On Halloween night in 2010, “The Walking Dead” (TWD) made its TV debut on AMC, titled “Days Gone By.” Twelve years later, TWD would release its last episode, with the series having amounted to 177 episodes over 11 seasons and amassing a fanbase of millions of viewers around the world.

TWD took place in a post-apocalyptic world and explored the aftermath of a zombie takeover, following the characters in the months and years thereafter. As time drags on in this world, however, fear of the undead “walkers” is superseded with fear of fellow survivors, and war wages between the rivaling human hierarchies.

A few years ago, my two siblings decided to binge TWD for fun, after a friend had vehemently advised it. By the fourth and fifth seasons, I was asking for updates and sitting down to watch episodes with them, too. Filing into the living room to binge episodes became a tradition we upheld for months.

Following the finale of the original series, the TWD universe would expand and live on, with six additional spinoff series based on the separate and individual endeavors of the original characters. 

Though the series has largely moved on from its glory days, fans, myself and my siblings included, have kept the same grievances over the original series, especially pertaining to the unnecessary and seemingly forced longevity of it. In the nearly three years since TWD officially concluded, the fanbase is still arguing if the show should have ended much sooner.

While fans will commemorate the series on its fifteenth birthday, many will also celebrate the certain death of “The Walking Dead.”

Categories: Arts & Entertainment