9 Problems With The Walking Dead Nobody Wants To Admit: A Counterpoint
By Liam O'Leary
Scott Wilson as Hershel Greene – The Walking Dead, AMC
Counterpoint #9: The show might already have a natural ending.
As of this moment, The Walking Dead will be guaranteed to reach at least season nine. I’m not familiar enough with the situation at AMC or The Walking Dead’s ratings from season to season to gauge whether or not it will reach season ten, so, I won’t speculate beyond a hypothetical season nine.
How would that end? I’m not sure, to tell you the truth. I myself am only just past the equivalent of this season in the comics. This means I don’t know exactly how much more there is to the All Out War story arc. All of that said, I know that the next major arc revolves around Alexandria going to war with The Whisperers.
If, hypothetically, the current story arc could conclude by the midseason finale of season eight (Which may be overestimating), then maybe The Whisperer War could conclude at the end of season nine. Again, I may be grossly overestimating how quickly the story arcs could get wrapped up, but, again hypothetically, a Whisperer War concluding at the end of season nine might be a perfect closing point for the show if the ratings dipped enough to demand it. In this instance, Kirkman’s formulaic nature could serve as a benefit, providing a ready made place to wrap things up.
If not, and the show continued on for several more seasons, it becomes harder to predict. Apparently, Kirkman would prefer the comics and the show to have different endings, even to the point he might not tell the show’s writers the comics’ ending to make them come up with a unique ending. Whatever the case may be, I would be very surprised if either Kirkman or the show’s writers didn’t have some kind of ending planned just on the off chance they required one.
Next: The Walking Dead Villains: Who's The Worst, Part 7
But, what do all of you think? Are these all really the skeletons residing beneath The Walking Dead’s skin? Or, are they really just a matter of interpretation? Let me know in the comments!
If you like this and want to read more of my writings, specifically about how to survive a zombie apocalypse, why not pick up a copy of my book, The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can get it on Kindle here and on iTunes here!