The Collapse & Sunk Cost Fallacy of The Walking Dead

[@Windenberg]

I think FEAR was a big mistake, AMC should have increased the budget for the main show

[@brianachim2670]

Fear is a horrible mistake that forever tainted the franchise

[@thoughtproject]

I never even touched Fear, and I don't plan on it lmao

[@brianachim2670]

@@thoughtproject Very wise, Alicia Clark is like the only good thing in the entire series.

[@christianbrown7046]

You know, I actually thought about that too. What if we got some of the better FEAR characters introduced in the main show and had them become beloved characters in TWD instead of having their own show? John Dorie, Madison, Morgan, Dwight, Daniel all would've been excellent additions around Rick, Daryl, Carl, and Michonne and some of the plot points, like Troy causing issues w the ranch and the group trying to deliver care packages for those struggling would've been a breathe of fresh air. They went wayyyy off the ledge in fear tho. S1-4 was good not great, but everything after that has been terrible.

[@glaceonbread1311]

@@thoughtproject I would argue that season 3 of Fear is better than any of the seasons of the main show except the first one.

[@chawk678]

There was one simple fix to make most of this shows issues be insignificant, kill Abraham in the season 6 finale. Season 7 opens with Negan turning to kill Glenn in same way and reason, Darryl punching Negan. Oh, btw spoilers

[@thoughtproject]

THIS.

[@chaoticfangurl567]

that would've really worked with making the audience feel like Glenn was safe only to open s7 with his death.

[@chawk678]

@chaoticfangurl567 exactly

[@mattnar3865]

I used to wake up early to watch TWD before school, didn't even bother finishing the show and probably never well.

[@thoughtproject]

I don't blame you.

[@jeffreymoses7131]

You not missing a thing mate

[@xJDMWaRRi0Rx]

**it happens bro. honestly might as well finish it if theres nothing else to do though. Its like seeing a friend you havent seen in a long time. Sure youve heard what theyve been up to over the years, but theres nothing like actually sitting down and talking (watching) about it

[@retrowoohoo468]

Called it quits after Carl died in the show and from my knowledge from comics he’s still alive. Not sure of the rest since I moved on.

[@thoughtproject]

The worst mistake they ever made was killing off Carl. Such a terrible move.

[@NeeNee_B.]

I checked out the episode after, hoping they would make him immune or something lol

[@emeeleah9521]

the show died with him and i will forever stand by that

[@fenixfelixx]

🥱 Coral the most overrated piece of drift wood ever.

@@fenixfelixxsame as you?

[@joshuacampbell289]

If you can realize that it was so good at one time that when it was “ bad” it was still pretty decent compared to everything else

[@thoughtproject]

I can agree with that. When I say "bad", I mean it was just a far cry from the show's glory days. Still not great by any means though.

[@MrMcadams101]

@@thoughtprojectif you can look past the repetition of plot ideas and understand that that’s likely how it would be in reality. A constant fight against humans. There will always be some new community to fight. It happens in reality to this day. We are on the verge of Ww3 because countries can’t coexist. And Eventually zombies will just become an inconvenience instead of terrifying monsters. That’s why they’re now in the background.

[@Z0mbieShock]

The show pretty much lives and dies with Rick for me, and I did the exact same thing as you with the sunken cost fallacy. I do think the Whisperers arc is underrated (It was fresh, it went back to focusing on walkers, the look was cool, Samantha Morton is always great, and it was somewhat unpredictable) but everything before and after that pretty much since season 5 was awful. I'm only going to watch the Rick show and that's it, the writings gonna be bad for it but It'll be worth it just to see him cause he's such a great character.

[@thoughtproject]

Couldn't agree more with everything you said!

[@UkrRusSlavic]

man ngl in the future that Rick show was probably even worse than S8 of GoT

[@brendanyasuk8483]

loved the parts about the sunk-cost fallacy. over-saturation of our favorite entertainment franchises is becoming an increasingly common thing and it’s weaved in there to the emphasize watching everything so you can understand every little thing. great insight and great video

[@thoughtproject]

My guy

[@cliff402ful]

I sometimes lie awake at nigh wondering how different The Walking Dead could've been if HBO got their hands on it.

[@thoughtproject]

Such a great "what if" scenario

[@valentino3191]

They were offered to develop it first and turned it down, so AMC developed it. HBO seriously screwed that up and probably would have made it a lot more true to the graphic novels?

