Whelp, looks like I am cursed with shipping wars
Recently no matter what fandom I get into, there's some shipping war involved. And, really, one is more than enough for me. The reason I'm so invested in the Bleach shipping war is because I honestly find it baffling how any person can genuinely believe IchiOri has a chance in hell of becoming canon (it doesn't). However, in these other fandoms, the endgame pairing is anyone's guess, and I'm content with whatever, even if I have a preference.
There's Once Upon a Time, where I could not care less about whether Emma ends up with Hook or Neal. I kinda like her with Neal, though, because they could make a happy little family... Hook is the dark horse in the fight, but he *is* quite attractive, and their dynamic is...passionate, I guess. In any case, I don't really care what is endgame.
Then there is Sleepy Hollow, where Ichabbie vs Ichatrina is already pretty vicious. I like Ichabbie, because the ship tease is so fun, and Abbie and Ichabod have amazing chemistry. I also love pairings that are verrrrrry slowly developed, and it certainly looks like Ichabbie would go that way, if it were ever to become canon. However, Ichabod is so adorable I would ship him with anyone, so I like him with Katrina, too. Although, I don't think their chemistry is quite as good, so I definitely prefer Ichabbie. But I certainly don't care enough to get invested in the shipping war.
And finally, the most recent one,The Walking Dead. The past two episodes, with their focus on Daryl and Beth's growing bond have led to a full-on ship war between the Bethyl and Caryl shippers. I only started watching the show last year, and this year is the first time I'm watching it as it airs. In the Carol and Daryl scenes in season 2, I really liked their dynamic, but I never saw the relationship as anything romantic. Later on, in season 3, I began wondering if it was in fact romantic (although I no longer remember why). I don't know if I ever really shipped Carol and Daryl, but I wasn't opposed to it. Daryl is my favorite character and I just want him to be happy. But after these past two episodes...I am totally a Bethyl shipper.
When it turned out that Beth and Daryl were paired up after the loss of the prison, I never thought their relationship would go in a romantic direction. I was expecting something would maybe happen with Carol this season, so I think I was somewhat biased to not have seen that coming, because it was certainly a possibility. And after seeing the way they interacted in "Alone"...it's pretty obvious where Daryl's heart lies.
In retrospect, I don't think that there was anything romantic between Daryl and Carol, at least not on Daryl's side. I remember in season 3 when she made a joke or two about them fooling around, and he was like, "stop," I think it made him a little uncomfortable. Undoubtedly, he cares about Carol, a lot. I think my favorite scene of theirs is after everyone is separated at the prison, when they think Carol is dead, and then Daryl runs into a walker in the tombs that was stabbed (but not killed) with Carol's knife. Then he finds a door that has something behind it, and I believe it's implied that he thinks it is Carol, as a walker. They way he hesitates, for a long time, clearly upset at the idea of having to kill her, was really touching.
But in "Alone," we see a different side of Daryl. I think him offering Beth a piggyback ride is akin to him massaging Carol's shoulder back in season three; both her him being helpful to someone in pain/need. However, later in the episode, he's asking her to sing for him, carrying her into the kitchen...it's practically flirtatious. And when she asks him what made him change his mind about there still being good people around, he can't quite tell her it's her, and the way he looked at her... I am definitely getting a strong romantic vibe, just because of how unique that behavior is to Beth. The reason Daryl is my favorite character is because of how unexpectedly good he is, and we've seen him be good plenty. But this is something different, a side of Daryl we haven't seen before. And why?
It's not just about hope. Yes, the most important thing Beth gave him in their time together is hope, but it's not like he's never had hope before. When they found the prison, in the beginning of season four when things were going well and it seemed like they could really make a life there. I recently went back and watched a few episodes from the earlier seasons, and I realized I had completely forgotten how angry and irascible Daryl used to be before. He's so much more tame in seasons three and especially four. But even so, we never saw him act the way he acted with Beth in the latest episode before, not even with Carol.
