5 Awesome Walking Dead Moments (That Can Never Happen on TV)

Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead is a series full of massive surprises, shocking deaths and plot twists around nearly every corner. It’s absolutely true that no one is safe, save maybe for Rick and Carl, although Kirkman has claimed in the past that even one or both of them may go eventually.It’s for that reason that many fans of the comic book find themselves often saying, “Damn! Why’d they have to change that?” when a moment occurs on TV that isn’t just the way they expect. There are, of course, fans who just want everything to be the same all the time–but even among those of us who don’t mind a little bit of change for change’s sake, sometimes it’s hard to resist complaining about the great story potential that was lost along the way.It should go without saying, but this is a spoiler-filled article. If you haven’t read the comics and don’t want them to be spoiled, TURN BACK NOW. And while four of the five moments have already come and gone in the TV series, the fifth one could yet occur. I think the odds of it are basically zero, which is why it’s included, but be aware that even if you have no interest in the comic books, a future spoiler could be buried deep inside.Carl kills Shane (for real)Glenn Mazzara told fans last night that Rick killed Shane on the TV show because The Walking Dead is “Rick’s story.” Well, in the comics it’s always been the story of a changed world, in which Rick is a main character. That means there’s less need for Rick to be right or perfect all the time, or to be the one who always makes the bold and decisive move.In the comics, Carl sees Shane ready to kill his father and he pulls the trigger. It was a great surprise that led to some terrific character moments for the young man–because no matter how you spin it, killing your “second father” is entirely different when he’s got a pulse, than when he doesn’t.Rick kills zombie ShaneThat’s right,folks–they just reversed this one.In the comics, though, it isn’t Shane who makes Rick realize that people turn even if they’ve never been bitten. After they bury Shane and have a service for their fallen friend, that realization comes just down the road.Rick, not wanting to see his onetime best friend suffer such a degrading and awful fate, returns to the grave to put a bullet between Shane’s undead eyes–but then basically tells him that he refuses to bury the man who screwed his wife and tried to kill him for a second time, and that while human Shane deserved compassion and respect, zombie Shane can rot. It was a great coda to the pair’s relationship and one of the first times you saw Rick be truly cold to one of the other survivors (even if he wasn’t, technically at that point, surviving).Dale and the cannibalsDale’s death on the TV show was shocking, sudden, brutal and poignant. It served a narrative purpose and kicked off three weeks of gleeful violence and death among the core group of survivors–but it wasn’t perfect.The only reason it seems imperfect, to me, is that his death in the comics was so much better.For ages, Dale in the comics filled the niche that Hershel seems to be filling now. He was a wise and complex older man who sided with Rick and helped to stabilize the group. As the series wore on, his patience with Rick thinned and eventually he started actively clashing with the group leader. With what looked like a major rift forming between the survivors, Dale…bit the dust.Ambushed by a group of cannibals while walking in the woods, Dale found himself being kept alive only so that his meat wouldn’t rot, and his amputated limbs feeding a group of lunatics around a campfire. His surprising and awesome response? He was bitten by a zombie on the way into the woods, and was already doomed–but they, by attacking him, had infected themselves and would soon die horribly.Sophia bonds with her adoptive familyIt’s pretty obvious why this one can’t work, right? It’s been interesting to see how Carol has coped with losing her daughter and being all alone in the world (except, of course, for her budding relationship with Daryl), and it’s probably a fair trade–but Sophia, who still lives on in the comics–lost her mom a long time ago and has formed a deeply-felt and fascinating relationship with Glenn and Maggie, who took her in.She’s also Carl’s de facto love interest, though that part is usually played down since they’re still both far too young to be doing much.Jesus in chainsThere’s nothing in the canon or continuity that actually says this one is impossible, but it seems very unlikely that we’ll see an almost beat-for-beat rehash of Randall’s story happen again on TV.Jesus (no relation), who recently appeared to our survivors and showed off some mad martial arts skills before finally being brought down and held prisoner for quite a while, as the survivors struggled to decide whether or not they could  trust him and what his sudden appearance and claims of civilization beyond their walls meant for the group.While the story remains unresolved, it so far appears as though Jesus is on the level (whereas Randall was clearly not). Will that be enough difference to justify another hostage subplot in another couple of seasons? Only time will tell…!