AMCThe Walking Dead bid farewell to another character on the Sunday, March 20 episode in a further departure from the comic book series. Spoiler warning, obviously.
Denise (Merritt Wever) was killed by Dwight (Austin Amelio), one of Negan's saviors during an ambush. It was her first time out in the field, she previously stayed within the walls of Alexandria as the resident doctor.
Wever, who has an Emmy from her time on Nurse Jackie, told E! News her character was only going to be around for a season, but she's note quite sure how the other character's will be impacted.
"I hadn't thought about how this leaves them in a vulnerable position. I had thought about the impact it will have on Tara, but I don't know," Wever told us. "One thing that sucks about not doing the show anymore is you don't know what the hell's going to happen."
In the comic series, Denise was involved with Heath and ultimately met her end after being bitten and refusing to have her arm amputated in order to help Heath. The show made Denise a lesbian and she was involved with Tara (Alanna Masterson).
Her death leaves the group without a doctor and another LGBT character, continuing the troubling trend of minority characters getting killed off. Something tells us the lack of a doctor may be setting the stage for even larger deaths in the upcoming Sunday, April 3 finale. The season finale will introduce Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan and be 90 minutes as opposed to the 60 minutes.
See where Denise's death ranks in the gallery of important Walking Dead deaths now.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays, 9 p.m. on AMC.