thewalkingdead
When Should The Walking Dead Truly Have Ended?
in my opinion, the perfect final episode of the show would've been No Way Out. the show had peaked around the time of season 6 and with hindsight, I think no matter how the Saviors arc was handled, viewers still would've dropped off. the group solidifying their new home and taking one final stand against the walkers is a perfect ending as they've finally gotten what they've been searching for throughout the entire series.
with No Way Out being the season 6/series finale, I'd make the following adjustments to the show overall:
- seasons 2-6 have an average of 10-12 episodes, spreading the story more concisely across the series
- bring back Morgan during the road to Terminus arc
- no hospital subplot
not having Jeffrey Dean Morgan's performance as Negan sucks in hindsight but just imagine how much more fondly the show would be looked back on it if it ended here.
Discussion
I honestly think if they’d changed a couple of plot points, there would be an argument it should never have ended and they could have kept going
Probably a lot of the actors wanted to leave so they had no choice, but thats only what I think and could be a different reason it ended.
Which is so crazy to me because besides glenn, none of them in the group have been particularly successful outside of the walking dead
Well the actress who played Sasha became Michael Burnum on Star Trek Discovery and then there is the actor who played Shane, who is all over the place. Michael Rooker (Merle, Daryl's brother is a major actor) and I'd say the actor who played The Governor is at the very least considered distinguished.
So if they got out in the early seasons, they'll have careers. In the mid seasons, they got star trek level roles. In the late seasons, you're at conventions until a possible rebound. If you're Norman Reedus, you're the main character of two Kojima titles
Well several of them had careers before the Walking Dead, with Michael Rooker being the most prominent example that comes to mind, he's been in major motion pictures since at least the 90s (co starred with Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger). And I wouldn't knock Star Trek fame. Basically the actress is set for life and can do both Star Trek And Walking Dead conventions for the rest of her life and can probably transition to other Sci-fi roles of she has a good team.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan had an important role in Supernatural as the two brothers dad, and the actress who played Maggie has a recurring role on Supernatural as well.
Jeffrey also got a good position with The Boys.
He was also in Boondock Saints. Great movie.
And Blade
Shane didn't ask to leave
In my mind Shane is still alive and he's backstabbing various people living in that caravan area and Rick never finds the group as he's soo freaked out by zombies being real he just drives north to get away. 😂😂😂
Norman hasn't been that successful, but he's starred in 2 kojima games (3 if PT ever came out)
Yeah why isn't Norman in more movies or TV shows he's great actor.
I love death stranding but I feel his talents are better on the big screen or TV screen so to speak.
He's been a recurring character in the show all the way till it finished out, so he has been very successful I'd say. Anytime an actor can catch a steady paycheck on a reliable and successful show is something I'd categorize as success
The original comment mentioned outside of twd
Yeah but a huge chunk of performers were in major other film and tv rolls, both before and after appearing on the Walking Dead. Danai Gurira (Michonne) plays Okoye in the MCU and Ross Marquand played The Red Skull in Avengers Infinity War and Endgame.
Micheal Rooker was in a Psych season 4 episode way before TWD!!! I still love how fast I pickes up it was him
I remember Rooker from Guardians of the Galaxy.
When Rick takes over the Commonwealth and we fade from his bloody, scarred face morphing into a statue of him in the town square, and then it's revealed that old man Carl has been telling the story to his grandchildren.
Epic!
Season 8 but without Carl dying, then bring the spin offs. A Whisperers series then a Commonwealth series. Nothing like how they are milking the franchise right now.
I firmly believe that Morgan was originally going to die before Gimple decided to not pay Chandler Riggs what he deserved.
Most likely and would fit the peace ending Carl wanted everyone to get
Why do you assume that Gimple made that decision? It seems like that would be an AMC accounting department decision.
I completely agree, but maybe showing the first half of season 9 with the bridge plot would still be worth it. Also Neagan should have died under that tree. Then they could do a timeskip and show Carl reading a book to his kid
He lived in the comics idk why the show killed him
There were two endings that could have been much better than Season 11.
