The Walking Dead: Ranking All 9 Seasons From Worst To Best

Despite the heavy criticism of the season six finale's infamous cliffhanger, season seven debuted to absolutely massive ratings. The premiere saw the deaths of Glenn and Abraham and served as a showcase for a number of the cast, particularly Andrew Lincoln, who poured his heart and soul into his performance, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who gave audiences a villain worth hating.

Unfortunately, the episode marked the end of the show's status as a cultural experience, as viewers began tuning out. The first half of the season saw many of the characters splinter apart, such as Daryl being imprisoned and tortured by the Saviors, before they came back together by the midseason and reunited in the back half, building up a confrontation with Negan and the Saviors that should've paid off the dark, depressing premiere but only ended with the death of Sasha and Negan escaping to see another day.

Highlights of the season included the introduction of The Kingdom and its colorful community, for instance, which allowed for the show to continue blowing its scope up, and the exploration of the dynamic between Negan and Carol. However, creative decisions like keeping viewers from seeing major characters (like Maggie) for weeks so that a character like Tara could get an episode all to herself bogged down the pacing, which only served to begin the two-season arc that had no reason being stretched so long.

And the less said about the CGI deer, the better.