I think we can all agree that The Walking Dead kicked off its seventh season with a bang, dropping two character deaths on us in a brutal and shocking fashion. It was a strong start and one which had us hopeful that the remaining episodes would follow suit. And while it wasn’t all bad, the first half of the season, on the whole, was definitely a bit too sluggish and meandering, drawing out storylines far too long and delaying the inevitable.
When the show returned from its hiatus, however, things picked up significantly as The Walking Dead barrelled towards its conclusion. That came this past Sunday night, when the tense finale aired and laid the groundwork for the “All Out War” arc, which will make up the bulk of season 8. However, even despite the fairly solid second half and anticipation being quite high for the final episode, the ratings just weren’t there.
Deadline is reporting that the recent finale brought in 11.3 million viewers, which is by no means a small number, but marks a 20% drop from the season 6 closer. And, to make matters worse, that episode was already down 10% from season 5’s conclusion. Still, The Walking Dead remains one of the top rated shows on television and with season 8 already confirmed, we don’t imagine AMC is too worried. Besides, the hit series faced some serious competition this past Sunday, which no doubt factored into the low ratings.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, showrunner Scott M. Gimple promised that when The Walking Dead returns, it’ll be a much more kinetic and fast-moving affair, as it looks to adapt the aforementioned “All Out War” storyline from the comics. And while we don’t know how closely they’ll stick to it, the end of season 7 certainly left us excited for what’s to come.
What about you, though? Did you enjoy the finale of The Walking Dead this year? Let us know your thoughts in the usual place!