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Love it! One thing you mentioned that had never really registered with me before is the fact that the dead deer he saw in Them was a doe. I mean, it obviously is, and I used that scene heavily to formulate the Deer Theory, but I just never thought to relate the deer’s gender to Beth. That’s beautiful and even more heart breaking. Can’t wait to read more!

Daryl's Arrows: Symbolism, Pt. 3 (When the arrows are all gone.)

Part One | Part Two

In parts one and two of this series, I have gone through Daryl's character evolution during his time with Beth, and in the wake of her absence, via the changing color and quality of his arrows. So far, I've looked at how his arrows have evolved from green/white (Beth arrows) to faded red/white ("inverted" Beth arrows), and when I left off my previous post, he had just had his crossbow stolen by Dwight, leaving him in a major period of limbo and with his faith in the goodness of people and his spiritual connection to Beth and her protective force in his life greatly diminished.

This post was originally supposed to cover much more information; however, there is more to cover here than I realized!! Thank you for your patience.

"The Next World": Eclipse

In 6.10 "The Next World," Daryl is notably without his crossbow. Losing the crossbow for Daryl is a bit like losing a limb. From the audience perspective, we have a hard time envisioning him without it. That said, do keep in mind that in the current moment, Daryl is also WITHOUT his crossbow (in France). I will get to this, but to do that, we need to look at what happens, and what it means when Daryl DOESN'T have his arrows, particularly when they've been taken from him.

In "The Next World," Daryl's first major episode post-"Always Accountable," we begin to see many important changes in Daryl and, perhaps most significantly, how Daryl will soon serve as a mirror for Rick, who is on a dark course, albeit completely unaware. It's notable that in "The Next World," Daryl and Rick are frequently placed parallel to one another in the shot, re: the shot above, and these below:

These shots communicate a sort of "eclipse." Daryl and Rick are dynamically opposed to one another quite often post-"Coda." Up until now, Daryl has been an attenuating force for Rick, but not anymore. Now, he's right on Rick's level. He holds little trust in strangers and seems disinterested in looking for new people to bring back to ASZ, a direct reversal of his attitude in "Conquer" and "Always Accountable." For us, as we were with him during the events of "Always Accountable," this change may not come as a surprise, but for Rick, who hasn't been out on the road with Daryl for a while, the change is new, and it seems to stop him in his tracks.

It's funny, and this is excellent characterization, because Rick is perhaps not able to see how he, himself, has changed, until he begins to see the same change manifesting in his lonely and recently distant best friend. Especially as Rick gets closer to consummating his relationship with Michonne, he notices Daryl distancing himself even more completely, and in "The Next World," we can see how he's trying to correct that. He wants Daryl to be how he used to be, and he wants them to be like they were.

"The Next World": Beth Proxies

Daryl's motivations in the episode are mostly on auto-pilot, in terms of how they relate to Rick's. The one thing that does seem to motivate him personally has nothing to do with Rick. It's an errand for Denise.

"The Next World," much like "Still," begins with a quest. Denise asks Daryl if, while he's on his run, he could keep his eye out for a drink: orange soda. The soda is for Tara. Denise becomes flustered when asking Daryl for help, and Daryl plays it down comically. This little moment between them, and how she regards him with embarrassment, and the fact that she asks him specifically, even though she is clearly nervous about it, and how he meets her babbling concern with a kind of casual confusion, communicates the beginning of their little bond, a bond that will prove very meaningful for Daryl in episodes to come, and which provides some small amount of purpose for him that day.

Denise, with whom Daryl shares a special friendship in season 6, serves as our next Beth proxy. The one thing about Denise that is extremely pertinent given Daryl's current circumstances in France is the way in which tptb use characterizing factors to defuse any romantic inclination from the relationship. Denise is a lesbian, in a relationship with Tara. In a similar dynamic, Isabelle, Daryl's Beth proxy in France, is a nun. Both women are unavailable to Daryl and this neuters romantic potential in the eyes of the audience (or, I mean, it's supposed to) and foils the fact that Beth, who was neither a lesbian nor a nun and who was perhaps the most romantically available female on the show at the time, was his first and perhaps only romantic interest of ANY significance. And after she's gone, every single meaningful relationship he has (barring Connie, who I'll talk about later, and who holds other parallels to Beth) is a blond woman with a ponytail. Weird!

