‘The Walking Dead’ finishes fall run with 6.6 million viewers
CREDIT: AMC
Loading ...The final fall episode of AMC’s “The Walking Dead”, with its sad and somewhat surprising ending, drew a solid 6.6 million viewers, the most since the season debut of 7.3 million.
The horror/drama, which was shot primarily on the southside of metro Atlanta for season two, has averaged more than 6 million viewers on Sunday nights, by far the most for any AMC show and the best of any scripted cable show this fall.
Critics have griped at times that the show hasn’t moved quickly enough, doesn’t involve enough zombies and hasn’t fully developed all its major characters. The Atlantic also says scenes are repeated too often, the writers should fill in blanks by using more flashbacks and give lead guy Rick Grimes more to do.
Fans have appreciated the more leisurely second season pace and the moral ambiguities of Shane, who has become the most interesting character so far with his mercenary/realist philosophy. His need to survive by shooting Otis to save Carl was the type of tough choices that makes the show interesting.
Hershel Greene’s farm has been home to the survivors since the second episode. How much longer after the shoot-out at the zombie corral at the end of episode seven is very much in question. The actor Scott Wilson who plays Hershel was still involved in the show episode 10 when I interviewed him a few weeks ago so my sense is they aren’t leaving immediately.
Hershel wanted to believe the zombies were merely “sick” and not mindless predators with no more real brain power going on besides killing humans. Once Shane knew he was keeping them in that barn, he brought the guns and the survivors dust the zombies one by one, ending with Rick shooting Sophia, the missing child. She had been bitten and rounded up by Otis before the Grimes & Co. had even arrived.
Part two of season two begins in February. And season three is already guaranteed.
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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70 comments Add your comment
Joshua
November 30th, 2011
8:13 pm
It could go either way. Sophia could have easily gone into the barn thinking it was safe the same way glenn went in for his “meeting” with that girl.
As for Shane…as sad as it was for him to kill Otis I can’t say I wouldn’t make the same decision. He was after-all, the guy who shot the boy they were trying to save accident or not.
Alfred
November 30th, 2011
10:55 pm
Joshua,
If Sophia had gone into the barn while alive, the “walkers” would have devoured her.
Her body was still intact (relatively), because she had clearly gotten bitten but escaped until she was overcome with the fever and died.
When was the wedding scene that somebody mentioned?
sidney
December 1st, 2011
3:19 am
@Kay, lighten up.
mike on sophia
December 1st, 2011
3:30 am
The old man must have found her as a walker and put her in the barn, he thought maybe he could do something in the future, that’s why he didn’t want them around the farm.
starbuck
December 1st, 2011
3:47 am
I hear season 3 will happen.
Natalie
December 1st, 2011
5:32 am
I wish there were more Zombie shows! But love that I also can have Walking Dead on my texts https://market.android.com/details?id=com.zlango.livewallpaper.walkingdead&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS56bGFuZ28ubGl2ZXdhbGxwYXBlci53YWxraW5nZGVhZCJd
Austin
December 1st, 2011
5:38 am
AMAZING SHOW!!! But really? FEB… That sucks…. and Shane’s gettin it IN! two down, one to go! hahahahahahaha
Brian
December 1st, 2011
3:21 pm
IMO…The pace of the show is supposed to be slow, at the farm their is a detachment to whats going in the world. When they go into the urban areas you see everything speed back up. As for the time it took to search/find Sophia…maybe I’m the worlds greatest parent because I’d never stop searching for my missing child regardless of a zombie apocolypse.
Deirdre
December 1st, 2011
5:46 pm
Finally saw the mid season finale. Excellent. I don’t feel like the show is slow at all.
As for Shane shooting Otis…I don’t think it had anything to do with Otis accidentally shooting Carl. I think it was more about survival…Shane’s AND Carl’s. Shane shot Otis because both of them were not going to make it out.
neal
December 2nd, 2011
12:30 am
Love show but 2 flaws 1. Why does everybody call them walkers ?
I never hear them say what they are, zombies.
2. When killing zombies notice they never get anything
On them.
Garry
December 2nd, 2011
8:46 pm
i think they need to make this real long where they move from place to place for abit in each place trying to survive but also leading to how it happened, but they gota to keep it good and they will keep viewers like me watching. waiting for 1 day a week is way to slow make it atleast 2 a week minimum
Garry
December 2nd, 2011
8:50 pm
i thought it was wrong for shane to shot Otis in the leg and let him get eatin, i would have shot him in the head not to feel anything, but i would of never let him come in the first place like come on heavy ppl can not move quick its was suicide for him already.
Antwan
December 4th, 2011
12:02 am
I cut the cord of cable a few years back and have been watching shows “on demand” after a series ends so that I don’t have to wait days for a new episode to air. My mistake after watching season 1 of TWD was to watch the season 2 opener just after it aired. Now I’m stuck and salivating waiting for the next episode. This is the best series I’ve watching since 24.
One think I want to mention about pace and time. I understand the pace being slower than the first season because we need more character development between characters and not from the result of trauma from attack. Look at how Maggie was changed at her first attack – the difference is that her first appearance was during the building of the other characters.
The other topic is how fast they are recovering and the sense that time doesn’t make sense. You can call it bad writing, but I think it is how you would feel post apocalypse in the same situation. You would lose track of time and different things would matter more than making appointments.
tom
December 4th, 2011
12:48 pm
cant wait for sunday night ……
never has that happend before.
love the show.
Aaron C
December 4th, 2011
1:45 pm
cant wait for episode 3. Guess i have to wait
Chad
December 5th, 2011
2:07 pm
Sorry to see the girl became a zombie in the last episode but they have to kill off the children to keep the timeline they have in place. If not, by season 5 the boy will be a 6ft tall 10 year old. Sorry but he is probably next.
alex
December 5th, 2011
11:06 pm
What’s up with ab ripper shane ? Probably waiting for GQ to come by and take Pix.
staggie
December 5th, 2011
11:23 pm
@neal I agree, love the darkish brown and red blood that never seems to get on them. Daryl is a difficult bad-ass that can take anything, heads up shane.
I LOVE TWD
December 5th, 2011
11:57 pm
Come on you idiots out there who are getting impatient with the slow pace of the show. The slow pace is called character development. It is not so much about hunting down zombies or running from them. It is supposed to be about the human side of a zombie apocalypse. It is about the decisions made and the emotions. This show is all about showing the diversity of people. You have Shane who is a survivor through and through, Rick and Lori who just want things to be as normal as possible, Andrea who is trying to just deal with it all, Glen who is just kind of there and hasn’t really got a certain feeling any way but to just make it from day to day, etc. If you are so hell bent on watching zombies being slaughtered and guts flying everywhere then go rent some dumb flat B movie. You know what makes this show great is when there is a bad ass scene (like the mid season finale ending) you appreciate it all the more and aren’t already numb to it. It makes those parts so much better. The show is not perfect but it one of the best damn shows on cable television!! Lastly…..I thought the mid season final ending was phenomenal!!! Absolutely perfect!!
blackreafs
December 6th, 2011
8:24 pm
I absolutely LOVE this show!!.. i was so upset when Lost ended.. now i have a new favorite show! I think the storyline has been great. The Sophia thing has dragged on but it was still great! Always lots of suspense. I always walk away with my nails chewed to nothing.. I was heartbroken to find out Sophia was a zombie :*( I thought for sure she would be found alive. What a way to finish the mid-season. Cant wait until Feb.