The Walking Dead: looking back at Still

On March 2, 2014, AMC aired the twelfth episode of season 4 of The Walking Dead titled “Still.”  This episode was written by Angela Kang and directed by Julius Ramsay. This episode centered around Beth (Emily Kinney) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) and gave more insight into the woman she is becoming and the events that made him into the man seen in the episode.

Unsure of who lived or died at the prison, both characters are trying to process what they assume are heavy losses of those special to them. The episode begins with several minutes of silence, but during that time, it is revealed that both of these characters are survivors and together could survive quite some time on their own.

Beth gets eventually gets sick of Daryl’s attitude and tries to go off on her own. She gets it into her head that she needs a drink and not some water, “a real drink.” After all they have been through, who wouldn’t need a drink?

The Walking Dead season 4

This episode is loved and hated by the fandom. Fans of Beth Greene love a Beth-centric episode, but those who aren’t fans of this character feel the episode was pointless. One sad thing about this episode is the yellow shirt she puts on at the Country Club will be the shirt she wears when she is killed in season 5.

Beth was only 18 during this time, and viewers need to remember that she was a very unworldly young girl. The world went to hell, and she missed many experiences that normal teenagers would have gone through. Having a drink, in her mind, was most likely something someone her age would have done before the outbreak.

This episode shows a teenager trying to break into being an adult in a world where it no longer matters what age you are; survival is the only thing that really matters. Daryl has always been a lone wolf and never talks much, so he listens to her go on about having her first drink. He accompanies her to the Country Club but decides that her first drink “ain’t gonna be no peach schnapps.”

When they come upon a cabin that Daryl had discovered previously with Michonne, he knows there is moonshine inside, and that will be a much more fitting first drink for Beth. The cabin is reminiscent of Daryl’s father’s place, and as he explains his life pre-outbreak, it is evident that their upbringings are quite different. As they share a drink, they play a game of “Never have I ever,” which inevitably gets very personal and ugly.

Viewers quickly learn that Daryl is an angry drunk which leads to an emotional breakdown regarding all the family they most likely lost during the attack at the prison. This episode allowed both characters to process all they think they’ve lost. ‘

In the end, they burn the cabin down, saluting it with a middle finger as they walk off into the night with faint smiles on their faces.

Here are some great behind-the-scenes photos of this episode.

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