WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS. Read on only if you've already seen "The Walking Dead" Season 5, Episode 6, titled "Consumed."
Everybody knows that Daryl and Carol are one badass duo, so naturally I had high expectations for tonight’s episode of “The Walking Dead.” Unfortunately, the drama that was promised wasn’t delivered and I found myself waiting around for something to actually happen.
The episode showed us what happened between the time Daryl and Carol went after the car that took Beth and Carol being taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. While I expected the show to cut to the chase, instead it took its time focusing on some character development before bringing the story full circle at the end.
Look, anyone who knows me knows that I’m all about character development. While some people find it slow, boring, and maybe even pointless, I'm forever intrigued by the way characters grow and change. But the way the show presented the character arcs of Carol and Daryl in this episode felt so. Drawn. Out. Almost like watching Bilbo and his band of dwarves forever running around Middle-earth in “The Hobbit.” Can we move on, please?
Despite the lengthy lead-up to the action, there were some interesting character tidbits revealed. Carol, for instance, has definitely changed since being banished by Rick. While her priority is still to survive by any means, she now has an added sense of despair about the world. The banishment clearly gave her time alone to think about her life since the apocalypse. “I don’t think we get to save people anymore,” she told Daryl. But she admitted she was still trying.
Conversely, Daryl, who used to be unpredictable and reckless, has now become one of the most logical and compassionate characters on the show. There are so many instances in tonight’s episode that proved this, including when he insisted on watching and waiting before making a move to save Beth, or when he saved Noah’s life twice instead of letting him get shot in the leg by Carol or killed by a walker.
Interestingly, it was also revealed that Daryl was abused as a child. At one point, Carol grabs Daryl’s bag and a book entitled “Treating Survivors of Child Abuse” falls out. I thought it was a pretty random, but intriguing way to introduce part of Daryl’s past. While there was no further discussion about it between him and Carol, it’s safe to assume that we’ll learn more about Daryl’s childhood as the season goes on.
During all these revelations, our favourite duo was trying to figure out where Beth could be. They initially lost the car that took Beth because their own vehicle ran out of fuel. Although they lost their lead, they soon found another car with two white crosses on the back windshield. Based on the medical supplies they found inside, the two deduced that Beth was likely at Grady Memorial.
The two were headed to the hospital when they ran into Noah. After an altercation, the three decided to team up to save Beth. Unfortunately, Noah’s previous gunshots from his encounter with walkers caused the hospital’s cops to come after him. While the team tried to sneak out of the building and find Beth, Carol was hit by the cops’ car. Noah held Daryl back as they watched the cops put Carol on a gurney and take her away.
In true “Walking Dead” fashion, the show abruptly ended there, leaving us wanting more. While I didn’t hate the episode, I didn’t love it either. The whole time it felt like they were stalling. While delaying action isn’t always a bad thing, I just hope they don’t build up the hospital confrontation too much, only to leave us feeling empty.
Which brings me to my final point: clearly people are the true enemies in the apocalypse. This time, it’s the hospital crew vs. our beloved survivors. What I’m wondering is, will this conflict get redundant in the seasons to come? A little food for thought.
Random Thoughts:
- Was anyone else surprised that Noah wasn’t limping when we saw him this episode? When he originally left Beth at the hospital, his leg was pretty badly injured…
- The walkers that Daryl and Carol found in sleeping bags really grossed me out. A LOT. They reminded me of maggots rolling around, infesting the earth. So disgusting.
- Lately I’ve been finding the two-second flashbacks throughout this season annoying. This episode was better, but the random cut scene to Carol and Tyreese burying Lizzie’s body made no sense to me.
- Daryl’s worry and distress for Carol at the end of the episode was heartbreaking to watch. But then again, any scene where Daryl looks sad is.
“The Walking Dead” airs on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.