Of course, Jesus is another major Beth proxy who shows up in "The Next World." Aside from his name, when we first meet Jesus, he is wearing a face mask, in a moment that will later be echoed by Daryl's jarring encounter with a very blond Leah in "Rendition."

I will discuss more on these Beth proxies in the future, but for now, let's finish discussing "The Next World."

"The Next World": Confrontation

In some ways, the title of this episode "The Next World" is indicative of a major change taking place. Dialogue with Jesus implies that they already live in "the next world," ie: they have already descended into unknown territory, they just don't know it. Jesus also serves as the catalyst of much of the plot to come.

In this episode, the main tension between Daryl and Rick, who are constantly paralleled visually with one another, revolves around Daryl's recent, growing indifference toward human life, and Rick's rapid noticing of such and desire to correct it. In this episode, we see some major development with Rick and his sense of self-awareness as he begins to realize that perhaps he hasn't been there for Daryl as much as he should have, and in this, Daryl has begun to slip from his grasp. It's possible Rick has only just now begun to realize how much damage Beth's loss has caused for Daryl, and also how much his actions actually affect those around him, particularly Daryl, his second in command, who codes strongly as his younger brother, and for whom Rick was once arguably a role model.

Just after the climax of the episode, while Rick and Daryl watch their bounty sink to the bottom of the river, Jesus lie unconscious in the grass, and Daryl is prepared to just leave him there for walker bait. But Rick challenges him. Daryl softens somewhat, but ultimately remains unconvinced that he should care.

Later, in the car on the way home, Rick address the issue further in a conversation that is not well discussed. Here, Rick openly acknowledges that Daryl, along with Michonne and Glenn, did attenuate his flippancy toward human life when they first arrived at Alexandria. Now, Rick is trying to do the same thing for Daryl.

The conversation in the car, which is, at first, filmed through the windshield, which is reflective, obscuring some amount of the shot, is greatly oblique, meaning, it's not on the nose. It comes to the point in a way that is indirect and even off-topic. This is a product of Daryl and Rick's communication style, which is surly. It's a beautiful scene, which finishes later on in the episode just as they arrive back at the ASZ. Daryl tells Rick that he thinks what he said before, after what happened with Reg and Pete, that they shouldn't be going out to bring in new people anymore, that he was right. But Rick disagrees now. He says, "No, I was wrong. You were right."

Ultimately, I believe this scene does make a difference for Daryl, if only because it communicates to him that Rick sees him, that he agrees with him, and that he actually isn't alone, no matter how alone he feels; however, it's unclear at this point if Rick is too late, or if Rick's influence is simply no longer as important to Daryl as it used to be. Remember that Daryl's only moments of intentional motivation in the episode, beyond simply going along for the ride, are related to Denise. Remember, too, that Daryl gave up his search for Rick in "Alone," to be with Beth. This was a clean break, and just because she went away, that doesn't mean the feelings that caused him to make that choice went away. These are the beginnings of Daryl becoming his own man, and the protagonist of his own story, coming out of Rick's shadow and casting his own. Of course, getting there is going to be a long, violent, and lonely road.

In the end, whatever effect this exchange with Rick might impart on Daryl is latent or else it never comes to fruition, because Rick is, unfortunately, and in all of his hubris, about to step into a trap of epic proportion, and Daryl, who is floating without an anchor, and whose loyalty may have been temporarily boosted during this trip, follows him right to it. We can already see how the nature of Daryl's choices has changed since the events of "Always Accountable," and how they are much more pessimistic and lacking in trust in people and the outside world. Daryl is about to undergo an enormous test of faith.

