Beth and Maggie: Walking Dead

I was reading the comments on a random website regarding The Walking Dead.  One of the comments read something like this:  when did Beth get so popular?

That's an interesting observation.  When initially introduced, Beth was just some random person on the farm, largely without a role.  Even through much of Season 4 she didn't seem to have much of a role.  In fact, I figured she'd be killed off at some point -- filling the role of a human becoming snack for a zombie.  (I'm sure at some point she'll meet her demise, perhaps even in Season 5, or perhaps based on her moral backbone she'll survive until Season 6 or 7, becoming the moral authority in the group like her father.)

During the back half episodes of season 4 she took a more prominent role, which helped increase her popularity.  I also wonder if there is a growing sympathy for her.  I personally started to get a little offended when Maggie was obsessed about finding Glenn, but had nothing to say about her sister.  As this irritation grew, I started to read the comments on various articles and noticed that others were picking up on this, as well.

I did read a comment that mentioned that The Walking Dead addressed this as Maggie believes that her sister has passed away in the prison.  I suppose this is possible.  I don't re-watch episodes so maybe it was mentioned earlier and I forgot and then my irritation grew as I watched other episodes.  Maybe I will have to try and re-watch some of those episodes that deal with the prison aftermath since my writing this post does indicate a degree of obsession regarding this.

If many of my fellow Walking Dead fans are correct and Maggie is simply focused on Glenn and not sharing concern for her sister, I think the Walking Dead writers are doing a serious disservice to the character of Maggie.

P.S.  I found it amusing how Emily Kinney's cameo role in The Following took her first drink before attempting to follow her true calling.  I wonder if The Walking Dead shared Beth's drinking script with The Following (I'm assuming The Walking Dead episode hadn't aired yet -- could be wrong.)