Last week’s depressed ratings for the season premiere of “Duck Dynasty” might not have been a fluke.

The second episode of the season dropped steeply from the season premiere, shedding nearly 2 million viewers.

Wednesday’s “Duck Dynasty” drew 6.7 million total viewers — off considerably from last week’s premiere haul of 8.5 million total viewers.

While this wouldn’t be the first “Duck Dynasty” season to suffer a ratings dip in its second episode, Wednesday’s numbers do indicate a troubling trend for the A&E show. Ratings for last week’s season premiere dropped 28 percent from the Season 4 premiere in August, which amassed a record-setting 11.8 million total viewers during a period when networks were heavy into repeat mode.

Wednesday’s ratings were also the lowest-rated episode since the Christmas-themed Season 2 finale in December 2012, which brought in 6.5 million total viewers.

Surprise, surprise. So insulting what equates to about 20% of the American population doesn’t make your “reality” show more popular. Shocking. I’ve never watched Duck Dynasty, because if I’m being really honest, a bunch of guys with very cool beards blowing whistles doesn’t intrigue me. So I can say with a smile on my face that I’m glad the ratings are taking a hit. With that said, I do agree with A&E as far as keeping the main character on the show. I don’t agree with what he said, but he has a right to say it. We can’t just throw around free speech then ignore it when the person speaking freely says something we don’t like. The second reason I’m glad they let Duck Dynasty roll on is because now they only have themselves to blame for the failed ratings, and whether they recover or not, the eventual demise of the show. Duck Dynasty is no different than the Jersey Shore or Mob Wives or any other reality show on TV. They grow a specific fan base, the fan base finds something new to ogle over, and then it’s over, just as quickly as it started. Hopefully Phil Robertson’s untimely outburst will put the nail in the coffin sooner rather than later.

– Ryan