Review
"Indifference" was an interesting episode. It took place almost entirely away from the prison, half of the main characters were absent, none of the main characters were particularly likable, and there was almost no direct plot progress. It didn't have the makings of a very good episode. Still, somehow, it was great. The overall plot
was rather flimsy. Daryl's group had the standard run-away-from-zombies routine in the veterinary college, and Rick's and Carol's supply run was basically a storytelling excuse to get them alone and away from the prison. Both plotlines suffered from a lack of urgency that should have been warranted in their situations. There wasn't much of a sense of desperation to match the stated privation of Rick and Carol, and Tyreese seemed to alternate between total anxiety to complete their mission as quickly as possible and a desire to hang out and yell a lot. There were as many flaws as any other episode, but the acting as well as various character beats elevated this episode from mediocre to compelling. And one of the most compelling aspects of the episode revolves, of course, around Carol.
The Walking Dead has been notoriously inconsistent in writing for the female characters, most of whom have at some point or other been completely defined by a stereotype of their sex. Carol is no stranger to this trope, and for the majority of her presence on the show, she was given so little attention as a character that she did not really exist beyond it. Even when given more screen time, Carol has not always been well-written. Nevertheless, the established background of her character as an abused wife suddenly freed of her husband as society falls apart has been so rife with possibility that her death scare in Season 3 was more disappointing than sad. Sure, she had a few good action moments and one-liners, but never had she received an arc that was truly
hers alone and could not be seamlessly transferred onto any other character. For all that this season's twist may have been unexpected and difficult to accept, Carol has been given individual personal motivation for the crime. She did not just kill Karen and David because of a streak of vague altruism. She killed them because of particular stressors that were unique to her that pushed her to an unprecedented act of violence. In the hands of a lesser actress, Carol's subsequent actions could have easily come across as those of a weak woman succumbing to the vapors due to the absence of Sir Darylot on his motorcycle. As is, Melissa McBride sells the rather jarring character shift that occurred in the in-universe months between the end of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4. This isn't even the first time that her character has received an overhaul in the off-season; between the second and third, Carol transformed from a weepy burden to a capable contributing member of the group, and McBride deserves a lot of the credit for making the change believable. Until "Indifference," Sophia had not been mentioned in the show since Season 2, and the overall lack of reference to Carol's daughter in Season 3 could have made her sudden influence contrived rather than natural. McBride enables viewers to see that the relative safety and balance of life in the prison between the seasons forced Carol to deal with the gruesome death of her little girl. Surrounded by relatively healthy children and living as a woman who is perhaps
now sufficiently capable that she might have saved Sophia that day on the highway, it is absolutely conceivable that she might snap and over-involve herself with the youngsters. The sudden personal responsibilities of Lizzie and Mika only served to bring her suppressed grief and need to retroactively save Sophia to the forefront. Her murders of Karen and David may seem out of character for the Carol that we'd known from previous seasons, but if we accept other changes that have occurred over the hiatus--Farmer Rick, the Council, mature Carl, organized prison--then Carol's far more precedented and traceable character changes must be accepted as well. Well,
we must accept her character changes. Rick apparently has ways around that, and he has been condemned by plenty of viewers for his treatment of Carol in the end of "Indifferent." Admittedly, Rick has not always made the most morally sound decisions. He's flip-flopped on many of them. In this particular case, part of his condemnation of Carol's behavior derives from the fact that she made the decision to dispose of the two sick members of their group unilaterally and in secret, and he is technically making a unilateral judgment of Carol's action. Nevertheless, Rick seems to be getting the short end of the stick in some circles, and I think that it should be noted that Rick didn't actually "banish" Carol, as I have seen many suggest. He has no authority or even means to do so. The choice to leave was hers. Granted, it wasn't much of a choice, but he didn't make any move to physically stop her from returning to the prison. He told her that he did not plan on keeping her secret, and she chose to leave rather than face the societal consequences of her actions. There was nothing good that could have come out of her being at the prison when Rick revealed her role in the murders (assuming that he does so). The entire settlement is hanging by a thread; the last thing that anyone would need would be the division of loyalties within the prison. Rick gave Carol a car and a choice, and she seemed to understand that leaving the prison might have been the least awful of their options. Neither Rick nor Carol emerged from the conflict with clean hands, but they did both try to do the best with what they had. On a more fun note, Daryl went full-on redneck in this episode, and it was as glorious as it was necessary. With the character's unexpected rise to popularity, the badass hot-tempered jerk from Season 1 has shifted off-and-on into a misunderstood loner with a heart of gold and the patience of a saint. He has retained his competency and badassery, but his most negative qualities have become hair care (or lack thereof) and grammar. With "Indifference," Daryl maintained his character growth of the past three seasons, but he also regained some of the volatility and unpredictability that once made everybody just a
little bit nervous around him from time to time. As adorable as it is when he cuddles a baby or blushes at a woman's attentions, there was something incredibly satisfying about seeing him swear, smoke, and threaten to beat the hell out of Bob before sulking his way through the rest of the episode. Atta boy, Daryl. With regard to the rest of Daryl's team, it should be interesting to see what the show does with Bob and how he must try to deal with his addiction in a world where not only is he at some point going to run out of alcohol altogether, but where being drunk can be enough to cost a man his life. Hopefully the show has introduced this facet of his character to serve as more than an impediment to his relationships with others. For his part, Tyreese is currently more irritating than entertaining. He lost the woman that he loves and may well lose his sister, so he has every right to be upset. It would just be much easier to enjoy his character if he could be upset without being so detrimental to the others in his group. On the other hand, Michonne's character is developing nicely, and her friendship with Daryl is fundamentally healthy in a way that his friendship with Carol has never really been. Her interactions with the various characters is a wonderful contrast to her sullen silences of Season 3. With Carol's departure and Michonne's avowal to stick around, we may yet have a great deal to learn about her.
Questions:How and when will Carol return? Will Rick tell the truth about what Carol has done and why she is gone? How will Daryl react to Carol's departure? Is Sam the hippie still alive? Can the virus be spread via Walker?