# The Walking Dead; 6.14 "Twice as Far" (open spoilers)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 21, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716 "2016-03-21T00:25:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/41 "2016-03-21T17:39:59Z")

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> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> “I’m gonna prove I have what it takes to survive even if it kills me!”

Exceot that Denise didn’t die because of her folly or lack of skills. She died because of bad luck. Dwight was aiming for either Daryl or Rosita. Any of the incontrovertibly badass of their group–Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Abraham–could have died the same way–and, as comics readers or watchers of the Talking Dead know, one of them died EXACTLY that way in the comics

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**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/42 "2016-03-21T17:43:59Z")

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> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#):
>
> Exceot that Denise didn’t die because of her folly or lack of skills. She died because of bad luck. Dwight was aiming for either Daryl or Rosita. Any of the incontrovertibly badass of their group–Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Abraham–could have died the same way–and, as comics readers or watchers of the Talking Dead know, one of them died EXACTLY that way in the comics

One might argue that _being out in the open_, and therefore vulnerable to a surprise attack, was the mistake she made (which in fact required Rosita and Darryl to rescue her when the walker attacked, making them vulnerable to attack).

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/43 "2016-03-21T17:52:14Z")

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> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> One might argue that _being out in the open_, and therefore vulnerable to a surprise attack, was the mistake she made (which in fact required Rosita and Darryl to rescue her when the walker attacked, making them vulnerable to attack).

One might argue that. And in fact, I would definitely say that neither Denise nor Eugene should have left the compound except with a more sizable escort, not because of any lack of formidablility but because their their particular skills are both highly valuable and difficult to replace. In a pinch, Rick, Michonne, Daryl, and Abraham would all be viable combat leaders, but nobody else in the group has Denise’s medical training or Eugene’s general technical skill.

Eugene, incidentally, is the dumbest smart person I’ve seen on TV in quite some time. 😉 But he’s BELIEVABLY smart-but-dumb.

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**Author:** ![stosh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@stosh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stosh)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/44 "2016-03-21T17:54:48Z")

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Well, Denise could have died before she gave us her stupid, little speech, then they would have one less a-hole sooner. It’s a good thing we still have Eugene.  
I would hate to have to go a week without them getting captured. They do nothing to be careful, or watch what’s going on around them, or watching each others back, or, heaven forbid, stick together.  
Are you going to tell me that real soldiers or swat teams get wiped out, but this pack of fools survives ?

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**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/45 "2016-03-21T18:42:48Z")

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Seems to me a LOT of soldiers have gotten iced in the Walkerverse, notably one group what got slaughtered by the Governor and his people…

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**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/46 "2016-03-21T19:32:07Z")

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> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#):
>
> The show didn’t fail to explain anything about that, you simply missed it. The sink clearly had a baby’s shoe sticking out of sludgy disgusting bloody water, the implication being that whoever was stuck in that room went crazy and drowned the baby to stop it from screaming and attracting the walkers (hence the “hush” scrawled on the wall.) Or maybe the baby just died from lack of food. However it happened, the corpse ended up in that sink and slowly liquified into that nasty sludge.
> 
> You saw the camera pan over the empty crib, yes? And all the baby pictures around? I knew she’d find a dead baby in there.

Why would the people scrawl “hush” on the wall? Wouldn’t they just say that to the baby?

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**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/47 "2016-03-21T19:39:49Z")

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> [@UltraVires](#):
>
> Why would the people scrawl “hush” on the wall? Wouldn’t they just say that to the baby?

Once again, we are confronted by the “People are crazy-ass stupid” trope.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/48 "2016-03-21T19:40:24Z")

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> [@UltraVires](#):
>
> Why would the people scrawl “hush” on the wall? Wouldn’t they just say that to the baby?

Deep Purple fan?

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**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/49 "2016-03-21T19:41:27Z")

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> [@UltraVires](#):
>
> Why would the people scrawl “hush” on the wall? Wouldn’t they just say that to the baby?

Cause they went crazy afterwards.

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**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/50 "2016-03-21T19:49:25Z")

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> [@UltraVires](#):
>
> Why would the people scrawl “hush” on the wall? Wouldn’t they just say that to the baby?

I suspect what happened was a mother( or father) and baby became trapped in the pharmacy by all the zombies that left their handprints on the outside. They soon ran out of food, causing the baby to cry louder, attracting more zombies. Between the undead and constant crying, the mother soon went mad, writing “hush” everywhere Jack Torrance style. When it became apparent how hopeless the situation was, the mother killed the baby (or it died due to hunger or possibly sickness) and then either died herself or took her own life.

Sometimes I wish they would put together more zombie puzzles like that. Rather than the standard “oh here’s another bunch of drivers who just sat in their cars on I-85 until they died” or “50 zombies just came out of a grocery store that probably hasn’t seen that many customers at the same time ever”.

Or my favorite, the two zombies in the drainpipe leading out of Alexandria that was sealed at both ends.

> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> Abe left before Eugene did. It’s reasonable to surmise that Abe, a trained soldier, saw the enemy and took cover and then kept them under surveillance. The raiders either caught Eugene in the shop, or else Eugene blundered into them as he is wont to do. Maybe it’s ‘convenient’ Abe was not captured, but it’s not unrealistic.

