Alright…we have to talk about this.
I am the biggest The Walking Dead apologist. When I first began watching this show, I was really into zombies as a genre, and over time, this evolved into a loyalty to this Walking Dead universe that was pretty hard to beat.
But, I've rewatched The Walking Dead countless times, all eleven seasons, and all the spinoffs, and I have to say that my knowledge of this series has expanded tenfold—as has my perception of when this series really fell off a cliff, and how I feel about certain seasons.
Many have said that Glenn's death in the Season 7 premiere was the beginning of the end, but after my most recent rewatch, I personally think it was way sooner—or at least the very beginning of the end. Let's get into why.
Glenn’s Death Was Super Impactful, And I Recognize That
I'll preface this article by agreeing that Glenn's death was impactful, and no one is saying it's not. Like, seriously, I was destroyed.
I still remember when it happened. It was my second month in college. I was lying on a little twin bed in my dorm room with my tiny 30-inch TV, cuddled up in my boyfriend's arms, both of us absolutely sobbing our eyes out as Negan brought the bat down on Glenn's head. It was a TV moment that truly rocked the world and one that I will never, ever forget.
Glenn was one of my favorite characters—hell, he was everyone's favorite character. He had a great moral compass, a sense of humor, and was a badass to boot. His Walking Dead relationship with Maggie still has its impact long after he's gone. His death is probably the most heartbreaking Walking Dead death there is.
However, I still don't think that was when the series began to fall off. I recognize that there was a steep drop in viewers afterwards, but I think the seeds of doom were planted a few seasons ahead, and you might be surprised to see where I place them.
However, I Think The Second Half Of Season 4 Is Where Things Began To Tumble
Now, hear me out.
Again, as I said in the introduction, I'm a steadfast TWD apologist. Many of the earlier seasons are excellent television. The first three are near-perfect and tell complete storylines without overextending the plot.
I thought Seasons 4 and 5 were about the same. But my opinion has really changed now.
Season 4's first half is all right, if not a little slow. We're still reeling from the Governor's attack at the end of Season 3 and sort of waiting for him to attack again, all while the prison is dealing with a sickness. After the intense mid-season finale, we see our group split up into different storylines, meeting different people, all trying to get to one place—Terminus.
Now, don't get me wrong. There are some great episodes in the back half of Season 4. I think "The Grove" features an incredible performance from Melissa McBride and is an essential marker on Carol's timeline in the series. The episode that focuses on Beth and Daryl is also a good one.
Through every few good episodes, though, there are others that…feel like filler or a means to introduce a new character that might die in the next season or not be nearly as important as we expect them to be.
Even with the good episodes, most of them lead to nothing. There's some great character development and some good storylines, but many tend to fall flat as the series goes on…which brings me to Season 5.
The First Half Of Season 5 Is Really Where I Realized This Show Wasn’t The Same
Season 5 of TWD is where things really began to tumble.
The first episode, where Rick and the crew take down Terminus and Carol blows it up from a distance, is a great way to start the season, but then it sort of…fades. We lose Bob after one season because, of course we do – we can never have someone alive for too long in this show if they're not Daryl or Carol.
The cannibal storyline also ends very quickly, and I could see that lasting a long time in this world. The biggest offender, though? Spending the entire first half of Season 5 focusing on Beth and trying to find the survivor, only for her to be killed in the mid-season finale for shock value.
I get that this is The Walking Dead, but throughout most of the show to that point, none of the main characters really died for shock value. Most either had a reason why they were killed or died a hero – hell, even Merle died in a relatively heroic way. Beth died in the dumbest way possible after we spent so many episodes learning to love her and looking forward to what she would do next. Only for her to stab Dawn and get shot in the head and for all of that to go down the drain.
Heck, it didn't even matter in the end because the one person she literally got killed for – Noah – dies a few episodes later! What happened to storytelling? To things meaning something? That's my biggest issue here. And Season 5 was only the beginning of that.
Then Season 6 Came Along And I Knew It Wasn’t Going In A Good Direction
Do you know how people call Season 5 of Community the gas-leak season? I see TWD Season 6 as that. The season isn't horrendous – at least not as bad as Seasons 7 and 8 – but it's not great and so dull.
Season 6, upon rewatching, has only a few really good episodes—one of them being the Morgan-centric episode—but most of the show just doesn't hold a candle to previous episodes anymore. The beginning is just about trying to take out a bunch of walkers. We get a whole season teasing Negan, only for him not to show up until the finale. We see that there's more to the world, but most of the new characters, aside from Jesus and Aaron, are so forgettable.
It's just not that great, now that I think about it…and then the Season 7 premiere with Glenn's death came along and put the final nail in the coffin.
The Show Did Pick Itself Up Again, But Those Few Seasons Took Their Toll
I'll say that TWD picked itself back up. I personally really liked Seasons 9-11. They did some relatively good storytelling there. I've also enjoyed the spinoffs. As a Daryl Dixon-girl, I've been caught up with The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 2 (even if I didn't like a death in it, but that's alright).
I'm looking forward to Dead City Season 2 as part of the 2025 TV schedule. I was a massive fan of The Ones Who Lived.
But man…those few seasons took their toll on the flagship show.
TWD still has a relatively large enough fanbase for a cable TV show, enough that the spinoffs keep going, and people do tune in to watch them, such as myself. But long gone are the days of fans gathering on Twitter, YouTube, or the like to discuss the most significant thing that happened in this week's episode because it just didn't feel the same in the later seasons.
It's a shame, because I really do think this series could have gone down as one of the all-time greats. Like most shows like this, we got too much of a good thing, and it didn't last. At least now, I have a different perspective on it.