It’s a tough thing to make something interesting when it’s a person with no other humans to interact with, but “Diverged,” in particular the Carol sequences, is a lot of fun. She’s got fan-favorite Dog to play off of, and watching Carol destroy her kitchen in pursuit of a rat that’s been skulking around is a a delight. It’s as close to a straight-ahead comedy that The Walking Dead has ever done. Melissa McBride is nothing if not charismatic as this character, and viewers will be invested in watching Carol look more like the Carol who ingratiated herself to Alexandria with molasses cookies rather than the depressed shell she has been, or the remorseless killing machine she’s been in the past. Carol is still struggling with her place in the world, but it’s a more relatable sort of struggle (especially for those of us who live in old buildings).
That her only two-legged scene partner is Cooper Andrews’ Jerry, another fan favorite and the anti-Carol, only helps to make the character’s scenes work stronger, with Heather Bellson making every mutter, aside, or hushed whisper to Dog and/or Jerry work to give us what’s going on in Carol’s head without direct statement. Carol wants to do something, anything to be helpful, because Carol is one of those people who is unable to take a break.
Jerry works hard, but Jerry also seems like he’s got no problem enjoying his down time, and where Carol’s smile is only skin deep, Jerry’s emotions are on his sleeve for the world to see. Jerry’s confession that he only asked about the soup to check on Carol is nothing if not sweet, and the sheer mass difference between Andrews and McBride makes their scenes a visual joy, if nothing else. Carol, lean and mean. Jerry, big and lovable. Daryl, still surly, but with time and space to cool off a little.
Melissa McBride, in particular, deserves credit for really making all this stuff work in concert with director David Boyd. Carol is chasing what is essentially a camera on the floor, it’s high energy and chaotic, and all the while Dog is just serving up great reaction shots. It shouldn’t work, especially not when you consider just how hungry everyone in Alexandria seems to be, but it’s a much-needed laugh break. It’s a heavy-handed metaphor; Carol is chasing the rat mostly because she needs something to do other than think about missing her friend and that she can’t really help anyone, but it’s fun and light and charming, and something The Walking Dead doesn’t indulge in.
Does it resolve anything between Carol and Daryl? Not especially, but Carol, by chasing her rat, makes it clear she’s not just going to run away from this particular problem or from her home in Alexandria. Daryl gets his bike working again, and maybe gets the opportunity to burn off a little excess emotion in a safe way. If nothing else, the chilliness between the two in the beginning of the episode has thawed by the end, so perhaps it’s a reset back to the pre-fight status quo even if no one apologized for anything. Maybe, like a lot of friends, they just needed a little time apart to remember why they like one another.
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March 29, 2021 at 09:01AM
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The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 21 Review: Diverged - Den of Geek
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