"The Next World": Carl

Something that's super interesting, too, in this episode, is the B story, which involves an undercurrent of familial tension and backstory, revolving around Carl. While out in the woods, Carl and Enid discover Deana's walker, but for reasons that Enid doesn't understand, Carl refuses to kill her. Instead, he lures Deana closer to the walls where her son Spencer waits, so that he can put her to rest. Later in the night, Carl has an argument with Michonne, who saw him out there and misunderstood his intentions. Michonne asks Carl why he didn't just kill Deana, and Carl tells her that he couldn't kill Deana, because it should be someone who loved her to do it. He says that Michonne wouldn't understand, referencing his final moments with Lori. Carl also says that would do it for Michonne, which affects her deeply.

During the entire conversation, Carl is holding Judith in a visual callback to Beth, and I believe that Carl's arc in this episode is informed by the missing 17 days, and the fact that Beth never received a burial, and that most of them believe her walker still to be out there, somewhere. I believe that much of the psychology running through seasons 5 and 6 are related to Beth's loss and the clearly traumatic events of the missing 17 days, which we still have never seen or learned about. This is an important time as well to remember that in this episode, re: main thesis of this post, Daryl does NOT have his crossbow, and he doesn't have it now either, in France. I believe that Daryl is undergoing a similar, albeit more direct, even dramatic test of faith in Daryl Dixon, in which he is once again, a fish out of water, a ship lost at sea.

I want to point out, too, that immediately after cutting away from Daryl and Rick in the car is this little moment with Carl showing Judith how to find the North Star.

If you remember from my last post, I discussed Daryl without Beth as a ship without an anchor. Another way to discuss Daryl's current state is to call him a wanderer who has lost sight of the North Star. In this little scene we get a beautiful glimpse at how Carl, the bearer of the "resurrection" music box in "Them" is carrying Beth's torch and lighting the way in her absence. Taking care of Judith, helping people reunite with their loved ones, arguing for what he believes in, even when others disagree. This is important, because later, after Daryl has made the full scope of his descent, it will be Carl's death that brings him back into the light. That is for a future post, but in this episode we can see how Carl's character, along with Beth, informs the character Laurent in the spin-off.

Beth's Knife

I want to point out that even though Daryl doesn't have his crossbow or his arrows during this liminal stretch of season 6, that doesn't mean that he has lost his connection with Beth completely. Daryl continues to carry Beth's knife, given to him by Carol in "Them," on his left hip, all through "The Next World," as well as during the next episode "Knots Untie," which is the episode when they visit Hilltop. He doesn't take it off until the episode "Not Tomorrow Yet," which is the episode in which he and Rick lead a team to ambush the Saviors at the Satellite Station. Though Norman has informed fans casually that Daryl still has it, we have not seen Beth's knife since "Knots Untie." Why does he take it off?

If you'll recall, it's actually Daryl who offers to take out the Saviors at Hilltop, in exchange for food and supplies. He kicks into gear after Jesus tells them about how Negan, in an effort of intimidation, killed a sixteen-year-old boy. Once again: Why do innocent people always have to die? Here, Daryl thinks he sees a way to finally right this wrong. Episodes 6.10-6.14, during which Daryl does not have his crossbow, are filled with seminole choices that Daryl makes, all of which inform the man he will become in seasons 7-9. He keeps making the wrong choices, but as an audience, it's easy to feel mislead, as most of the rest of the characters are right there with him. Even Glenn goes on the Satellite Station mission. This is enough to make it seem like what they're doing is right thing. Of course, it's not, but it communicates the mass psychological damage with which the team is currently coping.

At this point in the story, after what happened at the prison and the fallout with Beth, they are all desperate to establish a home with food security and safe walls, and they are willing to do almost anything to make that a reality. Maggie's pregnancy, referenced in "Knots Untie," which ends with the group passing around her sonogram in the RV, is also a motivating factor. I also believe that the Saviors are, at this point, a scapegoat, for the enemy they couldn't kill back at the prison, ie: someone they CAN kill as a way of dealing with Beth's senseless loss as well as the losses of Hershel and the prison, and the grisly deaths of Tyreese and Noah that followed almost immediately after. Going after the Saviors is especially meaningful for Daryl, as he is still harboring vengeful feelings toward Dwight, who took his crossbow, and with it, his faith in the goodness of people.

