Erin and Oscar have surrogate characters on the show, short-lived as they are.



Differences from the TV Series:

Michonne never left the group(s) once joining in season three. She--as mentioned before--was not in a relationship with Ezekiel. At the start of season 10, it is Carol who has taken a leave of absence aboard a boat, after she could not deal with a loss at the hands of the Whisperers. More on that later.




Differences from the TV Series:

Indeed, TV-Maggie executed Gregory by hanging, after he tried to set her up for death. Rick and Michonne watch this, and are completely against capital punishment, particularly after the example they were setting by imprisoning Negan--the real cause of all of their grief.

The Sanctuary falls in the war, with its Negan loyalists either renouncing the violent, deviant philosophy, or they are forced to live on the outskirts of the unified communities. There's no elections or leadership issues, and Dwight is set free by Daryl, who tells him to go find his wife Sherry; he is warmed that he will be killed if he ever returns to the area. This leads Dwight to end up on the spin-off series, Fear the Walking Dead, where he's travelled to the American southwest following clues left by Sherry. As of this date, he's joined Morgan's group. Oh yeah...about Morgan...



Differences from the TV Series:

Of course, on the TV series, Carl is dead. His part has been taken over by Henry, now an older teenager (and the younger brother of Benjamin, the teen Morgan had trained before he was killed by one of Negan's thugs two seasons earlier). After Lydia had been captured by the heroes, and subsequently set free to rejoin Alpha and the Whisperers, Henry hardheadedly tracks her, only to be captured, by the bestial Beta. Eventually, Daryl, his dog named "Dog", Connie (one of Magna's group) rescue Henry and Lydia, leading to a fight in an abandoned building where Daryl pushed Beta several stories down an elevator shaft, with the villain crashing flat on his back. Miraculously, Beta survives, lending to his image as a large monster in the Universal horror / Michael Myers sense.

Unlike the comics, where Kirkman seems to love running themes of violent and/or dysfunctional forms of sex, the TV series did not have its version of Lydia subjected to rape.




Differences from the TV Series:

Negan escapes his cell and makes his way out on stolen motorcycle--but he's intercepted by Judith Grimes (who tries to use reason with him over time), shoots at him, causing the man to skid out. Hw is returned to his cell. Despite her admonishing Negan for his cursing, she does this by saying, "Language! I'm a kid, asshole!"




The CB is beginning to play an important role in things to come, which will be revealed once 10-B begins in 2020....



Differences from the TV Series:

After yet another skirmish with the Whisperers, Alpha takes Daryl to the edge of a cliff overlooking a valley overflowing with zombies, warning him that if her demands are not respected, they would be unleashed upon the heroes. Daryl, Carol and Michonne are set free to inspect the new territorial border set by Alpha. As this is going on, the fair played out. Later into the day, Henry and Lydia are bonding, with the former thinking things are looking up. Alpha kills a couple who were on their way to the fair, scalps a woman for her hair, and uses it to infiltrate the fair, where she finds Lydia, and tries to convince her to return. Lydia refuses--but she's still loyal to her mother to the degree that she does not tell anyone that their enemy was among them. That night, Ezekiel screens a movie; Lydia was expecting Henry to join her, until an alert is called out that several members are missing.

Daryl, Michonne, Carol and others search for the members on a clearing leading to a hill, where they find a bound and beaten Siddiq. He is emotionally rattled and warns that he was abducted by the Whisperers. He takes them to the top of a hill where they soon see the pikes. Among the grotesque scene of mounted heads are Tara (who had come so far after originally being a pawn of The Governor), Enid (so in a sense, Maggie has lost a second little sister after Beth), "Frankie" (one of Negan's "wives" who joined the communities), Tammy (who, with her husband, had recently adopted an abandoned baby left by the Whisperers during an earlier conflict), two other members...and Henry. Their reanimated eyes looking at people they cannot recognize, with their cannibal instinct making their collective mouths move.

All are devastated, with Carol almost having a nervous breakdown on the spot. Siddiq later tells the crowd what happened: apparently, after Lydia rejected Alpha, the latter had members of her group lure the victims to a barn, where they were tied up, until a couple of members (including a former Savior) found them, untied the victims, leading to a brief fight. Enid manages to stab a couple of Whisperers, while their would-be rescuers also attack the enemies, until Henry makes eye contact with Alpha, who had grown to hate the teen for his influence over her daughter...

The flashback ends with Siddiq trying to give a warning (that the pikes are the unofficial border for Whisperer territory) and an inspirational speech about how valiantly the victims fought, but it brings no comfort to the survivors.

Ezekiel and Rosita are not among the TV victims.

This was adapted for the penultimate episode of season 9--"The Calm Before".



That's a stupid idea. Some look for violence for the sake of it, even if it does not serve the story.



Yeah, yeah, Kirkman is anti-cure, as he is incapable of writing anything that even borders fictional research, despite the fact the real world would never stop looking for a cure (and was addressed in the 1st season finale). Moreover, he claims other zombie stories has people with some "cure-carrying" element in their system. Where? Among true "zombie" films (as in reanimated and/or cannibalistic dead), its not in any of Romero's six zombie films, not in the 1990 Savini remake of Night, the 2004 "remake/reimagining" of Dawn, the direct-to-video remake of Day, World War Z, or any other major production. I'm not sure if he's referring to one woman carrying the disease in 28 Days Later, but that's entirely different than being a host for a cure.



