Caryl vs Bethyl

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Ship War
ShipWar: Caryl vs. Bethyl
Date(s): 2013 - approx 2020 (?)
Location: Tumblr, Twitter
Fandom: The Walking Dead
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Caryl vs Bethyl was a Ship War that originated in the Tumblr fandom of The Walking Dead, between fans of two Daryl Dixon pairings: Daryl Dixon/Carol Peletier (Caryl) and Beth Greene/Daryl Dixon (Bethyl).

This ship war involved hateful posts, accusations of ageism, and an overall negativity that seemed to effect the TWD fandom as a whole. It also drew the attention of the show's creators at its peak.

About

Fans began shipping Daryl Dixon/Carol Peletier in Season 2 when the characters began developing a friendship, and the pairing grew in popularity. Some fans also shipped Beth Greene/Daryl Dixon early on, but it was more of a rare pairing until Season 4 episode 1, when Daryl and Beth hugged.[1]

The ship war grew in intensity when it was revealed that Daryl and Beth would be alone together, and separated from the rest of the group, after the fall of the prison in the second half of Season 4. The peak of the ship war seems to occur during the second half of Season 4, the hiatus and the majority of Season 5, including the weeks prior to, and after, Beth's death in the episode Coda.

The ship war included, but wasn't limited to, hateful posts directed at the female characters involved, and negative posts towards the "opposing" shippers. Shippers posting text posts advocating their ship and belittling the legitimacy of the other one (to varying degrees between constructive meta to mockery to outright hate)[2][3] and the creation of fanart and manips, often portraying or suggesting violence towards characters or fans[4][5].

The ship war would flare up occasionally for a few years after its initial peak, but it seems to have fizzled out over time, and seems to have been mostly gone by the 2020s, because there was no canon fuel to incite the fans to keep it going.

Civil War Meme, featuring the Caryl vs Bethyl ship war (2015)

Timeline

  • 2011-2012 - Daryl and Carol develop a friendship over the course of season 2, inspiring many fans to ship them
  • October 12, 2013 - Daryl and Beth hug in episode 1 of season 4, piquing the interest of some fans and creating Bethyl shippers
  • December 2013 - February 2014 - during the mid-season break information is released that Daryl and Beth will be surviving together alone after being separated from the main group after the destruction of the prison, which angers many Caryl shippers, and pleased Bethyl shippers. This period may arguably be the beginning of the ship war.
  • February - March 2014 - Daryl and Beth spend a few episodes alone together and develop a close friendship, creating even more Bethyl shippers[6] and exciting the ones that saw their potential in 4.1. This disappointed Caryl shippers because it seemed like Carol's group and Daryl and Beth were in the same area but they missed each other. Although many Caryl shippers took certain clues from the canon to claim that Daryl was thinking about Carol. This is also the time when the ship war started to ramp up.
  • March 9, 2014 - Daryl and Beth are separated at the end of episode 4.13
  • The reminder of March 2014 - the last episodes of the season finds Daryl alone with strangers until he meets up with Rick and Michonne, much to the disappointment of both Bethyl and Caryl shippers.
  • Apirl - October 2014 - the hiatus between seasons 4 and 5, this was a fervent time for the ship war with both sides creating posts and arguing with each other in forums and on sites like tumblr and twitter.
  • October 12, 2014 - Carol saves Rick's group from cannibals, and Daryl and Carol are reunited with a tearful hug, to much rejoicing by the Caryl Shippers
  • October - November 2014 - the ship war continues to rage, as Bethyl shippers hope that Beth and Daryl will be soon reunited, and claim it will be undeniably romantic. Caryl fans are pleased that Daryl and Carol's friendship has continued, although some are disappointed that there was no romantic culmination after their reunion.
  • November 30 - Episode 5.8, Coda, airs. The group finds out Beth is being kept hostage in a hospital and that an injured Carol has also been taken to the same hospital, they go there to rescue them. During a confrontation in the hospital Beth is killed. Daryl kills Beth's killer, then, visibly upset, carries out her body to her sister Maggie. There is much shock among the Bethyl shippers. Bethyl shippers also organized a petition asking that Beth be returned to the show, it received 65,000 signatures[7].
  • December 2014 - February 2015 - the ship war continued, with Bethyl shippers arguing that Daryl was upset after Beth's death because he was heartbroken and had been in love with Beth, while Caryl shippers claimed he was merely traumatized by recent canon events.
  • February 15, 2015 - in episode 5.10, Them, Carol talks with Daryl alone and tells him that she knows Beth meant something to him and that he should let himself feel things. Bethyl shippers took this to mean that the show was acknowledging Daryl's love for Beth. While Caryl shippers took this scene to mean that Carol was telling Daryl that he needed to take time to grieve for his friend Beth. The scene also included Carol kissing Daryl on the forehead, which pleased some Caryl shippers.
  • March 29, 2015 - the season finale, Conquer. There had been a fan theory among some fringe Bethyl shippers that Beth wasn't really dead, but would return in the season 5 finale; this did not happen. This theory may have developed because of hints in the show and the ad promotions that an old character would be returning to the show. This turned out to be the character of Morgan, and not Beth. Although, similar theories that Beth was somehow still alive persisted for a couple years after this.[8][9]
  • Post March 2015 - the ship war would continue to flare up a few times over the next few years, but it died down considerably after its fever pitch in 2014-2015. When exactly the ship war ended is unknown, but it eventually fizzled out.

