Season 7 of AMC’s The Walking Dead hasn’t been terribly exciting so far. It’s had its moments, to be sure, but a lot of it has been rather lacklustre and underwhelming. Part of the reason for that is due to the writers giving us extended episodes that don’t particularly use their extra minutes all that well. There’s nothing wrong with delivering an outing that’s longer than usual, but don’t waste the additional time on needless subplots or characters that fans don’t really care about.
Whether or not this will be rectified in the future remains to be seen, but we sure hope it is, as we’re learning today that the next three episodes will all be extended. The midseason premiere, which is titled “Rock in the Road” and airs on February 12th, will run for 73 minutes, while the next two will be 66 minutes and 68 minutes, respectively.
That brings the total number of extended outings this season to 6, as “Service,” “Swear” and “Sing Me a Song” all ran longer than usual. We’re not necessarily complaining, but again, there’s no point in lengthening the runtime if it doesn’t add any value to the story (although, the extra time for commercials probably has AMC thinking otherwise). Without knowing too much about what’s set to go down in these next three episodes, it’s hard to say if they’ll warrant the extra minutes, but we have a feeling that things may improve.
With an “all-out” war about to break out between Rick and Negan, season 7.5, or 7B as some call it, is sounding like it’ll turn things around as it barrels towards an explosive finale. A recent promo showed us Rick gathering the troops for the upcoming battle and with the promise of some “riveting” action to come, we can safely say that we’re excited for the return of The Walking Dead.
What do you think, though? Will you be tuning in when the show finds itself back on our screens next month, or have you already given up on it? Sound off in the usual place and weigh in with your thoughts!
