#walker 4x13

[god-given]

⭐Last Cordell and Augie Hug⭐

Going to miss this show so much! 😢🤎

[positivexcellence]

Walker 4x13 “See You Sometime”

[lillysilverus]

Is it weird that somebody who accused and blamed August's father for getting her boyfriend killed is invited to his graduation party?

[fandom-hoarder]

Starting walker finale...

Cordi, running the blender on speaker??

Oh god ptsd

Lmfao screaming at august jfc. What a dad thing

Hug🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Poor cordi. Everyone has a distance about him having been MIA :/ Is this gonna continue

Ok bonham, like I'm glad you're saying you're gonna help but if she wants to learn will you fucking teach her? It's frustrating af when your partner says they'll teach you their skill and then they're just like 'i did it for you'🙃🙃🙃

"Geri-science was a winner. Your sleepytime remedy worked like a charm." CASSIE, DID THAT SLEEPYTIME REMEDY INVOLVE GERI'S TONGUE IN YOUR PUSSY?

"How's Walker?"

"He's... fine. He has his people."

Ok, first of all, DOES he? And are you not one of those people, Geri? Lololol have you been withholding yourself from Walker for CASSIE? 👀👀👀👀👀👀 INTERESTING

Goddammittttttt I've paused too many times and I'm not allowed to have captions anymore. Every FUCKING time. The one good thing about walker ending is NEVER HAVING TO USE THIS GODFORSAKEN APP AGAIN

Omg PLEASE i can't understand what he's saying with Abby on the porch. I've rewatched it 4 times with the volume up.

"Having trouble tellin up from down sometimes " maybe??

I have the volume on 50 💀 i hate the way the app takes captions from me just cuz i pause a lot

PEREZ SIBLINGS FUCK YEAH

Ok stop, I can't help thinking right now about luna's dick friend. Is he gonna show up again, or was that JUST so the "i love her" could happen

God the family casting on this show all around is on point

Lmfao ooh here comes a stellacordi scene

"Felt like a total weirdo walking down the hall"

"That is probably a healthy reaction for an adult man to have."

OK BUT HE'S YOUR DAD?? LOLOLOL PARENTS DO COME THERE😂😂😂😂😂 UNLESS HES ALREADY FEELING SUSPICIOUSSS👀👀👀

THIS DIALOGUE IS FOR US ISTG

HAND ON KNEE

"He just needs you to be there. That was all I wanted. " 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

Aaaah facing each other, knees together, hand on knee

"If you get anything from me-'" (pause---it'll be a baby😂😂😂)

HOLDING HIS HAND

"There's no version where you being gone is better. That'd just be a different type of pain. I still need my dad." 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Stella saying she doesn't need an apology 🥺🥺🥺🥺 fucking finally someone

HUGGGGG

Chin on her head, arms grasped around her!

Istg they're looking at my tumblr lmfao

...is trey gonna get the job👀 cassie's chances don't look great after that...

Cordell/Geri scene... I fucking. Knew. He would be like "i want to keep you happy" like. What about YOU, Cordi? What about the way Geri also hasn't been there for YOU? What about her flippant fucking attitude about things? What about the way you have always been all-in on declaring commitment when she has always been scared of commitment? Why is it painted like he's always the one at fault. I am going MAD

GERI WTF??? SO YOU HAD GRIEF HE DIDN'T KNOW HAD EVEN COME UP AND HE "wasn't there" because of his case and BEING FUCKING KIDNAPPED AND ALMOST KILLED. Like sure he wasn't there but why are you saying it like he mistreated you or ignored your pain??????

I want to smack this woman

Fucking patronizing mom voice

I feel like everyone is pressuring him to have to quit being a ranger. HE'S WALKER, TEXAS RANGER

Does he need work-life balance and therapy? YES. Does he need people holding him at a distance because he cares about being a ranger? NO

Feels like walking on fucking eggshells when she mom-hugs him and he hugs back.

STELLA GAVE YOU BETTER

And obvs it's not like i believe in canon stellacordi so obvs I'm not saying marry your daughter instead, but like. The difference is STARK

Like it's fine to wanna do your thing but you gotta stop stringing people along!!! From the beginning, he's always been all-in, wanting to tell everyone and make it official, yet somehow the narrative tries to tell us HE'S been the uncommitted one. WHAT???

Being distracted with a bad law enforcement case and wanting to protect your family from the details is NOT THE SAME as not being committed to a relationship. And if he's been a bad partner, SO HAS SHE.

She's either ignored or not even noticed VERY CLEAR SIGNS that he was not ok

I haaaaate her lmfao

Omg cassie got the job!!!

Omfg are you fucking serious. Started this Larry/James scene with captions, haven't paused at all, and suddenly after "yeah it's the spot" the captions just STOPPED🙃🙃🙃 worst app fucking ever

"Kelly has someone she'd like to hook you up with" it feels like trey has been fielding a lot of this this season lol. I don't see trey/cassie as romantic, but it did sort of feel like the season could end that way because of trey's none ships and friendship w cassie

Why, when he says "a family vacation" do they all go like "no, you don't have to" i want to smack all y'all wtf??? THIS MAN HAS LITERALLY BEEN TRYING TO SPEND TIME WITH HIS FAMILY AND BEING TOLD HE'S NOT AROUND BUT HE IS *TRYING TO BE* GODDDDDD I AM GONNA START BITING!!

"And if that answer is yes, how would you feel about inviting Geri?" Bleh, don't. I hope she can't go lmfao

August Edward Walker!!

