Villainess Review: Gale and Denise Davidson (Walker)

I just want to say that I absolutely love the CW's Walker reboot! I've never seen the Chuck Norris original, but when I learned about this, I was in. The reason can be summed up in two words: Jared Padalecki. Having one half of Supernatural's dynamic duo back in the saddle was enough for me to go all in on this. The first season was immensely awesome, and the same can be said about the second season as well.

Of course, the centerpiece of Season Two was the long-standing family feud between the Walkers and Davidsons--with no Steve Harvey in sight (what a shame). It got off the bat in the season opener, "They Started It," with the Davidsons returning to the Walkers' neighborhood for the first time since the tragic death of their patriarch, Marv Davidson. The family was led by widowed Gale Davidson, and consisted of daughter Denise Davidson, Denise's husband Dan Miller, and the couple's son, Colton Miller. Regarding Denise, she was introduced as an old friend/possible former flame of Cordell Walker, and she maintained her friendly demeanor towards the Walkers.

The same, however, could not be said for Gale. The entire season saw Gale antagonize and attempt to one-up the Walkers, and the main centerpieces of her antipathy were Cordell and his mother, Abeline Walker. Abeline was actually engaged to Marv prior to their respective marriages, but when it came to Cordell, Gale continuously and repeatedly blamed Cordell for Marv's death; Marv was killed in a barn that caught fire. The feud escalated when a dispute over their land resulted in a race between Cordell and Dan for all of the proverbial marbles, and not only did it end with Dan winning (after Cordell's saddle suddenly snapped), but family patriarch Bonham Walker ended up charged with Marv's death (he was cleared later in the season).

Another bombshell revealed that Geri Broussard, a family friend of the Walkers, was actually Marv and Gale's daughter, who was believed to have died at birth, leading to a reunion that saw Geri literally in the middle of this feud. Gale, at first, appeared to be surprised by the news, but in the season's penultimate episode, "A Matter of Miles," Gale stated that she saw their reunion coming, and that raised Geri's eyebrows. Prior to this, Dan actually provided a big time reveal to Cordell and Liam Walker about the race: Denise tampered with Cordell's saddle. The plot thickens.

Everything came to a head in the season finale, "Something's Missing," which saw Geri make attempts to get everything out of Gale, but getting nowhere. Under Cordell's suggestion, Geri takes Gale to the barn to see if she really opens up, and it works..big time. So on that night, Marv and Gale were arguing over the former conversing with Abeline, doing so while Marv was at the barn looking for Cordell and Denise. The conversation later turned to Gale, with Marv revealing that she was alive, and that he had known in the 12 years that passed. As Gale said to Geri, she snapped over Marv's admission, and she grabbed the lantern and bludgeoned him with it, which caused the fire in the barn.

So Gale killed Marv, and she spent years blaming Cordell, even adding that Cordell brought the lantern. The confrontation ended up becoming a rescue mission, as Geri accidentally knocked over a lantern, causing a fire in the barn, though Cordell rescued both women. Afterwards, Gale thanked Cordell for saving her, while adding that she would turn herself in. When it came to Abeline, Gale was reminded that she hadn't apologized, though Gale would do so before uttering this statement to Abeline:

"I never hated you. I hated that I wasn't you."

As for Denise, she went through her own redemption. After informing Cordell that she always believed that he was never responsible, she later admits to tampering with Cordell's saddle, telling Dan and Colton that she wanted the Walkers to be robbed of something like they were. She added that she didn't want their past friction hanging over Colton's head, and she apologized to Colton and to Dan as well.

So the Davidson/Walker feud appears to be a done deal. Now on to the villainesses.

Gale Davidson: From the minute Gale Davidson debuted in the season opener, I instantly knew she was a troublemaker. I'll be honest, from the first time she voiced her blame towards Cordell for Marv's death, I went, "She probably did it." The season finale proved me right, though, I wasn't expecting Gale's murderous heel turn to be motivated by a borderline Freudian Excuse. Being deceived about Geri was definitely heartbreaking, but what about her actions after that? She basically used her bitterness towards the Walkers (especially Abeline and Cordell) to justify her belief that they were to blame for everything, and she was continuously antagonistic to the Walkers. While I do believe that Gale was immensely remorseful for her actions, it came after she spent years allowing her antipathy for the Walkers to convince her that she was the victim.

Gale Davidson was played by Paula Marshall, who appeared as the character in 10 of the season's 20 episodes, with the season finale, "Something's Missing," the episode that revealed Gale as a murderous villainess, airing on June 23, 2022. Marshall's an amazing actress with loads of credits, and regarding her appearances throughout the season as the deliciously evil Gale Davidson, she truly shined in this role, to the point where I think she enjoyed playing this villainous character.

Check out Gale Davidson's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Denise Davidson: While Gail's villainy didn't surprise me, I wasn't expecting Denise Davidson to have a heel persona of her own. Denise definitely had no designs on participating in the ongoing family feud, but the land dispute certainly stirred up some bitter feelings from Denise. I really wasn't expecting Denise to be the culprit behind Cordell's saddle being sabotaged; I either had Dan behind it or Gale. The fact that Denise did that showed that she was capable of being ruthless, and her denial increased that capability. From what we also saw, Denise was truly a victim of Gale's bitterness towards the Walkers, as she had to hear the blame being hurled towards Cordell. Her redemption was played very well, as Denise truly wanted everything out in the open, and was immensely remorseful for her sinister actions.

Denise Davidson was played by Amara Zaragoza, who I recently learned was one of my favorite actresses, Tamara Feldman. Zaragoza appeared in 12 of the season's 20 episode as Denise Davidson, and her performance was stellar as always, especially in her redemptive scene in the season finale. This isn't the first time that she's worked with Jared Padalecki; Zaragoza appeared as vengeful villainess Angela Mason in a second season episode of Supernatural. Her other TV credits include episodes of CSI, Smallville, and Monk, and she also appeared in the 2009 film, Echelon Conspiracy.

Check out Denise Davidson's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

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Feel free to check out my story about another Paula Marshall villainess, Christina Riley!