The Walking Dead: Are slower episodes of the show just ‘filler’?
By Adam Carlson
Sometimes, slower episodes of AMC’s The Walking Dead are referred to as ‘filler’, but they are essential in telling the story of the zombie apocalypse.
When an episode of The Walking Dead doesn’t have gallons of blood flowing, sometimes fans don’t seem to like it as much. And that’s okay, enjoying the action-packed scenes that the hit zombie survival drama can create is one of the best reasons to watch the show. However, dismissing some of the slower episodes with less gore and death is a big mistake.
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Recently, an article on the Forbes website pointed out that there are 5 major problems with the show’s sixth season. They make some good points in the article, with Glenn’s fake-out death and characters doing things that seem unlikely for them just to push the plot ahead. However, there was one point that is easy to disagree with.
The author of that article complains that there are too many “filler” episodes during the season, but that simply isn’t the case. Every single episode of season 6 so far has either started a storyline or explained a past one, but the fact that they don’t have as much action as the episodes with the zombie horde in Alexandria, the assault on The Saviors or The Wolves attacking Alexandria don’t make them lesser episodes.
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In fact, this claim contradicts an earlier point the author made about the recently introduced characters of Alexandria being “cannon fodder” rather than characters to care about. The question is: how are these characters developed without taking time to get to know them?
Individuals like Heath, Nicholas, Enid, and Dwight have all enjoyed some tv time this season to help explain who they are and why they could be important to Alexandria. It takes time to get to know these characters and develop some kind of emotional connection to them. Sadly, many viewers don’t have that kind of patience to sit through the dialogue and absorb who these characters and what drives them.
Still, that doesn’t mean that viewers have to care about every single character on The Walking Dead. In fact, there will be some that grind your gears and may even frustrate you every time they are on the screen. But that’s just part of being human. Different people enjoy different things, and while some fans of the show may be enjoying learning more about a guy like Tobin right now, others might not think it’s worth the time.
Overall, it is the slower episodes where characters and stories are developed that helps the episodes with big, action packed scenes be even more rewarding. Could you imagine watching The Walking Dead if we didn’t take the time to learn about Rick, Carol, Daryl or some of the other major characters that we introduced in the first season? Odds are that if those connections weren’t established, fans wouldn’t enjoy the show nearly as much.
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Just be patient and let AMC continue telling the story. The show has great source material and a creative group of writers to help viewers enjoy the experience with a great mix or dialogue and action. And while it would be fun to see action, blood, and gore all the time on the show, it definitely is nice to have a connection to those characters to help make The Walking Dead an even more personal experience for viewers.