The Walking Dead
Episode Title: “Consumed”
Channel: AMC
Director: Seith
Mann
Writers: Matthew Negrete
Genre: Drama,
Horror, Thriller
Runtime: 44
min
Rated: TV-MA
Original Air Date: November 16,
20
This
week on The Walking Dead
the audience gets an episode devoted entirely to Carol and Daryl.
Let's get it out of the way, no they didn't. You know what I mean.
What does happen is a return to the city, a welcome change from the
rural settings of the past few seasons. The familiar streets, closed
in spaces, and the feeling of possible danger lurking around every
corner make Atlanta seem like a much more dangerous place to be than
previous locales. The night time shot entering Atlanta was a nice
reference to the first episode, and really drives home the point that
they're now entering a completely different situation.
“Consumed”
consists mainly of scavenging scenes, with very brief conversations
thrown into the mix. We do learn a little bit about what has
happened to Carol in instances that she's been off camera, but the
episode struggled to really bring to light anything we didn't
already know. This is most apparent when the events of past episodes
are taken into account. The audience already knew that Carol was
going to end up at Grady Memorial Hospital, Daryl was going to make
his way back to the group at the church, and that he was going to
have someone with him. Having already seen all of that it took a lot
of suspense out of this episode. Sure, we know how that all happened
now, but I'm not sure that it was worth spending an entire episode on
that.
There
are a couple of moments of deep introspection from Carol that were
interesting. As she's recalling her own life, pondering who she was,
who she became, and who she is now it seemed to me that maybe she's a
little confused by it all. Her reactions to each encounter with Noah
seem to make this pretty clear. She's at different times willing to
shoot him in the back and then demanding that Daryl help her save
him. I get the feeling that she's not sure which Carol she wants to
be, or maybe not sure that who she wants to be is compatible with the
way the world is now.
I'm
glad to see confirmation that Noah is going to be around for at least
a little while longer. I like the character and the group could
definitely benefit from getting younger. Sure he doesn't seem like
he's much use in a fight, but he thinks fast and is willing to do
what it takes; even if he's not fully capable of doing it he's going
to try. I hope he's not a casualty in the upcoming showdown.
Conclusion:
“Consumed” tries to a fill a gap in the narrative that didn't
really need to be filled. The change in setting, while fun, can't
overcome the fact that the viewers are past needing to see the
characters pick through trash. Some memorable scenes kept the body
of the episode interesting, even if the viewer already knew where it
was going to end up.
Rating:
7/10
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