The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 21 recap: Diverged

After Carol provides a brief recap of what has recently been happening to her The Walking Dead Episode 21 “Diverged” picks up right where “Find Me” left off with Carol, Daryl, and Dog walking in awkward silence.

At this point, Daryl’s harsh words are distracting Carol but informs him that she is going back home to Alexandria. Daryl will be continuing his search.

When the two reach a fork in the road, Dog decides to follow Carol. This is where the episode begins to jump back and forth between what each character is struggling with that day.

The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 21 – Carol’s Struggle

A majority of the episode focuses on Carol when she returns home eager to help with anything in Alexandria. She runs into Jerry hoping to find something to do however it seems every task is already being handled.

Hoping to make some food Jerry shares the bad news of how some food had to be tossed due to rats. Carol shares a story about stone soup and decides she’ll try her hand in that.

She barely starts her soup when Dog makes a mess hearing a rat scurrying around. With her soup contents tossed to the floor, she decides to make a trap for the rat and venture outside Alexandria’s walls to find new ingredients.

All the while she is trying to keep it together with a smile. As she’s collecting the ingredients she needs she faces off a small group of walkers by herself and returns home a little messy with the ingredients in tow.

When the rat is trapped under the box she had made, she tries to lift it but the rat escapes through a hole in the wall. In the meantime, she tries to get a small solar panel to run which does successfully for a short amount of time.

However, when the power goes out she realizes she cannot cook the soup. She and Dog cuddle together for the night when she is awakened by sounds of the rat scurrying around again. She tries to cut a hole in the wall hoping to spot it but in her frustration of not being able to catch the animal she winds up destroying the entire wall.

The next morning Jerry comes to check on her having noticed she seemed unlike herself since she returned. He attributed it to the fact that Daryl did not return with her.

He shares how he misses Ezekiel and that if he were present he would know what to say at the moment. The two share a warm hug as the rat scurries away.

The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 21 – Daryl’s Struggle

When Daryl and Carol part ways he struggles himself when his motorcycle stops working. Now on foot, Daryl tries to find the part he needs by rummaging through abandoned and destroyed cars, while encountering some walkers along the way.

He is able to find the part he needs but cannot get the motorcycle to start without needing a small tool like a pocketknife. He then remembers how he gave Carol his pocketknife before they parted ways so she could open her canteen.

Daryl pushes his motorcycle along and stops at train tracks when he notices several walkers ahead. He dodges them easily and finds a soldier walker whom he kills and takes the contents from including what looks to be a Swiss Army Knife.

He dodges the walkers again returning to his motorcycle where he kills a few more who are also soldiers. Using the new tool he’s able to fix his motorcycle and returns to Alexandria.

The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 21 – The status of Daryl and Carol and their spinoff

Upon Daryl’s return, he sees Carol and the two exchange a short conversation before parting ways. Unfortunately, their conversation does not lead to any real reconciliation between them.

Daryl did not apologize for what he said earlier and Carol did not voice how his words hurt her. This leaves audiences wondering what is the status of their friendship?

Especially in regards to the upcoming final season and their spinoff.

Final Thoughts – Is The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 21 the worst of the six additional episodes?

Episode 21 of The Walking Dead tried to convey Carol’s struggle with feeling needed, wanted, and helpful by trying to accomplish the simple task of cooking soup. Her task wound up turning her day upside down in ways she didn’t expect.

While a break from The Walking Dead’s usual formula of fighting walkers, new villains, deaths, disappearances, and drama is welcomed, I do not believe this was the way to do it. Carol has been on the show since the very beginning and like many characters failed many times.

Understandably this episode was filmed during our current pandemic climate which meant limited options but a better way to convey her struggle was to interject flashbacks of her previous struggles. Instead of her getting frustrated over trying to capture the rat she could have instead tried to function while being haunted by past events.

Past events like losing her daughter Sophia, Rick kicking her out of Alexandria for killing Karen and David, when she had to, unfortunately, kill Lizzie, and more recently when she caused the cave-in that trapped Connie and Magna. Those were moments that changed her and those should have been present throughout the episode.

As for Daryl, his struggle to continue his search while grappling with his motorcycle was different. There was no looming threat like a herd of walkers inching closer every second that could kill him if he didn’t start his motorcycle in time.

It was simply him trying to get to it to start, avoiding walkers, fixing the motorcycle, and returning home. Is this the worst of the six additional episodes?

With the promising “Here’s Negan” airing next, providing fans with relevant information such as his past relationship with his wife and perhaps how he led The Saviors, I’d say at the very least “Diverged” missed the mark.

What did you think of The Walking Dead Episode 21? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

The Walking Dead Episode 22 will air on April 4, 2021.