[@senorpickle3297]

So sad to think about. I watched everyyy new episode with my family and eventually went to just my mom and dad. Then eventually my mom just watching a couple episodes here and there because we all didn’t care. THEN suddenly about 4 years later I randomly asked my mom, “wait wtf happened to the walking dead show??” At that point I didn’t even know Carl died and etc etc as I stopped watching sooo long ago. still kind of a fan and hyped for the Rick show!

[@thoughtproject]

Same here! The Rick show is one I'm actually looking forward to.

[@TheMightyCookieShow]

My wife and I religiously watch this show I think all the way up till season 6 what was it the episode where Negan comes back after the season Cliffhanger thing and ends up taking out Abraham and Glenn I think after we saw that we were pretty much checked out we didn't watch anything again until Rick Grimes his episode where he left the show and we didn't pick it up after that either so that was really the kind of last thing for us and we were good at that point

[@thoughtproject]

Sounds like you did yourself a favor lmao. The rest has been mediocre at best

[@TheMightyCookieShow]

@@thoughtproject that's what I hear.

[@kuromil5127]

I agree with a lot of what you said, except I do like that Rick didn’t die. It opened up the world. I was more irritated that the following seasons were filled with characters that were boring and dull. Nothing like the original cast that had well rounded and developing characters with deep stories

[@thoughtproject]

Fair enough! I just wish they did expanded sooner. I wasn't happy with the ending of The Ones Who Live, it felt very rushed and contrived

[@kuromil5127]

@@thoughtproject I personally liked the happy ending to TOWL but I agree, it did feel a little congested and rushed. I read a few more articles about ep6 and found out it was because they ran out of budget lol.

[@snakeyman5560]

I remember everyone debating if Glenn had died beside that dumpster the day after that cliffhanger of an episode, it was a Friday, and you couldn't escape the debate. In one single day, on my way to school I watched people on the train and public transit put their phones in their pockets to talk to total strangers and debate what had happened, I overheard the teachers in the teachers lounge debating it, every one in school was talking about it, people were writing on the white boards "Glenn is dead!" or the inverse, people who would never gamble were making bets, when me and my friends went to McD's for lunch I heard the employees talking about it and we even spoke briefly to a couple near us about it. I remember walking past bars and restraunts that Friday to get home from school and it was more of the same. I remember thinking that this would be a moment in pop culture that would stand the test of time and that we'd soon be sick of seeing cliff hangers like that judging by how much buzz and hype was generated by that scene would soon enough be attempted to be imitated by every tv show, book, comic, and movie. But instead it will not be.

[@ebygz4755]

It seems that exact same thing happened to everyone. Got disappointed at carl's death, stopped watching after rick's death and went back on season 11C to see how it would end. I'm not watching the spin off's tho, season 11's quality felt like a betrayal

[@pmiller7148]

I remember watching seasons 7 and 8 as they aired then reading peoples post-episode thoughts via youtube comments...and people were so disappointed and sometimes disgusted at what they had just seen. It was all such a bummer

[@crusader2112]

It’s a shame Frank Darabont didn’t get to make his version of the show, but for a while the show was still great, yet somewhere along the way the magic died. If anyone’s interested you should check out the comics they’re based on. Really good, Telltale’s Walking Dead and the Novels are pretty good too. P.S. I haven’t watched the spin-offs and I don’t ever plan to.

[@cxlesstial]

used to have a tradition with my dad where he’d let me stay up late on sunday nights to watch the new walking dead episode and the talking dead segment that came after it. my entire family gathered around for the first season 7 episode and i was so gutted over how glenn and abraham’s deaths were handled that i put the show down for almost half a decade. rewatched the entire damn thing in 2022/early 2023 and will probably be watching the spinoffs as well 😭 it truly went to shit after season six.

[@themoongateofficial]

The walking dead has fallen far from the great legacy that was the first 3 seasons with 4 and 5 having bits and pieces of perfection, that being said I still stuck it through to the end and I’m gonna watch the Daryl show whenever it’s off amc plus

[@thoughtproject]

My thoughts exactly.

[@alyazumi3197]

While others said season 9-11 were good, I just don't have the motivation to watch it anymore. I lost it when Carl died, and quit after Rick left. Heck, even my mom, who was the one to convince me to watch the show, stopped watching when the two were gone. I couldn't even care less when the spinoffs came out. TOWL while people loved it, for me, it would never be the same without Carl. That's why, TWD is dead to me.

[@ByGoneArchive]

Great video! I started watching your channel from the Last of Us videos, but I’m really enjoying the new ones you’re putting out as well. Excited to see what comes next, and looking forward to seeing the channel grow

[@thoughtproject]

Thank you so much for the support!

