At what point did the Walking Dead stop being a good show?

[Momscameltoe]

For me, the beginning of the end was when

[Show spoiler]Negan killed Glen.

Such a huge downer. Lost so much interest after this.

[Vesper33]

Originally Posted by Momscameltoe

For me, the beginning of the end was when

[Show spoiler]Negan killed Glen.

Such a huge downer. Lost so much interest after this.

Same here. That was the last straw for me. I think that was my favorite character and with them gone, I just gave up.

[JamesKurtovich]

The tiger and the guys pretending to be knights. Watched the prequel show for a bit but that kind of got lame too.

[raptors661]

The last episode I watched was the one where they spend the whole episode pretending that they were going to kill off Rick only to have a random helicopter save him so they can make those trilogy of movies that never happened.

The part I started really not liking the show was when they fake killed off Glenn only to kill him very soon after they revealed they tricked us.

[demonbeast]

I think when they faked out Glenn's death and the constant splitting up of the group as they all made their way to the same point, it made it a drag to get through.

It was like they wanted to fill out as many episodes as possible with needless filler.

[LexInHD]

I never got into TWD and just couldn't get past The Farm. I'll probably watch it all at some point, but I just have so many other things that I'd rather watch first.

[BluGalaxy]

Originally Posted by DaiShuryou

Season 5, because that was the moment I realized that the show was just repeating itself again and again. Characters wandering around and try to find a new place to live for a few episodes. Then they meet another group of survivors, turns out those are evil and characters die in battle. After the bad guys are dead, characters are wandering around for a new home again, until they run into another group of evil people etc.
The show lost me at that point. But damn do I still love the entire Governor battle of Season 4

Yep, I was just watching it out of habit at that point and dropped out when Negan came on board. It was like a perpetual cycle and I was fed up with it going nowhere. Season 1 was phenomenal, which pushed me through the god-awful season 2, got better in season 3 etc but then by 5 I realised the same as you.

When I realised the show was never going to give us a proper cure storyline I was done.

[drush9999]

When Rick left for me, though I did buy the later seasons

[TAC]

I never finished the last season. And they’ve gone on to make so much more bullshit since then. I said **** it!

[joshsquash729]

I'm on the "Peaks and Valleys" train, myself.

I didn't mind Negan at first. I thought him killing Glenn and Abraham really established him as an interesting villain. But the "All Out War" storyline went on waaaay longer than it needed to. It felt like it was dragging its feet just so it could keep Negan around (which it did anyway, so I don't see the point). I think it was Carl's death though (especially hearing the behind-the-scenes shenanigans toward Chandler) that really soured the show. It didn't even feel like they were trying to bravely deviate from the source material or add shock value. It just kinda baffled me in a way I can't describe.

But season 9 and the Whisperers really breathed some new life into things, I thought. They were quite intriguing- their dynamic, Samantha Morton as Alpha was creepy and intimidating, and the Pike scene, even if it didn't hit quiiiite as hard as in the comics, was still effective.

But then the Commonwealth came and it kinda lost steam again. I waited to binge the last season and I'm glad I did. It felt like it also could've been truncated and removed at least 1/3 to 1/2 of the episodes. But certain characters- mostly Carol, as she's always been my favorite- kept me watching throughout. The finale didn't really hit as hard for me as it could've because they'd already announced spin-offs, so I knew it wasn't really the end. Since then, I enjoyed the Daryl spinoff, and will undoubtedly watch Book of Carol. Ones Who Live started strong and turned into yet another slog. Haven't gotten around to watching Dead City, but I will before season 2.

I've long accepted that TWD is one of those shows that I've lost interest in. It's no longer "must watch" TV, but I still want to watch it, if that makes sense. I'm just comfortable waiting until there's a bunch of episodes to binge. The early episodes, up until maybe season 7 or so, are really strong. It brought me some really good times in my life, some of the characters like Carol helped me through some personal stuff, and I'm glad it had its moment to shine. But I do think that its time they wrapped things up. The longer they draw things out, especially with middling quality, I think it just tarnishes the legacy more and more. Keep it tight and succinct and let people remember and rewatch fondly.

