WARNING: This article contains major SPOILERS for The Walking Dead episode 6.14
It felt as though The Walking Dead was telegraphing Abraham Ford's imminent demise with 'Knots Untie' - an episode that dwelt a little too long on the demons haunting Michael Cudlitz's broken soldier.
But while 'Twice as Far' doesn't make good on those early signs, it's possible we were being intentionally misled, since this latest outing instead transplants Abraham's violent fate from the comic series directly onto another character.
Affable medic Denise Cloyd (Merritt Wever) is determined to break out of the claustrophobic confines of Alexandria and prove her worth by venturing out beyond its walls.
Her noble efforts backfire spectacularly. Though she ultimately proves herself a capable survivor, she's later felled by an arrow through the eye - delivered by Dwight (Austin Amelio) and the Saviours.
Denise's death is a shocking moment, no question - particularly since the source material saw it instead afforded to Abraham. But once you get over the initial surprise, it's hard not to question whether or not this latest plot twist was really a good idea.
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Her final fate in the comic was much more befitting of the character; bitten by a walker, she nonetheless refused to amputate her infected arm - because she'd need both hands to save another injured soul.
But even if you ignore that - and the upset that offing another popular LGBT character on US television is sure to cause - the biggest argument against axing Denise is that she was one of the few new characters introduced to The Walking Dead in the last year or so to have anything approaching a compelling arc.
The biggest problem with the Alexandria setting is not that the survivors are static - the show continues to find inventive ways around that, and besides, we had an age of them aimlessly wandering a dystopian wasteland.
No, the most significant flaw afflicting The Walking Dead right now is its over-abundance of dead weight second-tier characters. Heck, in just two episodes, Jesus (Tom Payne) showed up and managed to be more interesting than pretty much every single Alexandrian.
The series could certainly do with a cull, but Denise was not part of the surplus who swallow up screen-time while other, more compelling characters go underserved. Seriously, is the fantastic Lennie James ever going to get anything to do as Morgan beyond twiddle his stick and stare moodily into the middle distance?
If things continue on this current path, we're at risk of more scenes akin to Spencer (Austin Nichols) attempting to woo Rosita (Christian Serratos) with his beef jerky stroganoff. Nobody cares, guys.
We're all excited for Jeffrey Dean Morgan to debut as Negan in just two weeks time. But here's hoping that if his arrival does mean a thinning of the herd - as many suspect - that the writers choose wisely when deciding which characters will fall prey to his barbed-wire bat.
