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.