Just a question and not a troll or judgement lol but How old is Daryl supposed to be?

 

30-40 ish
Beth 18 or 19

 

I could write an essay on why I think Daryl and Beth are right for each other, All the points you bring up here are pretty much spot on.

The connection that Daryl and Beth made in "Still" was like no other connection he has ever made with anyone in this world before. They know more about each other than anyone else, their relationship at this point, even if it is still new and growing, is different to any other character on the show, it's much more intimate. Not to mention Beth is the only person Daryl has ever let get so physically close to him, shes hugged him twice now, and they are holding hands in the next episode preview. But Beth is also the only person Daryl has let get close to him emotionally, that's really the most important thing.

Beth is like this beacon of light and hope for Daryl "A candle in the darkness." or the "light at the end of the tunnel." - quotes from NR himself. Beth doesn't have that baggage of a horrible past, though she still has her own pain and losses. They compliment each other so well, One has traits the other lacks, they really make each other whole.

It's a bold statement but, any romance for Daryl Dixon begins and ends with Beth Greene.

 

Yeah it was a nice episode—almost too nice. The writers have a bad habit of getting fans attached to certain characters so you 'care' when they die. In the 413 preview Beth and Daryl hold hands at a grave and I'm kind of surprised that hasn't been mentioned or maybe I missed it. Anyway if Beth and Carol both like Daryl than at least one of them has to die in a future episode.

 

I agree with this. If Beth doesnt crack his shell and end up the romantic interest, no one on this show will. Its either her or no one. Shes the only person who could hug him and get away with it. Im trying hard to remember if any character has ever even TOUCHED Daryl in a friendly way. She got him to let go. No other character has seen him emotional. Ever. He didnt let Rick see whether he was upset about Carol getting evicted, he didnt let anyone see how much Merle's death affected him. He hasnt let ANYONE get in his head except Beth. She saw right through it. She knew he was pulling away because hes afraid.

If she dies next episode, thats it. No more romance for Daryl. That is my opinion. Im not saying I think the writers should/would give them a relationship, in fact I think it wouldnt work on this show. But this is pretty much now or never.

 

You mean... no other character has seen him drunk?

Maybe it's just the age difference, but this pairing squicks me out and I really hope it doesn't go down this road. I kinda roll my eyes at the hardcore Caryl shippers but that one makes the most sense to me. They definitely have affection for each other, and I think shared hardship can make a strong relationship.. I don't see it as Daryl needs "fixing," but he needs someone who understands him-- what abuse is like, how it changes you-- and Carol does. Beth is too young and innocent.. she's shown some insight but she doesn't have remotely as much life experience as Daryl.

 

This right here is why I think its not going to happen and wouldnt work on this show. Too many people are going to lose their shit if this happens. TMI here, but my own fiance is 12 years older than me and we started dating back when I was just 18. I know how people react to age gaps. Viewers at home arent going to like it and it wont play out well on TV. Its not a good idea.

That being said, if they dont do it with Beth, I dont think its going to happen with Carol either. Norman said himself he knows Daryl wouldnt initiate and he wants any relationship he has to be super awkward because Daryl is not going to know what to do on an emotional level. It would be too out of character for both of them and this show doesnt need to turn into a soap opera about relationships. Maggie and Glenn worked because they are 2 relatively undamaged people who started out just ****ing and acting as comic relief. If Carol and Daryl had anything, it would have to be some long drawn out thing with tons of issues OR it would be OOC.

Same with Beth though. Daryl cant have a relationship without some serious character/relationship development episodes focusing on how he deals with that. Still struct me as "part 1" of this type of scenario. and do most people really want to see that on TV? No. So when Beth dies, his relationship potential dies too. Hes going to go back into his shell and never come out.

 

I agree with both posts. I think Emily Kinney does a great job portraying Beth, but the fact is she is 10 years older than her character. I don't think the audience would go along with a Beth/Daryl pairing if the actress playing her was actually 18 years old.

 

No, just, no... This is AMC not HBO. Never gonna happen. Move on.

 

I don't get it either... why can't we just have a show about zombies where people don't have to "hook up". Do we have to make TWD into a soap opera? Can we just not??

