The TWD: World Beyond Season 2 Episode 7 Scene Fans Thought Went Too Far
Contains major spoilers for "The Walking Dead: World Beyond" Season 2 Episode 7
Listen: at this point, it shouldn't ever come as a shock to see a character from "The Walking Dead" universe meet a horrific end. The franchise has come to be associated with the idea that none of its characters are truly safe. Although the spin-off series "The Walking Dead: World Beyond" has been a bit more judicious with its character deaths, the most recent episode, "Blood and Lies," showed that the series isn't afraid to say goodbye.
Dr. Lyla Belshaw (Natalie Gold) was a supporting player in the grand arc of "World Beyond." As a well-meaning scientist working for the nefarious Civic Republic Military, she was a character of complexity and contradiction. She believed in her mission to try and neutralize the threat that the reanimated dead pose to humanity but often found herself compromised by the increasingly evil plans of her employer.
After trying to play both sides of the fence in this past episode, the CRM judged Dr. Belshaw and found her to be a security risk. She was locked into a small observation chamber with a recently zombified test subject who chased the terrified scientist down until it was eventually able to take a big bite out of her throat. In this case, the gore itself wasn't extreme, but watching Dr. Belshaw scream and plead for her life as the walker closed in made for a bracing and disturbing scene.
While Dr. Belshaw's death wasn't the most surprising or brutal of the franchise, it still hit fans pretty hard. They took to the Reddit episode discussion thread to unpack the moment.
Even those who weren't fans of Dr. Belshaw were horrified by her death scene
Despite the fact that anyone watching any "The Walking Dead" show has likely already seen characters literally ripped apart by walkers, there was something about the tone and tenor of Dr. Belshaw's death that struck a nerve with "World Beyond" viewers.
In the episode discussion thread on Reddit, user u/Blood_Brothers wrote, "Lyla's death was extremely disturbing. I'm amazed how that can still happen, eleven years into this TV franchise." User u/frankpharaoh agreed, writing that the unpleasant moment was one of the all-time most impactful character death scenes in the franchise's history. They gave props to Gold's performance, writing, "Actress really sold her fear and I honestly didn't see it coming despite all the signs."
For many users, Dr. Belshaw was a divisive character. Some saw her as trying to do good within a terrible set of circumstances, while others thought she was just yet another evil cog in the CRM machine. But even many of those who weren't fans of Dr. Belshaw still felt, as u/recuerdeme wrote, "I didn't completely like the Doc but that was a pretty visceral scene."
You can catch up on "The Walking Dead: World Beyond" on AMC+.