The Walking Dead: 10 Most Disappointing Episodes Ever

The Walking Dead is one of the longest-running shows in modern television; set to conclude with its eleventh season, it's been quite the cash cow for AMC. After bringing the zombie sub-genre to the mainstream in 2010, it's held consistently high ratings ever since. It's also been held in high regard critically, especially for its debut season.

With that said, the series has been criticised a fair bit for its samey, often formulaic narratives. This was especially true of seasons five through seven which relied heavily on the group travelling between settlements, meeting a new antagonist then moving on.

With any adaptations, changes are going to be made to bring a popular property to the screen; Robert Kirkman's original vision often differs massively from the show. Some divergences haven't worked out for the best, disappointing fans and viewers alike. Much of the horror elements that made the comics so entertaining have translated over well enough, but other creative choices made by the showrunners haven't fared as well.

These are the ten most disappointing episodes of the show; entries you can easily skip on the way to the next big set piece. Massive spoilers ahead for every episode...

To start off, we have the conclusion of season 6, probably one of the biggest "sequel-bait" sequences in modern small-screen history.

Upon settling in Alexandria, a new threat emerges in the form of the Saviours, who ruthlessly dominate any rival group who comes their way. We know that a man named Negan is in charge, but we never meet Jeffery Dean Morgan's character until the very end of season 6. Rick's group are on their knees and the nasty leader chooses one victim as retaliation for their misbehaviour.

Cutting to a first person view, Negan smashes somebody's head in with his favourite weapon, a razor coated bat nicknamed Lucille. The key word was "somebody" as the episode concluded immediately afterwards. It was a real slap in the face to the fans as they were forced to wait another year for the mystery victim to be revealed. The first victim was revealed to be Abraham, an ultimately inconsequential character death.

To build up this new antagonist for so long and then cut viewers off with a lousy cliffhanger? It was undoubtedly a ploy to keep audiences coming back for the next season. This tactic worked as ratings exceeded seventeen million upon season seven's opening. What this creative choice ended up doing was completely neuter the death of Glenn Rhee, something which switched many a viewer off from the show.