Season Two ends with Rick saying it’s his way or the highway and that lasts for like three episodes until it’s a shit for all again where everyone just does as they please. With the third run at the show, this constant issue really began to develop; characters say things and then don’t hold onto their word immediately after they say it.

Basically, any time Rick makes a decision, two seconds later he goes with the opposite option. And that’s fine I guess; if your biggest problem is what book of stamps you want. But in the zombie apocalypse, you need a stronger back bone.

With that being said, I love the third season of The Walking Dead. It’s where Glen Mazzara’s reign really comes to shine. Fates of the characters change from the comic and instead happen to someone else (in the comic Allan and Dale have their legs cut off, not Hershel; Michonne recognizes Tyreese from his famous football days [back story that is absent from the show] and tries and succeeds in banging him [despite him being with Carol at this point]; the prisoners are completely different in the show, with Axel being a likeable sidekick type whereas he is standoff-ish in the source; Andrea never meets or hooks up with the Governor like her show counterpart and is still alive [at least up to the point I’ve read]… just to name a few).

But these changes go deeper than simply changing one’s fate. For starters, we see Rick really grapple with his descending character. He is angry at his wife for being with Shane, he is angry for having to kill Shane, he is angry for having his life destroyed, and losing the farm and being in charge of everyone. And he kills Tomas like it’s nothing in the beginning of the show with little remorse since Tomas almost stabbed (and could have killed him) first.

Rick would have never been so quick in the past and would have more willingly given a second chance. But now the philosophy has become “kill or be killed” and it serves as his first “Oh shit, Rick’s angry” moment.

One of the best things this season offers is the introduction of the Governor. He is charming and charismatic and a complete nut job behind doors. In the comics, he is what any comic book villain is; completely evil with little to no redeeming qualities. But the show humanizes him, almost to the point of a borderline tragic hero.

He is Rick’s foil character, and potentially a blueprint for where Rick could have gone (and at times teeter-totters with becoming). The way he tortures Maggie is a trimmed down version of what he does to Michonne in the comic, the way he tortures Glenn or how he uses Merle are all changes on the source. Milton is another new addition. And the western sit down between Rick and the Governor is all unique to the show.

There’s tension in their conversation, with Hershel and Milton bonding with each other and Caesar and Daryl finding common ground. It’s one of the best scenes in the show where supposed “enemies” bond and you see how the potential war hanging on a thread almost boils down to Rick and the Governor having Ego’s too big for their own good.

In the comic, Rick and the Governor meet much earlier and Andrea acting as a go-between never occurs. The Governor demands to know where Rick’s camp is and when he lies, he gets his hand cut off! And then he is held prisoner until he and his group manages to escape (with the aid of Caesar, which is really a ploy by the Governor to find the prison). The fight with the Governor is more warranted in the comics, whereas the show plays much more on the tension between him and Rick before it escalates.

Characters also die left and right this season, which is something lacking from the show nowadays. I’m not arguing that in order for a show to be good, characters need to be killed. That wouldn’t make sense in some cases. But in the world of The Walking Dead, the threat of characters dying is supposed to be there; it’s an underlining tension that the show has forgotten is in their back pocket.

Glen Mazzara even changed the scripts on the day of shooting in some cases in order to deviate from the material and change the direction of the show. Andrea’s death, a spur of the moment change. And I think that’s genius. Creativity works best in sparks and bursts. David Chase applied the same to The Sopranos.

When Ralph dies, it was almost a spur of the moment decision, when he was initially meant to be on for the entire next season. I’m not comparing The Walking Dead to The Sopranos. I’m not certifiable. I’m simply noting that the same approach works on other shows - The fate of the characters legitimately hung in the balance of things.

This season, in my opinion, was the potential start of something that could have then opened the floodgates to massive changes that could have been made throughout the shows run up to its current moments. And the deviation from source material brought about Carl’s greatest moment on the show… killing his mother before she turned while giving birth to his little sister. It’s a heartbreaking moment where Carl walks away after shooting his mother with a cold dead stare. It’s Rick’s killing Shane moment, and the parallel between a hardening father and son began to emerge.

In the comic, Lori was shot during the prison battle with the Governor. Now with that, imagine the difference that would have been brought to Season Three and the show moving forward. There could have been so many more moments like this (sure there are some, and I’ll touch on them, but I bet they’d be more plentiful).

With that in mind, change is good! Especially with an adaptation! I know I’ve said that a dozen times since the start of this Walking Dead article series, but it’s a point I’m trying to prove. To get a look at some more of those changes, look at my article Season Three Of The Walking Dead Part II: Welcome To The Tombs for insight on overall differences from the source and to see my views on the show leading into Season Four.