After being on television for roughly 9 years, there is only so much material you can use to keep the show fresh. AMC’s “The Walking Dead” seems to have cracked the code with the Ninth Season of the popular zombie Drama.

A lot has happened in those 9 years. What started out as a small group of survivors fighting every day to stay alive, has evolved into constant conflict with other people. When we first met our ragtag group of survivors, we fell in love with each and every one of them.

The show today looks completely different from what it did in season 1. For example, from the original season, only 2 characters remain alive. Nobody is safe in this show, and in every interview you see with the actors, they always speak about “a call” that the showrunner gives them to inform them of their characters demise.

One controversial death that caused the show to spiral downhill was the death of Rick Grimes’ son, Carl.
Carl was such a prominent character and went through a lot in 8 seasons. From getting shot in the eye and to losing his mother, his character was the textbook definition of survivor. His death was incredibly sad, partly because we’ve watched Carl grow from a little boy into a young man over the past eight years, we saw him evolve from a child to a survivor.
Whenever we would see Carl, he was always the hope of the better future ahead. We has seen his character evolve so much in the 8 seasons that when he died, most of the viewers left along with the actor.

Now, let’s fast forward to season 9 big highlights.
Season 9 focuses on life after the war with Negan, the show’s most predominant antagonist. Negan is locked up at Alexandria, the home of the main characters, and the other communities are working in unison.

Prior to this season airing, Andrew Lincoln, the actor who has played main character Rick Grimes, informed everyone that he would be leaving the show after 9 years. In episode 5 of the shows ninth season, he gets hurt really bad and is believed to be dead.

However, Rick is not dead and is lifted off to an unknown location. It was also revealed that Rick Grimes would be getting his own solo movies premiering on AMC to finish out his story.
Most of the fans feel that losing Rick Grimes is completely insane and the show will never go on without him. Well the show must go on.

Lincoln’s Rick Grimes went on an emotional trip down memory lane, temporarily meeting dead characters like Hershel, played by Scott Wilson; Sasha, played by Sonequa Martin-Green and Shane; played by Jon Bernthal, in his close-to-death mind.

In brilliant fashion, they focused not only on Rick’s final journey within the TV series but also packed tremendous character interactions between Maggie and Michonne before Maggie and Negan into the episode.

The show wisely put an unexpected tag on the end of Rick’s last episode. Now, Rick’s daughter, Judith is all grown up after Rick had flown away in a helicopter launching the show into its narrative future taking place six-years later.

With the Mid-Season finale, The Walking Dead proved there may just be hope for the show, setting the final scene in a foggy graveyard, a true sense of the horror was on display. For the first time in years, the show felt scary and uneasy, and the cherry on top was the death of another main character.

The death was both shocking and terrifying, taking out another major character who fans had become considerably fond of.

If you haven’t tuned in yet to a mid-season finale, you should! The moment was shocking and true to The Walking Dead’s roots, proving that the AMC show can have a comeback. In fact, despite losing its core characters, new developments have shown The Walking Dead could be on its way to having its best season, ever.