The Walking Dead, “Consumed,” was written by the team of Matthew Negrete and Corey Reed and was directed by Seith Mann. My hat is off to all three for delivering a powerfully and intricately written and beautifully shot episode that plays off of the theme of fire and being consumed throughout. The episode is one fans have long waited for: and extended conversation between Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl (Norman Reedus). The episode would not have been as powerful if these two actors didn’t deliver the magnificent performances that they did, but both set the screen ablaze.
There were a number of really beautiful shots throughout the episode. Many of them were reflections in glass which were particularly poignant give the reflective nature of this episode. Three shots with a specific image really stood out to me, however. In three separate shots, we see Carol’s face above flames. In the first, the burning tower at the prison is reflected in the windshield of the car with Carol’s face staring in shock at the prison over top of the flames.
In the second, fire is once again reflected in glass. This time, Carol is looking at the flames of Daryl burning the bodies of the woman and child the found in the temporary shelter. In the third image, Daryl is lighting a cigarette and Carol is seen in the background with her head once more visible above the flames. In each instance, Carol is undergoing a transformation. Similarly, smoke is used frequently throughout the episode, particularly in relation to Carol’s transformations.
Carol and Daryl were very close at the prison, but as Carol points out, they aren’t the same people anymore. The episode features flashbacks of Carol. We’ve now had a Carol-centric and a Beth-centric episode. Reedus has said that he spent an hour crying before shooting the final scene of this season. Something tells me that at least one of the three isn’t going to be with us come the second half of this season.
In the flashbacks we see Carol leave Rick (Andrew Lincoln) to strike out on her own. We see her break down at the side of the road before gathering herself and doing what needs doing. She switches completely into practical mode, gathering water bottles and securing the building. Anybody else catch her using crayons for candles? You actually can do that and they last for 30 minutes! It’s an interesting touch given Carol’s relationship to the kids at the prison and later with Lizzie and Mika. We see her hanging reservoirs to catch water and then she sees the black smoke from the prison. This is the beginning of her next incarnation.
The next flashback is to Carol burying the girls’ bodies and seeing the white smoke in the distance. We also see Carol burning the bodies at the prison, and finally literally shedding her camouflage skin after the events at Terminus, with the smoke curling up behind her. Carol has changed a great deal, and through Daryl, she changes again during this episode.
The episode begins with them following the car with the cross. Carol is all for taking swift, violent action, running them off the road and getting information out of the driver however they have to, but Daryl wants to wait and observe first. Daryl wants to see what kind of people they might be; they might not be enemies. It’s interesting that Carol assumes that Daryl had saved Beth (Emily Kinney), but he gives Beth the credit: “She’s tough. She saved herself.” As the episode plays out, Daryl helps to save Carol, but really, she saves herself because she is tough.
When they get stranded in Atlanta, Carol takes them to a place she knows – temporary housing or a battered women’s shelter. She eventually tells Daryl that she took Sophia there at one time – how Carol has changed! There’s another beautiful shot of Carol and her reflection at the window – as she confronts herself and who she’s become. She asks Daryl if he started over, and he says he’s tryin’. Carol admits that she doesn’t think they get to save people anymore. And of course, their trip is all about trying to save Beth, so Daryl asks Carol why she’s there. Carol answers that she’s tryin.’ She’s trying to find that reason for living and to be worthy of living. When Daryl presses her on what she would have done if he hadn’t showed up at the car, she answers that she still doesn’t know. Would she have run? Was she leaving because she didn’t feel like she could save anyone anymore and it would just be easier not to try?
Their conversation is interrupted by a noise, and they discover a woman and a child, locked in for safety who have turned. Carol is about to go in to kill them when Daryl tells her she doesn’t have to. She still moves to take care of them, and Daryl pushes her knife down and says she doesn’t have to. His face is stricken, presumably at the killing machine that Carol has become and how she has taken all of this on her own shoulders. He saves her from having to do it, by doing it himself, for which she says a simple “thank you” over their pyre the next morning. That scene ends with a shot of the smoke rising up the buildings. Carol has begun another transformation.