The fact that they spell augie like auggie!! Should i change my fics??😂😂😂😂😂

Music suddenly too loud on 50 lol

Lmfaooo the twilight convo. "Clearly team jacob" *liam looks totally vindicated and enamored* "THANK YOU" 😂😂

It's honestly hard for me to ship liam with anyone else now cuz he and ben are so cute😅😅😅

CORDELL DANCING HELP HE'S SO CUUUTE

"I struggled with how to let go, and I realized...it happened. And I-I have to let it happen" heart hurt. It's hard being a parent of grown children 😭😭😭 you really do have to realize it happened. They grew up.

Hahhh I'm crying. Ouch

Omfg for a split second i thought abby and bonham were gonna tell him to move out of the farmhouse. Jfc i had a moment of RAGE

And then "but you finally made it into a home" goddd

I'm over here like, charmed also ended with the sisters living separately, they could totally do this to me🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

That crostini looks delicious

If August had gone to the military instead of school i was gonna be upset and fixit

Oh lol sweet, trey will be Walker's partner 👀 i wish we could've gotten to see that 🥺🥺🥺 And we'd get stuff like in the early days with trey caretaking his stupid wounds 👀👀👀

Ok girls scene. I hate geri but i love her dress lol. Reminds me of a dress i had as a kid

S5 could've been a nice final season. Like they could've said "ok we'll give you a final season to wrap this up" BUT NO

Wow, Sadie apologizing for ghosting Stella 🙃🙃🙃

Lolol sadie is another "you are your father's daughter"

Oh ok, so sadie will work at or manage??? the new side step probably...

Lmao liam "and maybe we could add a real estate level..to it" 😅😅😅😅

Ben: boyfriend please stop speaking lawyer lol

Hahh they're so CUTE. Cordri could NEVER

Lol abby. "Meddling" God FINALLY they're talking about actual intentions

Cordi with his shirt undone 👀👀👀👀👀

God he looks so happy and cavalier. He's like, this'll be so romantic and I'm gonna commit to her and everything will be perfect.

And then Geri's like, whoa settle down there buddy. I think i understand you too

WHAT

She messes with his shirt like "stop looking so slutty" lmfao why is everything she does so patronizing

He stoops down to tuck her hair🥺🥺

"I think i might have a solution for that" gonna either quit or take leave....

Ok I'm still pissy that Luna is blamed on him. HE WAS KIDNAPPED AND BURIED

I know it FEELS like his behavior is to blame, but HE DIDN'T KILL LUNA

If he'd been shot looking for someone else, would she blame THEM???

And I'm not saying he shouldn't apologize for his reckless behavior, but like. Why is no one worried about HIM

I'm tearing my HAIR OUT

LEAVE OF ABSENCE. I WAS RIGHT.

Liam. GOVERNOR???

Omg liam getting kidnapped from Ben by MIB?????😂😂😂😂😂

Luna's coaster on cassie's cork board 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Godddd cordi has a ring box

Yeah, I'm ready *secret smile*

Omfg so vanderbeek did a cameo as the new neighbor???😅 i really wonder what that backstory would've been

Ok i think that was the end lol. Gonna rewatch 😅😅😅😅

_

"See you sometime" i wonder if the ep title would be the same if they weren't canceled

I wish they'd said what the governor wanted, but I'm glad everybody kinda got a little "next thing for this character" inkling

Ok with hindsight of the episode as a whole, I'm even angrier at Geri in the opener. Like the parallel there is clearly intended when Geri says "you're a reminder and that's the last thing she needs" as he's having a BLENDER FLASHBACK

Like idk. She says you're ok and ilu like stating it as a fact will reassure him, but she doesn't actually say "are you ok? Should i call mawline?"

The way Cordi obviously feels like has to tie them together and keep her happy 🙃🙃🙃

*Aside* >>> Vanderbeek would TOTALLY be an annoying neighbor and probably cause problems on the ranch, maybe even between abby and bonham

Geri isn't right for Cordi, and he isn't right for her! They don't ever seem to have the same life goals??? OR love language

Augie saying "go-lly you scared the hell outta me" 😅😅😅

Augie: what's this about?

PLEASE, AUGUST, YOU ACT LIKE THIS MAN ISN'T ALWAYS EXCITED TO MAKE A SPECIAL BREAKFAST FOR AN OCCASION. HE'S HERE NOW WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE IT'S WEIRD AND HE HAS AN ULTERIOR MOTIVE 😭😭😭😭

You and Stella backed out of so many special meals he made!! Have you all gone fucking bonkers??

If they hadn't ended that scene with a hug i would've had to murder someone tbh

I wonder what plans bonham has for the ranch contracts

That "he has his people" line from Geri still driving me CRAZY. SHE'S NOT EVEN WORRIED ABOUT HIS PTSD

Geri rejected Beaches. That's a red flag lol

Abby having a mom moment with Cordi and telling him not to worry about what he might've done different 🥺🥺🥺🥺 fucking thank you.

Also, the way he's like "i kept telling myself after this case was over everything would fall into place. But i ended up just makin a mess of everything" --- john winchester thesis statement

This subaru commercial i always get feels like a travesty. Why is the lesbians car in a het commercial 😅😅😅😅

Stella being like "THIS abduction" but also reassuring cordi it wasn't his fault... only abby and stella have any rights right now

Godd this is making me cry again

The fact that stella hasn't seen what's in that letter... gahhh i can't remember the wording anymore but it was something about always being with her snd it was soooo 👁👄👁... another thing to end up in fic fodder

"And maybe after that we can figure out...where to go from here." MY STELLACORDI HEARTTT

i was well fed for stellacordi this season. More than i truly could imagine. Bless

Het subaru commercial again. In my mind, this woman is bi and in her first non-wlw relationship 😅😅😅

Once again with hindsight this 2nd Cordri convo is even more frustrating. There is NOTHING in her words or behavior that should lead Cordi to think she'll say yes to marrying him. They are on two different tracks in their relationship conversation and she's still holding him at arm's length. This is not a woman in love. This is a woman in "might as well."

