The Walking Dead
Episode 6.14 “Twice as Far”
Directed by Alrick Riley
Written by Matthew Negrete
Starring Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohen, Steven Yeun, Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, Michael Cudlitz, Lennie James
AMC
Air date: Sunday, March 20, 2016, 9pm

Warning – SPOILERS for The Walking Dead Season 6…

This week’s The Walking Dead, Episode 6.14,”Twice As Far,” slowed things down a bit after the insanity that happened last week when Carol and Maggie were taken hostage by a small sect of The Saviors. Carol once again proved that she is a powerhouse, but her fierceness and highly tuned survival skills have come at a cost, one that she doesn’t seem to want to pay anymore.

But, if you’re a fan of this AMC series, then you know that when you have 45 minutes of quiet, shit is going to go down in the last 15 minutes, and that’s what happened this time around, too.

The episode starts off showing some of the Safe Zone residents living their seemingly idyllic life, with no mention of what recently happened at Negan’s compound, or with the Saviors. Former cowards Eugene and Father Gabriel are stepping up for guard duty; Carol clutches her lifesaving rosary and kisses her new beau, Tobin; Rosita is rebounding from her breakup with Abraham by bedding boring Spencer; Morgan practices his martial arts moves and fortifies a jail cell, explaining to Rick that it’s so they’ll have “options” next time; and the Pantry lady continues to do her pantry inventory. It looks like things are getting back to normal, but there’s an underlying tension there, as if the Safe Zone residents can feel the coming of impending danger.

Dr. Denise convinces Daryl and Rosita to take her on a supply run to an apothecary store she remembers seeing a while back. Daryl and Rosita, who are trained fight who have lived on the road, are hesitant to bring the sheltered doctor with them, they eventually cave in. It seems strange that Denise, who is prone to panic attacks, would want to venture outside the safety of their community walls, but it’s clear from the start that she’s on a personal mission. It’s here that she finally confronts a Walker, and without help from her companions, she defeats it! This is a major milestone for her, even if she did vomit right afterwards.

Meanwhile, Abraham and Eugene are on a mission of their own, as the latter man has an idea to turn a building into a place to create ammo. Like Denise, Eugene also has fears to confront and no longer wants to be someone who constantly needs saving. When Eugene has his confrontation with a Walker, Abraham steps in to kill it, which answers Eugene. “I called dibs!” Eugene says. But Abraham not only is used to having to save his companion all the time, it was also always a necessary. It’s here where Eugene informs his friends that his protection “services are not longer required” and that Abraham has outlived his usefulness. What Eugene is doing here mirrors what Abraham did to his girlfriend Rosita when he cold-heartedly broke up with her. Pissed off, Abraham storms out, leaving Eugene to find her own way back to the Safe Zone.

Hmmm”¦ I wonder what’s going to happen in those last 15 minutes?

Back to Daryl, Rosita, and Denise: On the way to the apothecary, the group had to make a choice to walk along the tracks or off the road. While Daryl wanted to stay off the tracks, Rosita insisted it was the shorter route and ended up taking it on her own while Denise went with Daryl. It turns out Rosita was right, the tracks were the quickest way, so on the way back, Daryl concedes to go that way, but really, which of us sees tracks on The Walking Dead and doesn’t instantly fear them? They spell danger every time!

After Denise singlehandedly makes her kills, Daryl reprimands her, telling her she could have died trying to get the cooler that was in the car with the Walker she confronted. “For a couple of damn sodas?,” he yells to her. “Nope,” she replies, “Just this one,” holding up a can of orange soda in triumph. in a previous episode, Denise had asked Daryl to look for an orange soda so she could give to her girlfriend, Tara. Now, Denise was able to obtain it herself and face her fears all at the same time, which is why she tells her companions “Who gives a shit?” if she could have died.

This is what I love about Denise – she’s fearful and anxious, but she still tells it like it is all the time. She goes on to tell that how much it meant to her today to face her fears, and to deal with her “shit.” She reveals that she wanted Daryl to come on the run with her because he’s strong like her twin brother was and that his strength makes her feel safe; she asked Rosita to come because she’s alone for probably the first time in her life. She tells them how strong and smart they are and that they are good people, and it’s time for them to face their shit, too. It’s a beautiful speech, cut short by an arrow through her eye!!!!! Denise is still talking as she falls into Daryl’s arms dead.

WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!!!!! Damn you, last 15 minutes!

Remember back in Episode 6.6 Daryl is captured in a burnt forest by a man and two women who were running away? Once free, Daryl had let the man live, which turned out to be a big mistake, because he eventually took his motorcycle and crossbow. (In the beginning of tonight’s episode, Carol asks Daryl about what happened with the burnt forest, and he confesses that he should have killed those people instead of save them.) It seemed like this man, who wasn’t named at the time, might be Dwight, one of Negan’s men from the comics. Well, wouldn’t you know it, it’s asshole Dwight with Daryl’s crossbow who shoots Denise through the eye. Dwight, who has half a burnt face now (a Negan punishment?) wants to be led back to the Safe Zone. Oh, and they also have Eugene (shocker!), but it turns out that Eugene is the one who gets them out of this jam. He sees Abraham hiding out waiting to strike, and in what appeared at first to be an act of betrayal, tells his captures that one of their people is hiding out in the woods. As Dwight’s men go off to find Abraham, Eugene attacks Dwight, biting down on his crotch!!!!! Meanwhile, Abraham starts shooting, as do Daryl and Rosita. In the end, Dwight and his men run off, and Daryl, Rosita, and Abraham escape with Eugene, who was shot in the scuffle.

Back at the Safe Zone, Rosita tends to Eugene, who is going to be fine. Eugene tells Abraham didn’t betray him on the tracks, but rather he was searching for “a moment,” and Abraham, being a soldier, understood the tactic. Eugene then asks for an apology from Abraham for having his skills doubted. Abraham willingly concedes that Eugene does have skills. “You know how to bite a dick, Eugene,” Abraham says, adding, “and I say that with the utmost respect.” With that, Abraham is off to go get Sasha, who invites him into her home. (Does anyone care about this relationship? Because I certainly don’t.)

Meanwhile, Daryl buries Denise, while Carol helps him. The episode ends with a voiceover of Carol, apparently from a good-bye letter she’s left to the people of the Safe Zone. What they have at the Safe Zone is a wonderful thing – there’s walls, food, medicines, and good people – but it makes them a target, as there will always be others who want to take what they have. Carol explains that she loves them all, but can no longer kill for them; therefore, she’s leaving, ending her letter with a plea, “Don’t come after me, please.”

As the voiceover ends, we see Morgan starring at Carol’s now empty porch. If anyone is going to go after Carol, it would be Morgan. It seems as though his peaceful ways have finally had an influence on Carol, who previously would kill whomever she had to in order to survive. Where will Carol go? And why is she leaving her community in their time of need.

But back to Denise: WHY???? She was the coolest person and most interesting character of all the original residents of the Alexandria Safe Zone. She was perceptive and personable. So many characters on the series are either just so damn stupid, or they are people of few words. Denise, being the healer, reached out to people, and when she realized she had her own inner struggles — fearing the outside, fearing telling her girlfriend she loved her — she didn’t hide from it, she faced it. Who do we left with now? The pantry lady and Spencer, who please now should have been killed off right at the start. This really really really sucks.

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