Are the Comics the Problem with 'The Walking Dead'?

The Walking Dead wrapped up its seventh season Sunday, with an action-packed finale where a CGI tiger mauled two Saviors to death as Rick and the rest of Alexandria finally clashed against Negan and the Saviors. It's an unwritten television rule that any effective use of a CGI tiger means said episode of television isn't a total disaster. So even though The Walking Dead didn't address Gregory leaving the Hilltop, or whatever Heath has been doing for the past half season (short answer: 24 Legacy), the series wrapped up season seven on an encouraging note.

But on the whole, make no mistake: This was the worst year The Walking Dead has had in its seven-year run. Critics weren't kind to the show from the outset, with two beloved characters beaten to death with a barbed-wire-covered baseball bat after an unnecessary cliffhanger at the end of the previous season. It wasn't that the moment itself was terrible — Negan's introduction is an infamous moment in the comics, and should be faithfully adapted — but the show lingered on the gore and glorified Negan's bravado. It was unremitting torture porn.

Now, it would be one thing if the critics hated the show but it was still a hit — look at, of all things, Netflix's Iron Fist. However, viewers responded to the dip in quality by not showing up. The series hit its lowest ratings in years, which is the first sign The Walking Dead might actually be vulnerable in the long term. In other words, AMC might've ended season seven on a promising note, but they've still got work to do heading into season eight.

Read the rest of this article at Mic.com.