Writers kill characters and momentum

TV writers seem to be angering a lot of fans lately. Not only are they re-writing beloved story lines, but the scope is distorted and there are unnecessary cliffhangers.

Yes, lots of shows and books use cliffhangers to keep the audience intrigued, but it is starting to become ridiculous. The writers already have us hooked; we’re always on the edge of our seats and we are not leaving them yet. We stick with the show through all the good and the bad episodes for an entire season, whether it is 12 episodes or 22. We are the loyal fans that are watching, tweeting and probably having a themed party in full-on costume.

The fans are starting to become irritated at the dramatic cliffhangers, as they are overused and annoying. These are storylines that need immediate closure as opposed to being drawn out over the break. It lessens the impact of the initial shock and weakens the point the writers are trying to make once the next season airs.

Recently, the season finale of “The Walking Dead” ended on a cliffhanger that left fans fuming. Negan finally made his appearance and his “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe” scene left a lasting impression. An unknown member of the group is killed and viewers have to wait until October to find out who was beaten to death.

“The Walking Dead” Writer and Executive Producer Scott M. Gimple said the season six finale was about wearing down Rick Grimes, not who Negan killed.

“The story of who died, of what comes next, of who Negan killed and what comes after that, that’s really the story for season seven,” Gimple said on AMC’s “Talking Dead” following the episode.

This is not an answer; this is how you lose viewers. “The Walking Dead” did this previously in the first half of season six when they made us think Glenn was dead. I am all about killing off characters, but if you are going to kill them, get it over with quickly.

Speaking of killing beloved characters, “Game of Thrones” writers also left the series on a cliffhanger with Jon Snow’s death. The death of the fan-favorite character caused uproar on social media, but the expected hype has not lasted the yearlong journey it has taken to premiere season 7 on April 24. Kit Harrington has even started posting memes on his personal Facebook to try to rile the viewers’ excitement up again for the upcoming season, but that only reaches the dedicated few fans who follow him. Fan theories have been disproved, some fans have figured out the formula to the writers’ plan and some have just given up on the franchise completely.

Personally, I’m a loyal fan and do not abandon my TV shows unless something extremely terrible happens, such as season four of “American Horror Story.” Closure is necessary to all stories, even if it is just the end of the season. Dramatic cliffhangers are not needed if you have a loyal fan base, which shows such as “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones” do. Cliffhangers can add great value to a season finale, but the writers need to be smarter and selective about which ones they to use. The writers have total creative liberty, but the viewers have the ultimate power to stop watching.