I think it’s reasonable that even after Abe told Eugene to find his own way home after their argument, he kept an eye on him to make sure he didn’t get into actual trouble.  
What’s more convenient is that a band of 10 guys with a hostage can sneak up on Daryl & co to within the 50-ish meter effective range of a crossbow.

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**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/51 "2016-03-21T20:18:15Z")

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> [@UltraVires](#):
>
> Why would the people scrawl “hush” on the wall? Wouldn’t they just say that to the baby?

Perhaps he was dictating it.

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**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/52 "2016-03-21T20:25:32Z")

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I’m really surprised the reaction to this episode is not more negative. All of the major dramatic events in this episode were unrealistic and/or stupid. Let us review the dumb:

1. Eugene’s treatment of Abraham. The guy clearly has Asperger’s or else his character makes no sense. I was willing to roll with this though, just considering him a severe social whack job.

2. Denise repeatedly doing stupid things to put herself in danger.

3. OK so Darryl doesn’t want to take the train tracks for some unknown reason. Fine. But once they’ve taken the road route and they know that it’s safe, they decide to go back by a different route to save a couple minutes? Way too risky.

4. Another main character with a dramatic speech followed by a sudden death. Yawn.

5. Eugene calls out Abraham’s actual location as a distraction? Brilliant!

6. Eugene bites an armed man’s shlong through jeans? Have you ever tried to bite jeans? Do you know how thick that crotch denim is? Dumb move which never should have worked.

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/53 "2016-03-21T20:30:50Z")

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> [@msmith537](#):
>
> What’s more convenient is that a band of 10 guys with a hostage can sneak up on Daryl & co to within the 50-ish meter effective range of a crossbow.

They came out of the woods, perhaps Daryl the woods guy was distracted by the little drama going on.

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**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/54 "2016-03-21T20:31:04Z")

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Pointlessly dumb dialogue.

Denise: As I was driving down, I passed an apothecary nearby. We should check it out, see if they have any drugs.  
Daryl: What makes you think it hasn’t been cleaned out already?

Instead of answering the question like a normal person (“Most people don’t know apothecaries have drugs”), she repeats that it’s not far away. Like its proximity is a much more convincing reason for them to check it out than the greater likelihood it hasn’t been cleaned out.

Daryl should have said, “You already said that. If it’s been emptied out, I don’t care if it’s across the street. We’re not wasting time there.”  
Also, I understand the tree was blocking the road, but if it really was a straight shot down the tracks to the apothecary (and we did see the tracks when they arrived there), why not drive the truck alongside the tracks? It would have been faster and prevented what happened on the way back, which is what I’m sure Daryl was concerned about.

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**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/55 "2016-03-21T20:35:53Z")

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> [@Sterling\_Archer](#):
>
> 1. OK so Darryl doesn’t want to take the train tracks for some unknown reason. Fine. But once they’ve taken the road route and they know that it’s safe, they decide to go back by a different route to save a couple minutes? Way too risky.

I don’t follow the logic of this complaint. If simply walking down the road and not being attacked demonstrates that it’s safe, Rosita equally demonstrated the train tracks were safe.

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**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/56 "2016-03-21T20:41:10Z")

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> [@msmith537](#):
>
> Sometimes I wish they would put together more zombie puzzles like that. Rather than the standard “oh here’s another bunch of drivers who just sat in their cars on I-85 until they died” or “50 zombies just came out of a grocery store that probably hasn’t seen that many customers at the same time ever”.  
> Or my favorite, the two zombies in the drainpipe leading out of Alexandria that was sealed at both ends.

A little-known side-effect of the zombification process: the ability to teleport. It’s only the fact that zombies lose their powers of reason that keeps the last humans from being found and finished off.

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**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/57 "2016-03-21T22:26:21Z")

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Another thing: what was the doctor lady’s relationship (if any) to those people at the pharmacy? What about the car with the cooler full of sodas? She talked about her brother, but was that her brother in the car or in the pharmacy?

Also wouldn’t those prescription drugs be almost worthless after several years?

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/58 "2016-03-21T22:31:44Z")

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> [@UltraVires](#):
>
> Another thing: what was the doctor lady’s relationship (if any) to those people at the pharmacy? What about the car with the cooler full of sodas? She talked about her brother, but was that her brother in the car or in the pharmacy?
> 
> Also wouldn’t those prescription drugs be almost worthless after several years?

It’s been less than three years since the fall of civilization. And while the drugs would have lost some potency in that time and be unpredictable in effect, I doubt they’d be toxic. Certainly the antibiotics would be better than nothing.

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/59 "2016-03-21T22:42:09Z")

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> [@UltraVires](#):
>
> Another thing: what was the doctor lady’s relationship (if any) to those people at the pharmacy? What about the car with the cooler full of sodas? She talked about her brother, but was that her brother in the car or in the pharmacy?

No relationship. She saw the pharmacy when she was fleeing DC. The only connection to her [twin] brother was the name tag. Dennis. Get it? Dennis-Denise? The guy in the car was rando. Nothing to do with her or her brother.

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**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-14-twice-as-far-open-spoilers/749716/60 "2016-03-21T23:02:49Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> No relationship. She saw the pharmacy when she was fleeing DC. The only connection to her [twin] brother was the name tag. Dennis. Get it? Dennis-Denise? The guy in the car was rando. Nothing to do with her or her brother.

Are you sure? She pulled one particular soda from the six pack and said that it was important to her, IIRC.

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