10 Reasons Why The Walking Dead Is Currently Better Than Ever

It's no secret that the general, TV-watching population is split into two groups when it comes to The Walking Dead: Those who love it, and those who hate it.

In many ways, it's easy to see why the latter group feels the way they do. Between the end of Season Six and end of Season Eight, it looked as though the post-apocalyptic drama had lost its way, casting fan favourite characters aside, killing off characters who really needed to be left alone, and dragging out plotlines that really needed to be as succinct as possible.

Since then, the ratings for the show have hit an all-time low, and many are adamant they won't be returning for future episodes.

But with the final, extended season looming, it's no stretch to say that The Walking Dead has hit its stride like never before. Despite major narrative risks that threatened to alienate even more fans, and despite the falling viewership, the show has taken on a whole new tone and massively improved on its previous faults thanks to new showrunner Angela Kang.

From the introduction of new characters to the development of fan favourites, to the new approach to action and the shock twists thrown in there for good measure, here are 10 reasons why The Walking Dead is actually better than ever. Some spoilers follow.

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.