#ddtboc

[devnmon]

youre telling me carol peletier has issues with being near barns or in them because of sophia. no i am actually sick

[frangipanilove]

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA IS HAPPENING GUYS😱😱😱😱😱😱

Just popping in real quick to scream about the most excellent news reported in this post by @bethgreeneprevails:

For context, the capital of Galicia is Santiago de Compostela:

I’ve written several posts on this topic (here, here, here and here and even here) over the past few months, but even more exciting is that the symbolism leading up to this has been present in TWDU for literal YEARS!!!

I've been theorizing over this for years, and I predicted that Santiago de Compostela would become significant in some way, and now it’s confirmed. I love that for us! The signs are all there, you just gotta know how to read them😄

Long story short (see the individual posts linked above for more in-depth discussion):

Santiago de Compostela is one of the world's most famous pilgrimage destinations. Morgan brought the "pilgrim" symbolism to TWDU. On his wall in Clear we see references to the "Green Route".

The Northern Way of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is sometimes referred to as "the Green Way", because it goes through a particularly lush and green part of Spain, called Green Spain:

The Northern Way through Green Spain (the Green Way) to Santiago de Compostela starts off in San Sebastian, where Daryl's finger pointed to on a map in TWDDD 1x1:

Morgan was the one to really bring the pilgrim/pilgrimage symbolism into TWDU, he always struck me as a St. Christopher figure:

This was particularly evident in the coda of TWD 5x8 Coda...

...where we saw him reach Father Gabriel's church as though he had reached his pilgrimage destination. He "resurrected" a cross, which TD interpreted as a representation of the "resurrection" of Beth, who had just "died" in 5x8 Coda.

Pilgrimage has always been about "healing" in some way, shape, or form, and I wrote about the symbolism around "healing" and how it potentially ties into the search for a cure for the Wildfire zombie virus in this post. I believe this could come into play again in a storyline centered around Santiago de compostela.

Also, as we process the news about filming in Santiago de compostela, one of the world's most famous pilgrimage destinations, let's keep in mind that the working title of TWDDD was "Pilgrim":

As far back as in season 5, I started seeing Morgan as a St. Christopher figure, and later a St. Christopher medallion was introduced in FTWD by Daniel Salazar, a charachter who had survived a gunshot to the head:

Yeah, just a character randomly surviving getting shot in the head. Pure coincidence I'm sure...

St. Christopher is the patron saint of travellers (such as pilgrims) and motorists:

In FTWD it was explained that the medallion had protective properties:

We all know a girl who's had her fair share of bad luck around cars:

I'm pretty sure being kidnapped and thrown in the trunk of a car qualifies as being a "traveller" and a "motorist" in need of protection from St. Christopher...

All of these pilgrim/pilgrimage references were introduced directly after Beth had "died" in Coda, and now pilgrim/pilgrimage symbolism is making a return in a BIG way, in one of the world's most famous destinations for pilgrimage, the end-point of the Northern Way/Green Way/Green Route through Green Spain... in a show that was originally called "Pilgrim".

And in this post I haven't even touched on how Beth Greene is tied up in the "North" symbolism of TWDU, but I've written about that in a large number of posts such as this one (X), which is worth keeping in mind as we internalize that the Northern Way to Santiago de Compostela goes through Green Spain...

[frangipanilove]

Señor Dixon Goes To Spain?

Let’s indulge in some wild speculating, based exclusively on hypotheticals and wishful thinking.

Well well well! Daryl might be going to Spain! Excellent choice, it’s a beautiful country, I highly recommend, 10/10. And while it seems to have been officially confirmed just now, it’s not entirely surprising for people who’ve been paying attention.

We heard a reference to Spain already back in TWDDD 1x1 L’âme Perdue, when Isabel showed Daryl around the convent, and they came across a radio. Isabel mentioned that the last person she’d been in contact with was a Spaniard a few months ago:

When seemingly random stuff like this gets brought up, it’s normally fair to assume it’s symbolism or foreshadowing, and I felt pretty certain Spain would come up again sooner or later.

