SPOILERS FOR WALKING DEAD SEASON SIX FINALE HERE
Imagine your favorite roller coaster. That anticipation you feel as the coaster click clacks its way up. Remember those butterflies swirling in your stomach. The coaster reaches the peak, you see that dip…you open your mouth to yell or scream…
Now imagine that is all that happens. No pay off. Nothing. The roller coaster stops. You’re ordered to get off.
Thank you. Come again.
That was the feeling I got at the end of The Walking Dead’s Season Six finale.
There was a lot to like in this episode, chief among them Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). He was that awesome blend of charisma and menace that some of the best antagonists are made of. And his Saviors were perfectly set up as a threat for the first time in the show.
Negan having all the major characters from the show lined up and on their knees, brandishing that bat was awesome to see. My eyes were glued to the screen and my heart was thumping. That roller coaster was heading up the slope…
And then, it stopped with a terrible cliffhanger.
Cliffhangers can be tricky. A good one gives you a satisfying conclusion, but also leaves one thread open to tantalize you. The Empire Strikes Back is a great example. There was finality to that film, but left one story line open. The heroes survived the Empire “Striking Back” (See what I did there?) but Han Solo was gone.
That roller coaster had it’s pay off, but made you want to come back again.
The Walking Dead’s conclusion lacked any sort of pay off. What was the reason for it? Were they too scared to take a chance and kill a major character right then and there? Was it a naked ratings grab for next season?
This isn’t the first time they did this. Back in Season Three, they put off the final confrontation with the Governor to the middle of Season Four. They teased a reformed Governor only to drop it and do the confrontation that was needed at the end of Season Three. They essentially stretched out a story line more than they needed to.
Will they do the same thing here?
The roller coaster of The Walking Dead is on the fritz. I’m not really sure if I want to get back on.