When Daryl takes off Beth's knife in "Not Tomorrow Yet," I believe we can interpret this two ways: First, he takes it off because he doesn't want her memory to be mixed up in deeds he knows for certain would disappoint her. For the same reason, he sometimes wears his hair like a mask, Daryl, well-aware of what's going on, is hiding from her disapproval. Of course, this shows that, even as his actions speak volumes, Daryl has not forgotten about Beth. But he knows he may need to repress her for a while, and this is something we will deal with directly in the season 7 episode "New Best Friends."

Second, Beth’s knife, given to him by Carol in “Them,” is a Browning Hunter knife with a fixed blade and a handle made from the antler of a stag.

A stag, or a buck, is a male deer, and I would like to now consider the powerful ramifications of this, as, not long after Carol returns this knife to Daryl, he encounters a dead doe, or female deer, in the woods. We have a lone stag (Daryl), and his dead doe (Beth). The fact that Beth carried the stag knife at all is, in my estimation, given Daryl’s visual devastation in this scene, crushingly romantic. The antler provides him with further protection in the wake of his missing crossbow, similar to the symbolic function of his white arrows.

The knife stays behind to protect him for much of his period without the crossbow in season 6, like a last line of defense; however, when he takes it off, this foreshadows grave trials, which he will have to undergo while greatly exposed to pain and suffering, with no weapons or spiritual protection at all.

I think it’s important that all of Daryl’s weapons have been touched and wielded by Beth at some point. His main knife, which he used in “Still,” her stag knife, and also his crossbow. This is very important as there is not another character for whom this is true, and because it sets her up as his spiritual protector very early on. Further, as a warrior, Daryl’s weapons are greatly important to his functioning in the world, and as I said before, his crossbow is almost like a fifth limb. Beth’s possession of his weapons during their time together communicates her claim or possession over him. This is foiled by his encounter with the Claimers who seem to point out to Daryl that there is nothing in this world worth anything anymore that hasn’t already been claimed.

You will see, too, in my next post, how this period also comes with the absence of not just Beth’s knife and the crossbow, but Daryl’s angel vest as well. All of this inventory is a part of Daryl and his blessed disposition, per Beth’s “Still” prophecy that he’s going to be the Last Man Standing, and which we first see fully examined in “Consumed.” Without it, he struggles, fallen from her grace.

None of these things is stated overtly in the text. All of it is oblique, subtle, and noticeable only to fans who are watching closely. And who watches more closely than TD?

In my next post, I will discuss Denise's death and the effects of Daryl's incarceration at the Sanctuary. I will also look at what happens when, after finding safe haven at the Kingdom, Daryl is gifted ANOTHER crossbow (pictured above), by Richard, introducing an entirely new era for Daryl's arrows and foiling Daryl's mercenary, ruthless outlook on the coming war.

#team delusional #daryl's arrows #beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is coming #beth is alive #bethyl #team defiance #td theories

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twdmusicboxmystery · 7 days

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This series is definitely worth a read! Once you're done with part 1, go read PART 2. It gets even better!

Daryl's Arrows: Symbolism, Pt. 1 (Green and White)

It has been a while since I've made a TD post. I'm hoping to make a comeback these days, and in my first attempt to do that, I'd like to talk about a topic I've been paying attention to for several years now: the symbolic nature of Daryl's arrows.

Daryl's arrows change color over the course of the series, as I'm sure you've noticed. In the past, we've seen colors and color combinations including red, yellow, green, white, and black. Sometimes they're dirty. Sometimes they're tattered. Sometimes they're pristine. Sometimes they're seen and not used. Colors in TWDU always mean something, and Daryl's arrows are no exception. In this series of posts, I want to look at how Daryl's arrows are used as foils for his psychological state, and how they often reflect his relationship and symbolic proximity to Beth. As one of the most visually compelling characters in the series, Daryl and his vast inventory bear many clues in terms of how he feels and where he's headed. With Daryl, who is a stoic character, what we see is often much more important than what we hear.

