Most fans of THE WALKING DEAD have a love/hate relationship with the show. We all know there have been some truly high moments in the series, but also some horrifically low and boring points (who can forget series two!). A lot of fans are now at a critical point once more; the series six finale aired earlier this week and a substantial portion of the feedback has been negative, but why? Is it just the ending of the series that has irked fans, or is it the steady decline in quality of the show? It is safe to say, if you have not yet watched the finale of THE WALKING DEAD, do not continue reading this – there are some major spoilers ahead!
Since October of last year, fans have been highly anticipating the arrival of Negan. We have patiently waited for his entrance despite knowing already for months that Jeffrey Dean Morgan was cast. This is interesting because there was literally no surprises in this series if you think about it. Sure, there was some guessing about whether or not Glenn (Steven Yeun) was really dead or not in the first half of the sixth series, but there has not been any genuine suspense. And yes, Denise’s (Merritt Wever) death was a surprise in that exact moment, but most of us knew she was doomed as soon as she stepped out of Alexandria. We knew Negan was coming and we had to wait 15 and a half episodes to see him.
Negan himself did not disappoint, nobody thought the choice to cast Jeffrey Dean Morgan was a bad one. He has proven himself to be a good actor in TV shows such as Supernatural, and films like Watchmen. His performance for the first five minutes was certainly effective and there were a few points where he did make your blood run cold. However, the problems started after his first five minutes. If you were ever a fan of the Pixar classic The Incredibles, you’ll know that Negan was clearly ‘monologue-ing’. His monologue wasn’t even that good! He began repeating himself, saying he wanted Rick’s group to work for him at least three times. This is the point that fans began to feel a sense of dread, not because of the atmosphere the show had built up, but because we all know how lazy The Walking Dead can be sometimes. So far, the episode consisted of the group driving around and occasionally bumping into Saviours, and Carol (Melissa McBride) running away from Morgan (Lennie James). Fans were waiting for something to happen. We have had weeks of the stars saying they felt ‘sick to their stomach’ when they read the script for the finale, some claiming they were so disturbed by it they struggled to work the following day. The last half hour of this feature length episode was preparing you for a character death; one minute you think Eugene (Josh McDermitt) is getting it, then Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), then even Carl (Chandler Riggs)! All of this leads to nothing.
Fans know by now that four episodes in each series are awesome, a few are not bad, but then the rest are basically just filler with people walking around and mumbling to each other about the impending doom heading their way. We have come to at least expect the finales to be entertaining, but now the writers have managed to get away with a lazy and indecisive ending.
The final POV of Negan’s chosen victim may be the last nail in The Walking Dead’s coffin for some fans. Making people wait until October is deemed a very cruel thing to do. Since the backlash of fans last weekend, producers and writers of the show have been quick to defend their actions – some with a certain amount of glee on their faces. It seems they believe people are disgruntled because of the cliffhanger, rather than fans being upset that a weak series has ended with an even weaker non-conclusion. Executive producer and director of the finale Greg Nicotero defended the ending by claiming it was the conclusion to Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) story and shows him brought to his knees. He argues the series has been about Rick finding himself as a successful leader and a force to be reckoned with, only to realise he is terribly wrong in the end. Nicotero also claimed ‘people can be upset. A week from now, they won’t be upset anymore, and it’ll be fun.’ This may be true in some cases, people love a good mystery to solve after all. However, he has also revealed that the death scene for whatever character it is has not even been shot yet. So how do we know the writers have even decided who will be killed yet? They could be waiting to see what the fan reaction is, and simply pick the least popular character.
After a sloppy sixth series, many will not be surprised if one of the lesser known characters turns out to be the unlucky one. The Walking Dead is so formulaic now that fans ultimately know their favourites are safe. Every now and then they put one of the more popular characters such as Daryl (Norman Reedus) in harm’s way, but we are all so comfortable with the series now that we know he won’t actually die. He is far too popular with fans and the producers know a lot of people would simply stop watching the show if he were to be killed off. Also, after the ridiculous nature of Glenn’s survival, fans know now that the main characters are definitely safer than the rest. Denise’s death was shocking, but not in the grand scheme of things. Second-tier characters tend to have a much shorter life expectancy than first-tier characters on The Walking Dead. A way for the show to properly redeem itself in series seven would be to kill off a main character, as seen in the comics. It is something which a lot of fans simply will not expect and many would commend the show for taking a bold step, which is something the show was initially praised for in its first series. Glenn is killed by Negan in the comics, but this doesn’t have to be the case in the series. To keep people on their toes, they could easily kill off another main character, surprising even those who have read the comics.
The series as a whole was pretty disappointing, but there were flourishes of greatness. The first episode after the series hiatus was shocking, scary, and did something not a lot of us expected. A small child being torn apart by zombies on camera is something which will have deeply disturbed some, and that is what a show like this is supposed to do – you are not supposed to get comfy watching this! It is about a group of people trying to survive in the most hostile of environments. After this grand kick-start, we were then treated to another great episode where the group lead an assault on the Saviour’s compound, killing dozens in their sleep. This is another great example of how The Walking Dead can be incredibly entertaining and also play with your mind – our heroes suddenly become murderers and this is something they will have to cope with for the rest of the series. However, this does spawn one of the dumbest plot lines ever with Carol suddenly deciding she doesn’t want to kill anymore… the less said about this aspect of the show, the better! These two episodes were great, but the vast majority of the second half of series six consisted of pointless conversations about nothing of consequence, brief encounters with the Saviours while they are wandering around in the woods, and the occasional zombie.
 This is all proof that The Walking Dead has to break its formula, it has to do something different to save itself. The laziness of the series six finale has astounded some fans, to the point where hardly anyone is even looking forward to the next series now. Perhaps if they had shown who Negan killed, fans would be keen to see how the group responds to this blow. Not knowing who is dead, just makes a lot of people who are already a bit tired of the show even less interested in keeping up with it. Imagine if in Dallas instead of it being ‘who shot J.R.?’, it was ‘….somebody was shot!’ It doesn’t quite work, does it?Â
We have six months now until we find out, if we even care by then, who Negan killed. The Walking Dead will have to step up significantly to keep fans interested. Six years is a long time for fans to stay faithful to a show, and they should not have to be messed around with like this. The show will have to get rid of the old series structure; we’re tired of seeing the group wander from one safe haven to the next, occasionally encountering a villain or a substantial horde of the undead. We need a better villain (which Negan may be) with a longer but more entertaining story. The Governor (David Morrissey) became tedious very quickly in season four, so hopefully they will do something a little different with Negan. He seems like the kind of villain fans would love to hate, as he is gleefully smacking people over the head with Lucille!Â
In the coming months most of us will be struggling to decide whether or not to continue watching this show. We have put in a substantial amount of time so far and have grown attached to certain characters. However, it seems clear AMC producers are already pretty content with the way The Walking Dead is going, with one being so bold as to suggest that the show is so ‘awesome’ it could go on forever… This would suggest that producers don’t see a need to change anything yet. The show still gets some of the highest audience numbers in the US, and the show has managed to make zombies even more relevant in global pop culture today. We will just have to wait and see what’s next for The Walking Dead.Â
