Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead caused at least one screaming at my TV moment as the show runners are clearly reminding us that no one is safe on this show. This is another "deep" episode, and several of our heroes spend the hour in various stages of self-reflection while trying to resupply Alexandria with some much needed items. Though we still do not meet Negan tonight, we do find out that The Saviors are on the warpath, and the message they send is rather heartbreaking. Here's what went down in "Twice as Far."
Wrecking Balls Inside My Brain
The episode opens with just another normal day in Alexandria. Olivia is working in the pantry, Sasha is keeping watch on the wall, Eugene and Gabriel are both picking up security shifts, and Morgan is practicing the art of not killing anyone with his not killing anyone stick. It all looks calm and ordinary...ordinary for a recently terrorized post-apocolyptic community anyway. But of course things are not what they seem to be. We soon see Morgan hard at work, beefing up the imitation jail cell that has successfully restrained no one up until this point. When Rick approaches him to ask what he's doing (this is the only time we will see Rick tonight), Morgan replies "It'll give you some choices next time." Rick leaves without saying anything in response.
Morgan isn't the only one finding a new hobby. Carol is smoking at least a pack a day on her porch and she's resumed her romance with Tobin...though she no longer looks like a happy homemaker while doing so. There's no cardigan and she's still gripping that rosary as if she'd never have another baking triumph without it. Smokin' Hot Rosita has been spending her free time banging Spencer, though she also doesn't look happy in her new situation. The look on her face when he asks her to have dinner with him pretty much says it all.
Carol finds Daryl messing with his motorcycle and he bums a smoke. He tells Carol he should have killed the people who took his bike and crossbow, but he chose to save them instead. She looks conflicted...because that's Carol's status quo these days. Daryl asks what the people who kidnapped her and Maggie did to them and Carol says "To us? They didn't do anything." She then walks away to resume her angsty status on her porch swing. Cue the opening credits.
I Can Make An Explosion
Abraham and Eugene go on a run and have some bro time, though their trip is nothing like the Rick/Daryl extravaganza we saw a few weeks ago. Eugene wants his ginger friend to know that he has entered "Stage 2" of the zombie apocalypse process. He now considers himself a survivor. Abraham ignores this and makes his way into a building he and Eugene had been looking for.
Eugene explains that this building is an area where they can make bullets. This is how Stage 2 Eugene is going to make a substantial contribution to the community and Abraham is excited. Their conversation is interrupted by a Walker who Eugene calls dibs on. "Dibs is dibs." Stage 2 Eugene isn't able to overpower this Walker though and Abraham kills it...even though Eugene called dibs. Eugene is super pissed that Abraham did not honor the dibs and says he had the entire situation under control. Abraham says Eugene should stick to using his brain, which is what Eugene is good at, and Abraham says he will stick to killing Walkers, which is what Abraham is good at. They argue and exchange some hilarious albeit hurtful words ("you'd have better luck picking up a turd by its clean end!") before Eugene tells Abraham that his services are no longer required. "You've outlived your usefulness to me." Abraham tells Stage 2 Eugene to find his own way home and the two part ways.
All Those Things I Didn't Say
Denise is looking for a way to contribute to Alexandria's rehabilitation and she remembers that at one point before she arrived in the community, she saw a strip mall nearby with an apothecary. Sure she did. I mean, I live in Virginia and I can't count the number of times I've been to one of the strip malls here and not seen an apothecary. They're everywhere. Like Starbucks. Anyway, Denise has a map with what she believes is the exact location of said apothecary that she just remembered exists and probably has a shit ton of medical supplies the town needs. She enlists Smokin' Hot Rosita and Daryl to go with her to this magical place because, you know, she hasn't actually left Alexandria since first arriving there and is in need of people who know what the hell they're doing. All of this aside, I love Denise and her awkward demeanor. If she wasn't Tara's woman, I'd love to see what a Denise/Eugene match up would be like.
Off they go in an old beat up truck that Daryl can barely handle. They encounter a tree in the road and Denise stays in the car as her protectors assess the situation. She looks sad as she watches them survey the area and kill approaching Walkers. She has an "I want to be able to do that too" look on her face that we will see quite a bit throughout the hour.