AND THE JUXTAPOSITION OF THIS SCENE, AFTER GETTING REASSURANCE FROM STELLA, IS SURE AN INTERESTING NARRATIVE CHOICE

"And i was drowning, and you weren't there" and no followup that "i know you were kidnapped and that's not your fault" just the mom chastisement and patronizing hug.

And his body language is like "oh shit, she's gonna break up with me unless i prove I'm IN THIS"

Geri would totally say no on the vacation

Also we know she never said yes to hoyt because of thinking his wanderlust wouldn't settle. Why would this with cordi be ANY different. Sure he has roots, but he's also dedicated to solving cases. He's not quitting. And i don't see her saying yes without an ultimatum to him

Lol, last vacation days has Geri mentally switching back to thinking about real life and how it just won't work with cordi still in the rangers, and wanting to move to okc to get sadie set up 👀👀👀

Goddd i wish she'd been involved in Emily's death lololol

I know some people are probably upset August didn't get a romantic storyline, but I'm really glad they didn't shoehorn one in for him OR stella. Not even for my shipper heart, but for my aspec heart craving non romantic stories!!

And I'm fucking grateful they didn't end with a concrete cordri engagement

I really like Cordi’s embroidered shirt. It's so cute

Hmm... geri adjusting her not-skewed dress, and cordi's unbuttoned shirt... is this meant to signal that they were getting handsy and decided to move away from people, or am i reading in too much lol

Like every time he tries to be romantic, she redirects with a "but"

Maybe you're just aro, Geri. Maybe someone needs to tell you that's a thing!!

"I love us. And I...UNDERSTAND you, I REALLY think i do." = i love us just like this and really don't want to get married, like... ever.

God i feel insane. WHO sees them with a happy ending together???? It's not THERE

She can feel him leading up to a proposal and redirects him so he can't

But she won't fucking let him down and let him free 🙃🙃🙃

Godd why couldn't they tell us what the governor needs liam for😅😅😅

I'm fine with this ending, as far as i can be. I definitely don't want a more concrete "what happens next" happy ending

I don't want a wedding

Lol Cordell's leather satchel is such a Sam bag

Stella about the Davidson ranch sublet: "why? Maybe it'll be a total drama free situation and we'll just be, like... neighbors." The perfect setup for drama lol, and to tell us well we can't show you but there would've definitely been drama

When cordell grabs gerii's hand in the truck, is it just me or is it trembly? Was it just an extended squeeze, or a signal of stress 👀👀👀👀

Vanderbeek's toe ring and sandals😅😅😅😅😅😅

God i can't believe it's over

[samssgirl]

[sammysnaughtygirl]

[invisibledevour]

HEY GUYS!!

"The Time Has Come, So Many Emotions & What A Fucking Ending!!"

[renegadesstuff]

CHARAH PROPOSAL FINALLY 🥹💍🤍

[emsee22]

Reasons I believe Beth and Daryl were intended to be a romantic pairing

30 Days Without An Accident 4x1, Daryl's "It's a damn romance novel" comment. Sure, can be played off like teasing, a little bit of jealousy. But the point is, he notices Beth's relationship with Zach. And for some reason cares enough to comment on it.

30 Days Without An Accident 4x1, the hug. Not just that there was a hug, but that they didn't end the scene with the hug. They ended the scene with Beth's sleeve falling off her shoulder and show her putting it back on, and end with their eye contact after that. If this was meant to be brother/sister, or platonic, vibes then why emphasize an erogenous zone like that? That would be creepy. The writers intended it to be romantic.

I don't find Still 4x12 to be a romantic episode, necessarily. I think that one is just building on their intimacy as friends. I do appreciate their openness with each other on the porch and there are elements of that conversation that I view as romantic (namely, Daryl's expression and nervous fiddling with the knife). However, I can understand how people view their pairing as platonic if they only base that view on this episode.

Alone 4x13 is where they really start hammering in the romance. For starters, Daryl's reaction to Beth stepping in the bear trap. Yes, of course you can say he just didn't want her to get eaten by the walker, but compare how he gets down to the ground with her, rubs her foot, and gives her his body for support - even giving her a piggyback ride - to Carol's foot cramp in 10x18 Find Me. He first eliminates the threat, then he checks on her and shows genuine concern for her injury, and offers her physical support. Daryl loves Carol, she's his best friend, but in Find Me, he just teases her and tells her that she shouldn't have come along.

Alone 4x13 when Beth stops to look at the "Beloved Father" grave, Daryl compassionately picks some flowers and lays it on top of the grave for her, to commemorate Herschel. That is not inherently romantic. He also compassionately gave Carol a Cherokee Rose when she lost Sophia. I just think it is sweet. In the same scene, Beth and Daryl hold hands (admittedly, a little awkwardly, but that is primarily on Daryl) and Beth puts her head on his shoulder.

Alone 4x13 when they are looking at the bodies that are made to look very human (although they're walkers) and Beth argues back at Daryl's joke about dolls with why it's beautiful. She looks at him and asks "Don't you think that's beautiful" and all he does is pensively stare back at her. It's a romantic cliche and the pause with the intense eye contact seems to imply that his thoughts are that she is beautiful. At the very least, he sees something in the way she thinks about the world that is beautiful.

Alone 4x13 Daryl breaks his silence thinking about telling Beth that she's beautiful with the shiptease after action patch-up tv trope with "C'mon, let's get you patched up." She sits on the table and he wraps her foot up from the bear trap.

