You People Need To Stop

I've been a part of "The Walking Dead" fandom from the first episode that premiered three and a half years ago up to the mid-season finale that aired this past weekend (and to episodes that haven't aired yet or haven't been written and filmed yet). Like a lot in this fandom, as soon as I heard this show was actually going to hit the airwaves, my excitement grew until bursting. And then the premier aired and it was everything we had hoped for and so much more. It was groundbreaking. It was thrilling. It was a weekly character driven show that involved the zombie apocalypse as a backdrop and a major cast member. Minutes after the show aired, fan sites and message boards popped up like weeds to discuss each episode in minute detail and speculate on everything from why the characters acted and reacted the way they did to what could possibly happen next. In reading these fan sites and message boards, I found that most of the time, this fandom is a pretty great bunch of people. But, and I say this with a heavy heart, as with any fandom, there are those that make me regret being lumped into the same category as them. So bear with me while I vent because this has been bothering me for quite some time.

(Everyone complains, including me, but holy hell people, it's a television show, its easier to change the channel if you're that perturbed about it.)

 1. The Complainers with their weekly battle cry of "not enough zombie kills!" It doesn't seem to matter just how many zombies are killed in any specific episode, there just never seems to be enough for them. And if the body count is high, they complain that the manner in which these zombies were dispatched wasn't inventive, gruesome or water-cooler-talk worthy enough. My response to this comes in two parts. First, if all you want to see is a bunch of zombies die in incredible ways, play a video game. There are dozens out there that feature the annihilation of the shambling dead and you'll be able to have a little more control over how these things are killed. Second, without the character development episodes you dislike so much, you wouldn't experience the anticipating and the edge-of-your-seat-suspense of the what's-going-to-happen-next feeling. In order to achieve that particular emotion, you have to care - at least a little - about the characters. How this happens is character development - learning about characters over a chunk of time and watching them grow and change into the characters you now love and send out a weekly plead for their safe passage to the next episode. If the major and medium and minor players were nothing but zombie killing drones, the suspense would be gone. The suspense is there because of character development - end of story. Bitching about it won't change the show's format.

(I'm just going to sit here and try to reign in my temper, because you people just seriously need to stop. I mean it. Knock it off already.)

                                                      

2. The Shippers with the idea that they think they know what will work better for the show than the creators, the writers, the directors, the producers and the actors. Most of the shippers want relationships between certain characters - the largest and most vocal shipper relationship is Daryl and Carol (a verbally abusive guy for the most part and a battered woman - yeah, that will work with no real problems). Other pairings I've seen shipped include Rick and Beth, Daryl and Glenn, Daryl and Rick, Daryl and Michonne, Carl and Beth - there seems to be a trend centering around their desire to see Daryl in a romantic relationship of any kind. Stop it. If you have your way, it'll turn into a hybrid of "Passions" and the "Dating Game" with zombies in the background causing wacky hijinks and mayhem, and cease being the intense character driven show we've all come to love. Be satisfied with the relationships that have spawned naturally (Glenn and Maggie, Tyreese and Karen, etc.) and content with the knowledge that those involved in the writing process know what they're doing. If they didn't have some sort of clue, the show wouldn't have increased in episode number for three straight seasons and we wouldn't be barreling toward the end of season four with a fifth season already green-lit for writing, filming and production.

(As much as I LOVE Daryl, he does not carry the entire show - there are other characters just as worthy as him - though not many.)

                                                          

3. The Criers with the dire threats of lost viewership if one or more characters they love end up a part of the "Talking Dead - In Memoriam" segment. Are we watching the same series? Because I distinctly remember learning very early on in the first season that no is is safe - not Rick, not Daryl, not Michonne - no one is safe from death. Even with this knowledge, you're going to tell everyone that will listen, "if so-and-so dies, I'm going to stop watching the show." Are you kidding me? Each character is a part of a larger ensemble cast. If a character death furthers the plot and character development, why are you complaining - especially when you know the golden rule for this series? Hoe many major, medium and minor character deaths have there been in three and a half seasons? I did a little research and some counting and I have the answer. Thirty-five, and that's not including the nameless people in the Atlanta, Prison and Woodbury groups or the random single episode player that were only added as filler - add another thirty to forty so far for them. And yet you still make threats. It truly boggles my mind. (Of course, I make jokes about the deaths of certain characters to friends because it amuses them, but I'm not going to stop watching the show because a beloved character to me is shuffled off the mortal coil.) And if you're really that type of fan, good riddance. We don't need or want you anyway. **Side note, for all the people threatening to riot of Daryl Dixon dies, there's a quote from Robert Kirkman during an interview he did about the show that I'm going to share with you: "I get a lot of hate mail every time I kill anybody in the comic, which always aggravates me because it's like, 'it's been a hundred issues! Don't you know this by now? What are you doing?" Kirkman told reporters assembled after AMC's The Walking Dead panel earlier today at San Diego Comic-Con International. "But specifically about the Daryl think - that fan reaction is going to get him killed. I feel like it's a dare. Like, 'Oh, really? You're gonna riot? We'll see... we'll see. No one is safe." -- -- -- That being said, if you want Daryl to live a little longer, knock it off. If he dies, you have no one to blame but yourself.

(There's always those people that like to ruin if for everyone else because they just can't contain their excitement.)

                                                       

4. The Spoilers that can't ever keep their mouth shut about anything relating to the show and will most times live-Tweet and live-Facebook everything, including their reactions. Posts include, but are not limited to, exclamations of "I can't believe they just killed so-and-so! Heartbroken!" 

Now, spoiler etiquette is a widely debated topic on the internet and with good reason. In this day and age, there are people that are astounded that there are those that aren't glued to their television screens when certain shows air. The truth is, not everyone has little to no responsibility. Some people have families; some people are having rough economic times and had to cancel their cable, satellite or whatever television subscription service they had in order to save money; some people work really insane hours and just aren't available to watch episodes as they air. Life is life and if you're a true friend, you'll be considerate enough to at least keep the major spoilers to yourself.

Even with the hotly debated spoiler topic, can we at least agree that major plot points and character deaths are spoilers that should not be idly thrown out into the internet universe? 

In my research of spoiler etiquette, there's been a lot of debate on how long people should wait until they start discussing things openly (either in person or on social media) what happened on the show without having to worry about spoiling it for anyone. One website proclaims the next morning - which I don't totally agree with (see above reasons for why people missed the show to begin with). One site (that I can't seem to track down a second time) decided 48 hours is a good time to wait. I can get behind 48 hours. The responsibility stops belonging to the person that has seen the show and starts being the responsibility of the person that hasn't seen the show. Some kind souls will wait up to a week to start talking about it, which is awesome for them, but I don't have that kind of self-control. Most of my friends (who surprisingly enough aren't able to watch "Walking Dead" as it airs for various reasons) know that I will answer spoiler questions if asked, but I always make sure before answering if they really want to know and just how much they want to know - just so I don't give away too much information.

There are more than those four fan types, but these are the major ones that irritate me when it comes to "The Walking Dead." I'm sure there are more, but they are less bothersome to me than this lot. Feel free to comment on which types of fans irk you the most and we'll commiserate together in the obliviousness that is the self-absorbed human.