The first, from Season 5, when Rick and the gang arrive in Alexandria and Rick looks at the walls of the community with suspicion, but then hears the laughter of children and sees hope for the future in his eyes. An open ending that makes it clear that the group has a new home and that there is hope for humanity in large communities like these. The show would have been as 'verified' as Breaking Bad and would have been much more popular with the series fan community.
The second, from Season 8 – and I will always stand by this, it's the PERFECT ending, despite the poor quality of the season itself – Rick reading a letter he wrote to his dead son and saying goodbye to him after defeating Negan. A bittersweet ending, exactly what this show needed, where Rick lost his blood family but found a new one, became a leader of large communities and began to create a future for new generations. The series has already shown its worst side in S7-8, but emotionally it would have ended exactly as it should have.
Season 11. Sorry if you didn’t like the show.
I want more 😭
Agreed. This is a TWD sub. "I stopped watching TWD when blah blah" folk are boring and need to leave and let peeps enjoy it.
Thats not saying "dont criticise" but just talk about what you love and shuddup about what you hate 💀
Season 8, Rick sparing Negan. “My mercy prevails my wraith” was genuinely beautiful & the show shouldn’t have continued after that.
It should’ve ended and a spin off show like a couple decades later about Judith grimes happen when she’s around 16-28. It would show how the world is after things settled down, it would probably be similar to the last of us with giant communities & even new religions and such.
Before negan
Season 11 Episode 24. Some plot points in the show's history were a bit shit but the ending and final arc was totally fine imo.
- End the show with Rick slitting negans throat and not saving him. That would have been the perfect way to end the show
Not at all, it wouldn't have made sense with the message the season was trying to portray, Tara and Daryl also wanted to kill Dwight but both decided not to.
And Carl not dying too
If the show was coming to an end anyway, I honestly think I could take or leave carl
But the show didn't end, so killing Carl was one of the worst decisions ever made
Or they could’ve ending with Eugene not sabotaging Negans guns and them offing Rick and company.
it should have never ended imo, but if i had to choose when it would end than defo s8 or 9 at ricks "death"
I would have kept watching
It should have kept the quality of the writing of the early seasons, and end with the Negan arc, the commonwealth one, or never.
With the quality TWD had in season 1-4, I would have watched 30 seasons.
I think it went on about as long as it should've. I think some of the stories should have been changed/condensed. The Saviours went on for way too long.
Wasn’t the saviors it was those boring ass filler episodes..literally watched an episode about carol trying to find ingredients for baking cake or some bullshit.
I think they’re fine to keep chugging out spin offs. Don’t really care for Daryl show that much but it’s not bad and I see the appeal people have for it. But dead city and Twol I both enjoyed
I think it should've ended where it ended, but they should have compacted it much more. All out War should be season 7, whisperers season 8, commonwealth season 9 and that's it. A lot of TWD became soap opera in later seasons.
After season 2 or after season carl
S6 was my favorite season. No Way Out was a fantastic episode honestly. they could have capped it out with finishing the season and building to a conclusion, a strong and better hope for the future. much like when they first hear the kids playing in alexandria and rick smiles, but S6 is included.
if TWD was only 6 seasons and the rest were in spinoffs or something, this show would be regarded as honestly even Better Call Saul level overall as a show. Too many bad seasons past S6 lowered the overall quality by a good amount
I think if it’d aimed to end at season 6, it would’ve ended on a high note. But that still doesn’t put it anywhere near BCS.
Idk about anywhere near BCS. and i watched both and BB. TWD literally had 3 peaks with 3 9.6 episodes in No Way Out, No Sanctuary, and Too Far Gone. BCS had a 9.8 with Saul Gone. TWD also had so many emotional moments and honestly great characters, episodes, etc. So yeah in their prime, it’s comparable to BCS. BCS is an overall better show, but that is literally not true
Comparing TWD to BCS is wild
how is it wild yall put BCS at this super high pedestal when they are almost identical in their ratings in their prime lmao
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And then show the time skip with Judith older, and then maybe some movies after that
I tought of this "What if" scenerio, where in S01 they manege to take Jim to the CDC in time, he dies anyway, but the give fresh samples (and a bunch of hope) to Dr.Renner who then figures out a way to end the virus, then S02-05 could have been about making the antidote, spreading it and ending it for all...
