On April 18th, 2024, the official Instagram account of The Walking Dead shared the post shown within my edit in the left pane of the first of the photos shown ☝🏼here☝🏼. Beth Greene (Emily Kinney) was on a relatively short list of deceased characters from the series with this query—if we (the viewers) could bring back any character, which one would it be??? There goes that often annoying TWD account… trolling yet again in regards to Beth. *SIGH* 🙄😑🤨🤔
But I was so heartened when I looked through the comments and saw the huge volume of fans of the series—and not just Beth/Emily stans or Beth x Daryl shippers—stating that it is indeed Beth Greene whom they would want to see come back… ALIVE. This coming November will mark TEN YEARS since Beth was tragically shot in that heartbreaking episode of “Coda.” And there are still SO MANY Walking Dead fans who would have been thrilled to see her return during the run of the series. THAT is a true testament to the impact of Beth as a character and how she has enduringly resonated with so many people… with her sensitivity, her empathy, her beauty inside and out, her strength, and her spirit. The faint Team Delusional fire within me sparks a fantasy of her showing up in the second season of Daryl Dixon. Hey… stranger things have happened, right? Just the fact that Daryl floated all the way across the Atlantic to France(!?!) in the first place certainly demands a substantial suspension of disbelief on the part of the viewers. 😐
Anyway, feeling inspired by the sight of the voluminous outpouring of love and devotion for Beth, I combed through the comment thread on the post and took screenshots of any comments of Beth positivity that I could find. I then took all of those comments and poured them into a total of 17(!!!) separate Instastories (shown here in the above photos) that I shared on my Instagram—doeroseq. I tagged Emily Kinney on each story. Because I wanted her to see just how much she and Beth are both beloved and still missed by TWD’s fandom… all these years later. 👱🏻♀️💚🐞
And I later saw the confirmation in my Instagram messaging that she saw at least one of them. So that made me feel really good. 🥰
When I saw @bethiscomingsoon’s recent tumblr posts about their similar observations of the Beth/Emily adoration within the post’s comments, I decided to share my Instastories here too. 😁
We Beth/Emily and Bethyl fans need to stick together. 💞
I continue to love my Bethyl shipping fandom and I care deeply for all of the people in it. 😍
Interesting bit about Emily Kinney you probably noticed -- but she mentioned on instagram how she thought Supporting Character would be her last album, before she released music this year. I thought that was very interesting! I never imagined her considering leaving music at this point in her life since she loves it so much. Makes me wonder what she will do next ;)
Wow! I actually did not notice that she'd said that. Very interesting! It definitely suggests that she's planning to be doing something else beside music.
The quote I always go back to is when she said (and I'm paraphrasing here) that she loved music, but acting is her true passion. It's just a little bit odd, because she hasn't done much acting since leaving TWD many years ago, now. Sure, a few small or supporting roles here and there, but nothing major. She's focused *almost* exclusively on her music.
If she's now talking about leaving music, or at least not doing another album for a long time, the only thing that makes sense is that she's planning to be acting instead. I wonder what she could possibly have lined up. 😏😈
Album: Oh Jonathan Artist: Emily Kinney Genre: #Pop 💭Thoughts : Emily sounds like heartbreak on a spring day, while everyone is sitting around on the grass drinking rosé and nibbling on rye bread. It’s an album that celebrates love and love lost, and everything in between. Yet, it never fails to put a smile on your face and spring in your step. We’ve all been there and for a change it’s warm and sunny, and not half as bad when you think about it. 🍸Goes Best With : Pour me a Rosé with a cheesy side of Garlic Bread and Grapes. Favourite Tracks: 🔥Same Mistakes, 🔥Jonathan, 🔥Soda Glass, 🔥Loser,🔥 Mermaid Song, 🔥Boy Band Hero. Featured Track: ✨Jonathan. #EmileyKinney #OhJonathan #Music #MusicReview #KANSASreviews #Musik_Co_ #TasteYourMusic #PsyNok #Psyn0k #FavouriteTracks #Rosé #Grapes #GarlicBread Ps Sorry the tracks are not available on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cojy7kJvPxX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
emmykinney: I'm so happy to say that I am fully vaccinated! It's been such a tough year and I'm so happy to get back to enjoying spending time with my friends and family. Unfortunately, Covid-19 and its variants are still causing so much illness in the community and world, and that's why I teamed up with the State of California to encourage you all to Get Vaccinated!!
