The Walking Dead Awards: “How did we get here?”

Season 5, Episode 6: We ain’t ashes.
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Photograph courtesy AMC

(Spoilers ahead)

Each week, we comb through the guts of The Walking Dead, much like a horde of hungry walkers, to bring you the episode’s best moments, surprises, and other post-apocalyptic curiosities. This week: subscription delays, the highest ranked car by J.D. Power and Associates, and psychotherapy for the interrupted life.

Season 5, Episode 6: “Consumed”

Most welcomed return of a character: Not 30 seconds into the episode, our eyes were dazzled by the spotless clear coat of our old friend, the green 2012 Hyundai Sonata. We miss that car and its always-clean technology.

Biggest sign that Carol is from Atlanta: That she knew where to find nearby shelter. Just kidding, it’s because of her history with fires.

Biggest reason your Atlanta magazine subscription will be delayed after the zombie apocalypse: Before getting robbed by Noah, Carol and Daryl were wandering around the zombified wasteland near our office. In anticipation of a delay, here are a few stories to look forward to: 50 Best Crow-Bars (For Hitting Zombies), Best Barbeque: Terminus, and Small Homes are the Next Big Thing to Defend Against the Governor.

Biggest display of humanity: Daryl quietly burning the body of the walker child found in the shelter. We never cease to be touched by his sincerity, even in unfamiliar and dangerous territory.

Best vindication for John Portman: The Atlanta architect/developer behind much of modern downtown has been vilified for pedestrian-hostile facades and promoting sky bridges over sidewalks, but those way-above-Peachtree-Street walkways came in mighty handy for fleeing zombie hordes.

Highest safety crash test rating: The ‘90s Ford Econoline van might not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts. I know that when we’ve been shuttled to and from the airport in the past, we’ve felt at ease knowing that should we go head first off of the MLK Drive bridge, we’d be sound as a pound and always land on our feet, physics be damned.

Biggest question: Did the Grady car hit Carol on accident, or did they purposely run her down in order to have a new debtor? If this season is all about the evils of mankind, we certainly can’t rule out some intentional maiming to keep a tight ship.

Best kill: Daryl’s swift headshot to the walker that was fixing to chow down on a trapped Noah. As if he would ever let Carol down.

Best dialogue:

Daryl: What’s it gonna take?
Noah:
A lot. They got guns. People.
Daryl:
So do we.

(We eagerly await the cop vs. sheriff showdown.)

Most disturbing image: The lemming zombies following Caryl’s van off of the MLK Drive overpass into the Gulch. Something tells us that all of the wiper fluid in Atlanta won’t get those bloodstains off of the windshield.

Episode MVP: Daryl, for realizing sometimes it’s okay to get some help dealing with past emotional stress. Grabbing that Treating Survivors of Childhood Abuse book could be the start of a breakthrough. And just think—if he had split off with the other group, he would have had to get it from the self-help section . . . near Eugene . . .

What we’re looking forward to: If the preview is any indication, it looks like the wayward groups will find their paths intertwining shortly! Praise Andrew and Norman!

And once again, where exactly does Rick fall this week on the calm/crazy scale? (You know, for the whole 15 seconds he appeared in a flashback . . . )

Illustration by Matt Walljasper; Photographs courtesy of AMC
Illustration by Matt Walljasper; Photographs courtesy of AMC

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