The Walking Dead 'Consumed' Review: Daryl and Carol's Excellent Adventure

Season 5 of The Walking Dead has been playing with time through the first batch of episodes, and the latest installment, "Consumed," was no different. The show walked us through Carol's time away from the main group of survivors and also brought the main plot ahead to catch up with the team at the church.

Carol has been one of the more interesting characters so far in Season 5, as her transformation into a capable, badass fighter has allowed her to single-handedly save the group at Terminus. "Consumed" reminded us just how fragile this woman used to be and how remarkable her metamorphosis has been. It's easy to forget that she was an abuse victim prior to the apocalypse and as far back as Season 1 of this show. Ed still belittled and berated her even after the zombies started roaming around, so good riddance to bad rubbish as far as he was concerned.

Then she lost her daughter, Sophia, after the little girl went missing and ultimately turned into a walker. She was a wreck from that point on until she took matters into her own hands at the prison and killed the two sick people. This was the start of her change, but "Consumed" showed us that she was still moment away from breaking when Rick banished her. She screams through tears at the walker banging on her car to go away. It's not until she returns to help Tyreese and the girls that we start to see the true transformation in her. Killing Lizzie was the final step.

Back in the present, Daryl and Carol looked for Beth and of course ran into numerous roadblocks and zombie problems along the way. The two finally had a chance to talk, and each remarked how the other had changed so much. Daryl said he had already pieced together what happened with Carol, Tyreese and the girls, but it was tough to tell if he knew the whole score. Regardless, these two have developed a kinship that emanated throughout the episode.

The most interesting scene occurred when Noah, who had escaped the hospital a few episodes ago, showed up to steal Daryl and Carol's weapons. The duo later found him getting attacked by a zombie, and Daryl wanted to leave him to rot. But Carol showed compassion and ultimately convinced her friend to save him. The Walking Dead has been making a concerted effort to humanize its characters rather than just present them as unfortunate survivors in a living nightmare, and scenes like this go a long way in showing what's happening in their heads and in their hearts.

Daryl, Carol and Noah tried to hide from the hospital group, but Carol got captured and is now on her way into the hospital, where Beth will see her on the gurney. Noah remarks that they're going to need people and weapons to get them both out, and Daryl assures him they've got what they need.

The narrative has finally converged to the same point. Abraham's team is lamenting Eugene's lie several miles north of the church. Daryl has returned to the church (presumably with Noah) to tell his friends about Carol and Beth. And the two ladies are inside the hospital waiting to either bust out or get rescued. One can only imagine what's going to happen when Rick and his newfound savagery come across the indentured servitude at the hospital.

Notes:

-       The van stunt was incredibly cool. But no, Daryl and Carol are either dead or severely injured from that fall.

-       Have The Walking Dead scenes been exceedingly dark in the past two episodes? I appreciate the realism, but I'd also like to be able to see!

-       Will Carol and Beth hatch a plan of their own, or will the group come in like a small army to save them?

What did you think of "Consumed"? Let us know in the comments section.