The Walking Dead started off with such a promising premise. A zombie apocalypse show which instead of focusing too much on the actual zombies along with how they came to be. Put the spotlight on the characters, and how their circumstances affect their personalities and influence their actions. Throughout the series it's continually teetered between the two topics. At it's best it's achieved a perfect equilibrium between the two, but at it's worst.... Here are some of the biggest things the series has gotten wrong over the years.
The Walkers are no Longer Threatening
I'm a big fan of the show, I really am. It just has a lot of issues. For one, as the show went on the walkers gradually became less and less of a threat. It's at the point now where 200 of them could swarm a single character with a toothpick and they have a 100% chance of survival. At this point their only purpose is to cause unnecessary surface level drama which does absolutely nothing to further the plot. The only time they actually do have a reason to be there is if it's a reanimated character who the show runners decide to use as a plot device. It's a big difference from the beginning of the series when they were this terrifying force which both pushed the characters to do unspeakable things, and to make morally questionable decisions to avoid an early grave as many of their friends did in previous episodes.
It's Become a Rehash of Itself
From the 3rd season onward the main theme of the show has been that the people the world they're living in has created are the real threats, not the walkers. This was a great direction to go in, at first. It worked with The Governor and Woodbury, and it worked damn well. The examination of how he became who he was and just what he was willing to do to Rick and co, while still deep down believing himself to be the good guy was damn compelling. But then instead of doing anything different with this idea, they just did it again and again and again and again and again. They did it with terminus, the female cop who held Beth captive, the saviors who captured Carol and Maggie, Negan, and so on and so forth. This is why I found much of season 6 to be so compelling, with groups such as the wolves who were just downright demented individuals who wanted to raise hell. Or when they turned it around with Morgan, a good man who instead believes himself to be a bad person. It's a shame that season 7 reverted back to more of the same old stuff.
Safe Haven Syndrome
You thought this was the only thing they beat to death? Oh no. This trend started as early as season 2, and I call it Safe Haven Syndrome. Our group of survivors find somewhere where they think they'll finally be safe. They rejoice and plan to build a new life there, only to find out it's not safe. All hell breaks loose, some people die, and we move on. It worked fine with Hershel's farm, and great with the prison. However after that it was definitely time to change up the formula, but they never did. I get that they have the comics to follow, but they've diverted from those plenty of times before. And I feel as if while these constant nods to the past and familiar tensions worked well for the comics for so long due to the medium which the story was on. They shouldn't have expected the same enthusiasm from the mainstream fanbase the show attracts. This has been made apparent season to season as the viewership slowly dwindled.
The Awful Pacing
The pacing in this show is just downright terrible. The issue isn't even really that it's too slow, it's just uneven. They'll give us one fantastic episode which furthers the plot line in the most satisfying of ways, then decide to follow it up with 2 or 3 episodes about characters we don't care about doing inconsequential things. It's frustrating, because this causes much of the bulk of some seasons to be littered with pointless filler in a show which shouldn't have much of any. These side stories and episodes work for a series like Game of Thrones, because when viewing that show you're genuinely invested in each and every character. The problem with The Walking Dead is just that aside from the main cast, we don't give a crap about anyone. I genuinely couldn't care less about Tara and her escapades in the jungle, and that was even somewhat important to the plot. 90% of fans agree with this sentiment, but AMC seems to think they'll win us all over eventually with this same old formula. They even push us to dislike our favorite characters, with episodes like the one last season where Rick and Michonne wander around a carnival all day. When will they learn? It seems as if they believe the show to be deeper than it actually is.
Aside from the first, third, and sixth seasons I cannot in good conscience call any season of this show overall great. However, when the walking dead strikes the right note. It hits. The first episode of the last season? One of my favorite moments of a TV show ever. The rest of the season though? Bleh. TWD has the potential to be an incredible show, and I just hope they listen to the fans and wrap things up in a different direction.