This might be a little long so if you want to skip to the last three paragraphs to find my opinion on why the show is declining.

I've been a Walking Dead fan for several years and got captivated by the show early on, but started questioning things and losing some interest a couple seasons ago. I wasn't sure why. But I kept watching thinking surely things are going to change and the show will go back to it's roots and continue, but now two seasons later nothing has changed, the show is still not back to what made it the best show on t.v. and we are seeing a major slide in viewership. Actually about 5 million viewers less per episode than a couple years ago. I've thought about it alot and have come to some conclusions as to why. Of course this is just my opinion. I could be way off but just wanted to share. It's disappointing because I love the show,.......or did love it. I think a saying that sums up what I'm going to explain is if something isn't broken, don't fix it. That's what I feel happened. and I'll explain.

What drew us into this show? For so many people it was like a magnet after you watched one time you were hooked and couldn't miss the next episode. I didn't start watching immediately when the show first aired, but there was so much buzz about it. It was the most talked about thing on the internet, and tv. all over the world, and friends and family were talking about it so I had to check it out. I honestly didn't have high hopes. not at all, but I wanted to give it a chance. So I watched the first episode of season one. I was hooked. I'm not a big fan of sci fi or supernatural things in movies. and that's why I didn't have high hopes because of the zombie thing and how unlikely that would be in real life. But upon watching I quickly realized how well they handled that and made it real and not far fetched. That maybe something like this could really happen. It wasn't outrageous or ultra supernatural like so many movies and shows are today. I was captivated because of the realness of the characters. How they represented everyday people in everyday lives. The sheriff, married with a wife and son, middle class family, a pizza delivery kid, a lawyer, some people that were less well to do. poorer. Basically all walks of life represented and brought together by this catastrophic event that in an instant turned their lives upside down. Something that very well could happen in real life. that isn't too far fetched, and something that made us think and question what would we do if something like this actually happened? We watched as they were forced to learn to survive and live together, protect each other, We followed them as they foraged for food, and looted for supplies and learned to avoid the walkers, and kill them.

There were so many things that drew fans into watching. The characters were everyday people, just like us. The situations they were in were realistic and not too far fetched. We watched as their normal lives were turned upside down so quickly and they were forced to be in survival mode. We were drawn to these characters because they were just like us. It was such a horrible thing, we wanted to see them survive and beat this thing. But just as things seemed to be going well or they would have a small success, something bad would happen because this virus was accelerating so fast and killing so many people that the amount of walkers was just overwhelming. And just as we were getting to know these characters and getting attached to them one or two would die a gruesome death. And we would be in complete shock. I remember seeing reactions to these deaths on youtube and just outrage, and people so sad. There was so much activity on the internet, so many people talking about the show, so many articles, blogs, youtube videos, news stories....etc. That's a sign of a show that is good.

I'll try to speed this up a little. Sorry it's a little drawn out. To continue why this show drew so many people in. the flow of the series is amazing, It's easy to follow, not complicated. Sometimes fast paced with fights and battles, and sometimes slower with times of rest and peace for the characters which were well deserved after they have put their lives on the line and worked so hard to get to somewhere. A lot of ups and downs, all that we can relate to. And we are supporting them because they are the good guys and just want to survive and keep each other safe. We watch as they settle at a place and think they have a place to stay forever, only to get overtaken and run off, leading them to be on the run again, out in the woods, meeting new groups, and doing it all over again. It was a lot of hard times followed by small successes.

the settings and scenery were amazing. We had the overrun city of Atlanta at the beginning which was done amazing and so realistic. the hospital rick was in, the camp they settled outside of Atlanta temporarily, the CDC, Herschel's farm, the prison, woodbury, alexandria, the hilltop....etc. There have been so many settings that have been done so well and realistic.

So we have this theme of this group figuring out how to survive and build a future together trying to settle a place and bear down and protect it. Things somehow changed a couple seasons ago. Where we saw most all the characters in each episode the first several seasons, we started seeing shows dedicated to one or two characters, and we still see this theme somewhat in season 8 a lot. Some main characters we don't see for several weeks. and it's only a 16 episode season. I noticed this when it first started happening and was disappointed because I loved seeing all the characters in each episode. Everyone had a different favorite character but you might not see yours for several weeks. So that's one thing that has changed for the worse. The next is they have been in Alexandria for the past three seasons. One of the allures of the show was that they had to keep moving and searching for a new place, being out on the run, encountering new groups, etc. To me the show got a little stagnant being in Alexandria for so long. Although this season we haven't seen it very much at all, they are still there.

The last thing that I think has been damaging to the show has been the last two seasons. And in these last two seasons we have seen the viewership drop several million for each episode. Just a couple seasons ago the show was averaging about 13 million viewers per episode. This year it's down to below 8 million. Which is still the number one show. but that's a huge difference and should be a red flag that something isn't right. The past two seasons have been just dealing with the Saviors. Every single episode just about is some kind of conflict with them and Negan. This season has been one battle after another with the Saviors. A seemingly never ending war. It's getting old. It's getting boring. There is a huge reason for the drop in viewers and I think it's obvious as to what it is. The show isn't what it was and what it started out as. Of course things have to change and evolve, but the changes made here have ruined the show for me. I miss seeing the characters all together, working together, looting, encountering walkers, encountering groups, either friendly or bad, having an encounter with them, but then moving on, settling a new place only to get over run by walkers or by other humans. That is what the show was all about, and when the show was like that there were the most viewers watching. Now that we are stuck with these never ending battles with the Saviors the views are down, the ratings are down.

Anyway, this is just what I see and unfortunately I don't know if there's a way out of it other than revamping the whole writing department. as they are the ones creating the show. I think they've lost sight of what the walking dead was and was supposed to be and what the fans loved to see. I do hope something changes but I'm thinking the hole is too deep to be able to dig out of.