Denise Cloyd (TV Series)

"I'm the new doctor now... - Listen, I'm a little nervous here. I'm a psychiatrist, I went to med school, I was even gonna be a surgeon, but after the panic attacks I got really interested in psychology."

- Denise Cloyd to Eugene Porter and Tara Chambler

Denise Cloyd is a survivor in AMC's The Walking Dead and a member of Alexandria. After Pete Anderson's execution, she takes over as the town's doctor.

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.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Denise has killed:
 * Holly (Before Reanimation)
 * Possibly numerous counts of zombies

Tara Chambler
Denise and Tara have a fine relationship. Tara pushes Denise to do her best in JSS, as seen when Denise treats Holly. In "Now", it is revealed that Denise harbors feelings for Tara as she approaches her and kisses her as the Alexandrians are now fearful due to the herd of walkers outside the gates and she feels she may not get another chance to do so, although it is unknown whether or not Tara feels the same way about Denise.

Eugene Porter
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", maybe telling they have a stable friendship.

Season 6

 * "JSS"
 * "Now"

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.
 * In "Now" Denise reveals she is a fan of the One Piece manga series.