In The Walking Dead recap, Daryl and Abraham lead expeditions outside of Alexandria but disaster strikes and not everyone makes it back alive…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
What started out and seemed like a time filler of an episode ended with tragedy, heartache and further proof that a brewing war is just about to boil over on The Walking Dead.
Not to mention Carol left town.
Yep, everybody’s favorite ass kicking, zombie killing, town saving killer dressed in cardigans decided that the violence was finally too much for her so Carol is putting her guns down and she’s just going to walk the Earth.
A lot happened in the latest episode, but the bulk of the action took place in the final 15 minutes as Daryl, Rosita, Eugene, Abraham and Denise found out that the Saviors are a much bigger army than the people who were just eliminated at the satellite compound.
Underestimating Negan’s group will continue to cost lives and this week it cost Alexandria its doctor. A sad ending for Denise to say the least, not to mention the revelation she had about living life to the fullest just seconds before catching an arrow through the back of her skull.
It was certainly an emotional and anger inducing episode to say the least.
With that said, let’s recap the latest episode of The Walking Dead titled ‘Twice as Far’….
The Road Less Traveled
Life seems to have returned back to normal after the attack on the Saviors compound.
Everybody is going through the daily routine whether that means preparing food or watching the walls. Morgan has even taken his time to build a jail cell beneath one of the houses in Alexandria so the next time they find or capture a prisoner there are choices other than just killing them.
Carol has ended up in a full blown relationship with Tobin but these days she mostly just sits on the front porch smoking cigarettes and contemplating her next move. She talks with Daryl where they discuss how he got his motorcycle back and his decision to let the people live who ultimately double crossed him and stole the bike and his crossbow as a result. Daryl now believes he should have killed them without question but Carol questions whether that’s truly in his nature anymore.
With everything quiet on the Western front, Eugene enlists Abraham to accompany him on a mission outside of Alexandria. Meanwhile, after spending a few nights next to Spencer in bed, Rosita is commissioned to help Denise find some medical supplies and drugs at a corner store she remembers spotting on her way into town when the zombie apocalypse first started.
Denise also recruits Daryl, who suggests she stays back at Alexandria rather than brave the outside world — a world she hasn’t seen since the world went to shit. Denise refuses and says that they will all three go together.
It’s the last time all three would be alive inside those walls.
Out into the town, Eugene leads Abraham to a metal working shop where he reveals the nature of his big plan — he wants to manufacture bullets. In a world where all the supplies are running short and everybody is willing to steal and/or take from everybody else, ammunition might be the greatest currency left on Earth.
Abraham appreciates Eugene’s outside the box thinking but before long they discover that the metal shop wasn’t completely abandoned. A walker comes stumbling out from the back with metal melted over its head — just before Abraham kills it, Eugene calls dibs while trying to show that he’s not frightened and helpless anymore. Unfortunately the metal helmet the zombie is wearing prevents Eugene from striking the death blow and Abraham steps in to ensure the new bullet maker doesn’t become walker-kibble while trying to prove his manhood.
Rather than thank him for the assist, Eugene blows up on Abraham and demands that he shows some respect now that they are equals. Eugene continues to spout off about apologies and Abraham is sick of hearing his voice so he leaves the big, bad bullet maker all alone as he heads back to town.
Don’t worry, they are reunited soon enough.
As far Daryl, Rosita and Denise — they drive into town but get blocked by a fallen tree along the way that forces them to finish the trip on foot. Rosita wants to take the train tracks, which is a short cut into town but Daryl refuses. Don’t forget what happened the last time Daryl and the other survivors followed a train track — remember Terminus?
So Daryl and Denise take the long way around while Rosita opts for the train tracks. The good news is they all meet up on the other side and find the pharmacy with all the medical supplies still locked inside.
While Daryl and Rosita gather the medicine, Denise — much like Eugene — wants to prove that she’s not helpless in the outside world so she does some exploring around the shop when the group realizes there’s a stray zombie in the building, likely locked behind a door or trapped and unable to get free.
Denise finds the zombie a moment or two later but she discovers something even more horrifying — it seems whoever was hold up in this shop drowned a baby in a sink rather than allow the child to scream and alert anybody else near by. Denise is horrified and as she bumps her way back out into the store, knocking over glass bowls in the process, she’s beginning to wonder if coming out here was really a bad idea after all.
It really was, Denise, it really was.
