The past episode of The Walking Dead partnered up Carol and Darryl in a team-up that has been seasons in the making. Fans of the characters are treated to an hour long exploration of their past, present, and glimpses of where they are headed next as they search for Beth. These are two of the most dynamic people in the world of The Walking Dead, however the entire episode feels muted and dour.

This episode really belongs to Carol as the writers attempt to fill in parts of her story that we never got to see in the past. Carol has had as tough a road as anyone on the show. We have witnessed her be an abused spouse, lose her family, become a warrior, lose her secondary family and community, before finally redeeming herself during a daring rescue of her comrades at the beginning of the season. There are a series of flashbacks that don’t seem to hold any significance to the overall narrative, other than to garner sympathy for Carol. It makes you wonder what her future on the show will be…

The writers have a fun time playing with viewer’s expectations about the nature of Darryl and Carol’s relationship. For the better part of at least four seasons the writers have toyed with the notion of a bond and common tie between the two. At times it seems to be a close friendship based on a common struggle, other times it seems like a mother-son or familial bond, and at times there has seemed to be a romantic attraction between the two. Clearly the showrunners know the ambiguous nature of the two in the audience’s eyes. They include scenes of them lying in bed together where the tension is palpable and you don’t know whether they will kiss or get attacked by a zombie at any moment.

Aside from some otherworldly markmanship with guns and crossbows, part of the appeal of the world of The Walking Dead is that these are completely ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. The limits of the show’s believability was pushed to the edge, when the duo let themselves go over an overpass in a van and they come away from it alive. Granted Carol did appear to have dislocated her shoulder or to have broken her collar bone. The sequence was also edited in a completely amateurish fashion, where it is clear the van was going land upside down However it miraculously lands on all four wheels. It is rare to be thrown out of the show’s reality and logic. This was an uncharacteristic example of how to strain the believability that the show has meticulously created over the course of five seasons.

Tyler James Williams returns as Noah. It is a fun twist to have been previously introduced to the character whose motivations are unknowingly the exact same as the heroes. However, the writers have found another way to explore the rampant distrust among strangers in the post-apocalyptic setting. Noah’s character is refreshing because unlike most people that the clan encounters, his intentions do seem genuine to the core. It will be interesting to see if he is able to blend into the group and what will happen with his character if they successfully rescue Beth.

Next week the tension should ratchet up. However that is part of the problem with this episode, “Consumed.” The tension was low and it held no real significance to either character’s development or the overall story. In a nutshell, it was a dispensable episode and that is not what The Walking Dead is about.

What did you think of “Consumed?” What do you think will be Carol’s fate? Let us know on , , and Reddit! You can also share the story by clicking below!