On this episode 83 of The Walking Dead Talk Through, Mark and I talk through The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode 1, the season premiere, which is titled A New Beginning. It was written by executive producer/showrunner Angela Kang and directed by executive producer Greg Nicotero. Mark loved it, and I liked it a lot. I didn't have any major problems with it, except that it was a bit long and felt like a setup episode. It reminded me a lot of the Season 4 premiere, 30 Days Without an Accident. That said, I enjoyed this episode a lot more than most of what we had on Fear.

We see Gregory at his most despicable, bringing booze to an alcoholic at his lowest point, and conspiring to kill Maggie, while she is with baby Hershel, then attempt to kill her with a knife. I understand why Maggie executed Gregory, but she pulled a page from Negan by doing it, providing no due process, circumventing the democracy she was just elected to rule.

As you can see from these rating and viewer charts, created by me, you'll see that the ratings and viewers are the worst since Season 1. Is it that people are leaving the show in droves, or are there other factors in play? Yes, viewers may not be returning, but there are several other reasons for a ratings decline. One is that AMC Premiere made the episode available a day early for subscribers of the service. Another is that it premiered a couple of weeks earlier than the last few seasons, so some may not have realized that the show was back. Another is that this trend is not isolated to The Walking Dead. Ratings are down, across the board. I do wonder if viewers will return with news of Andrew Lincoln's departure.

One of my weak sauces was how Tammy Rose shifting blame from Maggie. It felt like the writers were grinding the gears a bit, forcing that conversation to tell the story. I said that my reaction to that was to say "OK..." That might have sounded dismissive, or worse - sexist - but Tammy Rose's reaction to Maggie is completely understandable. I also buy her sentiment about the Saviors. It was the putting of those two things together that felt forced, not emotions that I didn't buy or the delivery. Connecting them together felt forced to me. If Earl had said the same things, I'd have the same reaction.

Please leave your feedback for The Walking Dead, Season 9 Episode 2, titled "The Bridge", by 6 PM Eastern/5 PM Central on Tuesday, October 16, 2018. The best way to submit feedback is on our Facebook group.