Alone 4x13 how he watches her sing in the doorway, and then how he pushes her buttons about the music "Well there ain't no jukebox, so... keep singing"

Alone 4x13 the bridal carry romance trope into the kitchen for the cute little redneck dinner Daryl set up for Beth. Plus his excitement to show it to her, hence the "I'm going as fast as I can" before he picks up her heard outside the doorway.

Alone 4x13 dinner conversation about what changed Daryl's mind about there still being good people. Beth changed his mind. If it wasn't romantic, why couldn't he just say "you're gave me hope / you showed me there are still good people." But the teasing, the repeated asking, the smile and eye contact, the nervousness from Daryl and then the self-realizing "oh" that is more like a romantic confession than anything else. Plus the fact that the confession is interrupted, another TV trope in romance. Plus the fact that in Alone, Daryl & Beth are foils to Sasha & Bob - who we know for a fact were canon. Difference is Sasha & Bob are reunited by the end of Alone, while Beth & Daryl are separated.

Alone 4x13 he chased after her for hours, from night to day.

Alone 4x13 he was ready to kill Len for disrespecting her "Some bitch must have got you all worked up" "You lost yourself a piece of tail" "I bet it was a little one too, they don't last long out here." If Joe didn't stop the knife, I bet Daryl would have ended Len a whole lot sooner.

In 5x8 Coda, when she starts rushing back to Dawn, to say goodbye to Noah, Daryl tries to stop her.

Coda 5x8 he cries over her body

Coda 5x8 he bridal carries her body out of the hospital, sobbing

Them 5x10 he shuts down with the group. Carol knows there is more to his sadness and she is trying to understand it. She assumes Beth saved him (she did, in a way). Rick knows that Daryl lost something deeper than a friend, hence "I know you lost something back there"

I am going to stop there because that is just the freshest for me.

People don't like this ship because of the age gap, or simply because they ship Daryl with someone else. Here's the thing, I don't believe Daryl was written to be the same age as Norman in season 1. He looks between 26 - 32 in the first season; and he can pass for that until the latter half of season 4, where he starts to really look more Norman's age. I don't think he is meant to be more than 36 in season 4. And honestly, I don't have a problem with the age gap when Beth is a legal adult and it is the flipping apocalypse. With all that said, I think if they were really intending this to be a brother / sister pairing, then it is creepy and there was too much tension and chemistry to make it platonic / familial.

[frangipanilove]

Pharmakon; Fighting Fire With Fire

...or should I say "fighting wildfire with fire"...

(Part one, read part two here, and part three here)

...in that the virus responsible for the zombie apocalypse is called "wildfire"...

In TOWL 1x3 Bye, we hear the term "pharmakon" used in TWDU for the first time. As Major General Beale explains, "it's an ancient Greek word, meaning both poison and the cure".

In the next episode 1x4 What We, we see Rick and Michonne escape in that yellow hybrid truck, loaded up with cans of ethanol in the back, making it an electric/bio-ethanol hybrid:

We know from season 4 of FTWD that "ethanol" symbolizes "the antidote", or simply a "cure"...

I went into great detail on that here.

What is the connection between the ethanol and Major General Beale's pharmakon?

TOWL 1x4 What We had so many callbacks to TWD 4x12 Still and 4x13 Alone, we all were stunned. Quick question, where would the ethanol (which, according to Morgan Jones, is just a fancy word for alchohol) in the back of Richonne's truck have been produced?

In a still. It would have been produced in a still. Ethanol is produced through a process of fermentation and destillation.

In a still.

Hence all the references to TWD 4x12 Still and the moonshine shack, a shack where ethanol was produced and consumed.

In the series pilot, 1x1 Days Gone Bye, we are introduced to the physical laws of the TWDU.

We follow Rick, who wakes up from a three week coma in the hospital. The world has ended, and he doesn't know anything about what happend, how it happened, or why. He doesn't know what a walker is, and he doesn't know how to neutralize one. Neither do we, the audience. Morgan becomes the charachter who introduces us to the rules:

He checks Ricks temperature and finds it to be "cool enough", meaning he's willing to believe Rick on that he's not been bitten, he's simply been shot.

Pleased by this, he then goes on to explain to Rick, and us, the audience, how the virus works:

"The fever burns you out. But after a while, you come back"

He later elaborates on how relentless the fever was to his wife:

"Her skin gave off a heat like a furnace".... meaning the fever burns like fire...

It's the fever that kills. It burns you up. Then you come back.

(also, read about Sirius symbolism here)

In 5x1 No Sanctuary, we hear Eugene explain the scientific basis behind his alledged cure for the virus. Of course, Eugene wasn't a scientist, and he was never going to find a cure for the virus. However, he was knowledgeable, well read, and able to put together a plausible lie:

Fighting fire with fire. A poison and a cure. Pharmakon.

In TD, we were many who at one point believed in the bite/cure theory, that Beth got bit right before she was taken by the Grady car in 4x13 Alone, and that the treatment she was subjected to involved experimental medical testing, somehow resulting in her surviving the bite without developing an infection/fever. The jury is still out on that one, but in FTWD season 7 we did see a representation of the bite/cure theory that was suspiciously close to our old theories:

Alicia at one point got bit, and proceeded to amputate her arm. As we know, this has so far been the only way a person can survive the bite; by cutting off the affected limb immediately, before the infection has the chance to spread. This is how Hershel survived getting bit in season 3, this is how Lydia survived after her walker bite in season 11.

Alicia, by her own account, wasn't quick enough. The infection spread, and she developed the fever. Of course that's not something anyone can verify, theoretically she could have cut off her arm quick enough, and the following infection could have been a reaction to the amputation itself rather than the virus. However, the assumption given by TPTB is that she wasn't quick enough, and that's also her own belief.

According to Morgan's rules from 1x1, that should have been the end for her. There's no surviving that. She developed the fever...