Then later, we meet Losang. He’s the leader of the Nest, and he first came in contact with the nuns and Laurent on his way back from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. "Compostela" refers to "the field of stars" under which the pilgrims traveled, a reference to the Milky Way.

That certainly tickles my TD brain, concidering how many astronomical references we have had around Beth, such as Sirius and Venus, satellites and eclipses to name a few.

Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela is one of the world's most famous pilgrimages, and can be reached through a number of different routes. Isabel's convent was situated relatively close to the starting point of the French Way:

I have a whole theory in my drafts on potential references to El Camino de Santiago from years ago, which I might have to revisit now. Also, keep in mind that the working title of TWDDD was "Pilgrim":

But the most compelling thing about filming in Spain is an absolutely brilliant discovery made by @galadrieljones back when the final season of FTWD aired. We see Dwight, Morgan and Sherry share a scene, and a series of coordinates were given, supposedly to a P.A.D.R.E repeater station.

In reality, the coordinates corresponded with an area of the Atlantic Ocean near an archipelago called the Canary Islands. The islands, though situated off the coast of west Africa, are Spanish territory, and are famous (and slightly infamous, to be honest) for hordes of pale, vitamin D-deficient, sun-deprived north Europeans like myself as a holiday destination.

The part of it that’s particularly interesting for TD is that the etymology of the word Canary/Canarias shows it is derived from Latin “Canis”, meaning dog.

And as we know, that’s Sirius symbolism. Sirius means return/rebirth/resurrection. It refers to Sirius the Dog Star, who returns to the sky one morning right before dawn, after having been “just gone” for some time. I've written many posts on that, here's one.

There’s even a particular type of dog breed that’s associated with the Canary Islands, Presa Canario:

As a fun fact, in TWDDD season 1, Daryl’s original plan to get home involved getting on a boat that would eventually take him to Newfoundland, Canada. That’s also a dog reference, it refers to Newfoundland dogs:

As I’ve been saying, dog symbolism is Sirius symbolism, we learned that from 4x13 Alone. It means return/rebirth/resurrection. Daryl’s plans to return via Newfoundland fell through when he had to save Laurent from walkers, but the symbolism of it is still valid.

And as an extra fun fact, there’s even a location on Newfoundland, Canada, with the name Canary Islands…

…do with that what you will...

Another really interesting thing about the Canary Islands is that they provide an excellent starting point for transatlantic crossings. This is due to the consistent trade winds that blow from east to west, and sailors have taken advantage of this phenomenon for centuries.

Of course, we don’t know if Daryl will make it to the Canary Islands, and even if he doesn’t, I’m still exited about Spain, for the reasons laid out above. But the potential reference to the Canary Islands through the coordinates from FTWD is a super interesting clue, and it involves dog/Sirius symbolism, which makes me very happy.

Also, the coordinates from FTWD supposedly led to a repeater station, which is a radio reference. That means, the repeater station is a Sirius symbol both as a radio reference, as well as a dog reference, in that the coordinates in reality points to a stretch of ocean near the Canary Islands.

Whatever the coordinates were meant to signify, they sure as hell didn’t point to no repeater station in Georgia.

So yeah. Might be nothing, but could be something. The off-season is for speculating.

[frangipanilove]

Sirius symbolism in DDTBOC 2x6?

I’m late to the party on this because I’ve been trapped in a dystopian, never-ending decluttering/organizing-my-house project this week, but I peeked into Tumblr tonight and caught @bookqueenrules’s excellent post on the leaked pages of the script for the DDTBOC season finale.

Spoilers under the cut, proceed with caution!

I probably shouldn’t get too excited over a scene I haven’t even seen yet and won’t get to see for weeks and months, but what the hell, here’s a small analysis outlining the parts I’m particularly excited about.

So, it’s a scene where people are hallucinating dead family members and loved ones. That in itself is significant. In hallucinations, the dead become alive. Make no mistake, there’s “resurrection” symbolism in that. It also happens in a tunnel, which really reinforces the “underworld” theme. I’ve often written about scenes where the veil between the “realm of the living” and the “realm of the dead” seems particularly thin. This strikes me as exactly that type of scene.

