This week’s episode focussed entirely on the characters of
Daryl and Beth, which is a bold move on the part of the writers; primarily for
the fact that Beth has always been a secondary character, but also Daryl –
despite being a clear fan-favourite – has rarely been made the main focus of
storylines within the show. Quite a challenge then for Norman Reedus and Emily
Kinney – but the two of them rose to the occasion, and their characters both got
a lot more focus and development than they ever have before.
It’s becoming something of a trend on the show lately for
there to be lengthy scenes without any dialogue – meaning that the actors have
to rely on their gestures, expressions and also the strength of their
characters to compensate and hold focus. I don’t think that there was a line of
dialogue for at least seven minutes (and Daryl held out even longer). The
episode started with a very tense and frightening scene which saw the two of
them hiding in the boot of an abandoned car, while a group of Walkers swarmed
around outside – just inches away. The two of them held their weapons close,
and sweat poured freely from their foreheads. The two of them remained there
through the night, and then in the morning they stripped a few parts from the
car and continued on their way – without a single word exchanged.
Things became tense between the two at several points, Daryl
seemed keen to rough it out in the wilderness, but Beth was having none of it –
and then in light of all that has happened she embarked on a mission to find
some alcohol to have her first drink. Some grim humour emerged from this, in
the form of Daryl’s dismissive opinion concerning Peach Schnapps – “Is it good?”,
“No!” - but the uncomfortable, tense
atmosphere wasn’t exactly alleviated.
Daryl reverted to his more sullen and distant self, but then
he also became a frightening presence following an ill-advised game of “I never”
– I’ve often thought of The Walking Dead as
being a bit like Lost and this scene
reinforced that further.
In a scene slightly reminiscent of the barn shootout from
season two (which was conveniently alluded to when Beth referred to Sophia) a
drunk Daryl tried to force Beth to learn how to fire a crossbow, and used a
stray Walker for target practice. It was a genuinely alarming scene because
Daryl is usually a quiet and reserved presence within the show, so seeing him erupt
created a feeling of unease because it seemed like he’d completely lost control,
and might do something he’d later regret. It made complete sense though, as
even the toughest people can’t bottle up their emotions indefinitely.
The references to events from season two really shone a light
on how much Beth has suffered, and all that she’s lost. These events seem a lot
more relevant now that Beth is getting a lot more attention - up until now she’s
just been Maggie’s sister who occasionally had a scene where she looked after
baby Judith – but now the show has decided to give her a more prominent role,
which has some weight behind it as she has been around for quite some time now.
This episode gave one of the strongest and most grim views
of the post-apocalyptic world: people reduced to scavenging, living rough,
isolated from any sort of civilisation. The
feeling of hopelessness was palpable at numerous points in this episode,
particularly when the survivors contemplated the possibility that everyone else
from their group could very well be dead – and they’ve no evidence to suggest
otherwise as they seem to be a great distance from where everyone else ended
up.
This could potentially open up new possibilities for the
show, because it seems like a plausible notion that Beth and Daryl might not
reunite with the rest of the group – maybe they’ve ended up too far away. There’s
no real way to know how close or how far they are from the others. Will they
find their way to ‘Terminus’, or is this episode an indication of the way
things will be for these two from now on?
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