...and fought it for months...

...way longer than anyone else we've seen in TWDU so far. In 1x6 TS-19, Dr. Jenner explained that the longest time between bite and reanimation at that point was 8 hours. Alicia went months without reanimating...

In 7x15 Amina, we watch her struggle with the fever. She's closer to dying than ever before. She has dreams of herself as a walker, she has hallucinations, she thinks she's talking to a little girl, who in reality is a representation of herself. Alicia is preparing to die in this episode, but the girl, who is Alicia herself, explains that she was once bit, and she survived just fine.

The girl brings up an excellent point:

This is a fair question. This is the role fever normally plays in infections. Fever raises the body's temperature in an attempt to burn the infection out. Fighting fire with fire. But as we know from Morgan's commentary in TWD 1x1, this fever is different:

"Bites kill you. The fever burns you out. Then after a while, you come back".

And Alicia is well aware:

...but the girl, who is a hallucination of herself as a young girl, insists that's she's going to survive.

Throughout the episode we watch Alicia's struggle to avoid giving up. The episode is packed with symbolism we already know and love, such as bird symbolism and stairwells as representations of metaphorical passages between the realms. At one point she's in a stairwell, trying to reach the top of Strand's Tower. She says she's not going to make it, then the girl replies over radio that she will. She then sees a bird, which guides her through the burning tower.

By following the bird, we see Alicia reach the top of the tower. We later see her wake up, her fewer gone, the bird by her side.

She's the first person in TWDU to get bit, develop fever... and then subsequently recover from the fever.

She's the first person to survive a bite and the following infection! That is, if she really was too late with amputating her arm, as she believes herself. If she really was infected, she represents something completely new in TWDU, a complete shift, a paradigm shift, away from the old rules that Morgan laid out in 1x1. The end of the beginning, and the beinning of the end?

A cure?

Last but not least, Alicia's confirms that the bite/cure theory that TD were discussing after Slabtown, could be real. Hypothetically, it could still be what happened to Beth in season 4-5.

What set Alicia's case apart from others we've seen bitten in TWDU, that potentially allowed her to survive the bite, infection and fever, was that she had been exposed to high doses of radiation around the time of her getting the bite. This is where the potential "cure" part of the bite/cure theory comes into play. And this is where "radiation" ties into the pharmakon/"fighting fire with fire" framework.

And this is also where things get interesting for TD, because Beth would have had access to radiation therapy at Grady, in fact, there was a whole storyline about an oncologist, Dr. Trevitt, who Dawn desperately wanted to have saved. Oncologists deal with radiation therapy. And to make matters even more interesting, he had previously worked at St. Ignatius Hospital, and as I explained here, the name "Ignatius" is derived from the latin word for "ignite", which refers to "ignite/spark a fire"...

...fighting fire with fire...

Radiation goes under the "fire" symbolism, because electromagnetic radiation, in the form of everything from UV rays from the sun, to X-rays as well as other types of radiation used in radiation therapy, has the potential to burn your skin. When you get a sun burn, that's the UV rays from the sun burning your skin.

In fact, we saw this theme revisited in the last season of FTWD:

(Thanks @wdway for these screenshots)

We learn that June, inspired by watching Alicia survive for as long as she did after her bite, started experimenting with treating walker bites with radiation therapy. She didn't have massive success, and the patients experienced burns from their treatment and eventually died, but we did see her treat Dwight and Sherry's son Finch after he was bitten. And while he ultimately didn't survive, they were able to extend his life with one week, likely due to the radiation therapy. So while a full cure might be a way ahead, Finch's response to the radiation therapy could be concidered legitimate medical progress.

And as a fun fact, I will mention that after we saw Rick survive his little death fake-out back in 7x12 Say Yes, when he survived by hiding in the yellow carnival ride car which I discussed here, we did see this:

No, I'm not talking about the infamously bad CGI deer, I'm talking about the ER sign behind it. ER for Electromagnetic Radiation? As in radiation therapy? In a death fake-out scene?

If it turns out that radiation therapy in some way, shape or form could help treat walker bites, or potentially create some kind of cure/vaccine/immunity, that would be fighting fire with fire, or should I say fighting wildfire with fire. It's a poison and a cure. It's pharmakon.

Ok, so back to the ethanol. How does it tie in with the radiation, how could it represent a cure, and what does it have to do with Beth and TD?

Well, one clue came in TWD 10x16 A Certain Doom. The Whisperers war was at its height, and Whisperers had surrounded Team Family, who were sheltering in a place called the Tower (interestingly the same location as the one used for Grady Memorial back in season 5) with thousands of walkers.

In order to escape and survive, Team Family mounted loudspeakers on to a wagon, and blasted music to draw the walkers away. The song they went for was an interesting choice; Talking Heads with Burning Down The House:

...whose lyrics include this line: "fighting fire with fire"...

Keep in mind, the walkers in TWDU are what they are because of a virus specifically called "wildfire", they're a threath to humanity because of the wildfire virus...

If that's not a representation of "fighting fire with fire", I don't know what is...

And how do we tie ethanol to the symbolism around "fighting fire with fire" and "burning down the house"?

Because of TWD 4x12 Still, in which houses were definitely, decidedly burned down...

Burning down the house. Fighting fire with fire... And how did they set the house on fire again?

Ethanol. They used ethanol. Moonshine.

Which is why it's so darned interesting that TOWL 1x4, with all the references to TWD 4x12 Still, ended with Richonne escaping in a yellow electric/bio-ethanol hybrid truck, supplied with cans of ethanol in the back. Ethanol, which would have had to have been produced in a still, and is famous for burning really well, even well enough to burn down houses.

