The Walking Dead review, Episode 1021: “Diverged”

Building from the events of “Find Me,” the latest episode of The Walking Dead, “Diverged,” sees Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) at the lowest point of their relationship. When the two are out in the woods, they eventually reach a fork in the road. As they move in different directions, one question emerges: Will their short time apart help mend their relationship, or does this mark the beginning of the end?

Let’s begin with a quick recap of “Find Me,” because “Diverged” definitely has a “Part Two” feel about it. In the earlier episode, Daryl finds Leah (Lynn Collins), the original owner of Dog, living alone in a small cabin in the woods. While their relationship starts off rocky, over time they grow to develop a bond. Daryl slowly begins to fall for her. However, Leah presents him with an ultimatum: Either be with her or leave to be with his family. Of course, Daryl needs some time to digest the dilemma. By the time he makes it up, Leah has disappeared.

Daryl blames himself for her sudden disappearance. When Carol finds out, she delivers the classic “it wasn’t your fault” speech. In his anger, Daryl berates Carol. He questions her past decisions, bringing up moments like when she recklessly abandoned our group in the cave to chase down Alpha, directly leading to Connie’s “death” back in the season 10 premiere.

There’s definitely some mending to be done between these two. Daryl and Carol’s partnership has become a vital part of the show in recent seasons. “Diverged” shows us where the fan-favorite duo are at emotionally, but sadly does not offer much else.

Here’s your warning. There are SPOILERS below!

Some time away

We begin with Daryl and Carol strolling together in the woods. I love the difference in tone between the beginning of this episode and “Find Me.” Just three episodes ago, they exchanged lots of banter and we had some laughs. Now, following their argument, things are awkward and depressing. This isn’t helped by the fact that they’ve very little food to return to Alexandria with.

When they arrive at a fork in the road — it’s literally split into two different paths — Daryl decides to remain on the hunt, while Carol takes the other route and returns to Alexandria with the little food they’ve gathered. Perhaps the most unexpected moment comes when Dog runs to Carol instead of Daryl. It definitely caught me by surprise.

For here on out, what should be normal, mundane day-to-day tasks for Carol and Daryl become tedious, hard challenges. We’re not talking about facing off against walkers or terrifying foes here, but instead… making a pot of soup.

Carol

For me, Carol had the more interesting end of the story. Upon returning to Alexandra, she sees the residents hard at work rebuilding the place after Beta destroyed it with a horde of walkers earlier in the season. On that front, things look to be coming along well.

Her motivation is clear: she wants to find something to fix. She even considers fixing up an old rag she finds on the floor. She meets Jerry (Cooper Andrews) who turns out to be the member of the group she speaks with the most. Throughout the episode, he’s a calm, supportive voice, something she desperately needs. Aside from that, he’s upbeat and hopeful, a stark contrast from Carol.

Andrews plays the part superbly. Even though Jerry is not necessarily the “leader” in Alexandria, he sets Carol up with the task of making a pot of soup for everyone. It’s a task which, given her mental state, is much more difficult than you would think. Carol finds it hard to concentrate. She stops and starts constantly, sometimes messing things up herself, other times because of outside interference. For instance, at one point Dog goes crazy over catching a rat and knocks down all the food, ruining it. I enjoyed Carol’s irritated reaction, like a babysitter looking after a nightmare child. In a bid to capture the loose rat, she spends time creating an intricate rat trap.

It’s oddly endearing to spend time on something so grounded and mundane after the high-stakes war of previous episodes. These minor fiascos help bring out Carol’s personality. That said, I can also see why some fans wouldn’t enjoy it, but I saw it as a welcome change.

At one point, Carol leaves to gather some ingredients and we see her face off against some walkers whilst she’s foraging. Except the camera moves away from the action and looks at some pretty flowers instead, a strange artistic choice. Perhaps it’s another example of compromises born of filming during a pandemic.

By the time the day ends, despite all her attempts, Carol has accomplished nothing.

At night, Carol spends some time with Dog. She talks to him, allowing us to hear her real feelings. People will tell anything to a dog, right? She contemplates leaving altogether, telling her furry friend that she could simply run away to “get out of everyone’s hair.” She notices Dog is missing Daryl, and says, “I miss him too.” It feels strange to say a conversation with a dog was possibly the most interesting conversation of the episode, but it probably is.

There’s also a strange scene where Carol walks up to the wall where the rat is hiding and reducing it to a pile of rubble. She doesn’t find the rat, but she does release a ton of anger.

Daryl

Carol might be struggling to make food in Alexandria, but Daryl isn’t faring much better on his own. His scavenging mission is interrupted when his motorbike breaks down and he must find the part to repair it. With walkers dotted around the woods, things aren’t going to be easy.

Daryl’s story is much shorter than Carol’s. Like Carol, he’s dour, stoic and easily irritated. Except this time he doesn’t have his canine companion by his side. He spends the day in search of a replacement part for his bike. This involves several walker kills, including a classic Pied Piper routine where he leads a group of walkers into a ditch.

Once he finds the part, he needs a knife to fit it, but he let Carol borrow his one multi-tool before they split. If they’d stuck together, he wouldn’t have had this problem. Again, this implies how much better they work as a team. At least he finds not one but two knives after killing a couple of walkers who used to be in the military, not to mention some useful supplies besides. He repairs his bike and heads back after a productive day.

Reuniting

Carol is more productive the next morning. This time she actually gets the soup ready. While repairing the wall she destroyed in the night, good-guy Jerry approaches her again. He clearly knows something is up with her. Speaking softly, he delivers what is now one of my favorite lines in the entire show: “A friend is someone who thinks you’re perfect even if everyone else thinks you’re broken.” Wow, Jerry.

Before long, Daryl returns on his bike. Sure, they don’t immediately make friends again, although proceedings are notably less awkward than they were at the beginning of the episode. It’s still too early to see them inseparable, fighting side-by-side again. But if this episode has proven anything, it’s that even a short absence can make the heart grow fonder.

Verdict

Watching characters perform boring and tedious tasks isn’t the height of entertainment. Again, like other episodes in this extra six-pack, there aren’t many action sequences, and things feel rather flat.

That said, as an episode that explores our characters, “Diverged” does have value. I think this episode is interesting for fans who are heavily invested in the show. However, for the average viewer, it’ll probably be pretty dull.

Both McBride and Reedus give solid performances. I was very impressed with Cooper Andrews as well. If this were following any other two characters, it wouldn’t have worked as well. Thankfully, Daryl and Carol have a history and the complexity of their relationship was enough to keep me engaged throughout.

Grade: C-

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