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Walking Dead Daryl and Carol: Words that go pretty darn well together! 😀

OK, so the ENTIRE episode “Consumed” is pretty much about moving on from the past. I mean, even the little Easter eggs and hidden messages that some people missed can all point back to one message… The past is GONE. It’s been consumed. You’ve been consumed and are a new person. It’s time to move on.

Or, in the alternative, it could mean that if you don’t face your past head on, it will come back after you anyway. So you might as well get it over with…

Warning: SPOILERS about Walking Dead Daryl and Carol, along with pretty much everything else up to and including this episode.

And don’t forget – you can highlight anything in this post and automatically send that quote to your Facebook or Twitter! 🙂

Want to know what I mean? Here are a few examples.

Entering Atlanta

When Carol and Daryl are driving into Atlanta, we’re treated to a scene that’s identical to the first scene of the pilot episode (along with Walking Dead posters seen everywhere). In the first season, we saw Rick riding his horse down the highway, into Atlanta. It looked pretty eerie then… But NOTHING compared to now, when we see Daryl and Carol driving back into Atlanta on the exact same highway. Things have devolved sooooo much in such a short period of time.

[Tweet “Check out how much Atlanta has changed on #TheWalkingDead!”]

You can’t go back home — guess that’s true.

Rick’s Tank

Maybe not the exact same tank, but we do see a tank in downtown Atlanta too, hearkening back to when Rick was trapped in one. This may just be continuity at work, but it could also be continuing the theme of dealing with – and moving on from – the past.

Carol’s Past is Haunting Her

Carol’s past just won’t leave her alone in this episode, and the flashbacks are there to prove it. Daryl and Carol stay in the shelter where Carol hid with Sophia. They encounter a walker mom and daughter — more of a reminder of what Carol could have become. The child walker also reminds Carol of Lizzie. They find a walker in a tent and Carol’s husband was bitten while in a tent. (Thanks Reddit for this tip!) It just doesn’t end.

But Carol also talks about how the old “her” (the two old versions of her, to be exact) have been consumed and are gone. The past still resurfaces, but being the bad-ass that she is, Carol just kicks it back down.

Daryl’s Dealing with His Past

When Daryl drops his bag, we see that he’s taken a book called “Treating Survivors of Childhood Abuse” from the shelter. He’s suffered abuse, just like Carol suffered abuse. And now he’s ready to deal with his past too. Could Carol have inspired that step forward for him?

This reminds me of a line that I liked from Z Nation. “In this word. EVERYONE is suffering PTSD.” And it’s true. There’s no longer room to feel extra sorry for people with sad childhoods. Now, everyone  is dealing with unspeakable trauma all the time. No one has a special case anymore. The entire human race is suffering from PTSD.

[Tweet “In a post-apocalyptic world, EVERYONE suffers PTSD.”]

For That Matter, All the Victims are Now Victors

Both Carol and Daryl were abused. Both were victims, never fighting back. But now they’ve both moved on and risen above their pasts to become victors (and the most bad-ass characters on the show, + Rick.)

[Tweet “Love how the victims are now bad-ass victors on #TheWalkingDead #CarolAndDaryl”]

Walker with Just Half a Body

After the van falls off the cliff, Daryl and Carol walk past a walker who can’t walk. (Yes, irony.) 😉 The walker’s been cut in half, just like the walker we saw in the pilot. Here’s an interesting point though… The walker in the pilot was super creepy and we all collectively shuddered when we saw it. We’d never seen anything like it before! But when we saw the same imagery in this episode, it was no big deal. We’ve seen a lot of crazy, and a walker with half a body just isn’t that big of a deal.

In fact, another major theme running through this episode is the idea that: Humans are the real enemies. Not Walkers. 

[Tweet “The Walking Dead’s message: Humans are scarier than zombies. #TheWalkingDead”]

Remember when Carol and Daryl heard something at the door of their hideout and got freaked out, thinking someone was breaking in? They were actually relieved  to see it was “JUST” walkers. Wow, we have come SO far. But one thing remains the same. Humans are still the worst predators of all, even worse than walkers.

Is Beth the new Sophia? 

I know some people were rooting for a Daryl/Beth romance, but let’s face it. Beth is TOO young. Beth and Noah or Beth and Carl, fine. But Daryl and Carol are the future power couple on this show. But I like the idea of Beth being the “new” Sophia. Carol and Daryl couldn’t rescue Sophia, no matter how hard they tried. But they can “redeem” themselves from the past, so to speak, by rescuing Beth.

What do you think? Do you agree with the theme of the episode? Did I miss anything? Leave a comment below to let me know!

And by the way — if you haven’t done so already, be sure and subscribe to this blog so you can know when the latest Walking Dead posts are published (and any other post-apocalyptic shows that you like!)

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Stephanie

Stephanie Dwilson started Post Apocalyptic Media with her husband Derek. She's a licensed attorney and has a master's in science and technology journalism. You can reach her at [email protected].

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