And let's again appreciate Daryl's immediate response after learning the truth about the wildfire virus back in TWD 1x6 TS-19:

It's like he knew... He couldn't have known that ethanol/alcohol would be involved in a cure all the way back then, but I have a sneaking suspicion TPTB knew a thing or two about it...

I recently wrote about the resurrection symbolism from the sorghum barn from TWD 6x10 The Next World. In that episode, we saw Eugene endorse sorghum as though it was a miracle grain, and maybe it is, because sorghum can be used to manufactor ethanol.

In TOWL 1x1 Days, we saw a similar type of entusiasm over a different grain, millet, when we learned that Okafor was growing millet in his study/appartment, and was constantly on the look-out for the perfect strain of millet. Millet can also be used to produce ethanol.

In TWD season 9, we saw Daryl oversee an ethanol production plant at the Sanctuary. They made it from corn, which they grew on the premises. As the Sanctuary was a factory rather than fertile agricultural land, the crops weren't exactly thriving, and the ethanol production was at the center of many of the conflicts in 9A.

Nevertheless, we saw Daryl convert bikes and cars to run on bio-ethanol. His current bike, which we saw Carol drive in the sneak peak for DDTBOC (which apparantly needs work on its transmission), runs on bio-ethanol. We saw Maggie, chief of food production at Hilltop, trade produce for bio-ethanol.

It was used as fuel, and now we've come full circle with that, in that we saw the yellow electric/bio-ethanol hybrid truck in TOWL 1x4 What We.

This is already a massive post, so I'm saving the rest for part two.

[televisionpromos]

Walker 4x13 "See You Sometime" Promo (Series Finale) - Walker tries to make up for lost time and wants to be what Geri deserves. Cassie and Trey have their final interviews for the lieutenant position. Captain James advises Cassie and Trey. Stella discusses with Liam what she may want for her future. Bonham and Abby admit to each other what they really want for the next phase of their lives. August's graduation brings everyone together to celebrate. The episode was written by Anna Fricke and Blythe Ann Johnson and directed by Steve Robin. Original airdate 6/26/2024. Every episode of WALKER will be available to stream on The CW App and CWTV.com the day after broadcast for free and without a subscription, log-in or authentication required.

[walker-extended-universe]

Walker Season 4 Deleted Scenes

4x01: The Quiet

Stella enters her dorm room and turns the light on. She locks the door before turning around. Her steps slow as she sees the window. The glass is blank and shows a clear night outside, with the blinds up and the curtains pulled aside. Stella drops her purse on the floor, quickly walks up to the window, and closes the blinds and the curtains. She then walks over to the bed and pulls her boots off, leaving them on the floor as she gets into bed still fully dressed. She reaches for a round fluffy pillow and holds it to her chest as she lays there silently. Ambient sounds from the dorm hallways can be heard throughout the scene.

4x04: Insane B.S. and Bloodshed

We pan up from an abandoned drink on the bar of the Side Step to see Sadie staring in through a clean spot on a cloudy window. We hear a robotic voice telling her to leave a message at the beep. She then leaves this message:

Hey, Ger. Um, I thought I'd catch you closing up the Side Step.... But, uh, I just wanted to say bye. Some tour stuff came up. Big opportunity! Um, I wish I coulda stayed longer, but I'll try and call from the road. Um.... Keep an eye on Stella for me, okay? Thanks. Alright, bye Ger.

As she talks, we hear some real regret in her voice and it's clear she's not telling the truth.

While she was on the phone, a car pulled up, illuminating her with headlights. Someone honked the horn, prompting her to quickly end her message. She rolls her eyes and grabs the backpack she left on one of the outdoor tables and heads for the car that's parked off screen.

4x10: End This Way

A light gray truck slowly drives down a road in a sunny area. As the truck pulls to a stop in some shade, we see Cassie is driving with David Luna in the passenger seat. After stopping the truck, Cassie pulls up her phone and starts poking at the screen. She says that the gazebo they're looking for is supposed to be on the north side of the lake, but she can see one much closer. As she confusedly looks for more information, she complains about the low quality of the map on the website she's looking at. David suggests they just go check it out and starts getting out of the truck. As he rounds the back, Cassie follows him out.

4x13: See You Sometime

Scene 1:

We see Stella and Liam walking alongside a fenced in field. Liam is looking over the horses and Stella is talking about her confusion over college and everyone expecting her to know what she wants to do with her life, echoing her earlier plotline about being unsure what she wanted with her life.

But, now that everything is done with the hunt for the necklace, she's remembered that, in her heart, all she wants to do is help people. She's not entirely sure what that looks like yet but lists psychology, sociology, and criminal justice as options she's looking at. Liam teases her and calls her a "regular Cordi Jr.", making them both laugh.

Stella then shifts the conversation to the rescue and suggests getting help for the rescue. She starts to explain that she's been collecting resumes but she needs help when Liam interrupts her and says they might not need more help, as he's recently received an offer to buy the horse rescue and he thinks they should take it. They've got it off it's feet now and it helped them both a lot, but it's clear that they're both at a point where they have different priorities. It's time to let it go. Stella asks if Liam is serious and Liam confirms that he is, but that he won't go through with it unless she's okay with it.

"So, what do you say? Should we move on to greener pastures?" he asks, holding a hand out to shake. Stella smiles and shakes, agreeing that it's something to consider.

Scene 2:

Sadie closes the trunk of her van and turns around. The camera pans over to show the farmhouse as August exits the front door. August apologizes and says he just got her text and starts to explain that his graduation party is actually at the main house, but stops talking as he sees what Sadie has.

The camera jumps to show her standing next to a pile of music stuff- August's old things he sold earlier in the season. She presents it all proudly.

