#i didn’t include any from s6 bc we’re still living through it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

twdmusicboxmystery · 7 years

Text

ABCD Theory

This is kinda small potatoes, only because it’s only about half way formed. I’ve talked about this briefly before, but thought about it more since re-watching 5x01, and the talked about it with some of my FB peeps.

We’ve seen lots of As on the show. They showed up at Terminus, at FG’s church, and at Alexandria. More recently we saw one on Daryl’s shirt when they held him prisoner at the Sanctuary.

We’ve seen other letters too. We saw A, B, C, D at Terminus. And we saw them even earlier in the cell blocks at the prison. Let’s look at specific instances:

We know TF lived in C block to begin with. It’s the block they first moved into in S3.

In S4, when the prison had become a thriving community, we’re told D has been occupied. We know because when they need some place to send those who are sick with the virus, the only block available is A, which was death row. (A clue to what the As represent. I’ll return to it.)

The thing is, B isn’t actually mentioned that I’m aware of. (Please correct me if I’m wrong.) We know TF is in C. Block D is where Karen and Patrick slept. Patrick turned in 4x02 and attacked cell block D. And then they moved those infected with the virus into block A. We’re made to assume block B was occupied, but I’ve never seen it actually heard or mentioned.

Then we have Terminus. This is what I noticed when doing my most recent re-watch. At the trough in 5x01, Gareth says they have four from car A (Rick, Daryl, Bob, Glenn) and four from car D (this includes Sam from 4a; we don’t know the others). A and D are both represented.

Later, when Glenn lets Crazy Tattoo Guy out of the car he’s in, I noticed this:

This guy was in car C. Once again, maybe I’m missing something, and if I am, let me know, but I watched the key parts of 5x01 several times, and I never see any B in background to indicate which car is car B.

In both cases, the Bs seem to be missing.

Since then, we’ve mostly seen As. Gareth and the Termites put one on the side of FG’s church, which is really an extension of Terminus. Gareth’s way of telling TF they’re still the cattle and will still be eaten.

Then we see Sam (Jessie’s) putting As all over at Alexandria. People have speculated that symbolically the As might have foreshadowed Alexandria all along. I thought that had some merit, but then we saw the on the back of Daryl’s prisoner costume, so I think it’s gone beyond Alexandria now.

The other reference I’m aware of comes from Morgan and Eastman:

In 6x04, Eastman says, “A and B. A–you broke the garden fence, laid waste to a perfectly good tomato plant. You got to fix it. B–Follow me.” He takes him onto the porch and says, “I fixed your spear.” Then he hands Morgan the staff we still see him using in S5-7. Eastman teaches him to fight with it and it becomes part of him.

I remember reading theories, even back before S6 about the As. They suggested perhaps we should think of it like the A and B side of a cassette tape. We saw side A of the story in Beth’s apparent death and TF’s point of view of the story ever since. Side B will be seeing that Beth really didn’t die, and seeing her point of view of the story since Coda.

I think there’s definitely something to this theory. Clear back in 4b, when the Grady cops first took Beth from Daryl at the funeral home, we saw everything from his point of view. We saw him lead the walkers into the basement and then come back out.

He only saw tail lights, so we only saw tail lights. I’ve always thought at some point they’d show us the episode from Beth’s point of view. I think we’ll see her go out the window, fight the walker she mentions to Gorman later, get hit by the squad car, and be put in the trunk.

My point is, they show us only one point of view at a time. There’s a precedent for it.

Now think of this. Think about the general concepts for Eastman’s A and B. A = something broken that needed to be fixed. B = giving Morgan a weapon and teaching him to use it. Morgan later uses the weapon to survive.

Do you see where I’m going with this? That could easily be applied to Beth and her arc.

In terms of TF, I think the As represent a time of trial which COULD lead to death. They must figure out how to survive it. In S4 with the virus, those in the A block were sick. It was a trial they had to survive. They very easily could have died, and some did. Those who didn’t came out stronger. They’re the survivors.

The same can be said of Terminus, FG’s church, and even Alexandria. There were dangerous times at Alexandria, such as when the wolves attacked (and the As were featured prominently in that episode).

I also think it’s about learning to work together, accept the Alexandrians as part of the group, and learn to survive together as a community. It really took them all of 5b and most of S6 to do so. For the A on Daryl’s shirt at the Sanctuary, he had to survive his imprisonment emotionally and psychologically as well as physically.

You could argue that in each case, something is broken and needs fixing, as Eastman said. In 4a, they were physically ill. Their bodies were broken and needed healing. At Terminus, the group was still fractured physically. They hadn’t all come back together yet. Psychologically they were also still dealing with the aftermath of losing the prison and Hershel’s death.

Yeah, safe to say they were broken at Alexandria after Beth’s death.

For Carol, it’s also Lizzie and Mica’s deaths that have broken her. And at the Sanctuary, Daryl is still broken because of Beth, but also because of Glenn’s death.

Morgan and Eastman gave us the definition of what the As represent, as well as what B will…be. It’s harder to pin that down because we have yet to actually see the B.

For C, remember TF lived in cell block C. And then when Crazy Tattoo Guy came out of car C, he said, “We’re the same.” I think C represents TF, but I still don’t understand the significance of Crazy Tattoo Guy. Maybe to show TF could become him under the right circumstances, or by making bad decisions? Maybe it was just an all too obvious way of saying that C = TF, bc this guy was in C and says, “We’re the same.” Or maybe it’s something we haven’t seen fulfilled yet.

For D, remember what I said about the trough at Terminus. There were four from D and they all died, while or 4 guys from TF survived. The same pattern held in 4a. The original TF members were all still in cell block C. D was full of secondary characters who came afterward: Karen, Patrick, Lizzie and Mica and their dad, etc. All those characters are now dead. I think D represents weak or more minor characters. Walker fodder, in other words.

In both S4 and S5, the Bs are conspicuously absent. Especially at Terminus, what or who else is conspicuously absent? Beth. Ty and Judith never actually entered Terminus, but they were there, and reunited with the rest of the group outside it. Beth was nowhere near it.

I do think the B represents Beth and her arc. They’re absent or missing. They’re unseen and unmentioned. And, as per Eastman, they represent the weapon that will help TF survive.

Okay, two other extremely nerdy and reachy observations.

1. You guys are gonna laugh at me for this. It comes from a personal experience and when I thought it, it made me smile. My older sister Erica once went through alphabet flashcards with my younger sister, Heidi. Heidi was only three and getting ready to start preschool. Erica wanted to see if she knew any of her alphabet yet. I watched. When Erica held up the flashcard with a capital B on it, guess what Heidi thought it was? Sunglasses! I couldn’t help but think, B = Sunglasses. And, you know:

Okay, all joking aside. The other one is probably kind of obvious.

B = Beth because her name starts with….B!

Update:

A wonderful Nonny pointed one other important B out to me. On Jessie’s fridge at Alexandria are several representations of Beth. Details HERE.

One of them is what appears to be a blond superhero with a B on the shirt. Yeah, B totally = Beth. ;D

Okay, that’s it for today. Anyone have any insights on the ABCD theme?

#td #beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance

7 notes · View notes