Daisy Jones & The Six

Chapters 9 and 10 mark the beginning of the end for Daisy Jones & The Six. The characters are unable to withstand the denouement of the band after the lengthy turning points of Chapters 7 and 8, and the artificial world of fame starts to crash down around them.

Chapter 9 depicts Karen’s experience with unwanted pregnancy and abortion. Though Karen loves Graham, she values her freedom and independence more. Karen’s narrative captures a theme of the era: women’s reproductive rights and the second-wave feminism that had begun in the 1960s and carried into the 1970s. Karen wants a life on her own terms and is at odds with the prototype of the American woman in the 1970s. Karen wants love, but she also wants freedom, and children are not among her complex desires. Karen’s constant battle of the sexes emphasizes the type of stress and scrutiny women faced in the 1970s.

Daisy’s character development takes another turn as she dives deeper into her drug addiction, aided by her destructive husband, Niccolo (Nicky). While Daisy is on her final downward trajectory, relations between her and Billy are at their worst. The parallelism between Billy and Daisy’s characters develops in Chapter 9 through Nicky’s jealousy of Billy and through Daisy’s shame at living her drugged and self-abusive life in front of Billy. Daisy’s rock bottom is the impetus for her character’s development: Daisy is shocked that her own husband doesn’t think to call for an ambulance when he thinks she has overdosed. Daisy finally comes to terms with the fact that she has been replacing a childhood of lost love with drugs and men like Nicky, while Billy replaced his childhood of lost love with a partner who really sees him, loves him, and cares for him. Daisy’s rock bottom is different than Billy’s, but the reason behind their drug addictions is the same.

The parallelism between Daisy and Billy is explored when Daisy asks Billy for help getting sober. In her love for Billy, Daisy can recognize a love for herself. Daisy and Billy suffer from the same sorts of traumas. They both believe sobriety to be futile in such a difficult world, but the key difference in their characterizations is that Billy works hard for sobriety because he has a reason to, whereas Daisy does not. Daisy finally recognizes this similarity and comes to understand that Billy can be the key to a healthier, fuller life.

In Chapter 9, the band wins at the Grammy Awards, and the narration from cultural commentators reveals a public perception of Daisy that is at odds with her actual persona. Daisy looks striking and independent on stage, but inside she is crumbling. The two different images of Daisy—the public and the private—are not juxtapositions, but they are disparate images of the same woman. Daisy is independent and cool, but the story of her complex life includes both her outward appearance and her inner turmoil.

The death of Teddy Price in Chapter 9 is deeply symbolic. Teddy is not just a producer for Daisy and Billy; he also acts as a father figure. Teddy who made sure Billy got sober and believed in Billy’s musical genius. He also believed in giving Daisy a second shot at her contract and taught her how to show people she deserved respect as an artist. The death of Teddy comes at a time in the plot when Daisy Jones & The Six are already on thin ice; Eddie is dissatisfied with Billy, Pete is ready to get out of the band, Karen and Graham are about to end their relationship, and Daisy is nearly dying from drugs. When Teddy dies, the solidity of the band dies with him. Teddy was the symbolic glue that held the band together in the worst of times, and he is the spiritual symbol that motivated the band to do more with their talent.

Chapter 10 is the first chapter of the novel that focuses on one night as opposed to a time period. The distinction here is crucial as readers know this night, the night of July 12, 1979, is when the band we have come to know will dissipate. The happenings foreshadowed throughout the novel come to pass in Chapter 10: Karen and Graham’s explosive break-up, Eddie’s loss of control over his role in the band, Daisy and Billy’s moments of reckoning with their addictions. Billy’s resolve to stay sober weakens when he comes to terms with his feelings for Daisy, and he turns to alcohol to free the tight control he has practiced over his emotions for months. Ironically, what Billy does not know is that in the hotel, his wife is confronting a high and drunk Daisy with the realities of Daisy’s relationship with Billy. While Billy is succumbing to his addiction, Camila is defending their family one last time by telling Daisy that she is worthy of help.

That Camila, not Billy, ultimately helps to save Daisy confirms that Daisy and Billy are two halves of a whole. In the same way that Billy needs Camila to acknowledge, battle, and overcome his addiction, so, too, does Daisy need Camila. What Camila does for Billy she does for the Daisy. The fact that Daisy and Billy both need Camila (or, people like Camila) to live safe, healthy, and happy lives proves that despite the intense chemistry and love they share, Daisy and Billy are not meant to be together. Daisy and Billy are too similar; that similarity produces beautiful music but carries the danger of producing wicked lives.