REVIEW: The Walking Dead – Season 5:6
“Consumed”
SPOILERS AHEAD
This is by far the best episode yet this season; there was never a dull moment. The actors were constantly on the move, meeting new people and running into sticky situations. There hasn’t been this much movement in one episode in a while, we desperately needed it. The van sequence was executed perfectly. Even though Carol states that she should be the one to go into the van because she is lighter and the van is unstable, and they both go inside, is a minimal complaint. The sound of silence during the drop was very realistic. The actual drop was perfect, then the post-drop walker was amazing. I love half-zombies. The use of flashbacks kept us on our toes and the symbolism was beautiful.
This episode focused primarily on Carol, which was much needed since she has been so mysterious lately. Carol reminds us and elaborates about her abusive past with Ed, we see what happened when Rick kicked her out of the prison and we learn what she and Daryl have been up to since they left the church. Carol was surrounded by fire this episode. The episode started with the burning of a single candle, then a flashback to her burning bodies at the prison, then the prison burning and finally the burning of Terminus. When Carol was talking about her past, she stated that she is not sa
d to see her past life go; she’s happy. Daryl even stated, “We ain’t ashes.” The zombie apocalypse was Carol’s rebirth; she is the phoenix.
Daryl, on the other hand, was seen lighting things on fire. He set aflame: the bodies of the woman and child, a legal pad, a dumpster and finally a cigarette. When Carol started reminiscing about her past and how the apocalypse has changed her, she begins to have a heart-to-heart with Daryl. She let him know that he has changed too; he acts like a man now, not a child. For a split second, when Noah was caught under that bookshelf, Daryl tried to revert back to his old, childish ways. He lit up a cigarette — he hasn’t smoked in months – and decided that he was going to leave Noah. It wasn’t until Carol said something that Daryl snapped out of his adolescent behavior and rescued Noah from the walker.
Detectives Daryl and Carol were finally on the right track to finding Beth and the strange cross-bearing cars. They stole a car, made it to the city, ran a van off a bridge and then they were mugged…by Noah. Do you even know how to use a crossbow, Noah? It just goes to show that the city life is still dangerous, even during the zombie apocalypse. Thankfully, Daryl is a good detective, er I mean tracker, and they stumbled upon Noah and their weapons. After finding numerous clues, and a little deliberation, they realized that they all know Beth. They were on their way to Grady Memorial Hospital when some speed-demon ran over Carol. Now, that makes two injuries by vehicle for Carol this episode. At least we know now that Carol will actually be needing the medical attention at the hospital.
On a side note:
- I think Noah is still the mysterious man in the woods that Daryl brings out.
- I would like to see Rick go to Grady Hospital and approach Dawn. Rick and Dawn are both cops. This is two polar opposite approaches to living in the apocalypse and still trying to maintain a position of authority while bringing justice to the people. Rick is a sheriff, he outranks Dawn. Maybe Rick could finally put her in her place.
- Why did Carol want to save Noah while he was under the bookshelf? She tried to shoot “his leg” when he stole their weapons.
Check out this sneak peek of next weeks The Walking Dead
