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Has the world of The Walking Dead just gotten too bleak?

Are you up to date with the first few episodes of The Walking Dead series 7? I only ask because ratings are plummeting, suggesting some of you just can’t take anymore! If you’re not up to date, time to walk away. SPOILERS will follow!

If you are, you’ll already know that things have gone from bleak to brutal and back to insufferably bleak over the last few episodes. Negan has broken Rick. Abraham has said his last laughable one-liner. Glenn will never lay his popped out eye on his unborn child. That was just the first episode.

A ray of hope for the future appeared in episode 2 with Carol refusing to sit pretty in her wheelchair and bow to a crazy King with a tiger for a pet. Carol has most definitely not been broken, and turns out King Ezekiel isn’t as crazy as he first appears. So that’s good. Because it’s all back downhill from there.

Well, what do you know? Then it was back to depression and despair with episode 3 as Daryl got tortured with cheery songs on repeat and surprisingly easy-to-eat dog food sandwiches. Negan also showed that he is not just a psychopath when dealing with new friends, but he has also managed to break all those around him including right-hand man Dwight. Again, there’s hope for a Daryl and Dwight revolution against Negan, but it all seems a long way off for now.

So with an extended episode 4 on the way, what can we expect from the increasingly grim world of The Walking Dead? Well it will be interesting to see if the 85 minute running time for episode 4 will actually tempt any viewers back after the ratings have dropped significantly for episodes 2 and 3.

Episode 1 might have drawn a huge crowd of people gagging to see who was going to be at the end of Negan’s bat, but many swore off the show after the levels of violence got too much, the loss of Glenn was too much to deal with, and arguably the gore replaced a lack of decent plotting.

In episode 4, we’re promised a reunion of Rick and Negan as the very bad man brings Lucille swinging into Alexandria for another round of baseball. From the clip released, we also see that Daryl is in tow but what part he will play in this encounter remains to be seen.

If the first few episodes are anything to go by, expect Maggie to have a miscarriage, another few heads to get splattered into pulp, and Rick to blow his own brains out in front of Carl. And then Negan will make Daryl eat Rick’s brains. Or something along those lines. It’s bound to get worse before it gets better.

Can it get bleaker? Has the show gone too far? Or is this post-apocalyptic horror as it really should be? I, for one, am loving the direction we’re going. But according to the ratings, I may be the only one left soon. Can The Walking Dead survive Negan’s reign of terror? It will if people keep tuning in to see if and when Rick will finally get his revenge.

Hang in there Walking Dead fans. The night is always darkest before the dawn.