The Walking Dead TV Series Gave Abraham’s Comic Book Death To Another Character

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The Walking Dead TV Series Gave Abraham’s Comic Book Death To Another Character

Abraham looking depressed after finding out Eugene lied to him in The Walking Dead

AMC

As reflected by its declining ratings in its later seasons, most “The Walking Dead” viewers can pinpoint the moment where they gave up on the show. For many, it’s Lucille’s reign of terror against Glenn (Steven Yeun) in the season 7 premiere. For others, it’s the untimely demise of that kid with the silly hat (also known as Carl). However, my personal breaking point is fairly rare among the fandom: I first stopped watching after the death of Denise (Merritt Wever).

Denise rarely makes the top of any fan’s favorite character list, but I like her because of how much she seems like a real person. Most of the characters on this show are cool in a way that feels cinematic, whereas Denise (with her anxiety issues and her nerdy interests) comes across as a person from the real world. She’s someone who was probably destined to become a librarian, only for fate to cruelly force her to serve as her town’s only doctor amidst a zombie apocalypse. Denise struggles hard to be a medical professional with her limited medical training, yet really comes into her own throughout season 6.

It’s a great arc … almost. But instead of leading to the exciting resolution Denise received in the original “Walking Dead” comics (more on that later), her arc is cut short by an arrow to the head. Yes, that’s right: In season 6’s “Twice as Far,” Denise is giving a rousing speech when a hidden enemy shoots her with a crossbow bolt, right through the eye. It’s especially disturbing because she keeps talking for a few seconds after getting struck; it’s a lot like how Gus from “Breaking Bad” takes the time to adjust his tie after an explosion blows half his face off.

Before Abraham could take Glenn’s place, Denise took Abraham’s

Tara and Denise sharing a tender moment in The Walking Dead

AMC

Denise’s death was controversial for a couple reasons. The first one was that it felt like the show was squandering one of the few new characters who were actually interesting. Denise was getting cooler with each passing episode, and it would’ve been fun to see what she would’ve looked like after she’d fully leveled up. The second was that Denise was one of the show’s few queer characters, and her death occurred amidst a weirdly high wave of lesbians being murdered on major TV shows in 2016. There was a lot of pop culture discussion going on around the Bury Your Gays trope that year, and Denise’s death came right in the middle of it.

The third reason is that, as fans of the show’s source material already know, the bolt was meant for Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), not Denise. In the comic books, Abraham dies exactly the same way Denise does on the “Walking Dead” TV show, right down to the part where he keeps giving his emotional speech for a little bit even as his brain is shutting down. This change adds an extra bit of cruel irony to Denise’s death, as the guy who shot the bolt was aiming for Dwight, not her. Both in-universe and on a meta level, that bolt was never supposed to hit Denise.

Many fans were okay with Denise dying instead of Abraham. Abraham was introduced two seasons earlier and he had long endeared himself to the fanbase, whereas Denise had only recently started getting screen time. For comic fans who entered the scene dreading the worst for Abraham, they felt relief when his death was given to someone else. They wouldn’t be happy for long, however. Just three episodes later, Abraham wound up getting head bashed in with a bat by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Tough luck, Abe! I, for one, would have preferred death by crossbow.

Denise’s death in the comics was so much better

Denise choosing to save Heath instead of herself in the Walking Dead comics

Image Comics

The fourth reason why Denise’s death scene in the show was disappointing is because fans of the “Walking Dead” comics knew all about her potential. In the comic books, Denise survives for 50 issues before, in her final storyline, she gets bitten in the arm by a walker as part of an attack from Negan. She then has an opportunity to amputate her own arm, thus sparing her life, but quickly realizes she’ll need both her arms to save the life of her boyfriend Heath, who was also injured severely in the attack.

As such, Denise refuses to amputate her arm and spends her final hours saving Heath’s life before succumbing to the infection. She never shows any regret for her decision either, ultimately dying with the comfort of knowing that she was courageous to the very end. It’s a heroic, dignified conclusion to her narrative.

If there’s a flaw with Denise’s ending in the comics, it’s that she never really had a major character arc. This version of Denise is cool and tough from day one, unlike the soft, anxious mess she starts out as on the “Walking Dead” TV series. Comic Denise’s sacrifice is cool, but TV Denise’s sacrifice would’ve been a powerful, bittersweet full circle moment for her. The show had the opportunity to improve massively on its source material, but it chose instead to cut a thrilling arc short. I guess if you want a “Walking Dead” storyline about a cowardly lion who finds their courage, you’ll have to settle for Father Gabriel.