There is a delicate tightrope to be walked in the latest season of The Walking Dead since AMC has decided to release each episode early on their AMC+ subscription platform.
While no spoiler alert was issued for the premiere episode of Season 10C, which dropped a whole week early, AMC is warning fans to be careful what they say after viewing Episode 18.
The request was posted via the official Twitter account for the TV show and asked fans to respect their Walking Dead family by not spoiling Sunday night’s episode. Not only did they ask fans to post their thoughts only in this tweet but to also use the hashtag #TWDSpoiler as well.
Episode 18 will feature Daryl Dixon’s backstory
The next installment of The Walking Dead will delve into Daryl Dixon’s (Norman Reedus) backstory. It will focus on those lost years after Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) went missing. During that time, Daryl searched for his friend, spending a lot of time by himself and away from the other communities.
Episode 18 will also reveal how he came to own a dog as well as further exploring his and Carol’s (Melissa McBride) relationship.
The episode looks set to be largely in the past and will also introduce a character called Leah (Lynn Collins).
The Season 10C premiere did not come with a spoiler warning
Episode 17, titled “Home Sweet Home” dropped a whole week early on AMC+. While it seems that a premiere episode should come with a spoiler warning, especially when being available so much earlier than Episode 18, no such warning was issued by AMC.
This alone makes it interesting as to why one is being called now by the network. However, there are a couple of logical reasons as to why.
First up, AMC may be responding to fan displeasure at the number of spoilers issued after Episode 17 dropped. While it is expected on social media such as Twitter that people talk about episodes in real-time, there was likely some backlash for those who only have the standard AMC subscription and not AMC+.
The other option is that Episode 18 contains a shocking twist or some super important information that is best enjoyed spontaneously and without prior knowledge. If this is the case, it definitely makes sense to gently remind fans to wait a few days to speak on the topic or to use the tweet they provided for such conversation.
Of course, viewers will just have to wait and see this episode themselves to discover exactly why AMC issued the statement.
The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights on AMC.