The Walking Dead: The Prison, Woodbury & the Governor

Walking Dead: The Prison And the Town of Woodbury

Spoiler Alert:  While they are not the same, the below contains information about the Walking Dead comics which could give away certain plot points of the TV show.

This was written prior to tonight's episode

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

A quick recap of some of the major differences from the TV show and the comics leading up to the Prison & the town of Woodbury.

New Faces:  Daryl, Merle & T-Dogg did not exist in the comic, while arguably one of the favorites in the comic (Tyreese) does not exist in the TV show.   Daryl has been an excellent addition, I just hope he doesn’t meet the same fate that Tyreese met in the comics.

How Shane Died: While Carol shoots Shane in both the Comics and the show, I liked the comic version better where he shoots him while alive – not as a zombie).  Rick buries Shane in the comics and only later goes back to dig him up and shoot him when he realizes her will turn.

Dead or Alive:  There are several differences, but key characters Sophia and Dale died in the show & are alive during this story line in the comics.

Cool or Not Cool:  On the show, Andrea's kind of annoying but in the comics she's pretty cool.  Carol, if she lived past last week's episode is kind of worthless.  In the comics she is still worthless, but crazy (makes out with a zombie, hooks up with Tyrese, attempts to hook up with Lori as well as ask Lori and Rick if they want a 3-some type of marriage, attempts suicide, then does let a zombie eat her on purpose...yep crazy.

Entering the Prison: In the show, everyone attempts to escape the farm and end up at the Prison (except for Andrea who meets up with Michonne in the woods).  In the comics, Hershel kicked Rick and crew off of the farm who end up at the prison (except for Glenn who stays with Maggie).  Rick later invites Hershel and his group to join them since it is more secure and they accept.

NOW THAT WE ARE HERE, WHAT’s DIFFERENT SO FAR?

We all saw Rick & crew take the prison and meet up with the prisoners.  In the comics, there was no early confrontation with the prisoner's and rather, the prisoners are allowed into the group, some seeming more dangerous than others.

Tomas vs Thomas: In the show, Tomas was the leader who got up close and personal with Rick’s Machete.  In the comic, Thomas (see what they did there) was a supposedly normal con who ended up decapitating two of Hershel’s twin daughters.  He also attempted to do the same to Andrea (ended up slicing up her face).  Rick savagely beat him and wanted to hang him in the prison yard but the others were against it.  Ultimately one of the women sympathized with him and tried to break him out of the prison – and he tried to kill her too.  Maggie ended up shooting Thomas dead and Hershel had his body thrown out to the Zombies.

Axl: In the show he is the rather shy prisoner who is still alive.  In the comic he is a big biker dude in for armed robbery who becomes a big asset to the team…although he doesn’t make it – another casualty of the Governor.

Meeting the Governor (And The Town of Woodbury).  In the show, Michonne and Andrea are on there own and come across the the Governor at a Helicopter crash. In the comics, Rick, Michonne (who meets the crew at the Prison after saving Otis (yet, he is still alive in the comic, although he is more of a redneck) and Glenn investigates, the crash and finds Woodbury.  The Governor had captured the helicopter people and fed them to the zombies to keep them at bay.  At the end, a guy from town seemingly helps them escape (it was a set up so the Governor could find the prison).

Lori’s Death:  In the comics, Lori gives birth to a baby girl (delivered by a 2 legged Hershel).  However, the Governor invades the prison in a takeover attempt (he convinces the townspeople that Rick and crew are the “bad” guys), and the survivors need to make a run for it.  The governor orders one of his people to kill both Lori and the girl in the escape.  She does but realizes it was wrong and shoots the Governor.  Rick and Carl have to continue on alone.  You all know what happened on the show.

STILL TO COME?

If the show continues to bring in most of the comic story lines, below are a few that I am most looking forward to.

Let’s Give Rick a Hand:  It’s early in the TV show, but in the comic, the first meeting between Rick and Governor ended with the Gov cutting off Rick’s hand.

The Governor and Michonne:  The comics did an almost too good of a job setting up how Evil the Governor was.  After he cuts off Rick’s hand, Michonne attacks the Governor.  The Governor then captures Michonne and tortures her relentlessly for days (while forcing Glenn to listen).  It was so disturbing and graphic I cringed and had to turn away from the comic.  The author calls out that there are two types of people who will survive in this world and he wanted to show how cruel and evil the Governor could be.  I honestly hope they do not go to these lengths in the TV show.  On the plus side, Michonne gets her revenge which was extremely satisfying (although she doesn’t kill him).

Zombie Thunderdome: In an effort to entertain the townspeople of Woodbury, the Governor creates a sort of Thunderdome where two people fight each other with Zombies tied up around them in a circle.  While I thought it was a pretty cool visual, I am not sure why the seemingly normal townspeople didn’t find it a little odd.

Head's Up Tyreese:  In an attempt to get Rick to open the prison gates, he captures Tyreese and cuts off his head in front of the prison survivors.  Hopefully this is not Daryl’s end since he has become the second in command it seems (much like Tyreese was in the comics).

A Penny For Your Thoughts:  In the comic, the Governor’s Niece Penny is a zombie.  He ties her up in his apartment and feeds her body parts from various people he captured or townspeople to keep her alive.

I love that the show, for the most part, is true to the comics.  It also allows itself to create its own characters and stories.  Both are fantastic and I look forward to seeing how the show honors the comics while also creating its own characters and stories.

Post episode thoughts:

I see both Penny and the Zombie Thunderdome was included (hell yeah!).  As far as the phone call at the end of the episode...that was something that occurred in the comics a little later on post the Prison & Woodbury storyline.  But if it holds true...Say hello to Lori...sort of!