After negan captured
Agree with No Way Out. When Carl is unconscious and Rick isn’t sure if he’s alive or dead, and he does that big speech to him about wanting to show him the new world, and then it shows Carl grabbing Rick’s hand before cutting to black. That honestly could have made a great ending.
Like season 6 ISH gates of Alexandria. Iirc kirkman also wanted to end the comics there
There's 2 ways to look at this question, the first being with very few, and very minor alterations to the plot, the cast, and character decisions, and that could go a million directions, but the other is of you had to pick one exact moment in the existing series to just press the "stop button" and call it a day, I'd say at the very end of the season 5 episode when they're in the barn, they hold off the walkers at the door, and after that, Rick gives his "we are the walking dead" speech, that's it, hit the button. We never meet Aaron when Maggie and Sasha go outside in the morning, no Alexandria, nothing that follows, we're just left wondering if they found that place to settle down, but we also knew in that moment they could probably overcome anything if they stuck together.
Edit: to be clear, I enjoy the entire run of TWD, I don't mind most of Fear, I am one of very few (apparently) who enjoyed The World Beyond, love the Daryl spin-off, etc, but just to answer OP's question, because this was the exact topic of discussion last time I re-watched - a coworker did a re-watch with his fiance and the 3 of us all landed at the above answer in S5.
I think that they should have expected actors wouldn’t stay forever and that the show wouldn’t remain at the top forever either. I’m convinced they could have condensed all the comics into 8 solid seasons as opposed to dragging it out heavily between season 5-11
I like to watch right up until Rick leaves, with Space Junk playing in the background.
at the end of season 7 by defeating Negan
S8 E16 or S5 E11, or maybe it should've just got cancelled, imagine it got cancelled after S1 (due to Darabont's exit), honestly surprised how much times this show has survived cancellation, they managed to go 3 seasons more even with the exit of their protagonist
Not until Season 20 when Judith's children start killing walkers
The show started dipping in quality since Season 2, so
But I think it could have ended satisfactorily after The Governor (first arc)
Usually people say when they arrived at Alexandra was the perfect stopping point
It should have done 11 seasons but with Carl and Rick. As soon as Rick left the show should have ended
The comics originally planned to end around the time they got to Alexandria with Rick taking the place over and Rick giving a powerful speech and then it cuts to a shot of Rick as a statue and then it keeps zooming out and you see vines on it realizing a lot of time has passed and then you see a walker and then another walker and so on. Basically, Society crumbled. Again. That would've been a pretty cool ending (I like endings where the good guys lose) so it's actually kinda funny that you mention No Way Out because it would've been right around that time had Kirkman gone with his original idea.
But as for the show it really should've just ended with Negan's defeat. A big reason the fans turned on the show was the death of Glenn so I would've made that the most important moment of the show. The show ends with Rick winning for Glenn and I would've made a bigger deal out of it to honor that character so that his death didn't feel like "oh this is just who is dying this season" it becomes the single most important moment of the show and it should've been because if you go back to the very start who was the guy that saved Rick and brought him to his family? It was Glenn. Glenn saved Rick and Rick couldn't save Glenn. But Rick could avenge him.
And by ending it there the show has the option to return another day covering after the time jump after giving all of the actors a break but you still tell a pretty good full circle story. Everything that happened after Negan's defeat didn't need to happen. Not to say none of it was good it just wasn't required and it would've been better if they had Rick for that stuff. And if they still want to do the spinoffs? Sure. Rick keeps Negan alive so have that be why Maggie and Daryl don't want anything to do with Alexandria anymore and they go off and have their own shows for a while.
I would like to know how the infection started and maybe they find a cure. Then cue to Eugene and Lori raising a family lol
season 15
I prefer how it ended in season 11, but if i had to pick a moment before, i would've say Season 9, after Rick's "death". Season 8 finale was a good conclusion for the story, and i felt that the earlier episodes from Season 9 were a good epilogue for the story, being more focused on walkers and how Rick was handling the different communities. The only difference is that i would make Season 9 have 6 episodes, to make a parallel with Season 1.
