16. Denise’s Bulls Eye
Not only was this a devastating moment in The Walking Dead, this was a devastating moment for the LGBT community. We finally saw a queer couple kicking ass in this world and it was definitely a let down when one of them was taken from us.
Denise’s (Merritt Wever) death came at a bad time for television this year. The LGBT community watched queer character after queer character die on screen. This just added to the laundry list of lesbians killed off in 2016. She wasn’t just crucial LGBT representation though; she was crucial to the community.
Denise played such a critical role in this series. Although not around for long, she saved multiple lives in the time she had, one of which being Carl’s. As one of our only characters with some medical background, she was an important part of the group, and fans were sad to see her go. As was Tara.
She was taken from us just as she was learning to cope with the inevitable future. She was learning how to take care of herself. She was learning to be brave. Until she took a misfired arrow that was meant for Daryl, through the eye.