So apparently, Isabel has died?

I don’t know if we know for sure that she’s dead, or if it’s a death fake-out situation. It doesn’t even matter, because the symbolism of it is excellent either way.

Daryl is hallucinating Isabel, who he believes is dead (correctly or not). She offers some words of encouragement in the situation he’s currently in (having people actively trying to kill him and fighting the urge to give up). She instructs him to have hope, before she turns and disappears into a swarm of fireflies!

(The screenshots are from marysuewho’s post on tumblr, I don’t want to tag them in case they’d rather be left out of TD stuff and thangs)

Guys, the "fire" in "fireflies" is Sirius symbolism. I’ve written many posts on what that entails before, here’s one example. Fire = Sirius = resurrection/rebirth. It’s inextricably linked to Beth through the one-eyed dog from TWD 4X13 Alone.

And just to really underscore the Sirius symbolism, there’s a reference to Daryl’s grandfather’s DOG tags. Dog tags on a dead character temporarily “resurrected” for hallucination and symbolism purposes!

And this specific exemple of Sirius symbolism could hypothetically be about anyone’s “resurrection” except for one thing, Daryl specifically mentions three names in this very scene; Merle, Beth and Glenn!!!

Two of these are definitely dead, nobody disputes that. The third one is Beth.

IF it turns out that Isabel isn’t really dead after all, the Sirius symbolism could be about her in this scene, she could possibly “resurrect” at a later stage. Which would prove (again) that the Sirius symbolism that we constantly see around Beth is real. And if she really is dead for realz, well then there’s the monumental detail of Daryl literally saying Beth’s name out loud for the first time since he lost her, in a scene that’s packed with Sirius/resurrection symbolism! The Sirius/resurrection symbolism could be about Isabel, or Beth, or both. It's excellent either way.

The fireflies are Sirius symbolism (Sirius = fire because "Sirius" literally means scorching/glowing), which indicates “resurrection” symbolism. This is great, because it’s yet another confirmation of what we already know. If Isabel is not "dead", but rather “dead, soon to be resurrected” the fireflies (Sirius symbolism) indicates her impending resurrection, but if she’s really dead, the fireflies indicate Beth’s “resurrection” and that’s why it’s especially significant that he ACTUALLY SAID HER NAME IN THAT VERY SCENE 😱🔥😱🔥😱🔥

And if we were to really read into the symbolism, one could also argue that the "flies" in "fireflies" could easily be a nod to the "bird" symbolism that I've also written extensively about in the past (because what do birds do? They fly!).

So that's my little contribution. Whatever this ends up meaning, I'm exited for it and can't wait!

[frangipanilove]

The Green(e) Route Revisited

This is not really a theory, it’s more like wild speculation bordering on outright fan fiction. I’m bringing it up because it sort of ties into my previous couple of theories on pilgrimage and Santiago de Compostela (here and here). Additionally, if the rumors about possible filming in Spain for season 3 prove to be right, this could potentially come into play.

Back in the ancient days of Early TD, one of my favorite theories was the one that combined some of the writings on Morgan’s wall from clear, namely the “green route” seen on the wall behind Rick in the pic above, with the "green route" seen on the terminus map below.

TD latched on to the “green route” from Morgan’s wall as a potential way of bringing Beth back after her “death” in 5x8 Coda. Back then, we were all open to the idea that Morgan would somehow be involved, seeing as he featured so prominently in the coda after 5x8 Coda. And it was easy to think of the “green route” reference from 3x12 Clear as a reference to Beth, whose last name is “Greene”.

I talked about how Morgan had all these pilgrim vibes about him when we saw him in season 5 here. When I researched the pilgrim symbolism around Morgan the first time around, some time after 5x8 Coda, I came across evidence that the northern way to Santiago de Compostela is sometimes referred to as the “green way”, or the “green route”. This is apparently due to the vibrant colors of the landscape and vegetation along the northern Spanish Atlantic coast, and because of the discussions around the “green route” in TD at the time, this tickled my TD senses immensely.

