The Walking Dead S5Ep6 Consumed Review

The Walking Dead S5Ep6 Consumed Review

With the episode ‘Consumed’ TWD fills in the gap of the timeline. It depicts events between Carol and Daryl setting off to find Beth and when Daryl returned to the church. I feel pretty stupid that I forgot that Beth helped Noah escape from the hospital. So it is no surprise who Daryl took with him on his way back. As we have also seen a wounded Carol being helped into the same hospital we know nothing serious will happened to either Daryl and Carol. Nonetheless ‘Consumed’ manages to captivate its audience with its moody music and rewarding flashbacks. For not only doe this episode show how Daryl and Carol attempt to find Beth in Atlanta. For Carol that means coming face to face with the murders she conducted at the prison. Daryl’s gruff reply that she did so to survive no longer work as he himself shows a soft spot when he doesn’t kill Noah.

Consumed starts with Carol (Melissa McBride) finding her way after she has been banned from the group by Rick. A little while later she notices smoke coming from the prison and arrives just after the battle with the governor is over. Back in the present Daryl saves her from killing a child zombie, but a flashback show how she buried Mika and Lizzie with the help of Tyreese. She wants to tell Daryl about the experience but he states as they are no longer alive he knows what happened. Carol replies it was a lot worse. The slow panoramic shots of Atlanta and the wonderfully moody music do a lot to make the minimalistic dialogue between Carol and Daryl work. I think high praise should go to Melissa McBride for her acting in ‘Consumed’.

Briefly Daryl and Carol are forced to overnight in shelter for domestic abuse victims. Carol talks about her abuse suffered at the hands of her husband. She later catches Daryl taking a book from the shelter on treatment of children who suffered abuse. This is a reference to hos own dark youth. After Noah has stolen their weapons Daryl and Carol find a truck of the hospital suspended on an overpass. Taking shelter inside they are pushed over the side wounding Carol. All this happens within earshot of the scene with the tank from the series première. It gives a glimpse of not only how far the world has gone to hell but also how far Carol has progressed in character during 4+ seasons.

As Carol and Daryl (Norman Reedus) draw closer to the hospital they find Noah with the guns. Daryl manages to drop a bookshelf on him and disarms him. Unlike her previous sentiment which got her to kill those infected at the prison she now wants to save Noah. After Daryl arrows a walker Noah tells them about Beth, the hospital and the police officers abusing people there. As they flee from the police who heard Noah shooting their guns Carol is struck by their car. Noah tells Daryl he should let them take her away as she will get treatment. Daryl asks him what it will take to get Beth and Carol back. Noah replies ‘A lot’. The last shot shows Daryl and Noah travelling back to the church in a delivery truck they passed earlier.

Conclusion

This episode was almost hypnotic in a way. You already knew nothing serious could happen. Yet, it still dealt with important questions on Carol. Can her character be redeemed? I think she can. She choose to save Noah while before she stated she didn’t believe in heaven but just wanted to let hell wait for her as long as possible. Not only has she learned how to take care of herself she has learned a little bit of altruism just like Daryl has. In the comic book Carol dies relatively soon of a self-inflicted gunshot. Then again Andrea is still alive (I think). This show is certainly not forced to follow the comics precisely but there is something about Carol that tells me she hasn’t got long to live.

Score; 8.8. A wonderfully moody and captivating hour of TV. Why can’t more horror and SF shows be like this!

Source; http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/17/the-walking-dead-consumed-review

This was The Walking Dead S5Ep6 Consumed Review