The Walking Dead: Who Took Beth?

While Daryl's new group of survivors is one with which viewers of AMC's The Walking Dead have at least a passing acquaintance, tonight's biggest loose thread is the question of what happened to Beth Greene when she was separated from Daryl and then apparently abducted in a car. It seemed to us that putting together a list of likely candidates was a perfectly good use of our time. Let's be clear, here: some of the people on this list are very unlikely candidates to have abducted her for unsavory reasons. That's partially because one of the only clues we have is what appears to be a cross in the back window of the car.

On the other hand, that could be a clue...or it could just mean that somebody stole the funeral home's lead (non-hearse) car. A major theme of this season has been faith, and one way or another, that cross means something. Is it it faith rewarded? The faith in both God and humanity that Hershel instilled in his girls has been a major driving force in the second half of Season Four. Or is it the message that blind faith can get you killed in the world of The Walking Dead, where the only saviors are...well, we'll get to them. Anyway, some candidates to see who might be sharing a ride with Beth right now, considering dropping her off at the next corner if she doesn't stop singing...

Gabriel Stokes A longtime member of Rick Grimes's group of survivors in the comics, Gabriel Stokes was the reverend of a regional community church prior to the zombie outbreak. Terrified when the infestation started, he barricaded himself in the church for safety and denied sanctuary to people outside, leading them to be consumed by walkers. Later, he became tortured by that, but continued to live alone in the empty church. He first encountered Rick and the rest of his group in The Walking Dead  #61, and while the survivors (and the readers) were suspicious of him at the time, they were more preoccupied with the deaths of Dale, Billy and Ben and the recent losses at the prison. Gabriel claimed he had been living in the church's safety since the beginning of the epidemic, but the validity of his story, especially considering that it had been a full year since the outbreak began when the group encountered him, is questionable. In the TV iteration, this story would be impossible to believe since it has been significantly longer. He's a good guy, somebody who would be willing to save Beth (and he's carrying around a ton of guilt, which would explain his zombie funerals) but he's also an established coward, so maybe with all the walkers around, he was too scared to stop for Daryl?

The Saviors This would be a heck of a jump forward from the comics timeline, but series creator Robert Kirkman has said repeatedly that there are already plans in place to bring Negan into the show. Leaving aside the fact that the leather jacket, the foul attitude, the cruelty and the god complex (complete with unquestioningly-loyal followers) make Joe of the home invaders from "Claimed," who reappeared tonight to take Daryl under his wing, seem quite Negan-like, Kirkman has been known to use cross imagery in association with Negan in the comics, even while "The Saviors" aren't as blatantly religious as one might expect. These are very, very long odds, but because of the cross in the window, the first four candidates here get bumped to the top since that's literally one of our only clues. Nick Parsons Nick, who appeared in The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, was the first victim of Brian Blake in that book...but the TV series is, as we comic book readers are frequently reminded, a very different place. And he's a spiritual guy. It's one of his defining factors and it led him to be one of the most unambiguously good people in the world of The Walking Dead. So, you know, the whole "There are still good people, Daryl" thing. Jesus He's not really religious, but if everyone always called me Jesus, I'd embrace it. Meanwhile, he's a key to unlocking the truth about the Alexandria Safe-Zone in the comics, and could serve a similar function here for Terminus, assuming it's actually a stand-in for Alexandria, as many viewers have assumed. While initially mistrusted by Rick and his group, he eventually gains their respect and becomes Rick's current right-hand man. He's another in a line of characters who could be, maybe, not the worst person to abduct you in the dark during the zombie apocalypse.

The Hunters A group of brutal survivors, The Hunters are cannibals who catch their victims using clever traps rather than relying (at least exclusively) on brute force. In the comics, they attempted and failed to take Glenn, an managed to kidnap and partially eat Dale Horvath. In the TV series, of course, Dale has been dead for some time and so if there's to be a sacrifice to The Hunters, it won't be him. Beth, Bob, Tara, Tyreese and Carol could all be strong candidates for any number of reasons. Daryl's group The home invaders first seen in "Claimed" have taken Daryl in, and it's not going to be a good relationship. Daryl has spent the last four years getting away from a life just like the one they're offering. But could they be connected to the person in the car? Certainly it seems as though if they had a car available to them, they wouldn't be wandering around on foot...but who knows? Certainly it would raise the stakes of whatever conflict is going to happen between them and Daryl. Either way it seems likely that Beth's disappearance will inform the next bit of his relationship with them, because it's hard to picture him just letting that drop and equally hard to see them letting him run off to pursue her.

Dooley You know, it isn't as though the Greene family has had particularly good luck with anybody missing an eye. He may seem like a hero, but I think we all know he's really just the reincarnated Governor. ...Wait, can dogs drive? This is a terrible theory.