by Violet
Violet recaps Season 4 Episode 12 of The Walking Dead, titled Still, which focuses solely on Daryl and Beth, as Beth gets the sudden desire to go on a quest for booze, and we finally learn what Daryl did before the zombie apocalypse! Following the recap, Violet shares her thoughts on the episode.
Episode Recap of The Walking Dead, Season 4 Episode 12: Still
- Daryl and Beth climb into the trunk of a car together to take refuge from a herd of walkers passing by. The next morning, the coast is clear, and they gather parts from the car to take back to their makeshift camp in the woods.
- Daryl catches a snake for dinner. Beth declares that she needs a drink, as in alcohol. She’s never had any because of her dad, and goes off on her own to look for some when Daryl doesn’t seem interested. She runs across a few walkers, but is able to distract them by throwing a rock. Daryl finds her and leads her back to camp, to Beth’s frustration, and she insists on finding a drink.
- Beth and Daryl find a country club, where Beth thinks they can find some booze. She finds a bottle of wine in the kitchen pantry, but a walker attacks her, so he smashes him on the head with the bottle, then kills it by stabbing it in the head.
- Beth gets some new clothes from the gift shop, but they get all bloody as Daryl kills a few walkers that are after them. They finally make it safely to the bar, where all that’s left is Peach Schnapps. However, Beth starts crying and is unable to take a drink. Daryl smashes the bottle on he floor, saying that if she’s going to have her first drink, it isn’t going to be Peach Schnapps.
- Daryl brings her through the woods to a cabin he found with Michonne. The shed in the back has several bottles of moonshine, which they bring inside. Daryl pours her a glass, saying that’s a real first drink. At first, Daryl refuses to drink, saying someone has to keep watch. He talks about how this place reminds him of his dad and his childhood home. Then he gives in and drinks with Beth.
- Beth teaches Daryl how to play “I’ve Never,” but the game takes a dark turn as Daryl becomes a mean, angry drunk. He drags Beth outside to teach her how to shoot a crossbow at the walker outside, but she stabs it in the head. Daryl and Beth get into an argument, but Daryl eventually blames himself for not being able to stop what happened to the others, and begins to cry, as Beth hugs him from behind.
- That night, Daryl and Beth sit outside the cabin and talk. Daryl reveals what he did before: he just drifted around with Merle. Beth tells him he needs to stay who he is, not who he was. Beth suggests that they burn the cabin down. They soak the place in booze, light it on fire, and give it the finger as they watch it go up in flames. Then they walk away into the woods.
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 4 Episode 12 of The Walking Dead: Still
I thought this episode was just okay. I mean, sure it was great for character development and learning about Daryl’s past and all that, but overall, it just felt kind of slow, and was a bit boring at times. I’ll admit, there were a couple times I caught myself starting to zone out due to lack of anything really interesting being done or said.
Of course, this is all due to the fact that this episode focused only on Daryl and Beth. This is the first time that an episode of The Walking Dead focused on only two characters, so it definitely felt very weird. Not only that, but it focused on the two characters in the present only. There were no flashbacks, or nightmares disguised as flashbacks, to distract from the present, but only stories told from the mouths of the characters.
Despite all that, I think a lot of The Walking Dead audience probably liked this episode, especially the female demographic, considering that Daryl was so prominently featured. And they probably wished they were Beth stuck in the trunk with Daryl, and later giving him a hug from behind. I personally am not on the Daryl-obsessed bandwagon, so I don’t share that sentiment. Beth was right that the zombie apocalypse pretty much saved Daryl, because before, he was merely a redneck drifter, a loser with no direction, and when he got drunk, we got a glimpse into who he was back then. I was a bit surprised when Daryl actually decided to drink, considering how hard he was on Bob about drinking. I thought maybe Daryl was a recovering alcoholic, and that he was trying to keep his distance. Seeing how he gets when he’s drunk, it’s probably best that he never drank around the group.
It was also a little weird how Daryl was scavenging at the country club, taking bundles of money and jewelry. I was thinking, what good is money going to do him now? I suppose it was just some sort of reversion into his old ways, when he would drift around with Merle, trying to get money however possible, and it was probably rare for him to see so much cash all in one place. But then at the end, he used a bundle of cash to help start the fire for the cabin, symbolizing that he had put his old life behind him, once and for all.
So what’s next for Daryl and Beth? Is there a possible romantic connection brewing? How old is Beth supposed to be anyway? Daryl said something about her acting like a college girl by wanting booze, so is she at least 18? Is age even still taboo in this post-apocalyptic world? Only time will tell. It looks like the next episode focuses on Daryl and Beth again, but also on Maggie, Sasha, and Bob. I had thought they would switch back to Glenn and Tara’s group, and show an eventual meeting between them and Maggie, Sasha, and Bob. I would not have guessed they would feature Daryl and Beth yet again right after this Daryl and Beth focused episode. Looking forward to things picking up again in the next episode!
Scenes from The Walking Dead, Season 4 Episode 13: Alone
Here are scenes from the next episode of The Walking Dead, titled Alone:
I am really liking the Beth and Daryl dynamic this season. Although I am still team Daryl/Carol, I like the relationship that these two have developed. Beth has enough innocence that I think she brings out an emotional side of Daryl that really hits you on the rare occasions that it comes out and I think in turn he is hardening her a bit so that she isnt as naive and schoolgirl as she was before. I think they are very good for each other.
I thought them giving the cabin the finger was so funny. Mostly just seeing Beth do it. I definitely liked getting Daryl’s backstory finally. I always got the impression that he might not have been the best guy in the world before this happened, and it kind of seems that way hearing him talk about it. He’s using this environment to reinvent himself though, so that’s what matters.
Daryl and Beth go well together. They complement each other well. What a waste of good moonshine though.