The Walking Dead: What Makes Them Leave the Prison?

Something occurs to me as I watch today’s episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead. The series’s writers and showrunner have all been very clear about the fact that just because something happened in the comic books, doesn’t mean it will happen–or at least happen in the same way–on the TV show.So…what’s going to drive Rick and his group of survivors out of the prison?In the comics, of course, they fled the prison after the Governor attacked it in a tank; the compromised fences coupled with the terrible, tragic memories of their losses made it a no-brainer, and the battle was effectively a draw, with Woodbury’s own troops killing the Governor after realizing that they weren’t staring down a threat, but harassing some hapless group of survivors just trying to make a home for themselves.In the comics, though, part of the criticism of their time in the prison was that it was “too safe.” Kirkman focused primarily on the character drama during much of the time spent there, with the zombie threat being fairly minimized. Not so here–zombies have been a pretty constant presence on the prison grounds, and (as seen above), Tyreese and his group got in through the same giant hole that’s likely allowing walkers to fill up the “tombs” even as our characters speak.Meanwhile, it’s not just a question of Glenn wanting to leave and Hershel not wanting to; the entire group agrees with Hershel on principle, and tonight’s attack should prove to everyone left behind that the building isn’t safe–that the Governor not only knows where they are but has the means to get to them, and to compromise the gates, more or less at will.So…do you think they’ll hole up and defend the prison, in spite of being trapped in their with their backs to the impending walker invasion…or take their chances on the road and fundamentally change the nature of the final confrontation with the Governor from what we’ve come to expect from the comics?