The Social Media Discussion of The Walking Dead
Posted by Rachael A. Murphy
On Sunday, March 31st, the AMC network premiered the Season 9 finale of the popular zombie television show The Walking Dead. The closing episode follows the arduous trek of residents from The Kingdom to Hilltop and Alexandria during the series’s first blizzard. The finale comes one episode after 3 regular and recurring characters were killed off, with the new female villain Alpha chopping off their heads and impaling them on sticks.
With the absence of main protagonist Rick and a time-jump of several years, Season 9 arguably leads to the most eventful season narrative. Despite this dramatic shift, statistics show a downward trend in viewership for the show. As Variety reports, “The Season 9 finale of ‘The Walking Dead’ was the lowest-rated finale the show has ever had.” Social media discussions may confirm a negative outlook.
The overall sentiment is 62.1% negative.
However, this measurement may be unreliable since the term “The Walking Dead” is sometimes coded as negative. For example, Twitter user Kirsten (below) lists the show’s finale as a highlight of her week, but the post is coded as negative. Nevertheless, others, including Twitter user John (below), criticize the show’s plot.
As the trend chart shows, the conversation has died down and is expected to remain low in the series’s off-season, until the show returns in October for Season 10.
