The Walking Dead S6E14: Twice as Far
In the first half of this season we got a Morgan-centric episode and I loved it. Last week we dove headlong into the psyche of Carol and it was great. If someone had told me that three episodes before the season finale we would get an episode focusing on character developments of Eugene and Denise, I would’ve broke out my best McKayla Maroney face. These are two characters that are scraping the bottom of my “don’t care about you” list. So when I say I’m pleased with the outcome and the separate evolutions on display made me interested in their angles, hopefully it provides some reassurance. (Spoilers ahead).
A lot of effort this episode went into establishing the fact that Alexandria is settling into a routine. The food shelves are being stocked so we assume the relationship with Hilltop is going well so far. Guards are regularly walking around town and changing shifts. Carol is settling in with Tobin, Rosita appears to have moved on to Spencer as a rebound from Abraham, Morgan is building his own cell in order to “give us some choices next time”, as he tells Rick. The days are passing along and they’re getting by with what they can, but supplies are still needed and runs must be made. This is where the meat of the episode comes in as we focus in on two characters; Eugene and Denise.
Eugene and Abraham travel on foot to a nearby mechanics shop where Eugene explains his master plan to manufacture bullets from scratch for their own protection, and as a potential means for future trade. Eugene’s confidence is noticeably higher and he even goes so far as to bicker with Abraham about being ready to take things to the next level. Phase 2, he calls it. I think there is a really clear biblical parallel to what Eugene is describing; growth into maturity. Up until now he has been something of a joke when it comes to defending himself or taking on walkers alone. No one trusts him to use a weapon and in the past he has proven that mistrust to be legitimate. He’s smart, and he’s witty, but he’s incompetent when it comes to the important matters. You might say he’s been stuck on the “milk” of survival expectations of the former world, and hasn’t yet moved onto the “meat” of the necessary skills to survive in this world (Hebrews 5:12-14). He’s not unlike a Christian, young in the faith, needing to rely on the wisdom and knowledge of others to shelter them long enough to develop their own skills, or form their own views. Now, finally, Eugene is ready to move on from the “milk” of this world and onto the “meat”. He’s ready to take his survival into his own hands and stop relying so strongly on others to prop him up. He’s ready for more substantial tasks, and he’s eager to let Abraham know about it. In many ways this is a very abrupt and strange about-face for Eugene. He seems to go from zero to disdainful at the snap of a finger. While acknowledging the need for Abraham’s protection so often in the past, he’s bent on insulting and dismissing him as unnecessary now. This of course comes back to bite him (see what I did there) later when Dwight’s crew takes him hostage. More on that in a bit. Never the less, Eugene has made an apparent turnaround from him previous state of helplessness into someone who at least has the confidence to take on responsibility for his own survival. Even if it does mean upsetting a hot-headed ginger. I should say that while the shift in Eugene’s demeanor is unbelievably quick, it is tempered with witty one-liners between he and Abraham. These characters were built for such a scene and if it weren’t for their natural propensity for abrasive and straight-forward insults, the scene would’ve been much harder to swallow.
Paralleling Eugene’s abrupt shift is the somewhat gradual evolution of Denise’s dealings with her fear. She basically forces Daryl and Rosita to go on a run to a nearby apothecary pharmacy she remembers. It’s obvious she’s uncomfortable in asking, and even more uncomfortable in threatening to go on her own if they don’t come with her. She wears her fear on her sleeve, eager to shake it off but still clinging to it when confrontation arises. On the trip, her fear encounters her head on numerous times. At first she keeps it at a distance and lets others remove it from her path (stays in the truck). Then she timidly approaches it, but is overcome and startled into seclusion and shame (incident in the pharmacy). Finally, she decides to take an admittedly silly risk in order to conquer her fear (cooler in the car). And she succeeds. For Daryl and Rosita this is a reckless move not worth the risk. For Denise it was a moment she had to force. In many ways she’s fighting the same battle Eugene is; unprepared and unfit for survival in this world. Sure, she has some skills as a doctor and is needed for that reason, but when push comes to shove she was never able to handle the danger on her own. Now she knows she can, and it gives her strength. Strength enough to step even further out of her comfort zone and admonish Daryl and Rosita for being as brave and fearless as they are (which she is not) yet unwilling to face their own conflicts (which she did). Her monologue is motivational and inspiring, and a perfect time for an arrow through the head!
I feel like this show always does this. Someone’s giving a “for the Alamo” type speech when they’re instantly taken out. Yet again, this one caught me off guard and my mouth instantly dropped in seeing Denise with an arrow through her head, and out her eye. This gets me back to what I said originally. I really didn’t care much about what Eugene and Denise were doing on this show. Both characters could’ve been killed and I wouldn’t miss a beat. But this episode succeeded in creating an interest in me for their development that I didn’t have previously, and for that reason it is a success.
The source of the arrow turns out to be Dwight; the one who stole Daryl’s bike and crossbow from him in the woods earlier in the season, after the massive herd was moved away from Alexandria. Dwight has Eugene with him and our two characters the episode centers on meet in a tragic scene. Daryl gazes at Dwight with the intensity of a thousand suns and regrets ever letting him live in the first place. Eugene enacts a particularly cringe-worthy tactic (you’ll just have to watch) and with Abraham lurking in the treeline they all manage to escape with their lives. Except for Denise of course. Only Eugene suffers a minor bullet-wound.
A big-picture view of this episode is useful in piecing together how it was formed. While the bulk is comprised of character development for Eugene and Denise, it is book-ended with plot development that is fueled by character development from previous episodes. In a scene at the start of the episode, Carol has a short talk with Daryl about the return of his bike. “I should’ve killed him”, Daryl says, in reference to Dwight when he first met him in the woods. Carol disagrees. She’s glad, or at least wants to make Daryl feel better, that he didn’t kill someone. To conclude the episode, while Daryl and Carol are burying Denise, Carol has to face the fact that if Daryl had killed Dwight when they first met, Denise would still be alive. This reality leads to her a difficult decision; she must leave. The episode ends beautifully with Carol’s voice reading a letter she has left for the town explaining her need to leave. She loves these people. That love will lead her to kill for them. Killing is something she can no longer do. Carol leaves Alexandria, and flashes of next week’s episode lead us to believe that decision may result in her demise.
My Rating: B+
This is a real solid episode that, despite my disinterest in the characters under the microscope, held my interest and succeeded on giving Eugene and Denise both intriguing arcs. Music was used intermittently and probably could’ve been a stronger force behind some climactic scenes. There were a lot of camera shots of people just doing their jobs; Gabriel walking around on guard duty, shift changes with the guards, close-ups of Carol’s rosary necklace. With the necklace in particular, it feels like a setup for some foretelling with what may happen to her. Given her leaving town and previews for next week, that could be the case. Spending the time they did this episode on lower-level characters typically means the writers are anxious to attach feelings to characters the viewers may not care much for, in order to make their death more meaningful in the near future. This was true with Denise within this episode. I would expect it to be true with Eugene coming up very soon as well.
I would love to hear your feedback on things I’ve said here, and your thoughts on what this episode touched on in the comments below!
