AMC’s The Walking Dead has an uncanny knack for manipulating its audience, but this year’s hyper-violent season premiere went too far. So far that we canceled our ongoing series The Walking Dead Quitter’s Club, and co-author Bryan Bishop swore off the show entirely.
Now, Nick Statt is trying to change his mind. Instead of tearing the show down, he’ll be finding something to highlight. It might be a subtle change in character, a great action scene, or a new development in a narrative arc. But every week, he’ll be seeking out things that remind us of the very best of The Walking Dead — the moments that might just give viewers a reason to come back.
Welcome to The Walking Dead Redemption Club.
Dear Bryan,
I think it’s safe to say that keeping up with The Walking Dead has not been easy these last few episodes. We’re just two weeks away from the mid-season finale, and while the chessboard has been rearranged quite a bit, it feels like none of the pieces have really advanced. Instead, the show has just kept piling on more elements. We’ve seen TWD’s universe expand this season more than it ever has before, with new communities, characters, and storylines laid out in a Game of Thrones-style sprawl.
Unlike that show’s deft interweaving of narrative threads, however, The Walking Dead likes to spend entire episodes focused on a single storyline, leaving main characters sputtering in place and viewers hungry for action. In tonight’s episode, “Swear,” we get another standalone tale starring Tara, another new community, and another break from whatever ultimate showdown this slow burn of a season has been building toward.