The Walking Dead: Five Things That Almost Happened Very Differently

If you haven't caught up on your Walking Dead viewing, this article contains spoilers for previous episodes. On The Walking Dead, the unexpected often happens. Characters that fans don't expect to die can get killed off suddenly. In fact, it appears as if even the producers on the show don't always know what is going to happen next, and some things change at the last minute. Here are five scenes that almost went down in a very different way than they eventually aired. 5. Carol Almost Died In Season 3 – In the "Killer Within" during The Walking Dead Season 3, T-Dog heroically sacrificed himself to save Carol. However, it almost didn't go down that way. In an interview with Channel Guide Magazine, executive producer Greg Nicotero talked about how Lori Grimes death was planned ahead of time. Nicotero added, "But in the same episode, IronE [Singleton, who played T-Dog] got it, too. But that had gone back and forth, and there was an incarnation where Carol was going to die in that episode. You know, it changes and it's all very organic in terms of how it's worked out in past episodes." 4. Lori Almost Returned As A Walker –One of the big debates during Season 3 of The Walking Dead was over what happened to Lori Grimes' body. The inference on the show was that a walker had eaten Lori before Rick could retrieve the body. However, fan speculation pointed to Lori either still being alive or returning as a walker. It turns out that there was a scene shot where Lori did return as a walker. However, it was just in one of Rick's visions. 3. Hershel Almost Died In Season 2 – During Season 4, fans were shocked and saddened when The Governor beheaded Hershel Greene. It turns out that Hershel actually stuck around on the series a lot longer than originally planned. In an interview with Channel Guide Magazine, Nicotero revealed, "And with Scott Wilson, there were talks way back at the end of Season 2 that Hershel wasn't going to make it. There was a script that was written that Hershel was killed in the barn by Randall, before Randall escaped way back at the end of Season 2. Scott had kind of known — yeah, my time is limited — and then, of course, that got changed, and he stuck around for all of Season 3. Minus his leg." 2. The Governor Almost Broke Merle's Arm – In the "This Sorrowful Life" episode during Walking Dead Season 3, Merle gets in a violent fight with The Governor. However, it turns out that scene was originally longer and even more violent. In an interview with Channel Guide Magazine, Nicotero explained, "And that fight in my original director's cut was much longer and a lot more brutal. Like The Governor breaks Merle's arm." 1. Merle Almost Lived – Speaking of Merle, it turns out that Merle's death was a last minute decision. During Walker Stalker Con, Nicotero revealed, "The trick with Michael [Rooker] was that him dying was sort of a last minute thing. Like, it wasn't planned out at the beginning of the season. As we were going, it was like, 'God, we love this character, and he's so great.' And, then I was directing that episode, and they called and were like, 'Ok, so Merle's going to die.'"