Daisy Jones & The Six is My 'Silver Springs'

Taylor Jenkins Reid's New York Times bestselling historical fiction follows the coming of age and rise to fame of a Pittsburg band called The Six, and the beautiful, talented, and tortured lead woman, Daisy Jones.

Written and published in 2019, Reid's novel shot to fame and was quickly adapted to a limited series of the same name, starring Riley Keough as Daisy and Sam Claflin as The Six's frontman Billy Dunne. I had heard whispers of the book and seen the cover many a time, but it kind of slipped under my radar until this year, when my best friend recommended the series to me.

About a week ago, I started watching. I think I made it through the intro to the first episode, paused it, and recalled that clip of Stevie Nicks in 1997, the one where she sings Silver Springs while staring down bandmate and ex-lover Lindsey Buckingham. If you haven't heard it (I'd be shocked) go give it a listen, or read the lyrics at least. It's powerful, gritty, beautiful, and sad. 

I had to highlight that moment first because I truly do believe it is the cornerstone of Reid's incredible story of love, passion, music, substance abuse, and rock and roll. Of course, it's very loosely based on Nicks and Buckingham's real life relationship. But Reid perfectly encapsulates that push and pull between two souls who know they can't - or, maybe shouldn't - be together, while also having a desperate necessity for one another. I picked up the book right away because I loved the series so much.

As a brief overview, here are some things that are both true for novel and series:

• Billy is married to Camila, and they have a daughter named Julia. Billy missed Julia's birth because, while he was touring with The Six, he became addicted to drugs and had to enter rehab to get clean. His family is his lifeline, and he works hard to maintain sobriety.
• Daisy was neglected by her parents and left home at a young age to pursue songwriting. She takes a lot of drugs (mostly Dexedrine and cocaine). Her relationship with Billy could be described as a kind of enemies to lovers, though they never really become ‘lovers’. 
• They are pushed to work together as lead singers and songwriters in the band The Six

Daisy and Billy are two halves of the same whole, and both the novel and the series portray this in very nuanced ways. But there are some changes from page to screen that I want to address, as well as how such changes affect the emotional core of the story and arc of the characters.

Daisy and Billy Never Kiss

It's true. The book has all the same yearning, all the same obvious connection between Daisy and Billy - but it never becomes physical.

In the series, Daisy and Billy have a fight in the studio parking lot. Something about one of the songs. Daisy's screaming in his face when, all of a sudden, he grabs her and kisses her. They have a hot-sexy make-out and then they're right back in the studio.

In the novel, Daisy and Billy are writing songs for the Aurora album. They're sitting at a piano together, figuring out a melody or something. Daisy tells him how much she likes writing with him. Billy says, “I like a lot about you.”  

It's here that Daisy, overjoyed by the compliment, leans in to kiss him. He closes his eyes too. Their lips barely graze and – he pulls away. He says, “I can't." And Daisy feels terrible. She apologizes, leaves, drives to the beach. She sits in her sadness for a while, reflecting.

The problem I have with this change is that it paints Billy as much weaker-willed than he is in the books. The flaw of Billy's character is that he has an addictive personality, and struggles with the wrongs he committed against Camila in the past – cheating on her, becoming relying on hard drugs, and missing the birth of their first baby. Billy sees Daisy as this amazing, awe-inspiring talent, but also as a temptation. He knows early on that she represents his unchecked desires, his impulses. He almost can't help it, but he does. The Billy in the series deals with the same things, but crosses the line that Book Billy would never forgive himself for crossing. Daisy also shows a lot more remorse for her actions in the book.

Daisy Asked Billy to Help Her Get Clean

In the series, Billy tries to convince Daisy to go to rehab, but she sort of brushes it off, saying something like she ‘isn’t ready'. Eventually, Daisy herself (with the help of her best friend Simone and producer Teddy) checks into rehab after The Six's final show, in the last episode of the series.