First, just for reference, in case you're unfamiliar with the anatomy of an arrow, I'll be referencing two key parts in these posts: the FLETCHING (or feathered "wings" around the back of the arrow), and the NOCK (the, often colored, slotted tip at the end of the arrow, opposite the arrow point, aka the arrow tip, or arrowhead).

The changing color of Daryl's arrows is not confined to just the fletching. His nocks change color as well and are equally important.

The Prison: Green

As is everything with Team Delusional, this analysis originates with Scott Gimple, and like so much else we are still striving to understand, episode 3.12 "Clear."

If you look closely at the shot from above, you'll see Daryl's *new* crossbow, leaning against the gun rack on the righthand side of the screen. Daryl begins the series with a much simpler design. The pictured more advanced compound crossbow is given to him by Michonne and Rick, after they bring it back from Morgan's cache, which is like Gimple's magical well full of hints and symbols. Beginning in the very next episode "Arrow on the Doorpost," Daryl trades his old crossbow for the new one, which he will use *almost* (more on that later) exclusively for the remainder of the series, and which he still uses now (or did up until recently, when he lost it in Portland, ME).

Daryl's *new* crossbow (pictured above) is special, because when it's given to him, it contains arrows with special, alternating green and white fletching, as well as green nocks. It's important that this crossbow and, more specifically, THESE arrows, are gifted to him, as opposed to being choices he made for himself, and I will talk more about choices soon.

"Clear" immediately follows the mini-arc in season 3 in which Daryl leaves the prison with Merle and then returns. The theme of coming "home" is pervasive in TWDU, particularly with Daryl, who, for much of his character arc, has seemingly been without one. Further, the act of making a decision to settle down, to stay in one place, to commit himself has unabashedly occurred to Daryl only two times over the course of the series: 1.) In the episode "Home," when he chooses to return to Rick and the prison, even if it means leaving Merle behind, and 2.) in the episode "Alone," when he chooses to stay and to "make it work" in the funeral home with Beth.

Every other time Daryl has decided to "settle down" or to "stay" somewhere, such as Alexandria, the Commonwealth, and the Nest in France, it's either been because of inertia, coercion, obligation, or some combination of the three.

Perhaps you can see by now that Daryl and decision-making are important factors to this character analysis. The truth is, Daryl is a passive character. He doesn't make many decisions that are driven by a strong internal motivation or code. He makes decisions because they're easy, because they're what he *should* do, or because they're what someone else told him or asked him to do. Very rarely does Daryl make a choice based on his own desires or his own code. He is reactive at times, ie: He makes emotional decisions driven by rage, revenge, annoyance, etc.. But these are not deliberate choices. They are passionate, in the heat of the moment, and he may even come to regret them or to change his mind.

We can see this clearly at the end of Daryl Dixon season 1, in which we really have no idea whether Daryl desires to stay in France or if he desires to go home. We don't know if he's going home simply because he thinks he should, or because he truly wants to, or because he just has some chip on his shoulder about staying. We don't even know if he considers the Commonwealth, or Alexandria for that matter, to be home, because he didn't choose either of those domains for himself. They were chosen for him, and he's just sort of been drifting in and out ever since. If anything, in the first season of DD, we learn that Daryl seems to be a man without a home, and a man without strong motivating factors to make choices, or to act.

We learn in Daryl Dixon that one very important potential motivational factor for Daryl that is entirely missing from his life is that of a family of his own. And no, I don't mean friends, or found brothers and sisters, or nieces and nephews. I mean a wife and children (his OWN children, not Rick's children).

