As a big fan of the comics, I totally agree with you. I already know where the story is headed from reading the comics, so naturally I want to see how it will play out on the show. This is the main reason I continue to stick around.

However, the amount of unnecessary BS that's thrown in to each episode kills me and makes it hard for me to continue watching. I know the filler complaint has already been stated a thousand times over, but I certainly think it's valid. If we look back at some of the really good seasons, we can see some basic similarities between them that made the show good and entertaining. The best seasons were all well paced, contained lots of action (often unpredictable, even for comic readers), and focused on storytelling/progressing the plot. I feel the last few seasons abandoned these three pivotal aspects, turning the show into something of a soap opera, littered with played out dialogue, lazy story arcs, and cheesy cliffhangers.

On the other hand, I think If I hadn't read the comics, I'd be less critical of the show overall. I'd most likely have less issues with the amount of filler that has recently muddied the series. My rationale behind this is that it would be difficult to identify exactly what content is filler material and what isn't. But, because I'm familiar with where the story is headed, I know which scenes will progress the plot and which scenes exist for the sole purpose of milking the show. Knowing this information makes the filler material stand out like a sore thumb and very irritating to watch.

This makes me wonder: do the people who still really enjoy the show like it so much because they're unsure of where it's headed? (This questions is geared toward tv show viewers only) I would think because they're uncertain about the outcome of the saviors, the filler that the comic readers see in bold is a non-issue for them.