August, in disbelief, asks if she really got all his old stuff back and Sadie says she did. She says he shouldn't give up on music. August, still shocked, agrees, saying he was thinking the same thing. He has a lot of decisions to make about school and he was actually thinking of waiting a year to make some money, work on photography and now his music.

Sadie then says she might need a roadie. August, in a different stage of disbelief, asks if she's serious. She nods, saying it's best to make music with people you trust, and that after everything that's happened this year, she trusts him. She says his family.

August thanks her and they hug. He then awkwardly brings up that they're not technically family in that sense and she tells him not to ruin the moment. Besides, they both have places to be. They both laugh and start carrying August's things back inside, where they belong.

Scene 3:

At Ranger HQ. Cordell, in his civilian clothes, enters the bullpen and interrupts Trey at his desk. They fistbump in greeting and refer to each other as "partner".

Trey asks if Cordell is ready to hit the ground running and Cordell explains that while he is excited for everything that's coming next, he's just put in for a leave of absence.

Trey, surprised, asks if everything is okay. Cordell says that it is, or that, at least, he's trying to make it that way. Trey nods in understanding and says he's not going anywhere.

Cordell then notices a sticky note Trey is holding and asks what it's about. Trey hesitates and explains that an old army buddy of his named "Jenny" has been repeatedly calling him and he needs to figure out what it's about. This old buddy of his is the kind of person that will just show up and "it might be a good time, but it's never good news". Cordell laughs and says he knows the type.

Trey then moves the conversation along, saying it's not Cordell's problem and that he should go have a good time with his family, wherever they're going. They laugh and hug as Cordell leaves and he says he'll "see you soon, partner". As Cordell leaves, Trey sits down with a smile on his face.

[positivexcellence]

Walker 4x13 Promo "See You Sometime" 

[nocontextchuck]

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Beth’s Memory Loss Arc, Part 2

So, about that line during their fight in Still. She’s referencing Sophia coming out of the barn and says, “I remember.”

I started wondering if it, too, could represent the memory loss. Like literally. In a template. So, I reverse engineered and what I found just makes total sense. Again, nothing we haven’t said before, but I think they laid out Beth and Daryl’s entire arc in the Still fight. That’s probably why (one of the reasons) it ended up being so powerful.

So, it starts when they enter the moonshine shack and goes all the way up until the hug. (I actually think we could extend it to the porch scene, but I’ll touch on that at the end.)

First, let me remind you of something I said very briefly a long time ago, about how Sasha and Bob in Alone are also Bethyl proxies. In that case of course, Bob = Beth and Sasha = Daryl. It’s just significant that Sasha is searching for her brother and Daryl will be searching for his brother, Rick.

Bob’s dialogue especially keeps running through my head. At one point, he tells Sasha she doesn’t have to be afraid, and she says forcefully, “I am not afraid.” That’s pretty much exactly what Beth and Daryl say to each other in Still.

Beth: “You don’t get to treat me like crap just because you’re afraid.”

Daryl: “I ain’t afraid of nothing.”

Later, Bob asks Sasha, “Why do you think Tyreese is dead?” He knows her well enough and can discern her mental state to surmise that the reason she keeps trying to stop, and doesn’t actually want to get to Terminus, is that she’s terrified she’ll get there only to find that Tyreese didn’t survive. She’s afraid to hope.

Now think about how that will translate with Daryl. Despite being determined to go find Rick, he may start dragging his heels at some point because he’s terrified that he’ll get there and find out it was all a hallucination, and that Rick isn’t really alive. Especially in the wake of Leah. I think Beth will talk him through that, just as Bob did with Sasha. That’s also when we see Sasha and Bob kiss, which probably means that this part of the story is where we’ll finally see ACTUAL on-screen romance between Beth and Daryl.

So, that’s just important to keep in mind as I go into this Still template. It will make more sense if you have that on the brain.

So, I’m gonna go through most of the fight here, and I’ll need to restate it even though I know we all pretty much have it memorized. Bear with me. What I’m going to show here is that the chronological order of the dialogue here corresponds with events in their arc. But it extends beyond where we are now to when they reunite, get together romantically, and perhaps beyond.

First there’s the “what are you, my chaperone?” line. I think this represents how Daryl felt about Beth in early seasons. I don’t think that he ever felt personally responsible for her, beyond her just being a member of the group, and of course a member of the family, but he always saw her as someone who needed to be protected and couldn’t survive on her own. So, his relationship to her was somewhat chaperone-like.

Then they start the game. I actually love when Daryl says, “I ain’t never needed a game to get lit before” and Beth says, “Wait, are we starting?” I feel like that’s the writers telling us this is the beginning of their arc, their relationship, their story together, etc.

Then they start the game. Beth begins with, “I never shot a crossbow.” Putting Still aside (I know; why would we, like, EVER do that? ;D) the next thing that happens in their story in 4x13, is he teaches her to shoot a crossbow.

Next, Daryl says he’s never been out of Georgia, which we all know happens right after Grady. So we’re going along in the chronology.

Beth says she’s never been drunk and done something she regretted. I think this probably represents them burning down the moonshine shack. And it’s interesting, because they don’t exactly regret it. But I still wonder if them burning down the shack somehow drew attention to them, and at some point we’ll learn that doing that is exactly what got Beth kidnapped to begin with. They drew a lot of attention to the smoke in 4b, even having Carol and girls comment on it several times.

Then he says the thing about never having been on vacation. I had to think a while about what this represented. I’m not claiming to have it totally pinned down, but I think this may just represent his time with Beth. For the first time, he feels emotionally safe and happy. To him, that probably felt like a relief. Like a vacation. Especially since vacations only last a short time before it’s back to real life, and he didn’t have very long with Beth before the shit hit.