In the novel, Daisy Jones & The Six perform on Saturday Night Live. During this performance, Daisy and Billy do a rendition of A Hope Like You together, just the two of them. The song (which doesn't exist in the series) is a slow, romantic song. Billy is on the keyboard, and Daisy's singing. It's during this performance that Daisy finally reconciles the fact that she is in love with Billy, and there's nothing she can do about it. Billy also accepts his own feelings in this moment, saying in his interview, “How can I be around Daisy Jones and not be mesmerized by her? Not be in love with her?”

After this performance, when Daisy has had this monumental realization, she goes to Billy's room at the hotel. As a reader, you're thinking, she's going to confess. But instead, Billy opens the door, and she says, “I want to get clean.” Billy sits with her, talks with her, comforts her. He reassures her she's making the right decision.

The problem with removing this pivotal scene in the film is that Daisy knew she couldn't be with Billy if she wasn't clean. She didn't want to appear to him as a drug addict, as temptation, as a problem he had to avoid. That's why she didn't confess her feelings right away, and that's why she went to him for help. He'd been through it, and just as the entirety of the book had shown – they understood each other. The series removes the importance of Daisy's trust in Billy in this moment. However, she never checks in, because:

Teddy Dies

In the series, Teddy - Runner Records' top producer and mentor to The Six - suffers from a heart attack after the SNL show, but he is rushed to hospital and survives. 

In the novel, Billy gets a phone call while The Six are on tour (right after the SNL show) that Teddy has died of a heart attack back in LA. The band calls a hiatus and returns home for the funeral. In the time after this event, Billy is suffering. Teddy was like a father figure to him. He feels the pull of alcohol, desperately wanting to take his mind off of everything. Once again, it's his family and Camila that keep him strong, and he resists his urges.

The problem is that Teddy's death is a huge roadblock in the future for Daisy Jones & The Six. Billy frequently struggles with the idea that he would never be able to make another hit record without Teddy as the producer, and when things go downhill for Billy and Daisy later on, he firmly believes his career may be over. He can't write without Daisy, and he can't make music without Teddy. Teddy surviving in the series removes major stakes for Billy and the band.

The Finale was Completely Different

Honeycomb Is the Turning Point

In the series, Billy writes the song Look at us Now (Honeycomb) and Daisy changes up a few of the lyrics, to Billy's chagrin. They don't perform it for most of the series, after they finish the album Aurora. But it's the last song he and Daisy sing together on stage, during which they seem to accept that they aren't right for each other. Daisy tells him to “go" and he leaves to chase down Camila.

In the novel, the lyrics in the song Honeycomb pertain specifically to a life between Camila and Billy in the future. Written by Billy from Camila's perspective, it describes how Camila forgives him for his mistakes and she knows they'll always be together. When Daisy changed the lyrics, she changed statements into questions, suddenly making the song more uncertain rather than affirming. Billy is upset about this because Daisy is implying that Camila may still have doubts about him.

In the final performance in Chicago, when the time comes for Daisy to sing her altered lyrics, she changes them back to Billy's original 'statement' ones. By doing so, Daisy acknowledges that Billy and Camila will be together and she has no right to get between them. It shows that Daisy respects his relationship with Camila, and she is snuffing out her flame for him, in a way. This was Daisy's Silver Springs moment, but instead of Nicks' angry resolve, she delivers the song with heartbroken surrender.

Billy Never Relapses

In the series, Billy has a drink at a bar in Chicago after he thinks he fucked it up with Camila (again). He drinks from a flask during the concert, and he does a bump before the band's encore. He completely crashes out and basically flings himself from the wagon.

In the novel, Billy sits down at a bar after the Chicago show. He's emotionally and physically exhausted, grieving the fact that he and Daisy will never be together. He orders a tequila neat. As he's waiting, a nameless stranger comes up to him at the bar and recognizes him. Starts asking him questions, etc. Billy takes the tiniest taste of the drink and then the stranger asks him if he has any children. Billy freezes. He puts down his drink. It's hard, but he does it. And then he goes back to his family, never buckling under the pressure of his own addiction.

The problem is, again, I think they're doing Billy's character a bit of a disservice in the series. I understand that it may be more realistic for those who suffer substance abuse to attend rehab more than once, as he does in the series. I understand that it creates higher stakes if Billy gets  closer to falling down that hole again, but is still able to pull himself back out of it. I just think they withheld the credit Billy should be given. And, sure, I'm glad I got to see him and Daisy share a smooch, but it cheapens his character arc for me. 

