Every audience has an unspoken agreement with the movies or TV shows they watch.
It is perhaps the most common narrative gadget in popular culture currently.
Cliffhangers have been a part of visual storytelling for a very long time.
They were common and often improperly used during film serials in the early days of Hollywood.
Thankfully, storytellers have become better at it.
You may like it or you may hate it, but you must consider it*.
And what doesThe Walking Deadsay about the TV-watching public?
Thats…a lot of cliffhangers.
Regardless, all abide by a basic logic.
Then why, at times, does their penchant for cliffhangers annoy us so much?
There are two big cliffhangers that come to mind whenThe Walking Deadis brought up, of course.
The first is the fate of Glenn Rhee in season six, episode three Thank You.
So… Glenns dead.
But the internet naturally assumed that might not be the end of Glenn.
That was a pretty ignoble, violent end for a main character on an admittedly ignoble, violent show.
Of course, several episodes laterThe Walking Deadreveals that yes, thats exactly what happened.
It wasnt Glenns guts that were ripped out but the dead Nicholas.
Theres that famous concept that infinite monkeys typing on infinite typewriters would eventually reproduce the works of Shakespeare.
Does this mean that the entire Glenn ruse was a failure?
Twists are still perfectly fine even if you figure them out.
Ive made that argument in defense ofMr.
But cliffhangers somehow feel different.
Thats where the problem lies.
And that leads to major cliffhanger number two: Negan.
Instead of opting against another Glenn experience,The Walking Deaddoubled down.
The season six finale, Last Day on Earth, did the unthinkable.
Fans argued, perhaps rightfully, that the cliffhanger robbed a great character of a powerful introduction.
Others railed against AMC for resorting to cliffhangers as a ratings ploy.
I was among those angry fans.
I was so disgusted byThe Walking Deads shenanigans that I silently vowed not to watch another episode.
Then something funny happened.
Time trudged along, life moved on, and we never found out who Negan killed.
At least we havent with just days to go until the season seven finale.
Because how could we not know.
It seemed like the days of Who Shot J.R. cliffhangers were over.
I would argue yes.
Right now the baseball playoffs are happening and fans like to track managers big decisions in games.
In the heightened environment of the playoffs, however, each decision is highly scrutinized.
And each decision is judged on two metrics.
Was it a smart idea, and 2.
And thats how I now feel aboutThe Walking Deads decision.
Was it a smart idea?
Based on my enthusiasm for the upcoming season, Im forced to concede that yes, yes it did.
Thats becauseThe Walking Deadhas somehow (and improbably) kept the outcome of the cliffhanger a secret.
Its also because throughout 43 previous cliffhangers, the show has proven that it wont lie to us.
Dont forget to listen to Den of GeeksWalking Deadpodcast,No Room in Hell!
