The Walking Dead Still Has A Cliffhanger Problem

The Walking Dead Still Has A Cliffhanger Problem

The Walking Dead’s Princess-centric bonus episode proves the drama series still has issues with cliffhangers made evident by Glenn’s arc.

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The Walking Dead Still Has A Cliffhanger Problem

The Walking Dead season 10’s fourth bonus episode proves the AMC series still has an issue with cliffhangers. The episode, titled “Splinter,” primarily focuses on Princess, a comic book character introduced in the latter half of season 10. The eccentric survivor, played by Paola Lázaro, joined Eugene, Ezekiel, and Yumiko on their mission to meet Eugene’s long-distance contact from another community. While “Splinter” provides crucial insight into Princess’ backstory, the episode falls into the show’s long-running dependency on cliffhangers.

Princess made her Walking Dead debut in season 10’s “Look at the Flowers” before starring in what was originally meant to be the final two episodes of the season. After scaring away the horses used by Eugene, Ezekiel, and Yumiko, Princess attempted to find them new transportation in the form of bicycles. Aside from a minefield incident and a bicycle crash, the group, including Princess, made it to the trainyard, said to be Eugene’s rendezvous point with Stephanie, a mysterious woman from Commonwealth. At the trainyard, the foursome was accosted by a platoon of heavily armed soldiers donning white body armor. Before anything could be revealed about these Commonwealth soldiers, the episode ended in a cliffhanger.

Originally, the episode featuring the Commonwealth stormtrooper-like soldiers was meant to be the season 10 finale. AMC then ordered six bonus episodes to extend the milestone tenth season. Rather than heavily build on the bigger narrative, the bonus episodes have been character-focused, filling in some gaps in previous storylines. That said, there was hope the Princess-centric episode would finally add some insight into Commonwealth or at least lay the foundation for their presence in season 11. Instead, The Walking Dead hardly scratches the surface with the new community in “Splinter.” The series also presents yet another cliffhanger involving Princess and her new allies as they find themselves as hostages in the closing moments. By avoiding any resolution with the Commonwealth guards’ motivations and instead relying on the cliffhanger format, the series is continuing a long-running problem.

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It’s certainly not uncommon for shows to use cliffhangers as a way to keep viewers interested, especially in season finales. The method keeps fans wanted more and entices them to return season after season. The Walking Dead has always had some type of cliffhanger at season’s end, but in time, the method became too much of a crutch. In The Walking Dead season 6’s third episode, “Thank You,” Glenn got himself in a precarious situation, resulting in his unknown fate. A few episodes later, it was revealed Glenn crawled under a dumpster to evade a horde of walkers. This mini cliffhanger was made worse when his true death was overwhelmingly predicted at the hands of Negan in the season 6 finale. The villain ended up killing a member of Rick’s group, but the victim wasn’t revealed for another seven months.

Though Abraham served as Negan’s first victim, Glenn also met a brutal death in the season 7 premiere, much to fans’ expectations. Prolonging the inevitable was criticized by many viewers, especially with Glenn’s fakeout death with the dumpster. The repeated Commonwealth cliffhangers reveal The Walking Dead hasn’t learned from the reliance on resolving big moments in a timely manner. The series has been building toward the Commonwealth comic book arc for years. It’s been confirmed the community will be a focus of season 11, so there’s really no need to present Commonwealth ambiguously. “Splinter” could have effectively given Princess a backstory while also touching on the new community’s motives.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/walking-dead-princess-commonwealth-cliffhanger-not-resolve/

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