It’s that time of the year again where the smell of decaying flesh and the clawing of nails is at the door. The Walking Dead’s mid-season premiere on February 8 is almost at hand. The unimaginably popular show follows Deputy Rick Grimes waking up in the zombie infested world of Atlanta, Georgia. With the needless death of a beloved character everyone was glad to see make a comeback this season still reeling in viewers minds, many are foreseeing a plot twist in the second half of the season. Since the show’s original air date of October 31^st 2010, it has grown exponentially in popularity. One of the appealing aspects of the show is its thrilling mix of the zombie apocalypse blended with the all too rare and short lived moments of happiness the main characters get to experience, show the audience that even at the end of the world there is hope.

With the shows most recent rating of over 15 million viewers the show doesn’t give any signs of slowing down any time soon. It’s diverse viewing audience is of such high caliber that some think the show will be able to go in many different directions of character developments. Accompanied by a budget of nearly 3 million dollars per episode The Walking Dead is able to go more places, have more equipment, and hire the excellent actors it has for this popular show. From the shows humble beginning in the Atlanta quarry, to the discovery of the safe haven of the farm, the battle with the citizens of Woodbury, the falling of the prison, to the regrouping of our favorite band of survivalists. The series manages to remain exciting and enticing to watch even after 4 ½ seasons. Fans still hold high hopes for future seasons as well.

The audience of the The Walking Dead knows almost no bounds reaching from freshmen to teachers. Even Mrs. Blakenship weighed in on the show by saying, “The Walking Dead is a incredible show because it’s an action filled show that depicts a post apocalyptic wasteland while still being an ironically lifelike and relatable television show.”

Sophomore Eddie Booth said the show drew him in when it showed the brutality of the cataclysm of the zombie outbreak yet was still able to have the ability to let him connect with the characters. His favorite character is the ever popular Daryl Dixon. Eddie said, “Daryl is an awesome guy he’ll kill a zombie with an arrow from 150 feet then the next minute he’ll cuddle a baby.”

Freshman Davis Eanes thought that the show was captivating from the moment it began with the intense police chase where the main character Deputy Rick Grimes was seriously injured by a gun shot wound to the chest. Eanes said the best season so far has been season 2 where the group found a short lived reprieve from the terror of the end of the world. Although the show has amassed a large fan base it has acquired quite a few people who dislike the series profusely.

Sophomore Nick Vest said that the show was interesting at first but it got boring real quick and it felt like they were wandering around aimlessly with no point anymore.

One of the big factors of The Walking Dead is it’s ability to make you connect with a character then strip them away. Sophomore Josh Drew stated that the biggest character death of the show for him was finding out that the son of one the characters is killed after a long session away from that character’s family. Freshman Morgan Harris hopes that in the future the writers won’t let you fall in love with a character then kill them in the next episode. Harris’ biggest fear of the show is that they’ll introduce an older character that will once again become the moral compass of the group but kill them in a season or so. The series has shown that they are partial to killing off the group’s conscience right when a morally difficult choice has to be made.

There are high hopes for the mid-season premier this Sunday, February 8, 2015, and with the unexpected twist of events of the group turning into a nomadic, foraging yet deadly tribe will be a big change to the audience. Millions of viewers will be tuning in this Sunday to see the events unfold. When you hear the growls, don’t hesitate… run! Or at least outrun your companion until this Sunday at 10 P.M.