ETA: That sneak peek of the next episode had me fangirling like a crazy person... Daryl either loves Beth, or the showrunners *really* want us to think that he does, because that was some serious shiptease.
There's Once Upon a Time, where I could not care less about whether Emma ends up with Hook or Neal. I kinda like her with Neal, though, because they could make a happy little family... Hook is the dark horse in the fight, but he *is* quite attractive, and their dynamic is...passionate, I guess. In any case, I don't really care what is endgame.
Then there is Sleepy Hollow, where Ichabbie vs Ichatrina is already pretty vicious. I like Ichabbie, because the ship tease is so fun, and Abbie and Ichabod have amazing chemistry. I also love pairings that are verrrrrry slowly developed, and it certainly looks like Ichabbie would go that way, if it were ever to become canon. However, Ichabod is so adorable I would ship him with anyone, so I like him with Katrina, too. Although, I don't think their chemistry is quite as good, so I definitely prefer Ichabbie. But I certainly don't care enough to get invested in the shipping war.
And finally, the most recent one,The Walking Dead. The past two episodes, with their focus on Daryl and Beth's growing bond have led to a full-on ship war between the Bethyl and Caryl shippers. I only started watching the show last year, and this year is the first time I'm watching it as it airs. In the Carol and Daryl scenes in season 2, I really liked their dynamic, but I never saw the relationship as anything romantic. Later on, in season 3, I began wondering if it was in fact romantic (although I no longer remember why). I don't know if I ever really shipped Carol and Daryl, but I wasn't opposed to it. Daryl is my favorite character and I just want him to be happy. But after these past two episodes...I am totally a Bethyl shipper.
When it turned out that Beth and Daryl were paired up after the loss of the prison, I never thought their relationship would go in a romantic direction. I was expecting something would maybe happen with Carol this season, so I think I was somewhat biased to not have seen that coming, because it was certainly a possibility. And after seeing the way they interacted in "Alone"...it's pretty obvious where Daryl's heart lies.
In retrospect, I don't think that there was anything romantic between Daryl and Carol, at least not on Daryl's side. I remember in season 3 when she made a joke or two about them fooling around, and he was like, "stop," I think it made him a little uncomfortable. Undoubtedly, he cares about Carol, a lot. I think my favorite scene of theirs is after everyone is separated at the prison, when they think Carol is dead, and then Daryl runs into a walker in the tombs that was stabbed (but not killed) with Carol's knife. Then he finds a door that has something behind it, and I believe it's implied that he thinks it is Carol, as a walker. They way he hesitates, for a long time, clearly upset at the idea of having to kill her, was really touching.
But in "Alone," we see a different side of Daryl. I think him offering Beth a piggyback ride is akin to him massaging Carol's shoulder back in season three; both her him being helpful to someone in pain/need. However, later in the episode, he's asking her to sing for him, carrying her into the kitchen...it's practically flirtatious. And when she asks him what made him change his mind about there still being good people around, he can't quite tell her it's her, and the way he looked at her... I am definitely getting a strong romantic vibe, just because of how unique that behavior is to Beth. The reason Daryl is my favorite character is because of how unexpectedly good he is, and we've seen him be good plenty. But this is something different, a side of Daryl we haven't seen before. And why?
It's not just about hope. Yes, the most important thing Beth gave him in their time together is hope, but it's not like he's never had hope before. When they found the prison, in the beginning of season four when things were going well and it seemed like they could really make a life there. I recently went back and watched a few episodes from the earlier seasons, and I realized I had completely forgotten how angry and irascible Daryl used to be before. He's so much more tame in seasons three and especially four. But even so, we never saw him act the way he acted with Beth in the latest episode before, not even with Carol.
ETA: That sneak peek of the next episode had me fangirling like a crazy person... Daryl either loves Beth, or the showrunners *really* want us to think that he does, because that was some serious shiptease.