The Walking Dead – Episode 4.12 – Still – Review : Two Against the World

   Last Sunday, “The Walking Dead” continued its fourth season with all new episode titled “Still” which only featured Daryl and Beth.
   After three great episode, “Still” was a bit disappointing for me. It was a slow episode, like “After” and I don’t mind slow paced episodes, because in those episodes we usually learn more about the characters psychology. It was true for “Still”, we got to understand better Daryl and Beth but still, something was missing and I actually fell asleep watching it the first time (maybe being a bit drunk didn’t help but still, I’ve never fallen asleep watching a Walking Dad episode before.) 

So, “Still” was solely focusing on Daryl and Beth and I was glad to learn more about them. I think the writers made a great choice pairing those two. Daryl is the fan favorite, he is a strong character, a very good survivor while Beth is disliked by many fans, she always has been the weakest link, quite a fragile young woman.
  But actually, “Still” was great at showing us the characters are not trapped in a stereotypes and even if the strong one can have moments of weakness and the weakest one can prove herself to be strong.

   The episode began with a great scene of horror and terror, with Beth and Daryl hiding in the back of an abandoned car at night, while a group of walkers was passing by. The morning after, Daryl was eating a snake for breakfast (disgusting) and Beth was the only talking. They’re so different from each other. Beth revealed she never drank alcohol but now her father was dead she’d like to get wasted. Daryl never had been much of a talker and that was starting to get on Beth’s nerves. Beth finally exploded and screamed at Daryl. They were not in a camp anymore, they were surviving by themselves.
   Daryl has always been acting as things don’t touch him and surviving is enough for him. But not for Beth, the girl wants more than just surviving, she wants to live and so she will get a drink. I can understand Beth, surviving is not living and even if the world is dangerous now, you still need to have some normal moment, because you’re human and you need that.
   After that talk, Beth and Daryl found a golf. Perfect place to find booze, so they really went inside to look for it, but Daryl also took some supplies. They found walkers hung and kept searching the place. When Beth finally found her bottle, a walker came at her and she had no choice but to use the bottle as a weapon. Beth showed she wasn’t all that weak, but she still hasn’t drunk. Better luck next time girl !

   Beth had to look for another drink, but first she changed her clothes. Just like Michonne last week. I can totally understand them, it must be awful to wear the same dirty clothes every day. Poor Beth, when walkers heard them and started to come at them, Daryl killed a bunch of them with a golf club and Beth got a lot of blood on her nice white cardigan.
   Luckily, they finally found the bar and Beth found the only bottle left : peach snaps. It’s not the best, but it’s something. I like Beth' speech when she found the bar. She assumed it was a stupid thing to do, (and it is, getting drunk around walkers is one of the stupidest idea), but she was doing that because that the only thing that could help her at this time. Daryl might find his peace by killing walkers, but the only thing Beth wanted to do was to cry but she couldn't. Beth admitted she was weak but she was trying to change. Of course, she cried when she tried to open the bottle and Daryl smashed down the bottle. Her first drink won’t be peach snaps.
   As they left the golf, Daryl and Beth were back into the woods, only to find something quite interesting for Beth : a local distillery ! The girl will get waster after all, good for you. And that was actually the moment the episode started to be interesting, because Beth had her first drink and she offered some to Daryl. Daryl opened up about his past and his father. We knew from his talks with Merle, their father was a bad man. Daryl actually recognized the place because his father owned one just like that. Beth asked Daryl to play “I’ve never…”, she never drunk but she knows drinking games… Okay…

  
    But there, during the game, we discovered a whole new face to Daryl Dixon’s character. He never has been on vacation and when Beth said she has never been in jail, Daryl took it quite bad. He started to be angry and screamed in the house. He made a lot of noises and finally called Beth on her weaknesses. I really loved that scene, Norman Reedus was amazing. Daryl used Beth’s game to tell her what he really feels toward her. He called her on her frivolity, foolishness, dependence on other people and also on her suicide attempt… That was harsh but necessary.
   After, they went outside so Daryl could teach her, in his own ways, how to use a crossbow and that was when Beth finally stoop up and called him on his bullshit. Daryl always has this mask on his face and a big shield around him so he acts like nothing can get to him. Beth wants him to show he is still human and have feelings, just like she has. She missed the people from the prison. And she knows she is not the strongest one, she is probably the weakest one, along with the kids but still, she made it. She is still alive so it must mean she is not that weak actually.
   And finally, Beth saw through Daryl. She remembered when Sophia died in her farm, that was when Daryl changed. He cared for the little girl, he did everything he could to find her but he couldn’t save her at the end. He let Carol and Sophia get close to him and he lost them. Of course, Daryl didn’t stay still in front of Beth and he threw at her face she didn’t cry for her boyfriends when they died and she has lost her whole family at the prison, because for him, Rick, Michonne, Maggie, they are all dead, they will never see them again. Beth has the opposite point of view. But finally, Daryl let his guard down, and he expressed his regrets, he couldn’t save Hershel and he cried in Beth’s arms. That was a very touching scene. 

   At the end, Daryl and Beth were both a little drunk and so they both opened up about themselves. The scene was great, I really enjoyed the chemistry between them. I’ve never thought they could make a great team but they actually do.
   Daryl opened up about his past and revealed who he was before everything went down. He was a nobody, just an asshole doing nothing of his life. Just like his brother. Beth opened up about her family, they always overprotected her and now she is surviving alone. She has changed but she wants to change more and become like Daryl. I really like that the differences between Daryl and Beth are finally what make them connect. They were different people in the past, but now they have changed and it is what matters. It’s not who they were but who they are they have to protect.
   And so, Beth had the weirdest idea about burning down the house, so Daryl could erase his past as a nobody and focused only on the new person he became. Because he is somebody in this new world, he is the best survivor. They used the liquor to burn down the house and went off. The scene was great, I loved the song.

“Still” was a different episode of season 4. Since “After”, each episodes focused on some of the survivors, not all of them and I have enjoyed it. But, it was the first time only two characters appeared during the whole episode.
  I really enjoyed Daryl and Beth story but still, I would have liked to see more. We could have followed another group of survivors, or at least have some flashback about Daryl and Merle or Beth and her whole family. But there were moments very slow and quite boring actually.

   And you, what did you think of “Still” ? Did you like it or was it too slow for you ? Hit the comments !

About the Author - Romain Ossust

I'm 27 from France, living near Paris. I love a lot of TV shows, (this is a non exhaustive list) : Orphan Black, True Blood, Dexter, Weeds, Person of Interest, Criminal Minds, 24, Ab Fab, Carnivale, Lost, The Americans, American Horror Story, Once Upon A Time, Desperate Housewives, Glee, Ugly Betty, Scandal, Looking, Sleepy Hollow, The Walking Dead, Raising Hope, Orange is the New Black, Grey’s Anatomy, HIMYM, Girls, ...
For SpoilerTV, I'm reviewing The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Looking, Continuum, Sleepy Hollow, The Americans, True Blood & Orphan Black
Otherwise, I’m also very fond of cats, I own 6 of them. I work as an administrative assistant, in one of the greatest place to work in France. I also enjoy sunbathing, reading and having fun ; and I hate doing sports :)