[@jiggycalzone8585]

You nailed it with the comment that the execs could not (and still cant) quit while they were ahead I dipped out around the first few episodes of season 5- frustrated by the 'false sanctuary' loop and the already troubled pacing of the show. Many years later, Ive returned to the show- picked up from where I left and finished it off on streaming. I will say the pacing issues and boomerang stories are FAR more forgivable on a streaming platform where you dont have to wait a week+ for the more interesting story to pick back up. While it noticeably became weaker and weaker writing-wise, it was relatively easy and enjoyable enough to stick it through until the end of season 11. In hindsight Wrath (S8 finale) is where the series needed to end narratively. And in my mind thats the true ending of the show. I saw the first episode of dead city and was less than impressed that it readily retconned Negans new family and Maggies hard-earned forgiving of Negan - but beyond it Im just not really invested anymore and throwing *multiple* spinoff TV shows at me isnt going to work- just makes everything feel more gimmicky

[@chrisedwards8668]

Your absolutely right about the sunk fallacy cost . After season five I stopped enjoying the show , but I continued to watch the show to see what happened to the characters . It the only show that I've ever watched that had me shouting at the TV . All the characters made such stupid decisions that were totally out of character and unrealistic . In the end I starting cheering for the zombies as I just wanted everyone to die so I could give up on the show .

[@samanthaclarkson2641]

Me and my sister and dad used to get so hype about watching this show. It was one of the only shows we spent money on to watch early. I don’t when we stopped watching but I eventually finished the series with my old roommate. My mom stopped watching during the Negan arc, talking about how there was no hope in the show anymore, not enough positive points. I remember the head pike scene was when I reached that point myself. I was sick of the younger characters being killed off. It totally destroyed any hope for a future civilization and also ruined a lot of character development, as Carol went back from being a wife to Ezekiel to her old self. It stopped feeling like there was hope for the future of humanity and particularly for our group of survivors.

[@hix9306]

I stopped watching late In the season after around 9 after catching it on tv at season 3 . I will say the series is worth watching now all the way through where you don’t have to wait for the next episode. I went back and watched 1-11 . The Daryl show , the ones who live and watching fear now . I’m back enjoying the series again

[@wadewinstonwilson3294]

The mistake was alexandria!! Seeing their survival then their complacency behind borders killed the show. The survival was what drew crowds seeing them become housewives is boring

[@illbetheone779]

The time I stopped watching was when Negan said "Rick, go get my axe." Negan makes Grimes grovel. Glen, Abraham dying hurt. (Losing Herschel hurt more). Jeffery Dean Morgan is fantastic, watched KZbin videos of his scenes.

[@DrewDragoon]

Forcing viewers to watch spin-off shows to get closure on the main characters is absolutely diabolical, horrendous writing, gimmicky beyond all imagination and totally unforgivable.

[@brianachim2670]

Wait you can’t keep a show going forever? Who said that?! Lol just kidding yeah I used to love the show and franchise but the terrible writing decisions, bad CGI, forced writing of characters leaving, massive built ups but disappointing pay offs, ridiculous deaths for shock value, straggling of the budget, spoilers, announcements of which characters were safe for the spin offs, too many characters and overstretched arcs hurt me as a fan too much. I’m going to watch Summit and that’s it.

[@thoughtproject]

Summit is the only one I'm KIND OF excited for tbh. The other two feel forced as hell, but hey, I'm still going to watch em. Thanks for your support!

[@brianachim2670]

@@thoughtproject You’re welcome and yeah Maggie and Negan teaming up in New York somewhere in the future and Daryl washing up in France are incredibly forced, I don’t view them as canon. Summit actually makes sense and will have the CRM, you know the superpower that will eventually kill everyone if they aren’t stopped and yet somehow the group is still stupidly unaware they took Rick or even exist.🤣

[@rokassan]

I stopped in Season 7. Season 1 was the absolute best.

[@thoughtproject]

Agreed. Season 1 was so immersive.

[@lilymccann5329]

Most of the repeated stuff was unavoidable since it was in the comics, so I don’t really get the wash rinse repeat thing. My issue was losing that circle of hard-earned family I’d grown to love. It officially ended with Carl for me. I watch the first six seasons on the Roku TWD channel and I guess that has to be good enough for me. I’m a zombie fan first, so I’ve watched literally all the zombie shows. TWD is most beloved out of all of them. I watched it from that premiere night and so I tried to finish it, but that finale was unbearable.