Once the area is clear, Daryl says they need to proceed on foot and wants to stay on the road. Smokin' Hot Rosita notes that following the train tracks is going to be much faster but I think Mr. Dixon has had his fair share of train track adventures. He starts down the road, Rosita starts down the tracks, and Denise opts to follow Daryl. By the time the two of them reach the apothecary, Smokin' Hot Rosita is pretty much sitting there twiddling her thumbs. Denise apologizes for making it seem like she chose Daryl over her (um, you did sweetie), and she tries to engage Rosita in a "how'd you become such a badass?" conversation. Rosita's answer is "a lot of people taught me a lot of things." So much for girl time.
Daryl and Smokin' Hot Rosita clear the apothecary while Denise stands on the sidelines again. They find the mother load of prescription drugs and while Daryl and Rosita pry the pharmacy window open, Denise steals a key chain that I assume has her name on it. That's a nice little souvenir for her first run. She then peeks into a room where a Walker lies on the ground, weighted down by a cast on its leg. Denise raises her machete, but before she can kill it, she spots a crib...then the words "hush, hush, hush" written on the wall...then a bloody baby shoe. She leaves the room quickly but keeps herself from vomiting. Nicely done.
Can You Hear My Voice This Time?
The apothecary trio heads back to the truck on foot (via train tracks by the way) and Denise is disappointed in herself because she didn't put her machete in that Walker's head. Daryl tells Denise she did a great job finding the place and they talk about Denise's twin brother, Dennis. Yup. Dennis and Denise. She tells Daryl that nothing scared her brother - he was angry and brave, which was a dangerous combination. Daryl tells her Merle was the same way and they have a nice little moment.
They approach a car that has a Walker inside as well as a cooler. Smokin' Hot Rosita and Daryl do not think the cooler is worth the trouble, but Denise is still trying to redeem herself. She opens the car door and the Walker nearly kills her. She ends up mounting it and stabbing in the head and she's okay. Stupid, but okay. At one point she stands with her back toward the open car door and I'm thinking another Walker is going to jump out and bite her, but I'm thankfully wrong. Denise pukes on her glasses, opens the cooler, findspop orange soda, and she is quite pleased with herself.
Back on the train tracks Daryl and Rosita scold Denise for being reckless, but Denise launches into a pretty awesome monologue about what this trip meant to her. She looks at Daryl. "I asked you to come with me because you're brave like my brother and sometimes you actually make me feel safe." She looks at Rosita. "And I wanted you here because you're alone, probably for the first time in your life, and because you're stronger than you think you are which gives me hope that I can be too. I could have gone with Tara. I could have told her I love her but I didn't because I was afraid." She goes on to talk about what great, smart people Daryl and Rosita are and I seriously love everything that is happening...right up until an arrow flies through the back of Denise's head into her eye socket. My first thought: "Carl is SO not going to want to share his eye patch." My second thought: "Nooooooooo!"
People come running out of the woods with weapons and they are holding Eugene hostage. The head of this group is Dwight, the jackass who Daryl should have killed, didn't kill, and who made off with Daryl's bike and crossbow. Sure, Daryl got his motorcycle back....but his crossbow is the weapon that just killed Denise. Ugh. Daryl and Smokin' Hot Rosita are outnumbered and put down their weapons. Dwight says he only killed Denise to send a message, and he missed his desired target anyway. He tells Daryl and Rosita that they are going to take his group back to Alexandria so The Saviors can make the same "what's yours is mine" mandate that they already have with Hilltop. Eugene spots Abraham hiding nearby and outs him. When Dwight's douchbags go to capture Abraham, Dwight is distracted and Stage 2 Eugene takes action. He bites Dwight in the crotch and doesn't let go. Ha! YES EUGENE. A gunfight ensues, several douchebags go down, Eugene is injured, and Dwight is able to escape. Instead of going after them, Abraham, Daryl and Rosita choose wisely and are quick to get Eugene as well as Denise's body back home.
Losing Friends And I'm Chasing Sleep
Turns out the antibiotics the apothecary trio found earlier end up being critical to Eugene's recovery. Since Eugene would have probably been captured regardless of Denise's journey to find bravery, it's safe to say she saved his life with her spontaneous strip mall apothecary. Eugene "allows" Abraham the opportunity to apologize for his earlier demeaning remarks and they become bros again. Abraham and Smokin' Hot Rosita then exchange "I got your back even though we're broken up" sentiments, and then Abraham head's to Sasha's house to tell her he doesn't want to waste any more time without her. She invites him inside and I throw up in my mouth a little.