Sorry for my english.
The existence of the comics is why tbh, I'd had thought most people would've figured that out by now.
To me personally, the backbone of the Walking Dead is Rick's arc from Officer Friendly to survivor to leader to being the person who brings civilisation back.
The vital parts of that story are seasons 1-2, Terminus, early Alexandria, the war against Negan and the bridge. All of that needs to be there. So 9x05 is my cutoff date. I just imagine Rick dies there.
Commonwealth with Rick dying and carl live
Looking back they could have probably done 9 seasons with all the material
After Andrew Lincoln left
I agree - season 6, episode 9 is my new stopping point. It’s just rinse and repeat after that and loses touch with the world that had been established.
They should have just adapted the book and ended it the way the book did.
You aren't that guy pal, you don't know how to make the story 'better' than kirkman. You're supposed to be adapting the book so adapt the book.
Earliest they could have ended it is after no way out. They defeated the undead enemy and Rick learned the true power of numbers. In the comic Kirkman planned to end it there with Rick giving a speech, only for it to zoom out to his stone statue with a zombie passing by. In the end, the dead always wins.
I'd rather seen Rick die instead of Carl. Season 11 should have been the maximum amount of seasons ending with Carl after a time skip. I get the actor for Carl left for reasons but that doesn't mean they couldn't hire a new actor.
When Rick was on the bridge and it exploded the screen should have gone black. The show practically started with Rick opening his eyes so it should have ended with him closing them.
Before a king with a Lion was introduced. So about season 6?
Season 11. With Carl.
It should've been better writing.
Need a Morgan reunion first. Get the whole crew back. Have them ride off into the sunset on a good note. Please.
They could've stretched season 9 to 6 episodes instead of 5, like the first season and rick sacrificing himself to save everyone by blowing up the bridge would've been perfect but with him actually dying. Maggie killing negan in the jail cell the same way he killed glenn would've been fine, imo and the show could've ended with a grown-up judith like the ending of S9 E5
Other than that, season 8 would've been a perfect ending
After the governor I was set.
I always feel like the season 3 was a good end.
Season 12
Season 1
Should have ended when Rick slit Negans throat.
Season 6 Episode 9 "No way Out". Carl recovering, Alexandrians understanding what they have to do to survive. The last stand against the walkers.
They could've explore the rest of the comic storyline on the spin offs or even better, adapt them to Fear and have 2 good shows.
After negan bullshit! The whole negan chapter was boring.
It was extremely painful to watch wasn't bad but as a viewer you get sick and tired of all the loses etc ..
If I had creative control over what I thought could have wrapped the Walking Dead up more nicely, I would’ve condensed season’s 5-11 a lot more.
For season 5, after Terminus I’d skip all the hospital stuff and have them get to Alexandria by the mid season finale, where Negan is unshown but the Saviors are already taking supplies from them. I’d probably have Rick’s group agree to help them w Negan and take out a savior outpost or 2 until Negan shows up in the S5 finale and does the roundup, killing Glenn.
Season 6 would be the All Out War with the saviors. Probably have Rick’s group gain an advantage before the mid season finale of the herd coming through Alexandria and Carl losing his eye, which would bring them back down. End Season 6 with the showdown between Alexandria and the Saviors where Rick cuts Negan’s throat and spares him. Carl didn’t need to die, there could’ve been another way to keep Negan alive. Maybe Morgan’s return to give Rick a glimpse of humanity.
Season 7 would start with the time jump, with old man Rick and an older Carl and Judith building up Alexandria while Negan is in jail. Use the first half of the season to really flesh out the communities and people in them (prior Saviors, Oceanside, hilltop, Negan, etc) before we get the whisperers introduction in the mid season finale, similar to when Jesus died in 9x08. Then the second half of Season 7 and 8 would continue pretty similarly to the Whisperers War in the show which I thought was well done.
Have season 7 finale end with the pike scene and season 8 close out the Whisperers War. As far as the commonwealth, I feel like it dragged a bit and got too repetitive. Maybe combine it with the Whisperers arc and have them be the last big bad in season 9 before ending the show with the people of the communities they’ve built taking control over the territories and their surrounding areas to the point where there’s no real big gangs able to take them on. They’d be the powerhouse at that point and that’d be the end of the show.
