The Walking Dead” beat the Olympics in viewers for two straight weeks as the second half of the fourth season has kicked off to new highs- and lows.

The first half of season four killed off half of Rick Grimes’ group with a deadly plague, then crushed what little hope they had left with the Governor returning one last time to destroy their home and brutally execute one of the show’s main cast members.

Now what’s left of the group is separated and struggling to survive while coping with the tremendous loss suffered in the first half of the season.

When asked about the status of the show many students replied that it has “slowed down” but taking the time to look at these characters more closely isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“It’s interesting to see how characters work with each other.” Said Niko Bergey, 19, a Graphic Design Major. The group being split up at random many characters are now forced to interact with people they don’t normally communicate with often, like Darryl being paired with Hershel’s daughter, Beth, and Tyreese being paired with Carol and Rick’s baby daughter Judith.

Rob Salm, 20, a nursing major thinks the grouping of Tyreese and Carol is especially interesting, since Carol is known to have murdered Tyreese’s girlfriend earlier in the season.

Salm was also very happy to see Rick’s son Carl maturing, and to see Michonne surviving on her own again. He’s eager to see some character progression as time goes by. When asked if he was excited to see the rest of the season he replied: “I’m ecstatic to see how it turns out.”

Some other students are not as happy with the direction the latter half of the season has taken. Elissa Gonzalez, 20, marketing major didn’t like seeing the group split up, and didn’t enjoy seeing the ninth episode focusing almost entirely on Rick and Carl.

“I like it but I think it’s moving too slow.” She said. Despite this, she is still excited to see the rest of the season.

“There’s too much drama,” criticized Omar Khan, 18, biology major. He claims that in the first season of the show it felt like he was watching movies, and when there was drama it was good drama.

Now there’s too much “dumb stuff” and nonsensical decisions made on the part of the show’s creators that conflict with the established rules of “The Walking Dead” universe. He’s lost some interest in the show with all these bad decisions but still has hope that it can get better again.

Unlike Rob who loves the show or Omar who while a bit dissatisfied still thinks it can improve, some students at Bucks outright hate “The Walking Dead.” “It’s the same thing every episode,” said Jill Etris, 20, athletic training major.

She went on to point out several things in the show the creators haven’t thought of. “I want to see what zombie is mowing the grass everywhere,” she said.

But Rob Salm comes to the show’s defense. He considers the screenwriters to be very talented, and thinks this can be easily seen since the show is so different from the comic but still has the same depth, even if it is less gruesome and intense.

Omar Khan believes it’s a good thing the group is finally away from the prison, as it gives them a chance to take the show to new places.

And now with three new characters arriving on the scene, whom readers of the comic should be very happy to see, the show certainly is going to new places.
“The Walking Dead” is on every Sunday at 9 p.m. on AMC.