The Walking Dead: Could this be the beginning of the end?

Could this be the beginning of the end?

This past Friday at San Diego Comic-Con saw the much-anticipated release of The Walking Dead season 8 trailer from AMC, and as the final seconds ticked away fans the world over were given reason to take pause before scrambling to the internet.

We are of course referring to the time-jump which presented us with a much older Rick Grimes, shorter hair, long grey beard, waking up in bed next to a nightstand with a cane resting against it, what was happening here?

As fans flocked to the net the speculation began, was Rick waking up from his coma?  Have the events of The Walking Dead been nothing but a dream?  Creator Robert Kirkman has ruled this possibility out several times throughout the years, and as fans we'd like to believe that when the end comes it won't be so obvious.

Many speculated this time-jump would follow the upcoming All Out War story arc, which in the comics saw Rick defeat Negan and his Saviors but not before Negan broke Ricks leg - forcing him to rely upon the use of a cane as a mobility device.

While this would be another obvious assumption, we'd like to suggest one alternative - could season eight be the beginning of the end? 

When "The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life" aired at the beginning of April, the 90 minute season seven finale saw a decline in viewership of 20% compared to its season six finale, this decline also represented the shows third lowest finale results since the series began on October 31st, 2010.

With 15.8 million viewers, season five's "Conquer" holds the record for the season finale which drew in the largest audience.

In an industry which feeds off merchandising and advertising revenue, we can't help but wonder if AMC executives have been taking notes, and if so could they be preparing to pull the plug on one of our favorite Sunday night series?

Sadly we wouldn't be surprised if, sometime in the near future, it was announced that season eight of The Walking Dead was in fact the finale season.  Should this be the case then all we can hope for is that our Walking Dead family gets the send off they deserve after providing us with so many years of entertainment.

What do you think, how would you like to see The Walking Dead end?