'The Walking Dead' Season 6 News, Spoilers: Merritt Wever on Denise's Death; EP on Carol's Inner Turmoil
Sunday's episode of AMC's "The Walking Dead" saw yet another Alexandrian's grisly death.
In the episode, titled "Twice As Far," Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his group lost their one and only doctor, the shy and insecure Denise, played this season by "Nurse Jackie" alum and Emmy Award winner Merritt Wever.
Denise, Daryl (Norman Reedus), and Rosita (Christian Serratos) were out on a supply run when Denise was accidentally shot through the eye with a crossbow by Dwight (Austin Amelio), one of the Saviors. The crossbow Dwight used was the one he stole from Daryl in their first encounter earlier this season. Dwight later admitted that he did not intend to kill Denise.
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The death of the quiet doctor, who was finally able to overcome her fear of leaving Alexandria and obtain a coveted can of Crush for her girlfriend Tara (Alanna Masterson), has received some criticism from those accusing the "TWD" writers of the "Dead Lesbian Syndrome" trope. The outcry was exacerbated by the fact that the episode was aired just a few weeks after another lesbian character, Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey), was killed off in The CW's "The 100."
Wever recently spoke to The Daily Beast about Denise's big episode and her take on the "lesbian death" controversy. According to the actress, she understands that many viewers identify strongly with some of the characters in the show and that when these characters die, it can be very disappointing.
"I'm not sure that that's what was going on here but I understand the sentiment very well and I am familiar with the [trope of] black characters or gay characters getting killed off because [they're considered] less human or less real or less important and people aren't gonna care as much," she said. "From my end, it didn't feel like that's what was happening though. But I certainly understand the concern in the wider culture."
Meanwhile, "Twice As Far" also revealed that Carol (Melissa McBride) could be leaving Alexandria.
According to executive producer Gale Ann Hurd, Carol is grappling with questions of identity, morality, and what the future has in store for her. "And so she's going to continue to battle with that," she told US Weekly.
"The Walking Dead" airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.