Actors and Creators

Actors and creators appeared to be aware of the conflict, though it's not clear to what extent. Some shippers expressed their opinions by directly contacting the performers and creators via Twitter. Some Caryl shippers aimed their anger directly at Emily Kinney (who portrayed Beth Greene)[10], with sesskasays recalling:

So you can imagine the outrage that came from Caryl shippers when The Walking Dead writers decided to pair him up with Beth and only Beth for three whole episodes. Before the episodes even aired, Caryl shippers were doing nothing short of sending Emily Kinney threatening messages to stay away from Carol’s man.[11]

For a while the question "Who should Daryl end up with?" was a favorite in interviews. Melissa McBride (who portrays Carol Peletier on the show) said in one interview:

Q: How nice was it to be back with Daryl this season? Are you a “’shipper” for them to get together?
A: I’m not even talking about that! I’m not adding to the fire. There’s a war out there. The fans are pretty passionate. [Laughs.] It’s really fun to see the ‘shipping,’ though. It’s pretty cool.[12]

Some fans were unhappy that the creators and actors are aware of the conflict[13].

Accusations of Ageism

During the ship war fans of Beth Greene/Daryl Dixon were sometimes accused of ageism by Daryl Dixon/Carol Peletier fans. One example being a meme comparing Carol to the elderly Evil Queen in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[14] Forum user Beatrice remembers some Bethyl shippers during the height of the ship war:

I do remember that time during hiatus before season 5 when those vile bitches were having a field day on the Bethyl board calling MMB all kinds of horrible names and blasting her for her age... Some are gone, but not all, they continue to tromp around here like innocent little flowers seemingly also forgetting that their public displays of ageism and general prejudice have not been erased.[15]

fan Tori also adding:

The Carol hate is... honestly, there are no words for what the Carol hate is (ageist is the first word that comes to mind but certainly not the only one).[16]

Most Bethyl shippers deny any ageist intentions. Tumblr user Bethyl Forever explains why fans and fanfiction writers are drawn to the ship:

The draw of Bethyl is not what some would argue. It isn’t about physical attributes, it isn’t about age or ageism, it isn’t about the actor and actresses chemistry. It’s about the writing and the story the writers are trying to tell.[17]

Another fan turns the accusations on there head by pointing out:

It’s a two way street in this respect because fighting ageism not only defends older individuals but also young ones as well.[18]

Fandom Distress

Fans outside of the Caryl and Bethyl fandoms felt the ship war was having a negative effect on the overall The Walking Dead fandom, with Element Girl commenting, in August 2014, on the Spoil the Dead forum:

