The Walking Dead, both the AMC television show and the Image comic the series is based on, is violent by nature. Dealing with small bands of humans trying to survive hordes of zombies (and each other) while maintaining their humanity is going to be a bleak endeavor, no matter how you play it. The show has spent years walking the line between a grounded representation about the struggle to survive amidst supernatural horrors and straight-up torture porn. For many fans, the show has failed more than it's succeeded in this regard, and that was never more apparent than in the Season 7 premiere a few months ago.

After the showrunners gave fans a whole summer to stew on the introduction to Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan and wonder which of the show's characters he had killed, expectations were high for a bloody and upsetting premiere for the new season. Sure enough, we were treated to not one, but two brutal deaths that left even the most detached viewers with an uncomfortable feeling. For many, this was a breaking point for the enjoyment of a show more concerned with shocking violence than worthwhile character developments.

Courtesy of the Daily Dot (hat tip CBR), we've now got a first-hand look at how some average viewers felt about the episode thanks to the complaints they sent to the Federal Communications Commision.

Daily Dot has a lot more like that, all equally disturbed by the grotesque nature of the show. While the complaint above and others like it certainly have a valid point, The Walking Dead has long been an unsuitable show if you're concerned about your young children consuming violent media. Still, it's hard to argue that the series hasn't pushed things to an insufferable point. There's little that can be done, however, as cable has long been the bastion for more outré tastes.

Network shows are beholden to rules and regulations established by the FCC, but cable only has to keep things tame enough for them to appease the higher ups and maintain a steady stream of advertisers. Though the recent moves on the show have likely ruffled some executive feathers and scared off a few sponsors, violence has always been built into the show's DNA. It'll be interesting to see, however, whether the producers take fan's concerns into consideration as they move forward with the series. They've likely had this information for awhile, so we'll just have to wait until the show returns to see if it has any effect.

The Walking Dead season 7 continues on Sunday, February 12 @ 9pm on AMC.

Source: Daily Dot