Negan finally made his way to Alexandria in this week’s episode of The Walking Dead. So far, this episode stayed closer to the comics than any other episode this season. Despite all of its similarities, there were also a lot of new storylines that came from the episode. We break down the comparisons and their meanings below:

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Negan’s Arrival

 

Negan’s arrival to Alexandria in the show played out almost exactly the same way it did in the comics.

COMICS: Negan arrives at the gates of Alexandria and is greeted first by Spencer, who asks who he is. Negan scoffs and asks him to find Rick. Meanwhile, he and The Saviors get attacked by a group of walkers, but easily take care of business. Rick shows up, reluctantly lets him in, Negan hands him Lucille to hold, and asks him to show them around.

SHOW: Spencer and Rosita prepare to embark on a supply run when Negan and The Saviors make an unexpected visit to Alexandria. Negan knocks on the gate, Spencer asks who Negan is, Negan scoffs, Rick shows up and lets him in (while reminding him he’s early). Negan makes Rick hold Lucille and tells his men to start raiding the place. Rick informs him they’ve already assembled a pile but Negan explains they’ll take the half they want to take.

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Carl’s Threat

 

This scene’s sort of tricky because the show combines two scenes from the comics.

COMICS: Carl warns Negan to leave Alexandria or else he and his men will pay the consequences. Amused, Negan threatens Carl back and sends him on a way. Shortly after, Heath yells for Rick and Negan to come quick. They discover Denise (who’s dead in the show) holding the Saviors at gunpoint and demanding they not take ALL of their medicine. Negan reassures her they took the half they wanted and Rick orders Denise to put her gun down. She complies and Rick allows them to take off with their supply.

SHOW: Negan and Rick hear a gunshot and discover Carl holding the Saviors at gunpoint. Carl’s upset they’re taking all, not half of the medicine. Rick tells Carl to put the gun down but Negan assured him he can handle this himself. The ensuing conversation is taken from the comic moment Negan had with Carl. This leads Negan to decide to take the remainder of their guns.

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The Raid

 

In both instances the dialogue was almost identical, but the circumstances were different.

COMIC: As The Saviors loot Alexandria Negan pulls Rick aside to assure him he won’t take any of their food. Negan reminds Rick how reasonable he is and Rick shoots back, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

SHOW: As The Saviors loot the armory Negan pulls Rick aside to assure him he won’t take any of their food. Negan asks Rick if he’s cooperating and Rick shoots back, “What’s it look like?” Negan then asks Rick if all the guns are in the armory or if he’s hiding some. Rick assures him to the best of his knowledge they’re all there.

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No Hidden Guns Plot

 

A majority of the episode focused on Rick and the town desperately searching for the missing guns from the inventory. This storyline didn’t happen in the comics…in fact Negan’s visit was MUCH shorter.

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No Rosita & Spencer Adventure Either

 

In the comics Rosita and Spencer did NOT have to track down Daryl’s bike because Daryl doesn’t exist in the comics. So although this didn’t happen, it helped build Spencer’s “I don’t trust Rick” storyline.

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What about Michonne’s Storyline?

 

Nope. In the comics Michonne did NOT go on a solo mission to (badly) play target practice with a sniper rifle. She also didn’t have to surrender said sniper rifle to Rick. It’s worth noting that Andrea, who’s still alive in the comics, is very similar to Michonne in the show. We started seeing pieces of Andrea show up in Sasha (with her rifle expertise and watchtower duties) but now, we’re seeing it more prevalent in Michonne. Comic Andrea and Show Michonne both are dating Rick, vehemently opposed to Negan, and somewhat familiar with a rifle. It remains to be seen how much Andrea’s storyline will play out for Michonne in future episodes.

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Negan’s Parting Words

 

Hey, this did happen! In both the comics and show, Negan relishes in the gradual breakdown of Rick’s spirit. He forces him to hold Lucille during his entire visit and makes him thank him for it. As grotesque as Negan’s words were they were verbatim from the comics:

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Spencer’s Motives

 

Yes, Spencer is just as sketchy in the comics as he is in the show. Without giving away too much of his future, Spencer seems to be the only Alexandrian vocally questioning Rick’s recent decisions. And considering how fast their sweet community turned into a living hell he’s not completely wrong to ask if things could have been different.

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The Aftermath

 

Negan’s departure didn’t seem to calm anyone’s nerves in the comic or show.

COMICS: After Negan and The Saviors leave Denise goes off on Rick for letting them take all of their things. Rick shoots back and reminds her and everyone else that Negan’s the leader now and anyone not OK with it can leave. He then tells them to prepare for more supply runs so they’re better prepared for Negan’s next visit. Shortly afterwards Carl goes missing…

SHOW: Here’s where we really start deviating. Rick watches as Negan, The Saviors, and Daryl drive away. He then confronts Spencer about hiding the guns and Spencer counters by saying the should have made a deal with The Saviors when they had the chance. He suggests Glenn and Abe might still be alive that way…which triggers Rick to warn him if he ever says anything like that again he’ll break his jaw. Shortly after, Rick gets Michonne on his side and tells her he knows Judith belongs to Shane. Later, Michonne discovers their mattresses getting burned on the side of the road while Rosita asks Eugene to make a bullet for her. None of this occurred in the comics.

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What were YOUR favorite comic/show crossovers? Do you think Rick did the right thing? And what are Spencer and Rosita up to?? Tell us in the comments!