‘The Walking Dead’ finally Laid to Rest?

The Walking Dead – the “zombie movie that never ends” – is over. I mean, its spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead, has been inexplicably renewed for an eighth season, and three others have been announced, but the main series that’s been running since 2010 is now over. It ends at a similar point in the story as Robert Kirkman’s comic book series.

There aren’t many long-running horror TV shows. We can handle gory films because it’s only a couple of hours. But tuning in weekly to witness a world full of death and despair – who would want that? While other zombie shows (Z-Nation and iZombie) turn to goofiness, The Walking Dead held on tightly to that gritty dramaticism. It was a show about the characters more than anything else. About their relationships, their hopes and dreams, their fears, and their stories. It was just like any other show, in that respect, just with one crucial difference.

gore that necessitates an 18 age rating

These characters died left and right. Something Game of Thrones received much praise for in its heyday – but Amy got bit months before Ned Stark was executed. Watching an episode from even seasons four or five is a bizarre experience now. Barely three characters remain from the first season of the show, and even they, while recognisable, seem different – heavier now, from what they’ve experienced. You can really feel the passage of time, through a rotating cast, changing locations and climates, but also through the evolution of relationships and even hairstyles. One of my favourite characters wasn’t even born until season three. So much has changed over the course of the series’ 12-year lifespan, whilst a lot has changed in the real world too.

What were you doing in 2010? If you’re anything like me, you struggle to remember. But it probably didn’t involve zombies. Vampires, maybe werewolves too (the third Twilight film had just come out). But zombies? While all are horror, zombies have a particular requirement for gore that necessitates an 18 age rating and keeps them from ever really breaking into the young adult market. This served the series well, allowing prosthetics and makeup to really shine – winning the show two Emmy Awards for its gruesome close-up shots. Like many, I grew up with The Walking Dead, and over the past decade, this has been the only show I watch week-to-week, the only show I don’t go on my phone during, the only show I listen to podcasts about, the only show I join online communities centered around. I’m going to miss it. As important as this series is to me, I also think it’s important to the wider horror landscape.

17 million people tuned in to watch the show at its peak

Ask anyone to describe a zombie in a few words and I almost guarantee they’ll say “slow”. Ask them if they’ve seen George Romero’s 1964 classic Night of the Living Dead and I almost guarantee they’ll say “no”. We can acknowledge that The Walking Dead stands on the shoulders of giants, but we must also acknowledge that over 17 million people tuned in to watch the show at its peak, bringing this style of zombie to brand new audiences. Gone are the days when zombies were associated with voodoo or magic – this version of the monster is now cemented in the zeitgeist of the general public. For every slow Dawn of the Dead, there’s a 28 Days Later speeding the creatures up or keeping them technically alive, and it wasn’t until The Walking Dead that, I believe, the public really had a common undead schema of a zombie in their mind.

it knew what people wanted from a series finale and, spoiler alert, it gave it to them

The show has had its ups and downs, as any does. People complained they spent too long on Hershel’s farm. People complained they killed a favourite character. People complained their heroes were oppressed by the Saviours for too long. But The Walking Dead ended with grace and aplomb and, most importantly, on its own terms. In a show all about trying to let mercy prevail over wrath, it feels like the creators of the show bore that in mind. They could have done anything, but they put us down gently. That’s not to say it was boring. It had equal parts tense action and huge conversational payoffs. It had redemptions and sacrifices and references to several iconic characters and moments from the past 12 years. It had beloved character deaths that were not only tragic and sad, but also sweet and meaningful. It had violence and gore but nothing gratuitous. It had heart and it had hope. It knew what people wanted from a series finale and, spoiler alert, it gave it to them.

It can be hard to give a show a definitive ending when the audience and creative team know there are spin-offs coming. They want to keep people interested in the universe and some of the characters, but they also need to give the closure the audience deserves. I think they managed it. They left our remaining favourite characters in a good place, where I trust they will be safe without us watching them every week. It also set up the things to come. Long lost but dearly familiar faces reappear to tease the next ‘Walking Dead’ adventure, and I for one cannot wait to see what the future of the franchise has in store.