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frangipanilove · 1 day

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Thoughts on Isabelle as a Beth proxy

(Beware of potentially unpleasant romance-related spoilers below)

@bethgreeneprevails I hope you have recovered from your traumatic morning the other day (hopefully this won't traumatize you further). As promised, here are a few of my thoughts on why I’m not terribly distressed by the prospect of potential hints of romance between Daryl and Isabelle. I typed this out the other week, then of course yesterday THOSE spoilers came out (under the cut, to save lives), then all hell broke loose, and here we are.

Yes, they are unpleasent spoilers for sure! I’ll address them briefly in here, but they actually don’t really significantly change how I already feel.

And honestly there’s not really anything new and groundbreaking in here in terms of analysis, just a few thoughts I’ve been having about Isabelle as a Beth proxy.

So to get it out of the way, the recent spoilers report that apparently Daryl and Isabelle will share a kiss. I know, I know. I wasn’t thrilled to hear that either. But I’m still not terribly concerned about it, and I’ll try to explain why.

First of all, I don’t know if these are credible spoilers or not. It’s my understanding that they originated from DearTV, but I haven’t been able to confirm that, so keep that in mind.

But at a certain point last night they seemed to be all over the internet:

And while I reserve the right to be moderately grumpy about it, I don’t think we’re in for a porno here. I expect it to be fairly harmless and innocent. I think we’ll survive. Unlike poor Isabelle.

I originally wanted to write this post because I feel strongly that Isabelle has so much Beth-proxyness (totally a word) about her, and anything that happens between Isabelle and Daryl, on some level says something about his relationship to Beth. While it was subtle during season 1, it was definitely noticeable, and I believe it’s going to become a lot more obvious during season 2.

First a few words on why I originally came to see Isabelle as a Beth proxy. It actually started long before season 1 aired, and it has to do with their names:

As you can see, the French “Isabelle” (and Spanish “Isabel”), originally derived from the medieval French /Spanish version of the name Elizabeth. And “Beth” is an established short-form of the name Elizabeth. So “Isabelle” is etymologically directly linked to the name Elizabeth, and “Beth” is an established short-form of the name Elizabeth.

I was curious about this connection even before the show had aired, because it seemed like such an unlikely coincidence. The two names basically share the same origin! That’s earns a major side-eye from me, why would TPTB do that if not for establishing a subtle connection between the two characters? Keep in mind that this was an impression that was formed before the show had aired, solely based on the name etymology. I wondered if Isabelle was there to function as a Beth proxy, and I wondered how this would carry over to the show.

Then episode 1 was released, and we saw this:

Yup, Isabelle has a wrist scar, just like Beth does. She’s definitely a Beth proxy. Because the wrist scar, that’s undeniably a Beth callback. That’s something that was a topic in 4x12 Still when Daryl and Beth had the fight at the moonshine shack, it was something Dawn used against her at Grady etc. The wrist scar has become something that’s tied to Beth, not anyone else.

And it’s significant that this is one of the very first things we learn about Isabelle. It’s quite literally the first glimpse we get into her character that goes beyond the superficial stuff such as her appearance, that she’s a nun etc.

It’s a defining moment for Isabelle, we learn that there’s more to her than just being a pious nun, and it’s something that ties her character directly to Beth.

And as the season went by, there were other things, dialogue callbacks etc. I don’t even remember. But that wrist scar was the main reason I could never unsee the parallels to Beth.

And towards the end of the season we could definitely see some sort of connection forming between Isabelle and Daryl, a connection that wasn’t necessarily strictly about platonic friendship. I expect us to see more of that in season 2, and no, it’s not going to be delightful to witness. But we’ll survive.

I'm not going to lie, we’ve had reports suggesting that Isabelle will die, and it’s likely that my anxiety would be higher if we didn’t already know that.

But if Daryl starts falling for her, he’s falling for a Beth proxy, because that’s how she was introduced to the show. Obviously that’s not all she is, she’s a character in her own right, but she definitely carries traits that are supposed to remind us of Beth.

Her presence makes room for Daryl’s memories about Beth. Again, it was subtle and understated in season 1, but I expect it to increase in season 2. For instance, I do believe we’ll see a conversation between them about Beth prior to the hallucination scene in the Euro tunnel where Daryl eventually instructs her to tell Merle, Beth and Glenn he tried, which I discussed briefly here and here.

Another thing; I might be in the minority here but I interpret Isabelle’s lying and manipulation differently than many others. I’m fully expecting pushback on this but hear me out:

Isabelle is Laurent’s de facto mother figure. She’s his only remaining family, and she’s protecting him as though he’s her own child. There’s a parallel to Beth here, in that she’s also been a parent figure (to Judith and others), she’s fiercely protective of children and has been surrounded by parent/child symbolism.

