What Lies Ahead on AMC. It received 7.3 million viewers and attained a 4.8HH rating, breaking the record for the most-watched drama in the history of cable television. It received the second highest viewership of the week ending October 16, scoring higher than "Jersey Shore" but less than a 2011 NFL season game between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. "What Lies Ahead" achieved similar feats, attaining a 3.8 rating—translating to 4.8 million viewers—in the 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen ratings. In the 25–54 demographic, it garnered 4.2 million viewers. Total viewership after two encore presentations was 11 million viewers, an increase
What Lies Below "steady but stagnant ratings", as they were "not much different" from the previous week. "What Lies Below" received mixed reviews from television critics. "The A.V. Club" contributor Todd VanDerWerff graded the episode with a B-, explaining that despite some nice moments, it was "an episode of the show that started out utterly predictably, continued along an utterly predictable path and yet somehow got fairly enjoyable by the end just through sheer force of will on the part of the cast." IGN's Ramsey Isler also found the episode average and predictable, as it lacked "much of the quintessential storytelling elements that,