‘The Walking Dead’ midseason 6 finale receives 'rotten' rating, worst-reviewed episode in the series

The midseason 6 finale of “The Walking Dead” received a “rotten” rating from critics.

Many fans were anticipating episode 8 of “The Walking Dead” Season 6, titled “Start to Finish,” as it marked the end of the first half of the season before the AMC series went on a winter break. Viewers were interested to see how Rick Grimes, played by Anthony Lincoln, and his gang will survive the walker attack that befell Alexandria. However, some viewers and critics found “Start to Finish” lackluster and rated it a “rotten” 32 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

According to Cinema Blend, it was the worst-reviewed episode in “The Walking Dead” series on Rotten Tomatoes. The report also indicated that the Rotten Tomatoes rating may not be the “best way to objectively look at how people felt about a movie or a TV show”; however, it is “relevant,” given its popularity, and is considered a good gauge of how a show is received.

Some of the critics expressed dissatisfaction on how “The Walking Dead” midseason 6 finale ended. Noam Cohen from the New York Observer wrote that the episode had an “underwhelming cliffhanger” that felt like a scene was “cut off midway through.”

“When the episode faded to black, deferring the end of this scene to February, it felt incomplete rather than suspenseful,” he added. “We don’t know what happens next, but we’re also not given a motivating reason to wonder beyond 'Do our heroes survive?'”

Jeremy Egner from the New York Times also commented that “Start to Finish” was different from the “frenetic” Season 6 premiere of “The Walking Dead,” which aired in October. He wrote, “Sunday’s midseason finale was pretty sedate, consisting mostly of meaningful conversations punctuated by brief squabbles and other bursts of action. (A less charitable reading: It was kind of dull.)”

Apart from the negative feedback, “The Walking Dead” midseason 6 finale also received positive reviews from critics. One was from New York Magazine/Vulture’s Richard Rys, who described the midseason finale as “tantalising” and “tension-filled.” He did mention though that the episode “didn’t quite deliver” what fans expected to see.

Fans would have to wait until next year to find out how the story will progress and if their beloved characters will be able to survive the zombie attack and other threats.

The second half of “The Walking Dead” Season 6 will premiere on AMC in the U.S. in February 2016.

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