When you #GetVaccinated, you’re less likely to:
Get sick from COVID-19 and its variants
Experience severe symptoms or hospitalization if you are infected
Spread illness to loved ones and community members
The bottom line? #VaccinesSaveLives If you haven’t already, take the next step to protecting yourself and those around you by making an appointment or visiting a walk-in clinic near you.
The featured artist for the month of August is a relative newcomer to the fandom, @paperdollgirl !
Paperdollgirl can be found on both AO3 and Tumblr.
When asked what drew her to the Bethyl fandom, she shared the following journey:
My first big ship/fandom was probably Wolverine/Rogue from the X-Man movie. I was obsessed with them and it got me into the whole older man/younger woman thing. We had the Wolverine and Rogue Dolphin Haven Yahoo Group and it was marvelous. Still have most of the stories that were posted there saved to a cd. After that I used to be very active during the good old LJ times. I was a big fan of Dr Who (9 & 10). Like everyone I cried when Rose and the Doctor were separated and also cried when they were reunited. I’m a big old sap. Some of my favorite shows during that time were Pushing Daisies, Heroes, Friday Night Lights, Veronica Mars, Psych, Dr. Who and Firefly. I even run a little Fanfiction archive for the Simon/River pairing from Firefly called CSI (Crazy Space Incest). After LJ died down I left all fandoms for a couple of years, made hardly any collages at all. There was a short revival for me during The Borgias (Cesare/Lucrezia) and the first season of GOT (Sansan). But there were years between were I didn’t touch PS at all.
Then I stumbled upon AO3, the first story I bookmarked was Sinners, Saint and Thieves for THE Folgers Commercial. Yes, I like my incest kink if my early bookmarks are any indication. That was in 2019. Then Jumanji (Alex/Bethany) and Black Panther (Shuri/Ross) happened and I kinda got into the whole older man/younger woman thing again and found my first Bethyl story. That was in August 2020. I binged a whole bunch of stories which resulted in my first Bethyl fanart, Like A Damn Romance Novel, which is still one of my favorites. So, thank you all for getting me hooked. And no, I had never seen a single episode of TWD before. After reading the first stories I googled the characters and well color me intrigued. Emily looks like a little angel and Norman is just ruggedly handsome. Almost 1 year and 31 collages later, I’m still as much in love with them as on the first day. Of course I have since watched all the Beth/Daryl scenes and boy did they deliver. And like most of my fellow Bethylers I just don’t believe their story is over. Beth‘s death made no sense whatsoever. And if these two can only get a happy ending through fanfiction and fanart so be it. The Bethyl fandom is just amazing. Everyone I met here has been nothing but kind, supportive and friendly. So thank you all for this wonderful little place of Bethyl fandom haven and letting me play in it.
For her personal list of favorite artists in the fandom, she recommends:
@gala-art
@boltthrutheheart
@littlelynxe
@attheshrineofyourlies
“Last Man Standing” by bam_bruto on instagram (killed me. It just hit right in the feels.)
Paperdollgirl’s art feature is rather fitting since she entered into the Bethyl world a year ago in August, gracing the fandom with the unique and beautiful aesthetic she applies to her fanart. She shared these four pieces as her personal favorites:
“Like A Damn Romance Novel”
Artist’s Comment: This was the first one I created for Bethyl after binging a whole bunch of fanfiction stories. I fell in love with them from the very first sentence although I had no idea who these characters were. Naturegodess210 commented on it with: ‘That's how you know what's the superior ship. You don't have to see the show to feel the chemistry.’ And damn isn‘t that the truth.
“Watch Over You”
Artist’s Comment: I really liked how this turned out, the soft, ethereal feel, working on a white canvas is my favorite. I often get inspired by songs and the lycris just screamed Bethyl to me, so this piece came to life. I still use this piece as a desktop background on one of my computers.
