‘Walking Dead’ Season 5 Spoilers: What Happened To Beth In Season 4? Recap Before Episode 4, ‘Slabtown’

Fans of “The Walking Dead” have been wondering about Beth’s (Emily Kinney) fate ever since she went missing in Season 4. After months of waiting, they will finally get some answers on Hershel’s (Scott Wilson) youngest daughter when Episode 4 of Season 5 is shown Sunday.

Beth’s storyline was recently reintroduced when Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) took off after a car with a cross on the window, believing it would lead them to Beth. The AMC series didn’t show what happened next, but cut to Daryl returning to Rick’s group at the end of Episode 3. When Michonne asked him about Carol, Daryl mysteriously told someone in the woods behind him to “come on out.”

According to the synopsis for Episode 4, titled “Slabtown,” another group of survivors will be introduced. While the official AMC episode description doesn’t specifically say the new survivors are somehow tied to Beth’s disappearance, the promo video and photographs for the episode give fans their first look at the kidnapped member of Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group.

As was the case with Terminus, things with this new group will “appear safe and nice.” However, these mysterious folks also have a “bit of a dark side” that will be exposed.

But how did Beth get to be with this new group? Let’s recap before Episode 4 is shown. The Governor’s (David Morrissey) second attack on the prison forced Rick’s crew to split up in the second half of Season 4. In the chaos, Beth and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) were separated. But, fortunately, Beth wasn’t left alone -- the young blonde managed to escape with Daryl when the walkers began to swarm the former safe haven.

Beth and Daryl experienced a couple of hiccups while on the road together. Beth was optimistic about finding some of their former group members, while Daryl believed it to be a lost cause. To make things a little more complicated, Beth was a much less experienced fighter than Daryl.

In the end, the pair wound up bonding over some moonshine and opened up to each other. But their companionship was short-lived.

In Episode 13, Beth accidentally stepped in an animal trap. Injured and unable to move fast, the pair was forced to seek shelter at a funeral home in a cemetery. Fortunately, the funeral home was abandoned, stocked with food and clean. The duo decided to stay the night to regroup, and set up a trap to warn them of anything or anyone approaching the house -- and it worked. Daryl and Beth were surprised when a stray dog showed up at the door.

The dog didn’t stay, but it did inspire Daryl. When Beth began writing a thank-you note for whoever had left the food at their temporary shelter, Daryl told her she might not have to leave it.

“Maybe we stick around her for awhile,” he told her. “If they come back, we’ll just make it work.”

Things unraveled shortly after that. When the dog began barking outside, Daryl made another attempt to give it some food. However, he made the mistake of opening the door without looking, and the house quickly became overrun with walkers. As Daryl tried to fight off some of the undead, he told Beth to take her bag and run. He followed her out of the house shortly thereafter -- but it was too late. Daryl ran out of the funeral home to find Beth’s bag abandoned on the lawn and a car with a cross in the window speeding away. He sprinted after the car, but failed to catch up.

“Walking Dead” viewers did not see Beth again for the rest of Season 4, but many developed theories about her kidnapping. Some believed her to be in another train car at Terminus or the mystery meat on Mary’s grill, but those theories turned out to be false. Another theory sparked when it was announced that Seth Gilliam would be joining the AMC series as Father Gabriel, a famous character from Robert Kirkman’s comic-book series.

Fortunately, the truth is only a few hours away. Episode 4 of Season 5 will reveal what happened to Beth and who has her. Watch “Slabtown” when the latest episode of “The Walking Dead” is shown on AMC Sunday at 9 p.m. EST.