And while in isolation, Isabelle’s behavior towards Daryl is indeed manipulative, I interpret it as a mother’s (or mother’s figure’s) desperate attempts to ensure her child’s safety. I don’t think her behavior comes from a place of malicious intent, I see it as a testament of the lengths to which a mother will go to protect her child. She perceives Daryl as Laurent’s best chance of survival, and she goes all in, unapologetically. I can’t hold that against her, I would probably also lie and manipulate to protect my child. I think that’s human nature.

And we see how Daryl, while reluctant at first, slowly start to develop a bond with Laurent. That scene of them on the riverbank when Laurent let the boat go is stellar. First we see Daryl give into his anger, lashing out at Laurent, likely following the pattern he learned from his own father growing up.

But then we watch him reach a moment of clarity, where he sees himself from the outside, replicating the dysfunctional parenting style of his father. He manages to regulate his emotions and get control over himself. He then sincerely apologizes to Laurent and chooses a different path, a different parenting style, one of love, patience and tolerance. That’s an incredible moment of character development for Daryl, and it shows that whatever manipulation he’s been subjected to by Isabelle has in fact made him a better person. Maybe Isabelle knows what he needs better that he knows himself. Much like Beth did.

We see a similar moment of real, healthy parenting in the trailer, where Daryl talks to Laurent about the three of them going to the US.

Obviously, I haven’t watched this scene yet, so for all I know my analysis could be completely wrong. That’s a problem for future me. For now, I’m loving this shot. I’ve never seen Daryl this paternal, and quite frankly it’s HOT! This, to me, looks like solid, healthy parenting, by someone who’s come a long way, emotionally speaking. He excels when he gets to be a parent.

And he has Isabelle’s manipulation to thank for that. Her “manipulation” unlocked something good in him. I actually don’t see it as manipulation. She’s surviving and making sure Laurent survives too.

I think you could actually argue that Beth would have responded to the situation in a similar way, which is another reason I’m side-eying Isabelle’s character. I 100% believe Beth would lie and manipulate in order to protect her child, or any child. We’ve already seen her do that to protect her loved ones, in 5x4 Slabtown, before her escape attempt with Noah.

We saw her, ice cold and lying through her teeth, telling Dawn that she saw Gorman go into her office. Her steady gaze and cool calm demeanor as she lied to Dawn’s face, seconds after having fed Gorman to walker-Joan, just so that she and Noah could escape from Grady, that’s imo the same impulse Isabelle is following to protect Laurent. Do whatever it takes to protect your loved ones. Lie, manipulate, steal…

And she later does the same in order to save Carol’s life, when it’s decided that Carol isn’t worth the resources it would take to save her.

I don’t see it as manipulative as much as I see it as being fiercely protective and ruthless on behalf of your loved ones and your children. I don’t see it as an inherently “bad” quality, I see it as “doing whatever it takes” to protect your family. Both Beth and Isabelle have that same ruthlessness when it comes to protecting their loved ones. And I’m excited about that because it’s yet another parallel between them.

And Isabelle, just like Beth, sacrificed herself. She returned to her abusive ex boyfriend because she thought that would be Laurent’s best chance of getting to safety at the Nest. Beth sacrificed herself for Noah, twice. And stopped at nothing to save Carol’s life.

So yeah, I think all of this is just a long way of saying that I believe we’ll see even more similarities and parallels between Beth and Isabelle in season 2. We probably will see Daryl develop some sort of feelings for Isabelle. Yes, it will be difficult to watch, but I think it’s a part of the process Daryl needs to evolve. I think there’s a reward for us at the end of it. And ultimately it might even be good for Daryl to have a little taste of those feelings. He might open up about Beth, I fully believe we’ll see them talk about Beth, and I do believe it will be thoroughly communicated how important Beth was to him, either explicitly through dialogue, or alternatively more subtly, through symbolism. And Isabelle will most likely die, while Beth will hopefully “resurrect”.

I believe the budding romance (or whatever) will make space for so much Beth symbolism, if we can just tolerate watching it for long enough to get a good grasp on the symbolism surrounding it. I do believe it will mostly be fairly innocent, at least that’s what I’m going to tell myself for now. And Beth will always be lurking in the symbolic shadows. In the narrative it will be about Daryl and Isabelle, but beneath the surface it will also address Daryl’s feelings towards Beth.

I think my main message with all of the above is that I expect to see the Beth-proxyness of Isabelle turned up a notch this season, and that it will function as a primer for bringing Beth back. I think we’ll see it both in terms of more subtle, between-the-lines symbolism, but also increasingly by having her explicitly talked about, for example in conversations between Daryl and Isabelle, such as we saw from the leaked script pages the other week.