You could keep it going but at that point it’d just be milking it similarly to what we have today. Rick and everyone’s lives would go on, there’d be conflicts and stories to tell, but things need to end on a firm note to cement their place amongst good television. At that point it wouldn’t be the Walking Dead.
When they reached Alexandria.
They introduced too many characters after this point and clearly didn't have the budget to flesh them all out.
Yeah, that episode ending where they stand just outside the gate would have been perfect.
Some say after season 8 same say after season 11 but what the fans really need is a season 12 bringing everyone back together
The ones who live
After Season 6 if should have just ended.
Season 8, though I like the idea of a longer Season 9 as an epilogue.
After Carl died no question
Once they arrived at Alexandria
After Rick got shot and put in a coma
Wayne Dunlap’s death 💔
For me i think the perfect ending would've been at season 8 finale with possible adjustments like no killing off Carl and maybe killing Negan at the end instead of jail time but i think i would've been fine with regular season 8 finale being the ultimate ending to the series, i picked season 8 finale because up until then i absolutely enjoyed watching the show and i was hooked but after the bridge happened and the Rick send off the show just felt souless.
When they killed off Carl. That was there jump the shark moment. Went all downhill from there.
They could have continued and ended when they went to Philadelphia and assimilated peacefully etc.
Personally, the same where the comics should've ended: Killing Negan and a brief glimpse into the rebuilding of civilization. Poetic to say that the biggest monster to humanity was each other and after killing the biggest one of all (at the time) there's nothing truly holding people back from starting over. We can fill our imagination on where everyone goes next.
At 9 seasons. Still arguably too long for any show but TWD was one of the rare ones that could have pulled it off without collapsing in quality.
Keep seasons 1-6 as they are. Wrap up the Saviours arc in 1 season instead of dragging it out too long as they did. Whisperers make up seasons 8. Commonwealth season 9. Just in time for Morgan to return from Texas with his newfound group to bolster Rick's ranks for a huge showdown (which could have spared us Rick leaving the show and the pain of Fear The Walking Dead which NOBODY was watching at that point...)
A man can dream at least 😮💨
When Rick supposedly died at the bridge. It went downhill to me after that.
Skip the whispers and reapers(?) stories and it would be fine. So maybe that would have saved a season.
Ricky and friends on alexandria seems like a good ending if the show ever got discontinued or something
It should end once the main issues are under control, I don't think we got enough closure
I think TWD would have been far more popular throughout it's complete run if the show was faithful to the comics. It would have been over in like four or five seasons, but that's not a bad thing imho. Of course they would have to make some changes to make it work on the screen but the plot should have stayed the same. Afterwards they could have gone into spinoffs, sequels, prequelst and what not. I wish they did that instead of what we got. Some characters who are not in the comics would be missing, but we never would have known about them and would not think that something was missing.
It should have ended when it did. But good. No one would have complaint about how long it ended up being if the stories were good, since S3 everything went downhill and the shithead of Gimple only did it worse with the Post S5 decisions and the fucking lot of pointless and downright bad spin-offs and cash grabs
If they kept carl alive like the comic the ending would have been a lot better + no rick/michonne sidetrack show
Just that alone would have made the latter seasons much better
I don't think it should have ended, but i think a couple of the spinoffs never should have existed.
How could you not have negan he’s one of the main protagonists in the whole thing
I need it to end with a Season 12 after the spinoffs are done, the characters from all the shows come together, and they either fight part of the CRM that still lives, or the French people with the mutated walkers
this. there’s no good answer for me bc i like some of the later characters that are introduced and the further development of the OGs. i just need rick grimes reunited with them all on screen 🥲
I need a Rick and Daryl bro hug
Or…a TWD movie!
Universal was suppose to do the Rick Grimes movies, they could give us a 3 hour movie concludes the franchise.
While I would love that, I think a movie would not do justice to all those characters. Another 20-ish-episode season could give more time for reunions and building new character relationships
i stopped season after rick died but man wha?? french with mutated walkers? wtf
Yes!!! This please !