Denise Cloyd (TV Series)

"Hot damn."

- Denise to herself after she finds a way to heal Scott

Denise Cloyd is a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. She is a resident of the Alexandria Safe-Zone and takes over as the town's doctor after Pete Anderson's execution.

Location Unknown
Denise attended medical school with aspirations to become a surgeon, however because her high levels of anxiety prevented her from handling such a profession, she eventually changed her focus of study to psychiatry.

Post-Apocalypse
Denise was living in the Alexandria Safe-Zone and remained largely to herself, presumably because of her anxiety. She had initially offered her support to Pete, but he turned her down. Denise is a peculiar and unusual woman. She's also very apprehensive and insecure.

"JSS"
Denise is first seen studying in the clinic when Tara Chambler and Eugene Porter come in looking for aspirin. Denise insists on examining Tara when she complains about a headache. She reveals to them in casual conversation that she went to med school to be a surgeon, but had panic attacks due to the pressure, causing her to switch into psychiatry.

After the Wolves attack, Denise panics as Rosita Espinosa rushes an injured Holly into the clinic. Tara and Eugene try to encourage her to help Holly as she bleeds out on the table. Denise ultimately agrees to help, but fails anyways. The guilt causes her to lash out at Tara. It is inferred that she stabs Holly in the head to prevent reanimation afterwards.

"Now"
Denise is first seen listening to Rick's speech at the town's gates. She is later found by Tara sulking on the floor of the clinic in frustration over her lack of medical ability. When Tara tries to encourage her, she tells Tara that the patient she's currently treating will most likely die. She confesses to Tara that she wished someone else to could take her spot so that she could just go back to her apartment reading her books. Tara tells her that being afraid is a fear you have to overcome to survive. Denise also witnesses Jessie put down a zombified Betsy and listens to her speech.

After Tara leaves, Denise manages to stabilize Scott's infection. Shortly there after, she finds Tara and, much to Tara's surprise, kisses her.

"Heads Up"
Denise is first seen being confronted by Morgan Jones, who doesn't get the chance to tell her why he's there, as he is interrupted by Rick's arrival. The two leave Denise together. Later, Denise is confronted by Morgan again. Once Morgan is inside, he requests antibiotics and a discussion regarding Scott and her treatment of his injuries occurs. The discussion leads to further probing by Denise, and Morgan finally admits that he isn't the one who needs antibiotics. He tells Denise that the presence of the individual in need of treatment (Owen) is a secret. He leads her to the location of the Wolf, who is confined in the makeshift cell. Carol notices the two leaving and follows them.

"Start to Finish"
Alone with the Alpha Wolf, Denise is sat in the corner as the Wolf tries to talk to her. He asks her a number of questions, to which she does not respond. Denise gets angry at the Wolf, tearing up. She tells him that the things he has done are unjustifiable, such as killing people. He says that he freed the people he has murdered. It is revealed that the Wolf knew that she didn't know that Morgan had him prisoner. He then tells how he got his wound. He vows that he has done his part and that the world will take his role after his death. Denise asks to see the wound, to which he shows her. Denise takes a closer look from afar. She insists that he can change from his current self. He watches her reach into her bag to get the medicine out, silent.

Denise is trying to treat the wound when Carol runs in, pointing a knife at them, telling her to get away from him. Morgan joins them, blocking Carol from killing the Wolf as Denise steps back and sits back in the corner, watching Morgan and Carol fight. Morgan knocks Carol out and the Wolf does the same to Morgan immediately after. Denise screams out, "No!", after Morgan is knocked unconscious. The Wolf points a knife at her.

Denise begs the Alpha Wolf not to kill Carol and Morgan as he unties himself. She says that he thinks they are going to die anyway and therefore he doesn't need to kill them, he can just let them die. The Wolf comes towards her with a knife, backing her against the wall. She exclaims that he is "so full of shit!", the Wolf chuckling at this. Tara, Rosita, and Eugene walks in with their guns pointing at him. The Wolf grabs Denise by her throat, threatening to slit her throat. He orders them to lower the guns, to which they do, sliding them across the floor over to him. He approaches the door with Denise, pointing their guns at them, telling them to stand back. He then turns the gun to Denise's head and walks out of the door to the walkers with Denise still his hostage. Tara, Rosita, and Eugene appearing sad at this event as he closes the door.