Get Busy Living
On the way back to Alexandria, Daryl decides to take everybody on the route following the railroad tracks — it is the shorter way to return after all.
Along the road, Denise spots a cooler inside a car and she decides that whatever is inside there is enough for her to go after. Daryl and Rosita advise against it, but she’s determined to get whatever is in that damn cooler.
Really, Denise is just trying to show that she can survive outside the walls so even when the zombie gets out of the car and nearly kills her, she refuses help from the others. Instead, Denise finds the will power to jam a knife into the zombie’s head just before vomiting all over the ground.
Denise 1, zombies 0.
Inside the cooler, Denise finds her reward — a six-pack of soda — the exact gift she wanted to give Tara when she asked Daryl to find her some a couple of weeks back. When Daryl and Rosita question why Denise would risk that much just for some soda, she not only explains a heartbreaking story about her brother, who was clearly killed during the zombie apocalypse, but how she has lived in fear ever since. In fact she was so afraid that she didn’t even tell Tara she loved her before she left on a supply run with Heath.
Denise then goes on a diatribe about why she chose Daryl and Rosita for this mission — Daryl because he resembled her brother Dennise and Rosita because she didn’t want her to feel alone anymore after Abraham so callously abandoned her last week. Denise has been scared this entire time of what was outside those walls and what was inside her heart and she’s standing next to two of the bravest, most fearless people she’s ever known but they are afraid to open up to the world around them.
Before Denise can finish her thought an arrow comes screaming out of the woods and with a sickening thud, goes through the back of her skull and out her eyeball.
Daryl and Rosita stand in stunned silence and horror while a group armed to the teeth approaches them from the tree line.
They really shouldn’t have taken the rail line route back to the main road.
Take Us to Your Leader
As Daryl and Rosita surrender their weapons, a familiar face leads the group who attacked them and killed poor Denise.
Dwight — the crossbow and motorcycle stealing deserter — has rejoined the Saviors and apparently has an all new level of commitment to his job and devotion to Negan. He’s also sporting a scarred up face now, as if his skin was nearly melted away from his skull (no spoilers, but comic book fans will know where this came from).
Dwight tells Daryl that he’s still trying to get the hang of the crossbow and if it makes him feel any better, he wasn’t actually aiming for Denise when she was shot and killed. Daryl is just twitching to attack, but they are clearly out numbered and out gunned, not to mention they’ve snatched up Eugene from his bullet making factory and brought him along as a hostage.
Dwight lays it out for Daryl and Rosita — they are going to lead them back to Alexandria, open up the doors and the Saviors are going to take supplies, women, and pretty much anything else they want before leaving. And then they’ll come back and do the same thing again and again and again.
Just when it looks like all hope is lost, Eugene spots Abraham hiding near the tree line and he actually tells the Saviors that the biggest threat they still haven’t eliminated is the asshole hiding just a few feet away. Dwight sends half of his group to go check and see if Eugene is telling the truth, but the distraction gives him enough time to sink his teeth into a new plan of action.
Dwight turns away for just a split second and Eugene latches onto his crotch like a bear trap. Meanwhile, Abraham opens fire while Daryl and Rosita get the drop on the remaining Saviors after getting back their guns. Eugene finally releases his iron jaw grip on Dwight’s member before telling the Saviors to retreat in great haste.
During the battle, Eugene actually gets grazed by a bullet but thankfully his plan worked to perfection and they all make it back minus the poor doctor who was the victim of poor aim and even worse timing to take her first trip out of the compound.
Back in Alexandria, Eugene and Abraham patch things up — and by patching up it means Abraham issuing an apology and complimenting Eugene on his dick biting skills. Daryl retrieved Denise’s body and gives her a proper burial back in town while Carol stares on in the misery of it all. All of this means that more people are going to die and Carol will be tasked with taking many of them.
So rather than continue to live with this brutality, Carol pens a letter to the entire town — first breaking up with Tobin and then explaining how she no longer wants to kill but to live here, that’s exactly what she’ll be forced to do. When Rick banished Carol she was never supposed to come back but she found her way home anyways. This time, Carol is leaving by choice because she can’t be part of the ugliness anymore and living in Alexandria means eventually she’s going to have to pull the trigger again.
And she’s putting her guns down once and for all.
With only two episodes left this season, the showdown with Negan is brewing so don’t miss The Walking Dead next Sunday night at 9pm ET on AMC. Take a sneak preview at the episode below.
