‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9 Air Date, Plot, Characters: Is the Post-Apocalyptic Drama Dying?

“The Walking Dead” Season 9 is well underway and so far the post-apocalyptic drama is setting up the pivotal event which will herald the end of Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) journey. While fans have said that Lincoln’s absence will spark the end for the series, Lincoln himself is confident that the show will endure even without him leading it, Entertainment Weekly reported.

“There’s something beautiful in the original DNA of the show in that it is all about change,” Lincoln said. “The show will live on and it will continue to be great.” However, what’s currently happening is exactly the opposite as the ratings of “The Walking Dead” Season 9 have taken a nosedive since airing on Oct. 7.

According to Express, the ratings of the ninth installment took a hit as viewership is down by half compared to the previous season’s premiere. “The Walking Dead” Season 9 recorded an all-time low in ratings this installment as the Nielsen scale showed it got a measly 2.5, with the previous low at 2.7.

And since Maggie (Laura Cohen) is also slated to leave “The Walking Dead” Season 9, it’s expected that this installment will more than struggle to convince its longtime followers to keep watching. However, there’s still some hope for the post-apocalyptic drama as Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) might still be able to carry the series.

But this is a tall order as Rick has been the face of the franchise since day one. What’s more, Reedus himself admitted that Daryl is a character who’s not built to be a leader. Indeed, Daryl has been portrayed so far as someone who is highly capable of dealing with complicated scenarios but hasn’t been put in a situation where he’s forced to lead a large group of people. But the character doesn’t have a choice since Rick’s absence will inevitably occur in “The Walking Dead” Season 9.

It’s still unknown how exactly Rick is going to leave the series as the showrunners are keeping everything under wraps. Perhaps a clue might be dropped in the next episode of “The Walking Dead” Season 9 when it airs on Oct. 28.