SO what does this have to do with Daryl's new crossbow? Well, first of all, Daryl's crossbow is gifted to him, a bit of "supernatural aid" to help him along on his hero's journey. The arrows, as well, are a gift. In the second half of season 3 and the first half of season 4, we see Daryl display unprecedented feelings of happiness and a focused purpose. He is given this chance, but ONLY once he chooses to stay.

In 3.10 "Home," Daryl makes his first major choice, which is to return to the prison, aka to return home. Once he starts using his new crossbow, he will then use the green and white arrows exclusively for the rest of season 3, all of season 4, and some of season 5 (until the episode "Spend"). The one major common denominator to this run is his proximity to Beth.

The color combination in these arrows is green and white, which parallels clothing and jewelry worn by Beth in the first half of season: Beth's earrings and her outfit in 4.1 "30 Days Without an Accident," and Beth's outfit in 4.2 "Infected."

The "Beth lookalike" dead girl in "Infected" shows an interesting juxtaposition as well.

In 4.4 "Indifference," one of my favorite examples of foreshadowing for Daryl and Beth, in a scene in which Daryl's arrows look very green against the verdant landscape, Daryl finds a rare piece of green jasper on the ground. As he's cleaning it off, Michonne initially responds suggestively, smiling, as if she knows something we don't. She says, "It's a good color. Brings out your eyes."

Daryl responds quickly, correcting her to say that it's for Mrs. Richards, who has become ill. But this surprises Michonne. That's clearly not who she thought it was for.

The piece of green jasper that Daryl finds looks suspiciously like the stone Beth wears in her earrings. Toward the end of the episode, Daryl can be seen studying the jasper pensively in the car while the rest of the team gets ready to go. This moment is rarely discussed, but I believe he is actually thinking about Beth when he holds the jasper that day, ready to return home from a long, hard journey. I also think Michonne might have known that something was going on. Of course, we may never know the truth on that, but Michonne is a romantic character, and if anyone was going to notice Daryl's feelings for Beth, it might just be her.

Remember that green jasper is rare. It was chosen here for a reason. It is viewed as containing powers of protection and healing, as well as relief from obsessive behaviors and compulsions. You can read more about the properties and historical significance of green jasper here.

In any case, the color green is, of course, easily attributable to Beth, whose last name is green. This is specifically true when it's seen around Daryl. When it's seen around Rick, we might alternatively associate green with Hershel. But while Hershel might be Rick's "Greene," Beth is Daryl's "Greene." And when Daryl's arrows "trend" green, that means that her story and her relationship to him is creating psychological friction with his character on screen. It means, not only that she is "with" him, but that he accepts her there, and he is still the man he was trying to be at the time that he first chose the prison, and the time after the prison that he spent with her.

The connection between Daryl's arrows and Beth begins literally, but after "Coda," the connection becomes symbolic. We'll get there soon.

I also do want to point out that though this connection is somewhat subtle in season 3, once we get to season 4, with Gimple at the helm, the connection becomes much clearer and more overt. This supports the hypothesis that Beth and Daryl are Gimple's "pet" creation, something he always wanted to explore but never could, because they and their relationship are not a part of the comics. But via Daryl's arrows, he is able to keep their relationship alive in the background.

After the Prison: White

After the prison, when Daryl and Beth are physically together, and then we transition into Daryl's search for Beth in Atlanta, Daryl's arrows remain the same: alternating green/white; however, some unique shifts occur, in terms of emphasis.

Here's a shot from "Inmates," as Daryl pulls an arrow out of a walker's head near the train tracks.

This shot is from "Alone."

And here's one from "Consumed." This is one of my favorite shots of Daryl in the entire series.

In all of these shots, the arrows, which alternate green AND white for fletching, are specifically arranged in front of the camera so that the fletching looks entirely WHITE. White arrows are angelic in nature, protectors. They accompany Daryl and Beth’s discovery of the deceased innocents from the bus, imploring faith that not all hope is lost, as some of the children lived. They accompany Beth as she shoots Daryl’s crossbow near the cemetery, once again calling on us to "have a little faith," as even though Beth is caught in a trap, she is rescued by Daryl. And as you can see in the shot above from “Consumed,” the two white arrows literally resemble the wings of an angel, balanced delicately on Daryl's shoulder as he gazes out over the city, eventually seeing the Grady van in the distance, a major clue.