Darryl is prepping Denise's grave and he finds the key chain Denise swiped back at the store. It says "Dennis," not Denise, and Daryl clutches it then puts it in his pocket. Sniff. Carol helps Daryl bury Denise and she tells him he was right when he said he should have killed Dwight to begin with. We then see Tobin reading a note from Carol that is essentially to her friends (family!) as well. We hear her voice say she is leaving Alexandria because she loves them and she knows she can no longer kill for them. "Don't come after me, please." The episode ends with Carol's empty porch swing swaying with an ashtray full of cigarette butts.
AGGGGHHHHH! We've lost Carol again?!?! How many more times is this going to happen?!?! And how many more eyeballs is TWD going to take out before the series ends? This episode got me fired up. First, the writers must hate Tara. Like, hate her. Her sister, niece and former girlfriend were all wiped out in the same day at the prison, she spent a ton of time being useless, and she barely had a chance to shack up with Denise before the pretend doctor took an arrow through her head. How many more lesbians are milling about in the northern Virginia area? She might be out of luck at this point...
Fans of the comics will note that the crossbow death was actually meant for another character (a more major character than Denise) which leads me to wonder what other changes are in store for The Saviors story line. With 2 episodes to go, is Dwight "the bad guy" we're facing for the rest of the season? Is Denise's death going to pale in comparison to a major death coming in April? Regardless, she had a hell of an exit and I'm going to miss her. Here's hoping the gyno from Hilltop makes house calls.
Wrecking Balls Inside My Brain
The episode opens with just another normal day in Alexandria. Olivia is working in the pantry, Sasha is keeping watch on the wall, Eugene and Gabriel are both picking up security shifts, and Morgan is practicing the art of not killing anyone with his not killing anyone stick. It all looks calm and ordinary...ordinary for a recently terrorized post-apocolyptic community anyway. But of course things are not what they seem to be. We soon see Morgan hard at work, beefing up the imitation jail cell that has successfully restrained no one up until this point. When Rick approaches him to ask what he's doing (this is the only time we will see Rick tonight), Morgan replies "It'll give you some choices next time." Rick leaves without saying anything in response.Morgan isn't the only one finding a new hobby. Carol is smoking at least a pack a day on her porch and she's resumed her romance with Tobin...though she no longer looks like a happy homemaker while doing so. There's no cardigan and she's still gripping that rosary as if she'd never have another baking triumph without it. Smokin' Hot Rosita has been spending her free time banging Spencer, though she also doesn't look happy in her new situation. The look on her face when he asks her to have dinner with him pretty much says it all.
Carol finds Daryl messing with his motorcycle and he bums a smoke. He tells Carol he should have killed the people who took his bike and crossbow, but he chose to save them instead. She looks conflicted...because that's Carol's status quo these days. Daryl asks what the people who kidnapped her and Maggie did to them and Carol says "To us? They didn't do anything." She then walks away to resume her angsty status on her porch swing. Cue the opening credits.
I Can Make An Explosion
Abraham and Eugene go on a run and have some bro time, though their trip is nothing like the Rick/Daryl extravaganza we saw a few weeks ago. Eugene wants his ginger friend to know that he has entered "Stage 2" of the zombie apocalypse process. He now considers himself a survivor. Abraham ignores this and makes his way into a building he and Eugene had been looking for.
All Those Things I Didn't Say
Denise is looking for a way to contribute to Alexandria's rehabilitation and she remembers that at one point before she arrived in the community, she saw a strip mall nearby with an apothecary. Sure she did. I mean, I live in Virginia and I can't count the number of times I've been to one of the strip malls here and not seen an apothecary. They're everywhere. Like Starbucks. Anyway, Denise has a map with what she believes is the exact location of said apothecary that she just remembered exists and probably has a shit ton of medical supplies the town needs. She enlists Smokin' Hot Rosita and Daryl to go with her to this magical place because, you know, she hasn't actually left Alexandria since first arriving there and is in need of people who know what the hell they're doing. All of this aside, I love Denise and her awkward demeanor. If she wasn't Tara's woman, I'd love to see what a Denise/Eugene match up would be like.
Off they go in an old beat up truck that Daryl can barely handle. They encounter a tree in the road and Denise stays in the car as her protectors assess the situation. She looks sad as she watches them survey the area and kill approaching Walkers. She has an "I want to be able to do that too" look on her face that we will see quite a bit throughout the hour.
