‘The Walking Dead’ is Dying — What Went Wrong?

No one could have ever predicted the success of The Walking Dead. Adapted for television by Frank Darabont, the AMC zombie drama based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book series of the same name first premiered in 2010. From there, its momentum would snowball until the horror series would shockingly become the most-watched program on television, breaking many TV records in the process.

After eight seasons, however, the show is now decomposing faster than the biters on the screen. Ratings have been dropping at an incredible rate, and the end is now in sight for what was once an unbeatable TV juggernaut. Let’s be honest here — The Walking Dead is dying, and it’s only a short matter of time before AMC cancels the program officially.

So, what went wrong? While the death knell for the series can’t be attributed to one single moment, there are a few contributing factors which certainly led to its downfall. So, let’s do a little autopsy of sorts as we figure out what exactly killed The Walking Dead.

Strike One: The Cliffhanger

We all remember the controversial ending to Season 6, which would become known as one of the most painful cliffhangers of all time. After finally introducing Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan into the mix, the show’s newest baddie would make his mark by killing at least one main character. However, the identity of the victim would be kept a secret until the premiere of Season 7, half a year later. Needless to say, fans were livid.

Cliffhangers do happen in television though, and it wasn’t that alone which caused serious harm to the series. Rather, it was the payoff after waiting all that time that left fans feeling cheated. Along with Abraham Ford, series veteran Glenn Rhee was revealed to be beaten to death by Negan. Likely for shock value, Glenn’s death was extremely graphic, resulting with his skull cracked open and eyeball literally popping out. Unfortunately, it came across as cheesy and tactless, and left most fans feeling more angry at the show than sad for the character.

Let’s be clear here. I think fans would have been willing to accept Glenn’s death more if it wasn’t done so tastelessly. After all, people kept watching when he was presumably killed near that dumpster in Season 6. But especially AFTER the painful cliffhanger wait, seeing Glenn go out this way literally killed the show for many former fans — so much so that five million viewers stopped watching the series immediately, never to come back again.

Strike Two: Carl’s Death

Looking at the numbers alone is all it takes to prove how badly Glenn’s demise harmed the series. From there, ratings would gradually fall, with more viewers losing interest as the weeks went on. Offing longtime characters can sometimes turn fans away, as they grow an attachment to these people after so many years of watching them on the screen.

However, Glenn’s death was still ultimately survivable. Ratings had fallen, but then started to hover. Turning things around was still possible at this point, but it was going to take some creativity and a strong storyline moving forward. People needed to know that there was still a future for the series after losing such an important part of it. Unfortunately, the show seemed to drag on from there until its next major moment, which saw Chandler Riggs’ Carl Grimes killed off in the middle of Season 8.

This decision would be another tremendous blow for longtime fans sticking around for the characters they’ve been following since Season 1. Carl was literally the future of the show, so without him, there’s no future to look forward to. While the idea that “nobody is safe” has always been a selling point for the series, this is literally the one person who should never have been killed. Perhaps Carl’s death was unpredictable, which I’m sure was their goal — but it didn’t surprise people in a good way.

Strike Three: Andrew Lincoln’s Exit

At this point, The Walking Dead was clearly in dire straits. It didn’t help matters when Lauren Cohan signed on for a lead role on another series, meaning Maggie would soon be leaving as well. But after the exit of Glenn and Carl coupled with the falling ratings, this announcement wasn’t surprising. Maggie leaving too isn’t a good thing, but it’s not going to hurt the show more than it already has been.

However, there is one character whose exit would ultimately bring about the end of the series for good. While The Walking Dead has an ensemble cast, Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes has always been the main character. And writing off the main character is a death knell for any series, even if the rest of the cast remains behind. So after all of the damage done to the show already, the announcement of Lincoln exiting during the next season was the final nail in the coffin.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Lincoln said Carl’s death felt like a “bookend” to Rick’s story. After all, protecting his wife and child was his entire motivation to keep going, and without that, there’s nothing left. “To lose the second engine that fueled him, at this point, certainly did feel, to me personally, not just the end of a chapter but a book, really,” Lincoln explains. He’s right, and most viewers feel the same way. Daryl and Carol might be popular, but Rick and Carl were the heart and soul of the show. With both of them out, The Walking Dead is nothing but a shell of what it once was.

Certainly, there are smaller factors besides the aforementioned events which also didn’t help things very much. Character behaviors were inconsistent. Fan favorites were written out too soon. Some episodes were utterly and painfully slow. And following the comics too closely made storylines more predictable. But these were all things viewers were willing to accept before these three strikes outlined above happened. It was these creative decisions which would finally be what made so many fans throw in the towel.

Sure, we have at least another season ahead of us, and The Walking Dead isn’t officially dead yet. But the end is in sight, and all that’s left to do now is watch the show deteriorate and inevitably die. All I’m saying is, it’s time to prepare the eulogy.

Watch what’s left of The Walking Dead when Season 9 premieres on AMC this fall.