Then Beth says she’s never been in jail, as a prisoner. Now, this may seem out of order, as Grady happens before Daryl leaves Georgia. But, 1) these could represent their two separate arcs and so they don’t need to line up that way. I think it’s more likely that 2) this represents Beth’s entire time in the CRM, not just Grady. And that will extend to long after Daryl leaves Georgia.

Of course, the prison question sets Daryl off and he gets up to “take a piss.”

So, I find this particular element of this template really interesting. Even though their separation has lasted for 5+ seasons, the part of this scene representing their separation only lasts about 30 seconds, and that’s a bit counterintuitive.

Think of it this way: Daryl gets up and walks away. We generally see representations more of Beth disappearing, but in this case, he walks away, leaving her behind. Leaving her back where he previously was.

Then we get his whole slew of I-Nevers. Never eaten frozen yogurt, had a pet pony, got nothin’ from Santa Claus, relied anyone for protection, or anything.

Some of these we think we’ve already seen, such as through Buttons. And maybe we have. But we can’t be sure. Maybe buttons, and all the ice cream references were just foreshadows of something to come. Or maybe not. No way to be sure, yet. (And remember that we have a huge ice cream theme this season at the Commonwealth. I’m just mentioning. ;D)

No matter what they point to, I think these represent things that either have or will happen before Beth returns.

Now, this is about to get really subtle and granular. I think the “Santa Claus” reference represents the moment when we, the audience, and maybe Carol, see Beth and know she’s alive, but Daryl doesn’t yet. The reason I think that is because at that point, when he’s saying all this, he’s still across the room from her. They haven’t come back together, yet. Therefore, all these things happen between the time he leaves her behind, and when they reunite. And Santa Claus = resurrection.

Most of us have thought for a long time that the line about not relying on anyone for protection points to Beth saving Daryl at some point. And notice that that comes after the Santa Claus line, but before the reunion. And I’m not saying she’ll necessarily save him before she reunites with him. That wouldn’t make tons of sense, unless it’s saving him from afar or something. But maybe it’s a matter of him not realizing it’s her in some way.

Oh, and then there’s a line I’ve never homed in on before. When Daryl is kicking stuff around and Beth is telling him to be quiet, he says, “Sounds like our friend out there is trying to call all his buddies.”

He just means the walker is being loud, which is in response to his yelling, but that just screams Carol is going to call Daryl (her buddy) to tell him about Beth.

So, then he eventually grabs her arm and drags her outside, right? Yes, I think that represents them coming back together. And I hear you: that’s a little weird since he’s being pretty borderline abusive right here. You’d think we’d have some indication of some tenderness or joy on his part. And I’m not saying there won’t be that wonderful, joyous reunion we’re all waiting for.

But here’s the thing. We’re all on the same page about Daryl maybe not believing it’s her because, especially because of Leah, he doesn’t trust his own sanity. He doesn’t trust his own eyes. I actually think that’s what most of the rest of this fight will translate to. Even when he does see her, I don’t think he’ll believe it’s her. 

That’s why they did the Leah the way they did. To show that she felt very real to him, and he really can’t tell the difference. I think we’ll have a whole thing (probably more than just one scene, as this is; it may be an arc that’s several episodes or seasons long) where she has to convince him that she’s real. But more than that, she has to show him how to get his faith and sanity back. She’ll heal his psychosis and this whole hallucination problem, so he CAN tell the difference moving forward.

And like I said in my analysis of the Daryl Origins episode, she’ll have to convince him to open up to her emotionally again, just as she did in Still. Something no one else has been able to get him to do.

Think about everything they say here. When she talks about the people they lost mattering, she could be talking about their shared history prior to Grady, OR about everything that’s happened in the last 8 years since they saw each other.

Then check out these next two lines and think about how they fit in.

“You look at me and you just see another dead girl…

“…but, I made it!”

See how those work so beautifully? He literally thinks she’s the ghost of a dead girl and she’s trying to convince him that she never died.

Then the lines that so perfectly mirror Sasha and Bob.

“You don’t get to treat me like crap just because you’re afraid.” “I ain’t afraid of nothing.”

And then the remember line that started me thinking about this. “I remember.” Which may represent her getting her memory back. I think that will have already happened at this point, but maybe she tells him about how she had memory loss but now she remembers.

And the REALLY interesting thing is that here, she’s talking about Sophia. When this happens between her and Daryl in the future, they’ll be talking about her. About what happened at Grady. Because Beth = Sophia. The lost girl Daryl searched for. Which, incidentally, is probably why Kirkman said the thing about Daryl not caring about Beth any more than he did Sophia. Clearly, he’s trying to throw people off track, but I truly think that was code-speak for the symbolism, not a commentary and the romantic nature of Bethyl.

I still don’t know how the “you ain’t never gonna see Maggie again” line will translate in the future. No way to tell, yet. But we’ve always known it’s significant that he mentions Rick being dead. Where we are here, in the narrative, he believes Rick is dead, and then there were all those clues in the Daryl origins episode.

And then, of course, the hug. I think that probably represents the same thing it did here: her finally getting through to him, him finally opening up to her. Which means at that point, his faith in his own sanity will return and he’ll finally believe she’s real. It might also represent the romance angle.

So, that’s what I’ve been thinking about the past few days.

I did also say we could extend it until after the fight. I just have less to say about that. Them talking on the porch could foreshadow getting to know one another as a couple, or even just swapping stories from the past 8 years. Maybe every line in that convo will also translate to a future event, but I can’t be sure about that.

As for them burning down the shack, I just think of Dwight and Sherry in Fear and what the showrunner said of them. That they’ll be a badass power couple, now. So maybe this foreshadows Beth and Daryl burning down the CRM or something. Which I would 100% support. ;D

Thoughts?

[samssgirl]