“The Walking Dead” season 7 officially introduced the biggest villain from the comics, Negan, who made a grand entrance to the show by bashing Glenn and Abraham to death with his barb-wired baseball bat, Lucille. The opening episode of “The Walking Dead” drew 17 million viewers, but the show drastically declined since.
The pace of season 7 was extremely slow, with not much action and drama. Instead, it introduced many other characters to the show, from the Kingdom colony to Hilltop, to Oceanside, to the Saviors. Apparently introducing many characters in one season is going to be hard while also trying to progress the story.
Therefore, season 7 has been a bore to many viewers, which has caused a major decrease in ratings.
However, season 7’s finale was a mini-preview of what we could expect in Season 8. Negan and the Saviors are now at war with all three groups – Alexandria, Hilltop, and Kingdom. After a small battle that took place in Alexandria, a bigger battle awaits in season 8. Now that all the characters are in play and the story has been developed, “The Walking Dead” shouldn’t waste any more time with mind-numbingly slow episodes. It should be full throttle right away.
Next season will be strong
Season 8 is expected to pick up right where it left off, with the all-out war that’s expected to happen. More people could die, and the Negan story may come to a close at the end of the season.
According to executive producer Scott M. Gimple, “the first four episodes [of season 8] will melt people’s minds and break their televisions.”
Season 7 of “The Walking Dead” could be slightly compared to season 1 of “Game of Thrones,” where the show had to introduce so many characters and the story was moving gradually. Season 8 should then take off like “Game of Thrones” did after season 1.
People who have given up on the show are ones who don’t have patience. Having patience with “The Walking Dead” has paid off before, and as a strong fan of the show, I believe it should pay off again.
Fans shouldn’t give up
Of course, the show won’t be the same as it was before because a lot of significant characters have died, but the intensity, character survival, and action should still be present for as long as the show lasts.
There is no telling when “The Walking Dead” would come to an end because the comics are still going strong, but a slow season shouldn’t anger the fans as it has. As a true fan of the show, I believe season 8 will deliver.
