10 Reasons Why The Walking Dead Is Currently Better Than Ever

10. The Time Jump

The most surprising aspect of The Walking Dead's ninth season was its decision to hit audiences with two time jumps. The season already picked up nearly two years after the last, but after Rick is flown off by Anne and her mysterious helicopter friends in episode five (with the rest of the Survivors believing him to be dead) the show unexpectedly jumped forward another six years.

Time jumps are always a tricky thing to get right. Done wrong, they can appear sloppy, skipping over important plot points in hopes of rushing ahead with the story. But done right, a time jump can work wonders.

In The Walking Dead, the narrative twist allows fans to see how much has changed in Rick's absence. There have been fall-outs, great bounds taken in veteran characters' stories, and a feeling in every subsequent episode that Rick's influence on the world will never be forgotten.

Better than that, though, the jump allows things to start afresh and helps fans move on. This is a world without the protagonist fans had come to love, but it's also the world he helped create. Those left behind are trying to keep his memory alive by following through on his vision, offering up some broken friendships, intriguing mysteries and startling character development in the process.