It's an unpopular sentiment but I agree. I don't know if it's strictly linear in a season by season case, but by and large the show has gotten worse each season. People shit on the farm and the prison but I'll take that stuff any day over the Terminus, Alexandria, Hilltop, Kingdom, Savior stuff the show has presented the past few years.
Yeah. Kind of agree. I just recently binged the entire show. I never watched it before, and went through it all about September before S7 started. I have some fresh thoughts.
The show early on had some sense of dread, and a ticking clock to it. The farm was unprotected, and always felt temporary. The zombie apocalypse was centric to the show, and affected characters (like Dale), who were still adjusting to it. The season built to a huge conflict with Rick/Shane. The characters made survival choices throughout. Shane leaving someone behind, saving Carl, Daryl looking for Carol's daughter. Herschel learning to trust or not trust Rick. With good subplots like Glenn/Maggie. It was generally focused, you didn't drop plotlines.
Season 3 suffered from its relatively comic nature compared to S1 and 2, as well as not wrapping up the Governor plot, and a character like Andrea getting too much screen time. Essentially the first time we leave our main cast for lengthy periods, through the eyes of our Andrea. That was the first dip. I liked Merle and the crew though. You still didn't feel like characters were safe. The beginning of the season and Rick's crew searching for a new home was probably the most engaging part of the season. It got less interesting as the season went.
Season 4 was this big sag, a long recovery from the dip Season 3 started. Weak season, but it kind of set things up by its end. Season 5 and 6 I felt was a mild return to form though. Certainly not super tight, but it was about how Rick's crew handled the apocalypse. Once again homeless, they truly have to survive. Alexandria (like the farm) seems like a false safe haven. The characters aren't safe, and there's a genuine consequence.
I thought Season 7 was probably the worst of the show, or possibly equal to S3's backhalf - S4's midseason. When we were spending episodes on sympathizing with the Governor living with some random family. I don't think the ratings dip is a coincidence. I also don't think Negan's the problem. I think fantastical things people can't relate to, like The Kingdom and its tiger, or the casualness/surreal-ness of drinking whisky at Hilltop while Simon visits. It's spending episodes about Morgan/Ezekiel meeting some 3rd or 4th-rate (after Dwight) Savior cronies picking up watermelons.
Negan himself is great. JDM is great as that character. Rick, Daryl, and Carol are still really good characters. Michonne's fine, but she's certainly not Shane, Glenn or Merle level interesting. I'd love to see one of them, or even Abe, do a run with Rick at the fairgrounds. Glenn/Rick in the bar (with Herschel) season 2, was some of the best stuff.
But regardless, the best thing the show can do is stop doing standalone eps at the Hilltop or god knows where. Get tighter, focus on the main characters. If you show somewhere else, show Rick and company the same episode. Maybe have someone get bit by a zombie for once. (I was excited at the idea of Gregory succumbing to a senseless bite)
I don't really expect any of that though. I think the show's unfortunately not coming back, despite having some interesting elements to play with. It probably serves better to give up, and flip through its best moments seasons from now. At least you can self edit it, into something substantial.
Also, they should never have cut away from Rick and company after the season premiere. Suffering that sort of devastation, follow that shit up. Some people were like "no it's good relief to visit a tiger", but that's not fucking drama. You're really going to devastate a fanbase, and then next week say "tune in for some tigers"? Jesus christ.