Spoilers Ahead
One of the first episodes of ‘The Walking Dead’ I ever saw was the mid season premiere of season four, ‘After’. The episode is the aftermath of the prisons destruction; Rick, badly wounded, and Carl, angsty teen, are separated from their group, and travel from house to house aimlessly.
I never expected a gruesome show about zombies to have such complex characters and emotional depth. Carl Grimes was an instant favourite, with the father/son dynamic being the best – well, the driving element of the story. I soon went back and binged the earlier seasons. It was never without flaws, but I was so utterly invested that it didn’t matter.
Fast forward a few years and ‘The Walking Dead’ premieres its season eight finale. I am bored out of my brain. The story is an dry husk of what it once was. The dramatic moments I once lived for are cheap. Character arcs go around in circles, conflicts are recycled, plot lines progress at a snails pace, and the zombies – while costume and makeup is still impressive – no longer carry the same fear or suspense. It almost feels like a parody of itself.
While the latest TWD season has been a blazing trash fire, the decline in quality didn’t happen overnight. Season seven, while I enjoyed it overall, had a lot of inconsistencies and gaping plot holes. Season six suffered major pacing issues. And season five, I believe, is when the first sign of decay crept in. Remember Beth’s stay at the creepy hospital, where her character was developed and then killed, rendering the whole side-plot pointless?
That unfortunate Beth story line didn’t just disappoint as it played out, but had a lasting effect on fan-favourite Daryl Dixon. Ever since, he hasn’t developed from a sad, greasy-haired archer who makes inexplicably dumb decisions. He was always the cool motor-bike dude, but now that’s all he is. Norman Reedus is a very capable actor, but now he does nothing but stare blankly and grunt. (Please, someone give him a haircut.)
Season eight was promised to be the All Out War that had been brewing for two seasons. As it turns out, a bunch of people shooting at another bunch of people for 45 minutes with no clear narrative…just isn’t entertaining.
I kept tuning in though. Hoping that somewhere along the way it would pick itself up and deliver something solid. There were a few good moments. But then TWD went and put the final nail in its own coffin: They killed off Carl Grimes.
There are many reasons why this was a terrible idea, but the writers defied expectations by making it as dumb as possible. The TV show has always strayed from it’s comic book source material, but never this drastically.
According to the showrunner, Carl’s death is to fill a “plot hole” from the comics. Why was Negan’s life spared? (this was never a plot hole.) In the shows narrative, Carl’s death serves as motivation for Rick to not kill Negan at the end of the war. Carl wants the killing to end, Carl dies, Rick decides to honor his wishes.
But Carl becoming Rick’s moral compass was an unexplained shift from who he was for the entirety of the show. In season seven, Carl went on a suicide mission to kill Negan. It failed, obviously, but it seemed he still wanted him dead. Until, suddenly, he’s preaching to his dad about peace and dreaming of picking strawberries with Negan.
If the show really wanted to verge away from the comics why not kill off Negan instead? Jefferey Dean Morgan is great in the role, but his invincibility is ridiculous. With the drawn out nature of the previous seasons, it would have been a relief for much of the audience.
There’s also the way Carl’s death was dragged out over a few episodes. What should have been a powerful and emotional scene was a couple episodes of Rick crying and Carl saying cheesy stuff. I’m a huge Carl fan, but even I was telling him to just die already.
The death of Carl Grimes puts a huge question mark over the future of ‘The Walking Dead’. Rick was fueled by the desire to keep Carl safe. Their relationship was the beating heart of the show.
The ratings have been steadily falling, and seven out of the ten lowest ranked episodes on IMBD are from season eight. Andrew Lincoln is now reportedly leaving after the ninth season, along with co-star Lauren Cohan. Scott Gimple is out, Norman Reedus has been offered huge amounts of money to stay, everything is on fire, and Carl is still dead.
My rating for the current state of ‘The Walking Dead’ is a roast chicken that’s been left out waaaay too long, out of 10.
I’ll be back in October for season nine. Somewhat out of obligation. Mostly out of curiosity.
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