I’m an addict, I’m addicted to tv-series. Not the regular ones and no comedy, the ones that intrigue me, the ones that make me think about subjects. Monday night was the start of a new season of this show I’ve watched for years now. I remember seeing the first episode and I was shocked by the horror of the creatures that are a threat to mankind. I’m talking about The Walking Dead. At first these zombies creeped me out but after watching the show for a while you start to get used to the gore that’s being displayed. Deep down you realise it’s all fake and I must say that the make-up artists did an extremely good job at making things so realistic. Still everyone watching the show is aware of the fact that these creatures aren’t real.
I have a love hate relationship with this show. The storyline is often thrilling and the suspense is killing me just like the cliffhangers. I’m not the faint-hearted type and I enjoy a tacky horror movie at times but it’s different with this show. The people are ‘real’, the situation is ‘real’, it’s a new world with a new enemy, the zombies. Mankind needs to find ways to deal with them and new ways to survive. Through each season the protagonists were able to, made new friends and although there is a constant threat, they would find ways to pick up the pieces, move on and start building again. So far -watching six seasons- it has been shocking at times, people died in horrid ways, but the bad guys were always defeated by the good guys.
Last night I watched the start of the seventh season and was appalled by what was shown. It was not the gore, it was the interaction between the whole group of protagonists and the peronality called ‘Negan’ leader of a gang, who had taken them into captivity. It was the behaviour of this one manipulative, cruel, sadistic and ruthless person, an inhumane dictator, and even that doesn’t cover it. What was shown was some of the most upsetting images I’ve ever watched on TV. Negan hit one of the protagonists on the head with a baseball bat, so hard that his eye pops out. A few moments later he completely bashes his skull until nothing is left but a bloody mess. This was his second victim shown in extreme outrageously grotesque detail.
When the show was over I was left in shock, going over things again and again. I didn’t want to watch this show anymore, they’ve crossed that line to me and I really don’t understand how it’s possible that they show this on TV when other less cruel, less violent images are banned or censored straight away. I’ve looked up reviews to see how other people feel about this -as at first I thought it was just me- but most of them share my sentiments and thoughts. I’m left with a bleak overall feeling not sure what to make of it…