 

I first thought a lot of people might be not okay with the age gap, but remembering this is fiction. Age really is just a number in fiction, Beth is legally an adult, It doesn't seem like an issue at all for me. I've been looking around the internet too at lots of discussions about "Still" I was pleasantly surprised when the vast majority of people really liked the idea of Beth and Daryl as a couple. And why wouldn't they? Beth and Daryl made such a great connection in the last episode and people see that.

There's some way more messed up inappropriate relationships on tv (Game of Thrones) I don't know why people would be so opposed to Beth and Daryl, especially if the show handles it right, which i'm sure they will.

 

That proves what I said perfectly. I dont think its going to happen because most of TWD's audience is male and men dont want to see people hooking up. Daryl is not Maggie and Glenn who could just screw and it would be funny/cute. He would need 4 episodes to go all soap opera to make it happen. Too much angst and baggage in his life. Which is then also why I think its either now or never. Notice that everyone on this thread discussing it as a possibility are female. Myself included. They just had a soap opera episode and look what happened. Tumblr exploded. Fundamental gender difference here If they are giving Daryl a romance, it will be right here with Beth, and it will be done to attract a more varied audience or something.

I just dont think its happening even though I kinda want it to. I agree with what everyone said about them being the perfect couple, about Beth being able to crack his shell, but I just cant see the writers doing it. I CAN totally see them purposefully making them perpetual shipper bait to attract the girls to this show. Wider audience = more money. Why else would they include them holding hands in the promo? Seriously. Its almost sad.

 

Reedus said recently in an interview he wants Daryl "to earn love". He said Daryl is not the type to throw you up against a tree, if he's going to find love he wants Daryl to earn that love. It seems that he and Beth seem to be headed on that path. She's already broken through his walls, and he will be more cognizant of how he treats her and feelings will have to play into that. Who knows. I just never saw the Carol thing and the way she has changed and become quite cold I don't see it happening at all especially since we now have Emo-Daryl.

 

30-40!?!?! yikes! I gotta disagree here... I would put merle at 35-40 but daryl 26-30 i would think.. max! I assumed at least a 10 year age difference between the two brothers.

 

Yeah I gotta disagree when people say Daryl would be in his late 30's to early 40's. When Daryl was first introduced, I felt like he looked to be in his late 20's. Though apparently Norman Reedus has recently confirmed that Daryl is 35 at this moment in the show.

 

I don't think this is exactly true, good romance will add a nice variety of content to any drama/action series. The issue is that a lot of shows create romances that feel very forced and fake. Lost is a great example of romance ruining the main plot, sometimes you would think it was Desperate Housewives Island with all the nonsense relationships that came out of nowhere.

Walking Dead has had two real relationships, Lori with Shane/Rick and Maggie/Glen. Both were played out quite horribly, Lori was changing her mind about what to think of Shane every episode for no apparent reason. Glenn/Maggie is the textbook version of what a forced relationship is, probably the fallout of bringing in random things from the comics. They decide to have sex as strangers and then off screen they somehow fall in love. This really wouldn't be too bad except that this completely killed character development for both of them. Most of their screen time is now spent staring at each other in bed or panicking about the other being in danger and doing idiotic things with disregard to everyone else, because you know, love.

A show like walking dead is bound to have a somewhat repetitive story. The group settles down, has some zombie trouble, fights another group, break up and then rinse and repeat with different places/groups. Romance subplots add variety to the story, in case of the survival genre of TWD it also has many unique angles to use compared to other TV shows. It is simply vital to build it around three things: make it believable, take up a minor amount of screen time and do not turn it into unnecessary soap opera (Rick/Lori). It is quite realistic and immersive that people would "hook up" in a ZA, humans always seek attachment during times of despair and when they have lost their family and friends they are not going to want to sit in prison cells alone all day as they did in season 3. The comics have a lot more romance than the TV show, but still have plenty of action and the plot if moving forward well.

Beth and Daryl certainly have potential for a relationship that is believable. Both are the younger brother/sister who spent most of their life living in the shadow of their siblings, but are also extremely different in their personality and role in ZA. They complement each other well, but I have no idea what to expect from the writers at this point. I would like to think that they would not dedicate a whole episode to these two if one of them dies soon or when the group settles down Daryl just stops getting any screen time with her as it was with Carol.