The Walking Dead

Sometimes it pays to know when to end a series. The Walking Dead started off well. It had a decent premise and a cast of characters you could get behind. But over time, it felt like they were recycling plotlines and nothing new or unexpected seemed to happen. Honestly, there are only so many lumbering zombies, creepy sects and nefarious leaders you can battle against before it gets old.

I think you can watch (and enjoy) the first few seasons and happily leave the rest, knowing you haven’t really missed anything.

This review may seem a bit harsh, but this show has arguably the single worst downfall of any show in television history.... yes even including Game of Thrones. However to have a fall from grace so hard, you had to have had a rise, and my god did Walking Dead have a rise.

Growing up as a child, I was enamored with zombie media, and at the age of 9, I was allowed to watch this show. At the time, Season 3 was on the horizon, and I watched Season 1 and 2 on DVD. They scared me, but also captured me in a way nothing else had at the time.

Seasons 1-3 of The Walking Dead are special, blending intense human drama with the existential threat of zombies into a deep dive of humanity in the apocalypse.

Seasons 4-6 while still generally being really good started REALLY showing the cracks in the series. There was a lot more focus on action and what me and my brother like to refer to as "the rule of cool." None of this is exemplified more than in the Season 5 premier "No Sanctuary" which is not only the tied highest rated episode of the series, but is also almost entirely action and unfortunately, all the wrong lessons were taken from that for the next few seasons.

Seasons 7-8 mark the dark ages of the show. The All out War arc was horribly dragged out from the comics to last 2 full seasons that just don't work at all. Season 7 is an absolute slog where the first half is borderline misery porn and the second half is cheesy action movie crap, and if you think that's bad, Season 8 is just a 16 episode blockbuster film of mindless action and baffling narrative choices that kill the main theme of the show (IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW!)

Season 9 is what some people refer to as the "Renaissance Era" and to some extent I agree, but I do feel this Season as a whole is overrated. The first 5 episodes are a farewell to a beloved but also a holdover from the last two seasons that just feels really tired and overplayed at that point. Unfortunately as well for me, once those first 5 episodes were over, the show just lost all of the investment I had in at that point, its original identity was pretty much entirely gone, and the rest of that season while still holding up surprisingly well, didn't quite stick the landing for me in the last half save Episode 15.

Seasons 10-11 are my two least favorite seasons by far. The show had already started looking pretty cheap in Season 7 but at this point the visuals were as decrepit as the corpses the show was named after. Characters rehash old arcs or are given new yet uninteresting or straight up awful arcs. Plotlines drag or are cut off before they gain momentum, and just overall are a sad whimper for what was once a phenomenon of pop culture.

If I had to give one consistently great thing about the show though to wrap things up, it's that the acting is always incredible. Even with the worst material, the cast was able to run with what they were given and sell it, so even if I don't like the direction of a character or plotline, I can BELIEVE it.

I don't overall recommend this ENTIRE show, but definitely at the very least check out the first 6 Seasons and tread from there, but a great stopping point is honestly the Season 8 finale and if you want just a little more, watch the first 5 Season 9 episodes as a little addendum.

I didn't get into this show when it first came into existence, I opted more for GOT. But my friends thought I would enjoy it and over the last year (that's right a year cuz it's long as hell), I've been in and out of the show. I think the show is pretty amazing. I love the story of it, post-apocalypse atmosphere and society, zombies are my favorite thing ever and the gore level is peak. I connect with most of the characters but there were some main ones for a while that I was kind of glad to see die and not just the villains. Still each one get's me invested even if its not always positive. A real good example of that is Rick. I think he is one of the worst things to ever happen to the group in the beginning. Sure he came in and saved the day in the first episodes and a part of me empathized with him having to prove himself with Shane and his family but every single decision he made after he was in the group was to boost his own ego. Hershel was the only character who called him on his bullshit because everyone else was too busy painting him as the only savoir their group can produce. He's been nothing but a hazard, making rash decisions because everyone looks to him but would crumble and fall if he's not the one running the show. He's terrible and I just started season 9 so maybe a zombie will finally take him out lol. But even though I see it this way, its impossible sometimes to stop watching because it's that good. Worth a watch but its definitely a marathon.

My wife and I were loyal viewers, but we stopped watching Walking Dead at "the moment" when many other viewers stopped watching. (It's a big spoiler, but you can look it up if you want to know what I mean by that.) My view on the show changed drastically after that episode, and I spent a few years disliking the show because of it.

However, we went back after the show ended and finished it. The show struggled to regain its identity for a little while, but it eventually found its stride and became something worth watching again. The show went on for too long, but ultimately it was well worth a watch. And you can't argue its cultural impact.

As someone who isn’t the biggest fan of zombies, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the Walking Dead, but I did. From his first appearance, Rick Grimes is just a fascinating character. His evolution as a person, as well as his relationships and struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, were what kept me watching episode after episode. The soundtrack is carefully curated and expertly conveys the intense emotions unveiling across the screen. I love how the show explored the concept of morality and how it can change when people are placed in life or death situations. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the later seasons and feel certain characters/storyline outstayed their welcome whilst others probably could’ve been further explored. But overall, I think it’s a phenomenal show and finally understand what all the hype was about.