The Walking Dead Season 9: 2 Ups & 3 Downs From ‘Omega’

Downs...

3. The Same Old Mistake

Speaking of focusing on characters we've yet to care about, the biggest problem with Omega is just that. The entire instalment is devoted to Lydia and her tragic backstory, which we're assuming is meant to make viewers sympathise with the character. At this stage in the game, it's much to early for an episode such as this one.

Let's not forget that her people were responsible for killing Jesus - a wound that is still very fresh for both us and the protagonists of the show. The writers and showrunners might've massively neglected that character, but viewers were very keen on him, so attempting to make us feel sorry for one of his murderers simply doesn't work.

With so few original characters remaining, the writers should be focusing on the show's protagonists, and not the newbies who we've only just met. A mainstay such as Carol, who has been absent since the series' return, should be getting much more screen time.

The showrunners need to keep in mind that one of the (many) reasons for the decline in viewership was the unnecessary boring instalments that plagued Season 7, all of which focused on a singular character or storyline (remember that mind-numbing Tara episode, anyone?). The last thing TWD needs right now is more narrative-stalling episodes. It needs to focus on its strengths, but instead the writers are focusing on what weakened the show in the first place.