This was also when I was starting to research the Sirius and North Star symbolism, as well as other astronomical references such as the Venus symbolism. It seemed like a pretty convenient coincidence that the name “Santiago de Compostela” refers to the “way under the field of stars” under which the pilgrims traveled to reach their destination. And on top of that, the “green way/green route” is literally “the Northern Way” which potentially could be a tie in with the “North symbolism" we’ve seen around Beth so much.

However, the pilgrim symbolism in TWDU didn’t really go anywhere… until it suddenly did. A St. Christopher medallion, which had been central to my initial theories on Morgan as a pilgrim, showed up if FTWD 6x2:

And now, after TWDDD 1x6 Home, we’ve had the first explicit mention of Santiago de Compostela, in that Losang, leader of The Nest, first came into contact with Laurent and the nuns after returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela:

And obviously, we now have all these rumors that Daryl might be going to Spain for season 3.

In the original “green route “ theory from back in the days, @bluesandbeth theorized that the “green route” mentioned on Morgan’s wall was a reference to the green route on the terminus map, which ultimately ended up by the coast, offering a potential way for Beth to make her way to Alexandria Safe Zone by boat. Of course, it didn’t turn out like that, but I always loved the theory, it was well researched and plausible. And while it didn’t happen the way we first thought, I don’t think the “green route” symbolism has been fulfilled in any way, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s still very much in play.

Also, in 5x6 Consumed, we saw a very prominent green arrow, quite literally seconds before Carol and Daryl ran into Noah, which ultimately led them to Beth. It really feels like the green arrow, or the “green route”, is something that foreshadows a “destination” where Beth Greene is to be found. I don’t remember who first discovered that particular connection, I just know it wasn’t me. Whoever it was, it’s a great observation! (ETA; it was @galadrieljones)

(Thanks for the screenshots @wdway)

And for what it’s worth, the green arrow in Consumed pointed to a “skybridge”. I’ve recently talked a lot about bridges, ladders, stairwells and elevator shafts as metaphorical passages through which the characters can travel, and this is a perfect example of that. The green arrow (green route) pointed to the skybridge (metaphorical passage between the realm of the dead and the realm of the living), meaning it led to Daryl and Carol finding Beth. She went from being metaphorically trapped in the "realm of the dead" to being found alive in the "realm of the living". And it happened after meeting Noah on a skybridge.

Noah...

..who was wearing a t-shirt with a stylized version of the blue heron last seen in 4x12 Still:

I’ve talked about the symbolism around the heron in many posts. It was Noah’s t-shirt that foreshadowed the episode where we saw the second blue heron painting, in an episode that foreshadowed Rick’s “death” and “resurrection”. And the blue bird symbolism is still going strong in TWDU. It lead Daryl to Beth once, I believe it will do it again eventually.

So, if the rumors about filming in Spain are true, could the “green way/green route” to Santiago de Compostela be key to a reunion between Daryl and Beth once again? The Northern Way starts in San Sebastián, just south of the French border, and interestingly, in TWDDD 1x1, we actually see Daryl move his finger across a map, from Marseille, France, where he washed up on the shore, to….

…literally San Sebastián, Spain. I’m not exaggerating, San Sebastián, starting point for the Northern Way, the Green Way, the Green Route to Santiago de Compostela, is LITERALLY right under his finger in this screenshot.

Could be a coincidence, sure. But it’s a very compelling one.

The filming in Spain hasn’t yet been officially confirmed as far as I’m aware, which is why I initially said that that this was more fan fiction than actual theorizing. There’s not really a whole lot of tangible evidence to support these speculations at this point. However, the stuff I wrote about in the pilgrim posts, such as the St. Christopher medallion and the reference to Santiago de Compostela, they are all canonically confirmed in the show. And so are the references to the “green route” from Morgan’s wall from 3x12 Clear, it exists in the canon of the show.

The symbolism around the green route hasn’t been fulfilled yet, and it is a fact that the Northern Way of the Camino de Santiago starts in San Sebastián, it is a fact that it goes through “Green Spain”, and if that’s not enough, there has always been an absolute abundance of “north” references around Beth.

And coincidence or not, Daryl did put his finger directly above San Sebastián on the map from 1x1….