#team delusional #bethyl #team defiance #beth greene #daryl dixon #the walking dead #twddd #twd tboc #tboc

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haveihitanerve · 19 hours

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Cardigan

my contribution for Batman Day

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Stranded on a planet, a million miles from earth, with a broken ship and a Lantern who flew off three hours and twenty seven minutes ago, and all Bruce can think is “It wasn't supposed to end like this.” He’s supposed to be Batman right now. He’s supposed to be fixing the ship, maybe catch Hal on his way back. Instead, he’s Bruce, just Bruce, sitting on the rocky outcrop of what appears to be a cliff, legs propped up, arms folded over them, watching the seven suns set. The wrench is laying back by the ship.

He isn't even sure, entirely, how he ended up so far away, sitting here. But he can’t bring himself to stand up, to walk away. To even look away, at this point. “You would’ve loved it.” He murmurs, quietly, to himself. He knows he doesn't have long, the oxygen levels here are lower than on Earth. And at this point, Hal won’t make it back in time. Maybe, if he had kept his mask on, it might be different. Bruce doesn't mind. He doesn't care.

His eyes drift over the four separate suns, sighing contently. The planet is some sort of red giant, dusty and purple and red and beautiful, really, is all Bruce can come back to. And, how much his children would have loved to see it.

The purple rocks stain his hands, and he can’t help but think of Stephanie, how she once stained his hands purple too, with glitter though, not rock.

He knows that it’ll be a shock for Hal to find Bruce Wayne here, instead of Batman. And he knows everyone would expect him to be thinking of his parents. As his last thoughts. But, they're faded. In the back of his mind.

Bruce can’t look back right now, for some reason, when for his whole life it was all he did. Batman, the Wayne Foundation, all of it was for the past. For what could have been if his parents had lived. But now? Now all Bruce can think of is Dick.

All he can think of is how his oldest son is going to have to decide if he’s going to be Batman, or if he’s going to reveal Bruce’s identity. If he’ll reveal his connection to him. All he can think of is how he and Jason never really recovered, not really. That he never managed to tell his son he misses him. That he loves him. He told him, of course. But he regrets all the missed opportunities he would have in the future. He misses the fact that Jason has, so far, never believed him. And now probably never will. All he can think of is how he never told Tim enough times how proud he is. How amazing Timmy is. How grateful he is that his little boy forced his way into his life. How he’s left the company to him. Because Tim was always better at all that than Bruce. Than anyone else. All he can think is how Barbara will never know she’s the reason he’s managed to hold on as long as he has. She was there, for everything. Through Dick leaving, through Jason, through Tim. Through all of it, she was the one in his ear, reprimanding him for getting too violent, reminding him to eat, scolding him for not using proper manners. All he can think is how he won’t be there for Cass’s dance recital next week. How he won’t get to hear her grow more comfortable with her own voice over her body. All he can think about is Damian, his little boy. How Dick and Jason and Tim and Barbara, will have to step up and raise his son. How he’ll never get to see his son grow up.

All Bruce can think about, as he watches the suns dip beneath the horizon, is how much joy his children brought to his life. And how he’s now broken his promise.

“Come back home.” Dick whispered. “Come back home.” Barbara whispered. “Come back home.” Jason whispered. “Come back home.” Tim whispered. “Come back home.” Cass whispered. “Come back home.” Steph whispered. “Come back home.” Damian whispered.

“I will.” He promised, every time. Without fail. A promise, an oath. His solemn vow to them. To each of his partners. Not sidekicks. Partners. His equals in every way. The ones who had shown his joy and wonder and had given him laughter and life. They had drawn stars around his scars, had brightened his world.

No, as Bruce stares out across the darkening planet, he does not reflect on the past, on what was, on what could have been with his parents. He thinks of the suns that brightened his world, and what a shame, what an absolute shame it is, that they won’t have him orbiting them anymore. He regrets that much, at least. The repetition of the past. No more willing, but he’s leaving them nonetheless.

“It wasn't supposed to end like this.” The words echo around the deserted, dark planet. A light breeze ruffles against the mans dark gray cardigan. A green light comes a few hours later, illuminating the world like a flashlight. Its green, not red or gold or black or purple. And it is far too late.

....

okay that got wayyyyy dark wayyyy fast- literally imma share a bit of my thoughts with you- this was the reminder i wrote for myself for this-

Batman Day. Write him. just him. For the love of God only write about him. No focus on anyone else. As hard as it is because he’s defined by his family but none of them! Only him. No parents, no kids. Maybe parents. Origins. Write his origins.

... like... clearly I failed. very clearly. But oh well my hands and my brain vs me are two different things so... I hope you enjoyed at least! :)

#batman day #batman #batfam #bruce wayne #idk where i went with this #as the title shows #i was listening to cardigan by taylor swift while writing #listen to the song while reading maybe itll help distract you from the odd structuring #anyway just hope you enjoyed

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