[KcMsterpce]

Around episode 3, season 1.

[L.J.]

For me it was the season after Neagons introduction. Haven't watched since then.

[Member-682067]

Season 2. The show has got to evolve into something beyond life being hard, brutish, and short to keep me interested.

[oneway23]

I recall, at some point shortly after

[Show spoiler]Rick's

death , I was watching the show with my Wife when we suddenly realized that every actor onscreen had basically been either a background character or glorified extra in seasons past.

We looked at each other and, at the exact same time said, "why are we sitting here watching this show when all that's left is pretty much the C-level talent?"

I mean, sure, my Wife likes to look at Norman Reedus, and, Lauren Cohan is gorgeous, but, neither one of us has ever been the type to watch something just to look at someone LOL. They're passable actors, but carrying a show?

Oof...

[Kuja]

To me, it was when they went into Alexandria. If I ever re-watch the series, I always intend to stop after the episode Michonne convinces Rick to hope again by joining Alexandria. That seems like a good ending, the hope that maybe they could've gone onto something a little better finally, especially since it comes so soon after the episode that shares the same title as the series.

TBH, the show didn't start to get good until the very end of season 2 anyway. Then it was incredible all of season 3 up until Alexandria. I remember watching a little while after Negan came into it even though I thought the show was going downhill then. I finally quit it when Rick "died." He, Carol, and Daryl were my favorite parts of the show, but the other two weren't enough to keep me going through all the crap of Negan being allowed to live and all by themselves.

[El_Fez]

Originally Posted by DaiShuryou

Season 5, because that was the moment I realized that the show was just repeating itself again and again. Characters wandering around and try to find a new place to live for a few episodes. Then they meet another group of survivors, turns out those are evil and characters die in battle. After the bad guys are dead, characters are wandering around for a new home again, until they run into another group of evil people etc.
The show lost me at that point. But damn do I still love the entire Governor battle of Season 4

There we go! That's what I was trying to remember, when that cycle started.

"The world sucks. I'm tired of walking"

*walks to a new place*

"We have a new start! Things are looking up!"

*bad people take new place away*

"The world sucks. I'm tired of walking"

*walks to a new place*

"We have a new start! Things are looking up!"

*bad people take new place away*

"The world sucks. I'm tired of walking"

Wash, rinse, repeat.

I think I hung on for two or so more seasons until they did the glenn fakeout death under that dumpster. For a second I went "Wow, they just iced a main character in a completely random event. I'm impressed!" only to undo it the very next episode. That was the point I was like "Yup, I'm out."

Then I heard that they killed Glenn for real like two episodes later, and I knew I had made the right choice.

[wonderer99]

Man it felt like they were walking through the same patch of trees and the same stretch of road for 9 seasons. Rinse and repeat. The most repetitive show I have ever seen.

[HorrorBlu]

Originally Posted by Momscameltoe

For me, the beginning of the end was when

[Show spoiler]Negan killed Glen.

Such a huge downer. Lost so much interest after this.

One of the things I loved about the earlier seasons of the show is how ruthlessly they would kill off a major character without warning and never look back. Early Game Of Thrones was also very good at this. It keeps you on your toes.

I was okay with this cliffhanger, but when they followed it by wasting an entire episode on the "who will it be?" game, it was just a big middle finger to the audience and an example of television at its laziest.

That said, I think this had already stopped being a good show even before then.

[Rogue Deputy]

There are 3 main points that really hurt the show for me. I was really invested in the show through season 7, but in season 8 I felt they had too many characters to follow, and my interest was declining. And then in season 8 they made the worst decision possible, in my opinion, by killing Carl. That's when the show lost me, but I stuck with it, but a season later when Rick left I felt the show was really hurting not having a central protagonist, and a bunch of new characters were introduced that I still couldn't name if you paid me. The first 3.5 seasons or so I think are still peak television, and I think overall the first 6 seasons are pretty excellent.

[Waboman]

I made it thru the first season of Negan. Then bailed at the halfway break the next season. Not sure what season that was. But I was done and I ain't come back.