"No Way Out"
Denise will appear in this episode

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Denise has killed:
 * Holly (Before Reanimation)
 * Wolves Leader (Indirectly Caused)
 * Numerous counts of zombies

Tara Chambler
"You're my first patient, and with that symptom, I'm pretty sure I can't kill you."

- Denise to Tara

Tara and Denise have developed a strong relationship. Tara encouraged Denise while she tried to save Holly. When Denise failed, Tara went to see how she was coping. Later on, outside, Denise kissed Tara on the lips, implying she might have feelings for her. It is unknown if Tara feels the same way, however. When Denise is taken hostage by the Alpha Wolf, Tara appears heartbroken as he has the knife to her and is the first one to turn over her gun when he orders them to. When the Alpha Wolf takes Denise outside with him, Tara looks at them devastated as they go outside to the walkers.

Eugene Porter
"Are you? - I'm sorry, I heard that story."

- Denise to Eugene

It seems like they have a stable relationship. Eugene seems to be friendly to Denise in "JSS", and Denise jokes with Eugene about him "being a doctor", having been informed of his lie about knowing a cure, maybe telling they have a stable friendship. When Denise struggles with the idea of operating a surgery on Holly due to her own inexperience and worry that she'll fail but Eugene tries to tell her that being a coward is worse than trying and failing, and this seems to convince Denise to operate on Holly.

Pete Anderson
"Pete didn't want me here."

- Denise to Tara and Eugene regarding her position.

Despite never interacting on screen, Denise mentions Pete didn't want her in the community during his time as the town's medic, indicating a bad relationship.

Morgan Jones
"Swelling?"

- Denise to Morgan whilst he quizzes her on her medical skills.

Denise's help was enlisted by Morgan after he finds that the Wolf he has secretly in detainment has an injury. At first, he is hesitant to ask Denise for help, even walking away from her when she asks what is wrong, but later returns and assures her that her medical skills are better than what she gives herself credit for, showing that they have a good relationship. He also shows trust in her when he admits that she has a prisoner from the Wolves attack on Alexandria. Later, Denise appears upset that Morgan has thrown this weight on her to keep it a secret from everyone else in the Alexandria Safe-Zone.

Rosita Espinosa
"Rosita you know how to stick an IV!?"

- Denise to Rosita as Denise begins to help Holly.

It is implied that the two have a stable relationship. After the death of Pete, Rosita now becomes Denise's medical assistant, and helps her when they bring in an injured Holly.

Wolves Leader
"Please (.) Please don't... Don't kill them. You said they were already dead, you said I was. You don't need to kill us, just let us die. Just let us die."

- Denise the the Wolves Leader, pleading to spare her's, Morgan's, and Carol's lives.

After cutting his bonds, Denise begs the Leader not kill Morgan and Carol, instead he walks up to her and holds the knife to her throat, claiming that she represents what he likes about people. Suddenly, Tara ,Eugene and Rosita enter the cell and the girls point their guns at the leader who orders them to drop them and slide them over. They comply and the leader takes one of the guns and proceeds to walk to the door holding Denise at gunpoint. Tara says he doesn't need Denise and he agrees with her. He then unlocks the door to the building and exits with Denise as his hostage. The man later rescues Denise from the Walkers, causing her to suggest he has changed and he protects her as they retreat to safety before he's consumed and turned.

Season 6

 * "JSS"
 * "Now"
 * "Heads Up"
 * "Start to Finish"
 * "No Way Out"
 * "The Next World"

Trivia

 * Denise was revealed on July 29, 2015 and was described as "a medic becomes critical in the community of Alexandria after the death of Pete, and in the comic her skills as a surgeon prove pivotal, especially after a ghastly injury incurred by one of the main characters—an injury which may or may not happen on the TV version."
 * The casting call for this character was Allison.
 * Despite her humble introduction, in which Denise only mentions attending medical school, a psychiatrist must also complete three years of an in-house residency at a hospital, meaning that Denise has nearly twice as much medical experience as she lets on. Given her anxious nature regarding surgery and her line about not wanting people to have high expectations, Denise may have been trying to undersell the extent of her medical knowledge.
 * In "Now," Denise was revealed to be lesbian or bisexual when she kissed Tara. She is the third LGBT female in the show and the fifth openly gay character following Tara, Alisha, Aaron, and Eric.