After six years, AMC's hit series "The Walking Dead," which revolves around the survival of the characters against zombies and other human beings, saw its lowest ratings during Sunday's episode 5, titled "The Big Scary U."
Sunday's number was a decline from the fourth episode of "The Walking Dead" season 8. This previous episode was the first to break the downward spiral, with the series sustaining its plummeting ratings since its premiere for the current run. But, it seems that the charm of episode 4, which aired on Nov. 12, was not enough to keep the series' numbers afloat.
This week, "The Walking Dead's" fifth episode had only 7.85 million 18-49 years old viewers, earning a meek 3.4 rating. Episode 4 had 8.69 million viewers of the same demographic, with a 3.9 rating.
"Big Scary U" focused on Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as they got trapped in a trailer surrounded by zombies. They eventually teamed up, camouflaging with walker's guts as they braved the horde of zombies. The episode ended with a cliffhanger, hinting that the priest got bitten.
Fans noted that he was looking nervous and unwell, with sweat heavily dripping his face, clear signs of an infected person. The episode also hinted of Negan's background story, which, together with the cliffhanger, could drive the series into getting more interests in the next episode.
Even so, "The Walking Dead" still topped the list of the most watched cable show on Sunday, with the second, "Talking Dead," only getting 2.6 million audiences with a 1.1 rating.
But still, this is not a good sign for the series, who saw last Sunday's ratings as the lowest since its second season's sixth episode, titled "Secrets," was aired on Nov. 20, 2011 with 6.08 million viewers and a 3.1 rating.
"The Walking Dead" season 8 airs Sundays, at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.