“For Keep Your Hands Off The Waitress by Wallflow3r”
Artist’s Comment: I just love when a story inspires me to create a new piece. This was so much fun to make and almost put itself together without me doing much at all. It was a great opportunity to add some other characters as well. *cough*Merle*cough* The story it is based on is Keep Your Hands Off The Waitress by wallflow3r
“Be Good”
Artist’s Comment: This one is also based on a song, Be Good by Emily Kinney. I mean come on, how could I not use it. For me the collage is about Daryl honoring Beth’s memory in trying to be good for her. Trying to be the man she saw in him.
We look forward to seeing what beautiful creations Paperdollgirl has to share with the Bethyl fandom in the future! Be sure to check out her other pieces, which are all equally beautiful and unique!
Wishing you a day full of love, fun, flowers, music, swimming, gifts, tasty food + drink—including COFFEE ☕️(of course!!! 😛😋), and meaningful and affectionate connections with cherished friends and family. 🥰😍😘
Hey, I’m coming to you with some social media weirdness. So first, it’s obviously the count down to the final episodes, I think we have about 5 days left right now. And so the Instagram accounts (and I’m sure other media) for TWD are going off counting down. One thing I noticed, was that the AMCwalkingdead insta account, has been periodically posting gone but never forgotten posts for characters that have died. So far they have done Meryl, Tyreese, Amy (which was a little surprising), Lori, and T-Dog. This is interesting to me because at the rate they’re posting they still have (assuming they’re doing all the important characters) Hershel, Glenn, Bob, Sasha, Tara, Abraham, Jesus, Carl, Siddiq, Enid, Andrea, Henry, and technically Beth. That’s a lot of characters to cover before the show starts again (which I’m assuming is their time frame). Obviously I’ve been watching this extra close because I want to see if they even post Beth, and when they do it. I could easily see them posting her’s right before an episode she’s teased in, if they continue posting these after the new set of episodes air. Alright I’m almost done, Angela Kang posted a post on insta in honor of the season five because there’s five days till the new episodes start. In that post she included a photo of only Beth which is interesting because she only had four photos included and she decided to dedicate a whole one to Beth. Emily Kinney then reposted it with a return star 💫 that she normally includes in any TWD post she does. Thoughts?
Hi there! Thanks for this! Though I’m just getting around to answering it, I read it when it came in, and this made me and my fellow theorists watch Angela’s countdown posts much more closely.
But first thing’s first.
I just checked, and the AMCthewalkingdead account, as of the time of writing this, has not posted any more “gone but not forgotten” characters. I’m not sure I think they will post Beth, though.
On the one hand, if they did, it would be to remind everyone of her. But those with posts already, who you mentioned above, are dead for real. So, I’m actually wondering if they specifically WON’T post Beth. It really would not bother me either way, but it will be interesting to see what they do with it.
Now, onto AK’s posts.
She did a countdown from day 11 (for S11) until the day ep 11x17 aired. I’m not going to go through all the posts, since Beth wouldn’t have been in any of the seasons except 2-5. If you want to see the pics AK posted for the rest of them, you can go look them up on her account. These are regular feed posts, not stories.
But honestly, I was pleasantly surprised at how much of Beth she actually did post. More than you would think if her character is as small and insignificant as haters and skeptics would have us believe.
Obviously she wasn’t in S1. And, a slight surprise in other direction, AK didn’t post her for S2. But I’m thinking that she was trying not to be too obvious. These were in reverse order (S5 on 9/27, S4 on 9/28, S3 on 9/29) and she’d already posted Beth for seasons 5, 4, and 3. Let’s take a little look-see, shall we?
Angela’s S5 pics:
And then, as you said, because she tagged Emily, Emily reposted the pic in her story with the return star. The return star is what really clinches it for me. Anyone can repost when someone mentions them on IG, but that return star is lighting my eyes up!
Angela’s S4 pics (the next day). Notice how Beth is featured again.
Angela’s S3 pics (the next day). I didn’t expect to see much of her here, and yet…
Okay, I'll admit it's not huge for S3. You can see her (mostly her legs) running behind Rick in the third pic, and then the last, group cast pic. But still. AK went out of her way to include Beth a lot.
So yeah. It may not be a smoking gun, but it kinda made my week.
Come back tomorrow and I’m gonna give you probably the closest thing we’ve ever had to proof that Beth is on the cusp of returning.
Yes, I’m actually going to be that evil as to give you a tease like that and then make you wait.