While not quite as strong as the opening hour of the mid-season premiere, “The Diviner” continues to bring the characters back together to address the looming water crisis, a situation that threatens to break the fragile peace between the ranch and the natives.  The scenes focusing on that struggle kept the episode from getting out of control, given how ill-advised some of the elements of the “bazaar” seemed to be.

One intent of the “bazaar” is clearly to show that the world is trying to find a new equilibrium, which is not something that we saw in great detail in The Walking Dead until much later in the run.  It makes sense that certain parts of the world would find ways to adapt in certain respects faster than others.  But it also seems like the “bazaar” would attract a lot of attention from walkers, and the defenses don’t look dramatically better than what couldn’t pass muster in the original series.

It’s almost *too* normal, which grounds the scenes in a way that almost distracts from the sense of danger.  Sure, Strand has to fight off walkers when he is chained outside for punishment, but it never really felt like he was in peril.  Maddy was going to find a way to come through, and now they are on their way to the dam, which means probably intercepting Daniel along the way.  It feels a bit clumsy, even as the writers manage to deliver some solid scenes between Strand and Maddy.

I wouldn’t have guessed that Nick would take over as the defacto leader of the militia, but I suppose it works well enough.  It gives him something to do, if nothing else.  He seems to like having a bit of authority, and it will be interesting to see if he continues to try to steer the rest of the militia away from knee-jerk reactive violence.  It’s hard to say if it will last for very long, especially if Maddy and Walker are gone for much longer, but it shows that Nick is capable of being a leader.

Alicia, of all characters, is also starting to show a lot more leadership potential.  I suppose it was there in the first half of the season, but I had a hard time caring about much of that material, to be honest.  She seems a lot more effective here, and her scenes with Nick are exactly as one would expect siblings to fight under strained circumstances.  When it culminates in everyone working together, it feels like an earned moment.  The irony, of course, is that it’s a moment where everyone unites in a futile gesture.