Could this be the worst episode of The Walking Dead ever? If it isn’t, it’s certainly in the top (or bottom) three. This is “season two on a farm” bad. “Twice As Far” had a good moment or two, but for the most part it was frustrating and borderline insulting. Not to mention inconsistent with the message the show has been trying to send for, oh, the entirety of its run.
People change. That’s what The Walking Dead has always been about. The apocalypse is a forge and it makes of us what we were always meant to be. There have been times that the show has made this case spectacularly well. Carol is the best example, obviously; she went from battered housewife in season one to stone-cold killer in seasons four and five. Look, too, at Shane, Carl, Daryl, Rick, Maggie, or even villains like Paula, the Wolves, or the Governor. It’s always been an effective message, and an integral part of the show, so why then are characters punished for trying to change in “Twice As Far,” one of the most actively unpleasant installments the show has ever produced?
Unpleasant isn’t always a bad thing. There are “unpleasant” episodes of The Leftovers or Jessica Jones that are some of the best TV I’ve seen in the last year. But when I say this episode is unpleasant, what I mean is everybody is a fucking dick. Episode writer Matthew Negrete – who is not new to TWD, making this that much more frustrating – seems to think that “strong and silent” translates easily to “snide jerk.” What Negrete’s script does, unfortunately, is show how one-note Norman Reedus’ performance has been this season. Maybe those rumors of Daryl dying are true, because Reedus is checked the fuck out. Daryl has two speeds: squint and mumble. That’s it.
And poor Rosita! This is the most screentime she’s gotten all season, and the show decided to make the most of it with a big reveal: Rosita is awful. Granted, she just went through a breakup, so I’ll give her some leeway there, but throughout the episode she’s dismissive, condescending, and I think most of her dialogue was written as “(shakes head exasperatedly).” Denise wants to go on a supply run to an apothecary – Rosita says “I’m not babysitting her by myself.” Denise runs out of said apothecary weeping – Rosita says “I tried to tell you you weren’t ready; we both did” (by the way, Denise was weeping because someone had drowned a baby in the sink).
Denise is constantly told what she can’t do, and since when has that been part of the show? Hell, even Father Gabriel is packing heat now. Keep in mind, Denise was a psych major – not an actual psychiatrist – and now she’s the doctor for a whole town. But by trying to change further, to move outside of her “skill set” (another term thrown around a lot here), she’s punished.
And I mean that quite literally. Dwight, TWD‘s half-assed Ben Foster knockoff, shoots a crossbow bolt through her eye in the middle of her Jeff Winger speech. On the one hand, I want to applaud The Walking Dead for having the balls to kill off one of its few remaining likable characters in such a brutal fashion. On another hand, I’d argue that Denise’s death is lazy and cynical, and was included as a last-ditch effort to give this episode some impact. (On still another hand, I dread the Tumblr thinkpieces that will result from The Walking Dead killing one of its few gay characters.) I’m not saying that Denise needed to live forever (and as an Alexandrian, there was no way she would), but some respect for the character – and Merrit Wever’s consistently good portrayal of her – would have been nice. Oh, but how will this affect Tara? Let me answer that: who gives a shit? There, that was my best impression of showrunner Scott Gimple.
But this show doesn’t give a shit about Alexandrians (most of time it actively hates them; remember how upon arrival, all Rick did was tell them what huge pussies they all were, until in a huge twist it was revealed that he was completely right). That’s been obvious from the jump, and as their numbers dwindle (I think we’re down to Heath, Tobin, and Spencer), Rick’s group can take over the town until…well, until we’re back with relatively the same group we started with. Seriously, Rick’s group has remained almost unchanged since season two, give or take a Herschel or Lori.
Oh, but now we’re down a Carol, evidently. This should have hit me a lot harder, but honestly I was to pissed off over the shit-show that was this whole episode to really grieve over Carol’s departure. Carol is TWD‘s best character, so by having her leave via voiceover, the show has officially painted itself into a corner. If this is the last we see of her, that’s a terrible, underwhelming farewell. If she comes back, then what was the point of this? The worst part is, she says she’s leaving because she “can’t kill for anyone.” Cue the close-up on Morgan, who has officially ruined this show. I just hope this is the worst episode of the season.
A Few Thoughts
- I didn’t even touch on Eugene and Abe. First of all, Negrete writes them like a bad fan fiction writer (“I’m formally calling dibs”). Abe just exists to spout folksy sayings that aren’t funny anymore (here we get “spill the pintos” and “You’d have better luck picking up a turd by its clean end”). And Eugene might be genuinely autistic; here he compares life to an RPG (“either tabletop or otherwise”). I will allow that manufacturing bullets is a very good idea, one that will surely amount to nothing
- Remember when Carl and Michonne were on this show?
- I’m glad AMC has seemingly canceled the cutesy hashtag suggestions from Talking Dead, otherwise Chris Hardwick would be telling us to mourn Denise with #EyeDidntSeeThatComing
- That gunfight was spatially confusing and jarringly edited
- I did like Denise getting the Orange Crush for Tara
- Dwight’s burnt face was pretty cool. Very villainous
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