Look, we've all done it. Blabbing to a friend about a big TV moment before they get a chance to see it for themselves is a known friendship-ender in this age of DVR.
And AMC, who Sunday spoiled a huge plot point for west coast Walking Dead viewers, is learning the only way to mend fences is with a mea culpa.
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In a statement posted to their Facebook page Monday night, the network expressed regret for posting a photo of Daryl carrying the limp body of Beth, who was shot and killed in the midseason finale, immediately following the east coast airing and two hours before the episode would air on the west coast.
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Post by The Walking Dead.
"We heard your feedback to last night's post, and we're sorry," wrote the network. "With zero negative intent, we jumped the gun and put up a spoiler. Please know we're going to work to ensure that, in the future, possible spoilers by official AMC social feeds are killed before they can infect, certainly before the West Coast (U.S.) broadcast of The Walking Dead."
The network reportedly removed the spoilery image shortly after posting it and later reposted after the west coast. But the damage had been done, with complaints peppered throughout the show's page.
In a time when live-tweeting and beat-your-fans-to-the-memes is the go-to network approach, AMC is hardly the first to make a gaff in finding a balance between being in the moment and respecting the unwritten (and often unclear) rules of spoilers. But as far as general good practices go, let's all just remember: the left coast likes surprises, too.