The Walking Dead’s Downfall: The Pivotal Episode That Changed Everything

The Walking Dead’s status as an all-time great survival series is beyond reproach, but it’s also widely accepted that the show fell off big time during its later seasons. While it picked up a little during the home straight, a string of episodes between seasons 6 and 8 made many longtime fans switch off.

While there are several episodes of The Walking Dead that made viewers quit the series, if we look closer we can pinpoint a single moment which began its downward trajectory. This episode definitively turned the show’s central protagonist Rick Grimes into a different character, who was less forgivable and harder to identify with.

Once Rick crossed the Rubicon in season 6 episode 12, there was no turning back, and we’d never think of his entire group the same way again. While it’d be a little harsh to place it in the category of a terrible episode from a once-great show, “Not Tomorrow Yet” burst the dam and brought 

Deep into season 6, the series reached a point of no return, pushing our sympathy for its most important character beyond limits we were willing to tolerate. While some viewers may point to the earlier “Dumpstergate” episodes or season 7’s premiere as the beginning of the show’s decline, 

But the fake-out of Glenn Rhee’s death and the moment of his eventual demise didn’t fundamentally alter the trajectory of the show, as infuriating and upsetting as both of these plot points were. On the other hand, the way Rick Grimes behaved in this episode was a betrayal of his essential characteristics.

As Andy from the Hilltop told him, “The Saviors, they’re scary, but those pricks got nothing on you.” Character development is, of course, critical to the success of any longrunning series. But developing your main character beyond recognition is a mistake you don’t come back from.

Andrew Lincoln’s best Rick Grimes performances in The Walking Dead generally portrayed the character as a true hero and inspirational leader, who earned our profound sympathies despite his flaws and occasionally disturbing actions. There was always a justification for whatever he did, and his most extreme measures were taken in direct retaliation for something worse.

That is, until “Not Tomorrow Yet”, when Rick decided to preemptively attack the Saviors, justifying his decision by telling his group, “This is how we eat.” Yet, nothing about this decision was prepared by preceding episodes. The group was eating well at the time thanks to their alliance with the Hilltop.

Morgan Jones proposed a less violent alternative that made more sense, but Rick laid down the law to the group, under the phony guise of a democratic discussion. More than anything he’d done before, this decision dehumanized him – a development that was reinforced by his general demeanor throughout the rest of the episode.

If “Not Tomorrow Yet” permanently robbed Rick Grimes of his humanity, then things only got worse for The Walking Dead from there. If Glenn Rhee’s miraculous survival following his apparent death at the hands of walkers was bad, then the end of the season 6 finale was beyond the pale.

The series continued to go downhill after this cliffhanger, which was resolved with the unspeakably brutal death of Glenn at the start of season 7. Glenn’s bizarre survival story in season 6 could have been forgiven, were it not for killing him off this way just a few episodes later.

After that bombshell, the rest of The Walking Dead season 7 was fraught with inconsistent writing, terribly misguided character twists, and offputting pacing problems. Season 8 wasn’t much better, and got rid of one of the show’s most beloved characters, Carl Grimes, in the worst possible manner. It may have improved in subsequent seasons, but the damage was already done.

Laura reminded us all why she’s the Queen of Port Charles.

In the process of giving Dalton what he deserved, Laura made things so much worse for herself and her career on General Hospital. Now, GH fans are reacting to this veteran character’s iconic slap.

Key Takeaways

During the November 17 episode of GH, Election Day in Port Charles took a turn when Dalton (Daniel Goddard) began taunting the mayoral candidate about her grandson supposedly trashing his lab. The two let tempers fly right in front of the people of Port Charles at the polling place, and when Laura (Genie Francis, who appeared on the latest episode of 

The slap may have just destroyed any chance Laura had at remaining mayor, but it was something Dalton certainly deserved, and GH fans across X (formerly Twitter) agree.

“If I saw Laura slap Weirdo Professor I would not only vote for her I would make sure my whole family did too,” one fan admitted, while another wrote, “Hurricane Laura is activated.”

Another fan joked, “Laura slapped the shit out of her son Cane from Y&R,” referring to Francis playing Goddard’s mother on The Young and the Restless.

Amidst all the slapping GIFS — including this epic one of Laura slapping Dalton:

— several fans wondered what this meant for Laura’s campaign. “It was badass of Laura [to] put Dalton in his place but at same time, it might cost her election and…her freedom,” one said, while another theorized, “Is Dalton going after Laura so that she’ll lose the election because he knows that’s what Sidwell wants or because he’s just irrational?”

The election results may be the least of Laura’s problems as General Hospital spoilers for November 18 tease a fuming Sidwell (Carlo Rota). He’s not very happy about how things turned out for Rocco (Finn Carr), and odds are, Dalton will be in for much worse from him than what Laura gave him.