By: Heather Seebach
**Warning: The following contains spoilers about episode 4.12**
This review is going to be more stream-of-consciousness than my usual write-ups because 'Still' is so equally uneventful and infuriating that I'm not sure it deserves articulate paragraphs. Let's begin...
Beth is checking the car for supplies. Why the fuck is Daryl pointing that crossbow toward the tree tops? Do walkers fly now? Are we calling them flyers?
Okay, in the trunk they go. Fangirls are no doubt getting moist at the thought of being crammed in a small space with Daryl. Man, what are they gonna do?? Surely those zombies can smell them! They're not covered in zombie guts or anything, how will they ever...oh wait, it's daylight, they're all gone. I guess these were vampire zombies. Phew!
Now we're back to Daryl and Beth making camp. After shots of Daryl stalking a squirrel, then a snake, I full expect to see him pounce on that ladybug and drive a knife through it! Well, just like the last Daryl/Beth episode, she has suggested something stupid and when Daryl refuses to help, she sulks off to do it alone. NO I am not going to risk my life so you can get a fucking DRINK, you idiot! Didn't they read Bob the riot act for doing that very thing?!
Well, never mind, they're going to do it anyway. Here are some more people who turned after attempted suicide - been there, done that. But wait, this one corpses has "Rich Bitch" written in blood on it! This was probably the work of those some bandits Rick encountered! Like that painting! Once again, I am left wondering why somebody vandalized a painting and them wrapped it up....Anyway, maybe all these people were in fact murdered. Can we get to THAT storyline already?
So they get attacked by zombies again and Daryl goes apeshit on them, particularly one old timer whose face he splatters all over Beth with a golf club. Seems like Daryl is being an asshole to Beth now for absolutely no reason.....ooooh, he's subconsciously angry because everything he loves is gone while Beth is still clinging to a normal life. If only we hadn't seen this idea fucking CONSTANTLY on The Walking Dead!
They've found the bar and Beth is going to get her first drink. She's crying because the bloody glasses and lonely bottle of peach schnapps are sad reminders that everything is gone. And this whole metaphor is a sad reminder of how weak and transparent this show's writing can be. We've already seen the whole youthhood lost thing with Carl, can we please drop it? Do we really need an entire episode dedicated to this??
Now they're at an old house full of moonshine which reminds Daryl of his daddy issues. After some booze and a touchy game of Never Have I Ever, Daryl throws a tantrum and risks luring zombies to the house so he can shit on Beth. DADDY DIDN'T LOVE MEEEE! He's dragging Beth outside to show her how to use his crossbow (phrasing...) and totally manhandles her in a manner that is making me uncomfortable. Does anyone else find him rather villainous in that moment? Oh well, all is forgiven when he starts crying, awwwwwwwwww....(gag)
There are moments of half-way decent dialogue in Daryl's breakdown, and Norman Reedus is good (to balance out how bad Emily Kinney is). Honestly, the stronger moments of this episode - like Daryl breaking down outside the cabin - should have been combined with scenes of the other survivors, and should have replaced episode 4.10.
This episode also should have focused more on the social commentary to which it was nodding. The idea of rich survivors vs. poor survivors has not really been touched upon until now so I like that. However, most of the class warfare stuff got buried under all the crying and the boring. Hopefully the "bandits" will shed more light on some of that.
In the final sequence, Daryl and Beth are having a heart-to-heart about his past. Turns out Daryl wasn't "anybody" in his former life - just some "redneck asshole." SHOCKER! Now it's my favorite part....no, not the house burning and flipping-off, I fucking HATED that. Hey, let's burn this viable shelter (the first we've had in WEEKS) because it gives Daryl bad memories! Fuck saving matches for warmth, let's lure walkers to us like moths to a flame! The two of them flashing their middle fingers at the house was fucking stupid, and Beth's bird is really weird-looking. No, my favorite part of this episode was the use of one of my favorite bands, The Mountain Goats:
In the final sequence, Daryl and Beth are having a heart-to-heart about his past. Turns out Daryl wasn't "anybody" in his former life - just some "redneck asshole." SHOCKER! Now it's my favorite part....no, not the house burning and flipping-off, I fucking HATED that. Hey, let's burn this viable shelter (the first we've had in WEEKS) because it gives Daryl bad memories! Fuck saving matches for warmth, let's lure walkers to us like moths to a flame! The two of them flashing their middle fingers at the house was fucking stupid, and Beth's bird is really weird-looking. No, my favorite part of this episode was the use of one of my favorite bands, The Mountain Goats:
It's also my favorite part because the episode is over. I'm usually the person defending so-called "boring" episodes of The Walking Dead because I love character development over zombies but 'Still' is a whole lot of nothing peppered with crying and awkward sexual tension between a redneck and a teenager. This episode is truly the definition of "filler" and bad filler at that.
Finally, as always, here are some amusing anecdotes from Reddit:
