Quote:I just won't read the thread if I don't want spoilers, even without the tag. But I'm usually caught up on the show anyway.


Not the first time I heard they went different directions from the books. Wonder why they strayed..

 

The additional characters (and sets) allow them to expand storylines, or at least tell them in different ways.

 

The cannibals in the comic were a campfire group some of them stumbled upon after fleeing the prison.  Having it be a false "sanctuary", and being able to tell the backstory/arc of those who are currently there and how the "sanctuary" has changed (and changed them) made for a much richer story.  It also sets the characters up with experience they'll carry with them should they encounter any other "sanctuaries" during their journey, and whether or not they may be accepting of new additions to their own group.

 

Carol, to me, seems to be becoming who Andrea was in the comics.  If so, she should have a love interest in the future.

 

Tyreese still being alive past the prison is really opening up his story as well.  In the comic, he cleared the entire gym by himself in the dark at the prison.  They didn't go there in the show, nor did he beat Rick half to death as he did in the comic when Rick's leadership was being questioned.  Instead, they are working his "beast mode" eruptions in to the show with scenes like the one at the cabin/train station.

 

I think what this does is leave the comic and show separately appealing to all viewers, regardless of which you've been exposed to before approaching the other.  The themes are exactly the same, even though the stories are told in different ways.

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