The Walking Dead: 5 reasons for the ratings drop

4. Audience goodwill has been severely damaged

The Walking Dead has totally broken the trust circle. The perfect example of this is the handling of good ol’ Glenn.

First, we were left with the visually implied cliffhanger of Glenn getting torn apart in front of a dumpster only to realize it was a dead Nicholas being devoured (who, by the way, was also very “Morgalized” over).

That was nothing in comparison to the cliffhanging blunder at the end of season six. Leaving us in suspense of who Negan MDK’ed with Lucille for half a year was tone-deaf at best. And instead of beating Abraham & Glenn to death, Negan decided to beat a dead horse. We had to wait half the episode to get that reveal. Not the greatest way to maintain your fan base.

5. The show has lost its shock value.

The good kind of shock value, I mean. Sure, seeing Carl die was flummoxing, but that was more of a “what are you doing” kind of shock.

When a fan-favorite would get caught up in a hoard of insurmountable odds, you would get that “fight-or-flight” feeling. It really seemed like no one was safe. That’s partially why people are fans of Game of Thrones. Every character from minor to major could die at any waking moment. The Walking Dead used to wear that badge with honor.

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Not anymore. Witnessing a stalwart character get horrifically torn to pieces is a rare thing nowadays. Consequently, the deaths of Herschel and Noah lingered in my mind for weeks.

Now it just seems like there isn’t a whole lot more to invest in. Agree? Disagree?  Keep the conversation going in the comments section below and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter for more on your favorite shows!