[@ddyert]

The day they announced Rick’s departure was coincidentally the same day I bought like 15 walking dead action figures lol. I stayed a fan, still am today

[@StockImageOfaRat]

I love the show(I also got hooked on the pilot and is as of now my third favorite show behind breaking bad and better call Saul) and finished it recently but it definitely fell off in terms of quality after the first episode of season 7, it’s not even because Glenn got beaten down like Mark. Tbh I love negan but the show should’ve finished either after season 8 needed or the end of season 5 because the show definitely had an opportunity to finish it off at both of those points.

[@thoughtproject]

Well said.

[@Techgnome21]

My personal nail in the coffin came at the end of season 6. I was tired of the show's rinse and repeat formula. New characters lacked depth, deaths were just for shock value and had no weight. I don't see myself ever getting back into the show. Or the spin offs. I might give the graphic novels a try.

[@MAGAWillSaveTheWorld]

The Ones Who Live is the best walking dead since season 2, at minimum.

[@thoughtproject]

It's been pretty good so far, I have to admit.

[@Lraimondo12]

I gave up with the return of the governor hahahah i can't believe this is still going, i used to love the show but grew tired of the repetitive template for every episode always finishing in a cliffhanger after dragging artificial conflict and walkers scenes that didn't felt dangerous, bc all of the characters were beasts by that point...sad how greed can ruin potential.. Also, Andrew Lincoln deserves recognition as one of the best actors today, such a great performer.. i hope someday he can do some good quality movies..

[@thoughtproject]

Andrew Lincoln absolutely deserved an Emmy during his run in TWD.

[@onlyalisaawilliams]

Your relationship with TWD mirrors mine . I stopped watching at the end of season seven. Abraham & Glenn’s death was a bit too much. But I did follow along through my fav reviewers, and when it was announced Andrew & Dania was returning for a reunion “short” series I returned just for that “scared shytless” I would get drawn back in. I enjoyed it, and hopefully we weren’t trick thinking it was an ending , and get an announcement their doing season 2, because I’m not returning to the franchise, because AMC is allergic to final endings .

[@thoughtproject]

I wasn't thrilled with how they ended The Ones Who Live, but hey, at least it seems like a definitive ending.

[@tarski3939]

lol I did the same thing. Except it wasn’t until season 7 was live that I started watching on Netflix. And I binged all the way to live tv. I too, thought the early seasons were the best. My favorite show, ever. Right up until season 7. And then I labored through it up until Rick left the show. After Rick’s last episode, I put it down for a long while. Until I heard that Rick was going to make a return (initially to be a movie but ultimately ending up on a spin off with Michonne). And then I picked it back up and watched the rest of it. Rick Grimes is TWD.

[@bobbyshmurda4945]

Great video. Now I know not to finish, stoped at season 9 like you. It got really not good. AMC dropped the ball.

[@harold6953]

Funny because season 9 is where it picks up again, S9 is easily a top 3 season of TWD. Season 10 starts off boring but the second half is really good and I found season 11 to be a bit weird in pacing but overall it's fine, the finale is a banger though. First 2 episodes of Dead City are also great

[@Rossstewart88]

S9 is easily top 3 wd

[@thoughtproject]

Season 9 overall is pretty good. I just didn’t like how they teased Rick’s “death” as well as how they killed off Tara, Enid, and Henry in the penultimate episode. I didn’t enjoy 10 or 11 though. Probably not worth it to continue if I were you!

[@daniig62]

This is also how I feel about Greys anatomy 😂 it’s on like season 23 or some shit. I’m only watching it bc I watched it for like ten years 😂😂😂

[@basilioxsb]

Great vid 🙌🏼

[@thoughtproject]

Thank you 🙌

[@sandradow1783]

I miss Rick Grimes! 😢

[@VadikoLasma]

I watched this video and many videos like this before beginning my TWD watch through for the first time. I’m currently on Season 9 and enjoying it. But the only season that seemed to be bad was season 8 it was just a poorly made, drag. Now, I’ve enjoyed the rest, Season 4 less though, I like the Gov Arc and the ending.

[@robbiesmith8055]

Same lmao. It was a video talking about the show‘s decline that made me watch it in the first place, because it managed to hype up the early seasons so much. Glad you‘re enjoying it, for me I went in expecting the promised quality dip and so wasn‘t disappointed by it, but just as frustrated as most fans who watched it at the time were. I decided early on that I‘d quit with Rick‘s final episode, so that‘s what I ended up doing.

[@whezia5805]

outro song?

[@thoughtproject]

It's called Peace by Eric Godlow Beats!