I thought the comic war with the Saviors dragged on far too long, with too many starts and stops in the progression of what was--at its core--a tribal conflict, which are usually dirty and end quickly.



I did not feel "bad" for knowing that it was not Michonne. Ezekiel in the comics and on the TV show are taken in short doses, but for all that was sold about him, he just did not amount to much. TV-Ezekiel still lives, but he has just discovered a massive lump on his neck, which he self-diagnoses as a form of Lymphoma, since his mother had the same thing. His arc is as yet unresolved, but the smart money says he--thinking he has an untreatable disease--will willingly sacrifice himself (and find meaning he's lost since Henry's death and separation from Carol), or he will be treated at the Commonwealth.





TV-Laura (who once flirted with the gutted Spencer Monroe and nicknamed Eugene "haircut") is a former Savior and now a trusted member of the Hilltop community.



Differences from the TV Series:

By the post-pikes time on the TV series, Rick is long gone (allegedly "dying" five years earlier). The communities are still shaken by the murders, but they consider a number of options, from some form of contrition, to attacking, despite knowing the Saviors have a horde of zombies on their side.




Differences from the TV Series:

That never happened on the show, and considering how each character was developed, it could not happen, as they both have too much of a sibling bond to use physical violence.



Lydia never has this freak out, nor has she ever had sex with her surrogate for Carl, the now dead Henry.



Differences from the TV Series:

This does not happen at all on the series, as the tension and desire to do something already exists among the heroes. Negan does not counsel anyone.



As noted earlier, Dwight is no longer on TWD, but moved on to the spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead, where he's still searching for his missing wife Sherry.



Yes, this too never happens on the TV show.



I'm sure Kirkman resented the idea that so many of the readers wanted to see a Christian character, rather than marginalize him.



As far as I know, he was only involved with Sherry--his wife, so Kirkman may have been confused.





On the series, he's already introduced and well-established with a flashback to meeting Alpha.



Differences from the TV Series:

The various communities have been training for war with the Whisperers for some time.

Kirkman's neverending misuse of a religious character barely has Father Gabriel want to "pull his weight" (yeah, 'cause bringing and/or strengthening faith in a world of terror has no value, right, Kirkman?). Typically, the series handles characters in a superior manner, as Father Gabriel was an active fighter/leader in the war with the Saviors, convinced Eugene to do something to stop the Saviors (which amounted to making their bullets explode in the chambers) and even as Negan was set to execute him, the moment fighting started, he punched Negan to the ground, beating him. He's now one of the council leaders on the show, romantically involved with Rosita and has been a true hero for several seasons. All developments Kirkman never had for the character at any point, judging from the way he's been handled in the comics up to this time.



Differences from the TV Series:

This is one of season 10-A's sub-plots; some fans believe its either a Whisperer trap (despite the fact that the Whisperers live like a cross between ancient hunter-gatherers and luddites), or someone sending messages on Rick's behalf--a tease for the Rick Grimes movies coming next year.



Differences from the TV Series:

Negan escapes his cell, but is tracked by the TV-equivalent of Brandon, who has been a Negan/Savior fanboy for some time. He kisses Negan's ass so much, that he's taken to telling stories he's only heard about Negan and the Saviors' atrocities. He desperately wants the old Negan to return, going so far as to return the man's leather jacket back to him for inspirational purposes.

Negan rebuffs the young moron, when both discover a mother and her son sleeping in an abandoned bus. Negan exhibits sympathy toward the family, and suggests they make their way to the community at Alexandria, where they will be cared for. Later, Negan has a bonding moment with the son, then proceeds to collect firewood. As he returns, he--of all people--is horrified to find the mother and son dead--their skulls crushed by a stone. TV-Brandon reemerges, taking credit for the murders, thinking Negan pushed him into doing it as some sort of proof that he would join Negan. Enraged, Negan grabs a rock and beats Brandon to death, crushing his skull. Disillusioned, Negan soon dons the leather jacket and enters Whisperer territory, where he fearlessly faces off with Beta, and meets Alpha.



Differences from the TV Series:

The heroes were concerned that Negan escaped, but not to the point of trying to find him.

Aaron and Michonne do not have a violent encounter with the Whisperers. However, TV-Carol is recklessly determined to kill Alpha for Henry's murder and even attempts to shoot her during a threat-peppered meeting at the infamous pikes.



Differences from the TV Series:

Beta is a bit friendzoned, but he does not attack Negan, since the latter is seen as valuable, having come from enemy territory.



As noted before, the show omitted all of the rape part of the Whisperers' culture, which was a wise decision.



Differences from the TV Series:

This is where the TV series has left off until its return in 2020; while Alpha is curious about Negan, he has not made any moves against her, as she not only has to figure out if he's legitimately in opposition to the heroes, but has concerns about her other "daughter" (aka "Gamma") who has now learned her mother lied about Lydia being dead--a tactic Alpha used to bolster her image as a ruthless leader.




Differences from the TV Series:

Again, this is never explored on the TV series, as the two men are such polar opposites, that its almost suggestive of an immune system-level rejection of any belief/thought process that comes from the other, and that is quite realistic, considering just how sickening TV Negan was at his worst.




If society had fallen four years earlier, aside from the effect on nature from hunters, wild animals would migrate anywhere a food source and shelter would take them. Even today, metropolitan Miami has alligators showing up in neighborhoods, while some states have deer, cougars and coyote running around town. The presence of wild boars would not be too surprising.