her and Daryl the arc they did (as well as her own arc at the hospital) and show her developing herself and her skills and getting stronger to just take her away so stupidly?
Her death was poor writing at its finest. The “why” was stupid and the “how” was even more stupid. Perhaps I wouldn’t be so angry if we had at least gotten to see some sort of real reunion between her and Daryl (which we didn’t get because you know he was focused on just getting her outside those walls) or even a goodbye, but we didn’t. We got nothing. No closure whatsoever, unless you count him burning himself as such.
I was reminded of her heavily in last week’s episode as he was clearly being tortured and grappling with staying who he is. Her words from “Still” and her faith in him as a good person were weaved all through the episode, in my opinion.
Sorry I was so long winded–thanks for the intriguing read!
Hi Jennifer
Check out Allison’s write-up and subsequent comments on “Easy Street–A Recap and Review of The Walking Dead “The Cell”.
You’ll see your “opinion” that Beth’s presence was certainly felt in that episode is shared by others and that you were not imagining it
I feel like printing this and keeping it with me always. Such an amazing read, so well put.
Love it to pieces xx
I always check for new stuff on Beth. She was my favorite. After reading this I’ve come to the conclusion that Beth will be found at The Commonwealth instead of Michonne’s kid- either by Maggie or Michonne and Rick in movies. Beth will then play the part of Carl and end up the winner of it all.
I hope that’s true. It’d be wicked good
So much time later and I’m still hoping…It’s very heartening to read here that Emily McKinney actually made a surprise appearance at the Season 6 Fan event! That heartened me because I had heard that she was so very insulted, hurt and angry that they had decided to kill off her character that after her last episode of filming she never even watched the show again! So I’m very happy to hear that she went to that Fan even. Obviously Beth still, regardless, had NOT reappeared, but I feel much more hopeful now…