They make their way through the city and end up in an office. Looking at the devastated city, Carol wonders, “how did we get here?” Daryl simply says, “Dunno. Just did.” Carol asks why Daryl hasn’t asked about what happened after she met up with Tyreese (Chad L Coleman). Daryl says the details don’t matter, the girls clearly didn’t make it. Daryl tells her, “The reason I said we get to start over, is cuz we gotta. ‘grunt’ the way it was.” I’m pretty sure that ‘grunt’ was the Daryl equivalent to Rick’s “screwed” from the final episode last season (ie put in your favorite expletive that begins with “f”). They can’t go back, and they do what they have to do in order to survive, but they do the best they can. It doesn’t matter who they used to be.
A painting in the office catches Daryl’s eye and he remarks that it looks like a dog sat in paint and then wiped his ass across the canvas. Carol then looks at it and remarks that she likes it. Daryl is convinced she’s lying, and she responds, “you don’t know me.” Daryl then replies, Yep. Keep telling yourself that.” The exchange harkens back to Beth and Edward’s conversation about whether there was any place for art in their world. Even in the midst of this crisis, they pause to discuss the painting. It may be just a visceral reaction to the painting rather than an in depth and informed discussion of its artistic merits, but they are still moved by the painting – whether they love or hate it is irrelevant. It’s also another marker that Daryl really doesn’t care who Carol was before – he knows her now. But he also doesn’t discount her past. The really ironic thing about this scene, of course, is that Reedus himself is an artist.
When they leave the office they are ambushed by Noah (Tyler James Williams) – who you could see lurking in the background of previous scenes – in the parking garage and the hallway. Noah takes their weapons. Carol shoots a walker and then is about to shoot Noah when Daryl knocks her hand down so she misses – in exactly the same way he knocked down her hand when she was about to go kill the woman and child.
Carol tries to justify her action by saying, “Did you think I was gonna kill him? I was aiming for his leg. It might have killed him, but he was stealing our weapons.” Daryl points out that he’s just a kid. And then Carol really says what she’s feeling. “We could die without weapons. Beth could die. I don’t want you to die. I don’t want Beth to die. I don’t want anyone at the church to die but I can’t stand around and watch it happen either. I needed to be somewhere else.” Daryl tells her, “You ain’t somewhere else. You’re right here. Tryin’.” She tells him, “You’re not who you were and neither am I. I don’t know if I believe in God or heaven anymore, but if I’m going to Hell, I’m making damn sure, I’m holding it off as long as I can.” Carol is afraid of what she’s capable of doing to save those she cares about.
It’s telling that the
Treating Survivors of Child Abuse book falls out of Daryl’s bag. Did he pick it up to better understand Carol? Or did he pick it up because he too was abused as a child? Is it yet another indication that Daryl gets Carol because they are more alike than she thinks? We know Daryl also faced the dilemma of what he was willing to do to survive when he was with Joe’s crew. Meanwhile, the book stuffed in Carol’s bag is Tom Sawyer, the book she was reading to the kids at the prison and which Mika wanted to finish reading with her. She’s carrying the guilt of her own unfulfilled promise.
With Noah gone, the go to check out the van and end up trapped in the van with nowhere to go – but down! They do learn that they want to head to GMH – Grady Memorial Hospital. And of course, as a battered woman, Carol would know where all the hospitals were in that area. As they settle themselves in the front seats of the van, there’s a Jesus on the dashboard – on Carol’s side – perhaps God hasn’t abandoned her quite yet. Daryl tells Carol to buckle up and hold on, and Carol reaches up to place her hand over his hand – it’s the first moment they’ve touched physically in the episode.
Just as a nit-picky aside, shouldn’t the front of the van be pushed in and shouldn’t the airbags have already deployed from hitting the guardrail and punching through to begin with? Regardless, the scene is beautifully shot and as the van fall there is complete silence, no sound track or special effects until the van hits the ground – and walkers start coming over and splatting on it! As they move away, they go arm in arm as Daryl physically helps take some of Carol’s weight. She allows him to help her.