Once the area is clear, Daryl says they need to proceed on foot and wants to stay on the road. Smokin' Hot Rosita notes that following the train tracks is going to be much faster but I think Mr. Dixon has had his fair share of train track adventures. He starts down the road, Rosita starts down the tracks, and Denise opts to follow Daryl. By the time the two of them reach the apothecary, Smokin' Hot Rosita is pretty much sitting there twiddling her thumbs. Denise apologizes for making it seem like she chose Daryl over her (um, you did sweetie), and she tries to engage Rosita in a "how'd you become such a badass?" conversation. Rosita's answer is "a lot of people taught me a lot of things." So much for girl time.Daryl and Smokin' Hot Rosita clear the apothecary while Denise stands on the sidelines again. They find the mother load of prescription drugs and while Daryl and Rosita pry the pharmacy window open, Denise steals a key chain that I assume has her name on it. That's a nice little souvenir for her first run. She then peeks into a room where a Walker lies on the ground, weighted down by a cast on its leg. Denise raises her machete, but before she can kill it, she spots a crib...then the words "hush, hush, hush" written on the wall...then a bloody baby shoe. She leaves the room quickly but keeps herself from vomiting. Nicely done.
Can You Hear My Voice This Time?
The apothecary trio heads back to the truck on foot (via train tracks by the way) and Denise is disappointed in herself because she didn't put her machete in that Walker's head. Daryl tells Denise she did a great job finding the place and they talk about Denise's twin brother, Dennis. Yup. Dennis and Denise. She tells Daryl that nothing scared her brother - he was angry and brave, which was a dangerous combination. Daryl tells her Merle was the same way and they have a nice little moment.
They approach a car that has a Walker inside as well as a cooler. Smokin' Hot Rosita and Daryl do not think the cooler is worth the trouble, but Denise is still trying to redeem herself. She opens the car door and the Walker nearly kills her. She ends up mounting it and stabbing in the head and she's okay. Stupid, but okay. At one point she stands with her back toward the open car door and I'm thinking another Walker is going to jump out and bite her, but I'm thankfully wrong. Denise pukes on her glasses, opens the cooler, finds
People come running out of the woods with weapons and they are holding Eugene hostage. The head of this group is Dwight, the jackass who Daryl should have killed, didn't kill, and who made off with Daryl's bike and crossbow. Sure, Daryl got his motorcycle back....but his crossbow is the weapon that just killed Denise. Ugh. Daryl and Smokin' Hot Rosita are outnumbered and put down their weapons. Dwight says he only killed Denise to send a message, and he missed his desired target anyway. He tells Daryl and Rosita that they are going to take his group back to Alexandria so The Saviors can make the same "what's yours is mine" mandate that they already have with Hilltop. Eugene spots Abraham hiding nearby and outs him. When Dwight's douchbags go to capture Abraham, Dwight is distracted and Stage 2 Eugene takes action. He bites Dwight in the crotch and doesn't let go. Ha! YES EUGENE. A gunfight ensues, several douchebags go down, Eugene is injured, and Dwight is able to escape. Instead of going after them, Abraham, Daryl and Rosita choose wisely and are quick to get Eugene as well as Denise's body back home.
Losing Friends And I'm Chasing Sleep
Turns out the antibiotics the apothecary trio found earlier end up being critical to Eugene's recovery. Since Eugene would have probably been captured regardless of Denise's journey to find bravery, it's safe to say she saved his life with her spontaneous strip mall apothecary. Eugene "allows" Abraham the opportunity to apologize for his earlier demeaning remarks and they become bros again. Abraham and Smokin' Hot Rosita then exchange "I got your back even though we're broken up" sentiments, and then Abraham head's to Sasha's house to tell her he doesn't want to waste any more time without her. She invites him inside and I throw up in my mouth a little.
 |
| I still don't suck as much as Morgan. |
AGGGGHHHHH! We've lost Carol again?!?! How many more times is this going to happen?!?! And how many more eyeballs is TWD going to take out before the series ends? This episode got me fired up. First, the writers must hate Tara. Like, hate her. Her sister, niece and former girlfriend were all wiped out in the same day at the prison, she spent a ton of time being useless, and she barely had a chance to shack up with Denise before the pretend doctor took an arrow through her head. How many more lesbians are milling about in the northern Virginia area? She might be out of luck at this point...
Fans of the comics will note that the crossbow death was actually meant for another character (a more major character than Denise) which leads me to wonder what other changes are in store for The Saviors story line. With 2 episodes to go, is Dwight "the bad guy" we're facing for the rest of the season? Is Denise's death going to pale in comparison to a major death coming in April? Regardless, she had a hell of an exit and I'm going to miss her. Here's hoping the gyno from Hilltop makes house calls.
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