(Spoiler alert: Please do not keep reading if you haven’t seen this week’s episode of “The Walking Dead”)
In this week’s episode of “The Walking Dead,” two characters who have typically stayed out of the action found themselves in the thick of things.
First, fan favorite Eugene (Josh McDermitt) shocked the world when he did away with his trademark mullet, instead letting his hair grow out and secure it with a hair tie.
He takes Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) out on a run, where he tells his longtime travelling companion that despite his lack of fighting experience, he is ready to take a bigger role in defending Alexandria. Abraham laughs off the claim, saying that Eugene should stick to using his intelligence and leave the fighting to real warriors like himself.
Also in this week’s episode, Denise (Merrit Wever) says that she knows the location of a pharmacy in a nearby strip mall that she thinks would have remained untouched. She convinces Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) to let her tag along, despite the fact that she has never been on a run before.
Abraham and Eugene arrive at a foundry, which Eugene wants to use to manufacture bullets from spent shell casings. Abraham loves the idea, but still doesn’t believe that Eugene is capable of fighting.
Eugene tries to prove himself by killing a walker, but can’t. When Abraham intervenes, the two argue and Eugene says he no longer needs Abraham to stick up for him. In response, Abraham storms out and tells his old friend to find his own way back home.
At the pharmacy, Daryl and Rosita clear out the meds they find, but Denise begins to feel left out. She tries to kill a walker in a back room, but can’t bring herself to do it.
As the three head back to Alexandria, Denise begins to tell Daryl about her twin brother, Dennis. He was always the brave one, she says, which often got him into trouble. Denise then spots a cooler in a nearby car, but Daryl and Rosita tell her to leave it as there’s a walker in the car and it’s not worth the trouble.
Ignoring their advice, Denise opens the car door and tries to kill the walker. It overpowers her briefly, but before Daryl and Rosita can intervene, she manages to kill it. She opens the cooler and finds a soda that happens to be Tara’s (Alanna Masterson) favorite.
As she explains to Daryl and Rosita why she needed to kill the walker herself, an arrow pierces her eye and kills her instantly.
A group of Saviors, led by Dwight (Austin Amelio) emerges from the woods, with Eugene as their hostage. Daryl, who previously encountered Dwight when the Savior stole his crossbow and motorcycle, tells Dwight that he should have killed him when he had the chance.
Dwight tells Daryl and Rosita that unless they take him inside Alexandria, he will kill all of them right there. Eugene tells Dwight that he should kill Abraham, who is hiding nearby, first. When Dwight is distracted while looking for Abraham, Eugene bites down on *ahem* a private part of Dwight’s.
Abraham emerges from the woods and kills a few of the Saviors, while Daryl and Rosita dispatch the rest. Dwight and a few others flee, and Daryl manages to get his crossbow back.
Eugene took a bullet in the melee, but recovers in the infirmary. He and Abraham reconcile, with Abraham admitting he was wrong about Eugene not being ready to fight. Abraham then finally confesses his feelings for Sasha, and she welcomes him into her home.
The episode ends with Carol leaving a note behind saying that she cannot kill for the group anymore, and must therefore go out on her own.
“The Walking Dead” airs Sundays at 9 p.m./8c.