Carol maintains that she’s fine, even when she clearly isn’t. Bonus points to her for trying to lighten the mood with humor: “We made good time down!” They find a vantage point to watch the hospital and once again Carol wants to take immediate action while Daryl wants to wait and observe the hospital to see what they’re up against. McBride is outstanding in this episode – and really, both actors are brilliant in all three of the major character scenes.
Daryl asks Carol to elaborate on how he’s not like he was before. I was almost expecting her to comment on how he’s more noble now. He’s not self-interested and aloof as he was, but he wasn’t those things at the prison, and in fact, may never really have been. After all, they really grew close when he tried so hard to find Sophia. It’s something else they’ve shared this soft spot for children. Carol tells Daryl that “It was like you were a kid. Now you’re a man.” And of course, all of the fans who’ve wanted to see Daryl and Carol as an item sucked in their breath!
Daryl then asks about how Carol has changed – and we come back to the central imagery of this episode. Carol describes having gone to the women’s shelter and only stayed t about a day and half before going back to Ed and getting beat up. “Life went on, and I kept praying for something to happen, but I didn’t do anything. Not a damn thing. Who I was with him? She got burned away and I was happy about that. Well… not happy… At the prison, I got to be who I always thought I should be. What I should have been. And then she got burned away. Everything now just consumes you.” Carol wanted to be the one to take action, to help, to save people. It’s what she learned through Daryl from Sophia. I also wondered if somehow, Carol felt guilt for praying for “something” to happen and then the walkers happened…
Daryl tells her “Hey. We ain’t ashes.” It’s life affirming. They haven’t been consumed – transformed perhaps, but not consumed. And we immediately get evidence of the fact that Daryl has once again helped Carol to transform. Daryl is a good listener. No doubt this is something that helps him as a hunter too. He knows when to be quiet and still – and Reedus plays this perfectly.
They hear a noise and go after Noah. A walker attacks Carol, falling on her, and we see that she really isn’t ok and can’t even defend herself. I loved Daryl bouncing Noah off the bookcase and then having the bookcase fall on Noah. Daryl then picks up a carton of cigarettes and lights one – there’s our flame and ash reference again! He’s happy to let Noah get eaten by the walker. Carol stops him, but Daryl says, “You almost died cuz of him!” Carol points out that she didn’t but Daryl is ready to let him die and walks away… but of course, he can’t do it, and comes back to save Noah. Saving Noah is immediately rewarded by the revelation that Beth is still alive. And the only explanation for Noah having gone back to the hospital is that he was going to try to rescue her himself.
It’s interesting that Carol starts out clean but as the episode progresses and she once again cares about not killing and starts to believe again that maybe they can save someone, she gets dirtier and dirtier – a reverse of her coming away from the carnage of Terminus and wiping all the gore off of herself. In the present, Daryl asks Carol if she’s ok, and she answers, “I’m still here.”
When they run to get away from the cops, Noah falls and Daryl goes back to help him, while Carol is hit by the car and taken. Reedus is fantastic as Daryl goes crazy at losing Carol. Noah holds him back and makes him see reason. The only way to save Beth and Carol is with more people and more guns – and Daryl knows where to get those. The last image of fire is Daryl setting a dumpster on fire to lure the walkers – as he does earlier in the episode – so they can escape.
This was another fantastic episode. The raining walkers and images of destroyed Atlanta were fantastic. However, the way the episode was shot to underscore the imagery of fire, smoke, and transformation within the script was outstanding. Again, I really can’t say enough about McBride and Reedus’s performances. We learned a lot about both characters, and it was really satisfying to finally get to see them connect in this in depth way. I think we will all feel cheated if these are the last scenes these terrific actors have together! What did you think of the episode? Do you think Carol can recover from her injuries? Do you think that Daryl and the others stand a chance at rescuing Beth and Carol? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
