4. Reusing The Same Stories/Themes
The Walking Dead likes to hit us with the same themes over and over again. How many stories have we seen that deal with the idea of being able to keep your humanity in the brutal post-apocalyptic world? Or whether or not you should keep yourself emotionally open and trusting to new people? While most shows have traditional stories and themes they return to to time and again, The Walking Dead is far too reliant on its own tropes, to the point of repetition. How many times have we seen Rick go through some crisis of confidence, then realize that the group needs him to be the leader. Then a few episodes later he once again decides that he doesn't want the responsibility anymore. When we see the same stories over and over again, the show seems a lot staler than it should be after only forty episodes.