I don't think I have been on this forum in the last couple of months when Beth, Carol, Daryl, Caryl, or Bethyl was not lit up as the hot button threads. It does seem like the shipping wars as well as the war over Daryl has superseded everything else on this site not to mention Tumblr.[19]

Screenshot of Daryl from The Walking Dead with the caption "I used to ship Caryl, and then jumped ship for Bethyl. I'm not a part of TD and I personally believe that Caryl should remain platonic, although I don't eny that they're important to each other. If they get together, I won't complain. However, the fighting between the two ships makes me wish he'd remain single for the entirety of the show's run (or for however much longer he's alive)."
A twd confession about Daryl, shipping and the ship war (2016)

and twitter user your average enby‏ adding:

the bethyl vs caryl ship war is making the twd fandom toxic ffs, i want boths ships to go away[20]

Some also felt it damaged the Daryl fandom, with ripleytwd stating:

It hurts the character of Daryl, because fans are sick of shipping drama[21]

Some fans expressed negative sentiments towards the entire conflict, feeling it was immature:

I feel like I'm on a Twilight forum sometimes.[22].

Results of the conflict

Operation Levity was a direct result and response to hate being posted in the #caryl tag on Tumblr.

Resources

References

  1. ^ "Bethyl vs Caryl. So that's what the big deal was?". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10.
  2. ^ "Bethyl v. Caryl". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10. "When Rick banished Carol and left her out there, why didn’t Daryl go look for her like he did with Beth? All he asked Rick was why couldn’t he wait. He did not ONCE go look for her.", accessed November 22, 2014.
  3. ^ "Bethyl vs Caryl. So that's what the big deal was?". 2014-10-13. Archived from the original on 2018-12-04. "But the thing that pisses me off about Bethyl: We’ve had 3 seasons of character development for Carol and Daryl, 3 seasons of them growing closer together, having genuine moments together, learning from one another… and apparently that has 0 value to some people. Even though, that’s the exact type of crap we should be seeing in romantic fiction. The idea of changing, evolving, growing. But fuck all that. Beth is cute! And she can sing!", accessed November 22, 2014.
  4. ^ "The typical fight between Caryl VS Bethyl". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10. gif set showing "typical" fan behavior, accessed November 22, 2014.
  5. ^ #Caryl lovers when they see signs of #Bethyl..[dead link] suggesting fan response to canon scenes, accessed November 22, 2014.
  6. ^ "The Walking Dead: "Alone" & The Best Ship EVER". Archived from the original on 2024-05+17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
  7. ^ "Peticion - Bring Beth Back". Archived from the original on 2024-05-17.
  8. ^ "If Beth is really still alive because of all those "clues", why do everyone of your theories turn to be false?". Archived from the original on 2024-05-17.
  9. ^ "Is Beth really alive? theory". Archived from the original on 2024-05-17.
  10. ^ "March 7, 2019 tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10.
  11. ^ Countdown to The Walking Dead: Day 4) Caryl & Bethyl: Why You Should Ship Them Both[dead link]
  12. ^ "AMCTV Blog Interview". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10., accessed November 22, 2014.
  13. ^ "Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10. "I am heartbroken that she knows", accessed November 22, 2014.
  14. ^ "A list of all the people who like/reblogged the Ageist "Sneak Peek of Carol"". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10.
  15. ^ "Fan, Beatrice on Thread: Women and Ageism on TWD, posted to the Spoil The Dead forums". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10.
  16. ^ "Fan, Tori on Thread: Unpopular opinions thread - Part 2, posted to Spoil The Dead forums". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10.
  17. ^ "Why the writers choose Beth". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10.
  18. ^ "I find that Taylor gif to be offensive". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10.
  19. ^ Is Shipping Hurting The Walking Dead?
  20. ^ "November 17, 2014 tweet". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10.
  21. ^ "WHY THE "SHIP WARS" OVER DARYL DIXON WILL CONTINUE, SORRY!". Archived from the original on 2019-05-10.
  22. ^ "Fan, Stuff&Thangs on Caryl vs Bethyl: FANDOM WARS! posted to the Walking Dead Forums". 01 June 2013. Archived from the original on 2019-05-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help), accessed November 22, 2014.
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