coli

By not showing who Negan killed they can't show any previews for Season 7 next year, because whoever we see in them we'll know survived.

I thought this was a great season, but the finale was sort of letdown. I partially blame myself for listening to all of the hype as Andrew Lincoln said he cried when he read the finale, and Nicoterro said the internet will blow up after the episode. I was expecting a bigger body count, and I actually think the show does itself a disservice by hyping it too much as this happens with blockbuster movies all of the time.

Another problem with not showing who Negan killed is if its Aaron, Eugene or even Abraham, then the wait all summer will be anti-climatic. The only way to punch us in the gut would be to kill Glenn, Darry, Rick or Carl, but I don't see that happening.

And I definetly liked the Negan character so Season 7 should be great.

mnementh

Previews can show Morgan & Carol, Heath & Tara, and everyone over in Alexandria.

TGM

could also show Carl and Rick, as it's obvious from Negan's speech just prior to swinging that it's not either of them.

DVD Josh

Well we all are...until October when he will watch again like everyone else.

creekdipper

But, seriously, folks...

Who shot J.R.???????????????

Big Boy Laroux

There are likely only so many roads they could take, so the Saviors set up on all of them. And they already had Eugene at the end (who they obviously had roughed up for information). I'm sure he told them where they would be on foot.

Big Boy Laroux

Yes, indeed. I liked JDM in the role, his delivery was great. But he wasn't physically imposing. It's possible to be tall and puny/skinny. He definitely did not look over 200 lbs in the show last night. Not a deal breaker, but Negan is a pretty built guy in the comics. His physical stature is one of the reasons he's intimidating (along with his craziness).

Looks like JDM just hasn't regained all his weight from this role in 2015:

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/jeffr...n_7451710.html

More (saying he started at 175 (not "well over 200 lbs"), got down to 135):

http://www.inquisitr.com/2125101/jef...-texas-rising/

mugwump

They can three-point turn with the best of them.

I'll keep watching but this show long ago became one that I skip through as the fluff has far out-weighed the substance for a while now. And no, I don't particularly care who got Lucilled.

Big Boy Laroux

I kept picturing Austin Powers as they backed up to turn around.

coli

For any WCW Wrestling fans, did you catch the NWO references last night? The guy spray painting the Saviors symbol on the guy laying on the street, was just like Hogan spray painting Sting and Lex Lugor when the NWO would beat the crap out of them.

And then Negan even saying they're a New World Order to the group during his speech. If they would have played the NWO music, I may have rooted for Negan to kill everyone.

candyrocket786

They'll probably drag out the Lucille death until the S7 Winter Finale and have the early episodes focused on those characters.

Abob Teff

I was actually thinking the exact same thing. A cliffhanger like this is very stereotypical for TV shows 30 years ago. Honestly, it wasn't a bad cliffhanger even for today. However, I think the "relationship" the show has with its viewers is really straining the reception of said cliffhanger ...

... because the show has had such an identity crisis over the last few seasons. The first few seasons laid groundwork which drew in fans. Season finales meant bloodbaths or a major character death. No character was safe, not even main characters. The show had weight.

Now fans feel as if they are just being trolled due to things such as Glenn and the dumpster, Daryl being shot last week (notice how that has basically been glossed over?), and many of the things said by the production staff outside of the show. Who was the last major character to die? It's turned into Star Trek and the Red Shirt Minions.

rw2516

I'm thinking it's Abraham or Eugene. A well liked character not one of the core group. Just enough shock value without costing AMC any money.
This is why Rick, Glen, Maggie and Daryl will be around till the end. Commercial television is character driven. A show catches on because viewers like the characters and tune in to watch those characters. The death of one of the core four would result in lost viewers=lower ratings=less revenue for AMC. I wouldn't be surprised if AMC forbids the writers and producers from killing them.

The only way one of the four gets killed is if the actor no longer wants to do the show, for example, Lauren Cohen gets pregnant in real life. AMC is going to bend over backwards to keep them alive and on the show. Maybe let them direct. Maybe Norman Reedus? was thinking of leaving so AMC gave him another show to make him stay.

Tip: When pondering the possible death of Rick, Glen, Maggie or Daryl, check them out at imdb to see if they have upcoming projects they have voluntarily left the show for.

creekdipper

Maybe the producers should have a poll to see which character the viewers MOST WANT DEAD.

dvdjunkie32

The writers were probably afraid of the backlash they would get for the next six months if the death is not one of the major characters after teasing and hyping it up so much. So they can do a quick reveal episode one and then direct our attention quickly to other story elements.

Maybe they were too blind to how cheap this cliffhanger really is since the show has ended on big cliffhangers before. At the end of season 4, we saw the group in a similar situation, stripped of weapons and locked in a boxcar. But even then, it was less satisfying to see that storyline get wrapped quickly in season 5. I rather have closure than a cliffhanger.

Is it remotely possible that the creators were too afraid to show the character's actual death? It's one thing to show zombies having their heads caved in, but different when it's an actual person. Lucille would have smashed the victim's head in and that could have been just too intense to see as it happens. Still, they could have kept the 1st person then pan the camera to a quick shot of the victim and then fade to black. That would have been a powerful moment that would resonate with fans over the long break.

Groucho

Jason Todd!

smg669

New spinoff show idea... Three-Point-Turns of the Walking Dead.

DWilson

The version depicted in the Comics was one of those rare times when a character's fate in Comics really hit me (I can only think of a couple of others). In part it was the specific character and the fact that it was a drawn out sequence (no pun intended), -you have a panel where the character's head is being bashed in and the character is trying to speak. It was also one of those times when the artist's shortcomings (to my taste) actually added to the horror.

Abob Teff

Is that what that look is supposed to be, terrified? Anytime Rick ends up in a "we're fucked" scenario he starts sweating buckets and goes into that withdrawn, gran mal seizure thing he does. It's one of my knocks on Rick as a leader -- it's as if he just checks out and you can always see the progress in of it coming. (Acting wise, I suppose it is a good job on Andrew Lincoln's part to stay consistent over time.)



Who is this Sepinwall and why does everybody bow to him? The podcast I listen to mentions him at least once per show.

Well, they were up against an equally inane Wrestlemania ...

DRG

The problem for me is that the moment was already a natural cliffhanger without the pointless shenanigans. You kill a major character, then cut to black. What the hell happens next to everyone else? How do they react? How do they get out of this hopeless situation? The scene has such a built in trepidation already that it didn't need that extra "pulling the rug out at the last minute" gimmick.

General Zod

I don't know. Let's say it was Abraham that got killed. They pan out and there's a dead Abraham.. people crying.. FTB.

So you'd have a season break where you'd wonder what will happen now but there's really nothing to look forward to there. You figure they'll get out of it somehow someway so it doesn't really stay on your mind. You know someone didn't get out of it now.. but you don't know who. That's a reason to come back.

Groucho

Is retaining viewers a big problem for this show?

stingermck

this show. They cant fight thousands of zombies but every time they face a human threat the fold like an accordion.

I guess it will be easy to see who doesnt show up on the set when they start filming again.

redrum

Ya i don't see them starting a season with the death of a major character

candyrocket786

Hell no.

Everyone bitching will be back.

Once that Negan footage was leaked a few episodes back, a few us speculated that's how it was going to end. No real surprise