[@phantomhiphop]

dead city is the last chance im giving TWD, if it does some dumb shit im OUT

[@thoughtproject]

Fair. I'm already behind on Dead City I need to catch up lol

[@netanelohimwarren3629]

Well it's a year later and I just watched it. Don't know what u thought but for me it came down to the last episode there is some stupid shit before that but the last episode was arguably the best TWD content we have seen in over half a decade.

[@thedrewbster8636]

Simply too many seasons. I don't have the time to watch 11 seasons. I would have preferred if TWD was only 5 or 6 seasons. I feel like that's the sweet spot that most TV shows should aim for.

[@chaoticfangurl567]

TWD universe should've ended a long time ago. I think a perfect ending would have been Rick riding on horseback as a huge herd of walkers surround him putting himself in harm's way to lead them away from his community and then not knowing whether he lived or died. Or also just letting Rick die when blowing up the bridge instead of him miraculously surviving making his whole sacrifice meaningless. I'm just so tired of the writers pumping out all these unnecessary spin-offs. Its okay to end the series but they just refuse to let it die no doubt for money and riding out the nostalgia. Breaking bad is prob the best written show out there and it only had 5 seasons but had such an impact. Also it's spin-off better call Saul actually worked

[@goni2493]

Just Jailbreak the show problem solved.

[@mkwsoxfan]

Imagine AMC is holding your multiple million dollar spinoff contract over your head, and then they ask you to say "we ain't the walking dead" as the mic dropper for the main series. Tough choice when the writers get THAT cringy and careless

[@thoughtproject]

Can't make this shit up lmao

[@MikeLewis1964]

You said that you binged the first 4 seasons. If you watched it TWD from week to week you probably would have more invested in the show. Yes after Rick left the show wasn’t the same. The pike scene was the best scene of the whole show. If you read the comics you would’ve known a lot of the scenes, especially Glenn’s demise as well as the pike scene was going to happen. The show is based of a comic book if you didn’t know. Yes the death of Carl was unforgivable. Maybe I just don’t get why the hater’s of the show waste time on a why the TWD sucked but you actually really like the show.

[@BURP39R]

All Out War is one of the worst things I've ever seen. It was like A Team episodes

[@andreavoigtlander1087]

Read the Comic Book!

[@GeraltORivia]

Watch at !,5x speed. Thank me later.

[@johncapewell7520]

We should have seen Carl grow into a man. He had mentally matured into a man but shouldn't have died so young.

[@Trey_v3.3]

Carl had to die so Rick could have a DEI son

[@Justtrollingyoulosers]

Its odd that people that dont like the show constantly make videos about the show they dont like.

[@thoughtproject]

Make no mistake, I used to REALLY love this show, but the drop in quality was apparent. TWD will always hold a special place in my heart. It's just interesting to see how things went south.

[@Rick79LUFC]

I dont get the hate I love them all startrek starwars have all dine spin offs all relivent all lived by fans I say make more ,if you were so disappointed why bother continue watching 👀

[@thoughtproject]

I don't think you understand the concept of the sunk cost fallacy. I was disappointed, but I was still so invested in these characters and I wanted to see them get the ending they deserved. And after TOWL, I'm still disappointed.

[@nicksproductions100]

Bro you’re trippin

[@thoughtproject]

Am I?

[@watchmehope6560]

No he not he wak just fine uwu

[@fenixfelixx]

Carl sucked! His character was spinning wheels for 3 seasons. Waah I dont want to kill anyone. He was more badass as a kid ffs, good riddance.

[@thoughtproject]

Wild take

[@kmdreacts]

I was lucky to be able to binge the show on my firestick around late 2020, so I was able to spend Literal Days watching half a season up until catching up around mid S9. Seasons 2-5 is Peak Walking Dead. Seasons 7,8&10 are so meh it's unexplainable. 6&9 aren't too bad and rewatchable enough for quite a few of the episodes. I won't forgive them for the senseless deaths of Beth, Tyrese & Noah all within like 5 episodes. Final season was So rushed and completely destroyed what love I had for the franchise in such a poor, unfulfilling, mediocre, rushed finale, not to mention the producers/big-wigs announcing an mcu-esque flurry of spin-off shows right after following characters we Now know won't shockingly die in the finale of the 10yr running series. Don't nobody care about Rosita like that.. Gabriel, maybe. I also think FTWD hurt the franchise, too. Less is more is an expression for a reason and if anything, it should've just been a open closed 2 season show following survivors during the initial outbreak, That's It! Never watched it other than S1 and don't plan to. And I didn't watch the spinoffs either other than through reaction channels, and they all seemed absolutely dreadful.