Camila Deserved So Much More

In the series, Camila is more emotional, more uncertain, and more reactive. Early on, when she walks in on Billy cheating on her (while she's several months pregnant, btw) she behaves more or less as the Camila of the novel - upset, angry, telling Billy he can “do whatever he wants” until the baby is due. As time goes on, she trusts Billy to go on tour, but she can very clearly see that there is something between him and Daisy. Credit to her, she remains kind to Daisy, and in one scene in Pittsburg she talks to her about motherhood. Daisy is uncertain she'd be good at it, but Camila says, “Don't count yourself out this early, Daisy. You're all sorts of things you don't even know yet.”

It's not until she catches Billy and Daisy embracing that she knows whatever is between them could be serious. She blows up at both of them. When Camila goes to the Chicago concert after Billy left her a message begging her to come, she is gutted by Billy and Daisy's performance and leaves. 

In the novel, Camila seems secure in her and Billy's relationship. She can see that there is something between them, but she puts full faith in her husband that he will make the right choices. She never catches him and Daisy, because there's nothing to catch. There is, however, one major scene that was fully cut from the series.

Post-Chicago show, while Billy is fighting his demons at the bar, Camila and Daisy have a talk in Daisy's hotel room. Camila knows that Billy loves Daisy, but he'll never leave Camila. Camila tells Daisy she won't let him leave, and that they are “bigger” than Daisy. You know what, just go ahead and read this quote from Camila herself.

“…I'm not perfect. I'll never be perfect. I don't expect everything to be perfect. But things don't have to be perfect to be strong. So if you're waiting around, hoping that something's going to crack, I just…I have to tell you that it's not gonna be me. And I can't let it be Billy. Which means it's gonna be you.”

Chills. If that's not soul-crushing and badass at the same time, I don't know what is. The thing is, Camila isn't saying this to Daisy to be mean, or to put her down, or bully her. Camila acknowledges the bond between Daisy and Billy, but she simply cannot allow them to be together. She tells Daisy to quit the band, go get clean, and make the right decisions for herself. And if not for herself, then for Camila and her children.

Daisy explains she's jealous of Camila. That she wants to have a family, have children, move on, but she feels “like too much of a fuckup to deserve anything like that.” This is when Camila delivers her iconic line: “Don't count yourself out this early, Daisy. You're all sorts of things you don't even know yet.”

And that's what pushes Daisy over the edge. That Camila believes in her. That Camila thought she was ‘worth saving’. 

The problem with removing this from the series is that Camila is simmered down to a jealous wife who stays with her rock-star husband even though he cheated on her multiple times. Of course, she reacts in a natural way - tears, anger, resentment, fear of losing her family. And, sure, Camila of the series carries her own kind strength and resolve. 

But the Camila of the novel is more complex than that. She understands the type of love she has with Billy. She fiercely protects it, when she knows it's threatened. She speaks hard truths, and tells it how it is. It just so happens that, a lot of the time, she's right. And she was right when it came to Daisy, and Daisy knew it.

Epilogue (major spoilers)

For those who don't know, the story (and series) reveal that the band is being interviewed by none other than Julia, Billy and Camila's daughter. It is also revealed that, at the time of the documentary being completed, Camila had passed away from complications from Lupus. 

It is Camila's final wish that Billy - when he's ready - gives Daisy a call. 

“At the very least, they owe me a song,” she says. 

I don't think I've cried that hard to a book or a television series in a long time.

Overall, I loved both the series and the book. I can appreciate the creative changes, especially the physical ones, that the series introduced. The way the novel was written - as an interview transcript - doesn't exactly lend itself to adaptation, since there were rarely any drawn out scenes and most of the characters are describing brief moments or details from their past. I can understand that the age old rule of show, don't tell wins out over minutes of would-be exposition. 

In any case, if anyone made it this far I appreciate you for continuing on! Those who have seen this series, let me know if I shocked you with any of the revelations here, or comment your favourite character or moment in the show. 

Thanks for reading!!

xxxxxxxx