Note that per the "Consumed" shot, we see this same arrangement, double-white, from two separate angles, showing its purposeful nature. The first, just Daryl from the side (above), the second, both Carol and Daryl, head-on (below). Though they mirror one another in body language, Carol looks down, unsure of her fate. Daryl looks straight ahead, a man of conviction.

In "Consumed," Daryl is communicated as a hopeful, motivated man, helping Carol through her crisis of faith and disconnection from her purpose and identity as the two of them search Atlanta for signs of Beth. He finds and takes the book about overcoming child abuse, a clue that he is making conscious choices to get better, and he is entering a real path to renewal and self-improvemet, all thanks to his time with Beth. Note, too, that angels do not only flock to Daryl via his arrows. He is also protected in the falling van, by the crucifixes on the back windows, and the holy Mother Mary, watching over him from the dash. In the shot below (right), you can also see, once again, the duality of body language between Daryl and Carol. Daryl is braced, staring straight ahead, ready for anything, while Carol, in her crisis of faith, breathes heavily and cowers in fear.

Carol endures bad injuries from the crash, which are worsened when she is hit by a car. Daryl, however, emerges without a scratch. This theme of protection and indestructibility, for Daryl, will return in the future. In the episode, Carol tells Daryl that he has "become a man" now, and we see him perhaps as driven and committed to any cause as he will ever be. That cause is finding Beth. You can see this once more very clearly in the final shot of the episode, in which even Noah notices, looking at him like “WTF did I just walk into?” For the third time, too, we see Daryl noticeably squared up, facing straight ahead in the shot, showing commitment and determination, while Noah's expression is unsure.

Also, if you look closely at the shot above, you can see, one more time, a single white, angelic arrow, perched just above the dash.

Daryl shoots one more white arrow over the course of the series, but it's not for a very long time. In 6.15, "East," just before the group is ambushed by the Saviors, Daryl, angry about Denise, having had his crossbow stolen by Dwight in 6.6 "Always Accountable," goes out searching for Dwight to take his revenge. In the scene, Daryl wanders a clearing as the bright sun shines down upon him, directly reminiscent of the sun coming through the trees in "Them." So reminiscent, in fact, that it is the same exact shot, just inverted both horizontally and vertically and adjusted with a red filter. Quick aside: Below, you can see the original two shots, the lefthand shot from "East," the righthand shot from "Them."

Now, here are the shots again, with the shot from "East" on the left, inverted once, horizontally and vertically. You can also see the red in how it colors the light filtering through the trees. This communicates that since Beth's death, which he was directly morning underneath the tree in the shot on the right, Daryl's character has been "upside down." He's messed up. What was right is now wrong, and what was wrong is now right, and his descent lies ahead.

Michonne, Rosita, and Glenn come after him, to try and dissuade him. When they do, Daryl shoots an arrow right past Rosita's face and into a tree. That arrow, the last of the green/white arrows we will ever see, appears entirely white in his hand and foretells that in the confrontation to come, Daryl, unlike two of his brethren, will be spared.

In my next post, I'll move on to Daryl's red arrows, focusing on Noah's death, 5.15 "Try" and 5.16 "Conquer," as well as 6.6 "Always Accountable," Denise's death and what this all means. I believe that, over the seasons, Gimple has found small ways in which to show that Daryl has been continuously protected by Beth's presence, but that, in his darkest hours, he is not always eager to accept it. 💫

I'm going to tag some other TDers in these posts, just for reference. If you'd like me to tag you in future posts, please just comment here to let me know, and I will! ❤️

@wdway @twdmusicboxmystery @frangipanilove @angelthefirst1

#team delusional #bethyl #beth greene #beth is alive #the walking dead #beth is coming #Daryl's Arrows

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