‘Dumbest Decision in Television History’ The Walking Dead Fans Agree on One Key Moment That ‘Killed the Franchise’

To this day, The Walking Dead still has an army of fans who love its zombie post-apocalyptic world more than any other and have been eagerly waiting for the second season of Dead City to arrive so that they can gobble up even more terrifying horde shenanigans in the Big Apple with Negan and Maggie. As popular as AMC's universe is, there are some fans who couldn't care less about it and feel that the show was "killed off" a long time ago due to one foolish move.

For many, The Walking Dead was peak Sunday night television viewing, drawing millions of viewers to their sofas in a bid to find out who lived or died in the show's next nail-baiting episode. However, by season 6, watchers were finding other things to do with their Sunday nights as numbers started to decline, with a noticeable slide around the time of the Season 7 premiere in 2016. For those who have watched that particular season premiere, it doesn't take a lot to work out that Glenn's horrific death at the hands of Negan was majorly responsible for some fans switching over the channel. Even though Glenn's demise was a contributing factor, it wasn't the biggest killer of the franchise, according to fans.

Walking Dead Fans Believe the Death of Carl ”Killed” the Franchise

In a reply to a Twitter/X post asking viewers what one key moment from The Walking Dead would they change, one fan came in with their answer, and it seemed many agreed with their opinion. User @cineqrimes stated that the one moment from the franchise that "killed" the show for them was getting rid of Carl. "Killing off Carl was the dumbest decision in television history and completely killed the franchise from the point forward." Carl, played by Chandler Riggs, was bitten by a walker in season 8 of The Walking Dead, and although the story development that followed was a great emotional arc for Rick, his death has gone down as one of the most unjust of the series.

Carl's death, which had become the light in the darkness for the series, marked the end of many viewers' interest in the show's continuation, especially due to the series straying so drastically from Robert Kirkman's original comic, which saw Carl outlive Rick to the very end and go on to thrive as a great leader. Following @cineqrimes' comment, other fans (or previous fans) of the show chimed in to say that they, too, would call Carl's death one of the worst decisions in The Walking Dead. It "made me quit watching the show", said one comment, while another said, "Agreed. Like, Negan had just killed 2 pivotal characters, and then killing Carl so soon was so unnecessary (money-hungry, executives).. All the while, Negan outlived him."

It seemed as though The Walking Dead looked to shock its viewers, but instead, the young man that viewers had seen grow up over 8 seasons came to a heartbreaking end and, for many, completely unwarranted. Fans who have stuck with the franchise through its ups and downs can watch Season two of The Walking Dead: Dead City on May 4, 2025, with Season 3 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premiering in the fall of 2025 on AMC and AMC+