Should The Walking Dead Take A Page Out of Game of Thrones’ Book?

The Walking Dead hit a bit of a stale patch over the last few seasons, and that has some wondering if they should go Game of Thrones with things and tear pages out of the book — literally. 

Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead are two of the most popular shows on television but they seem to be on different trajectories. Where The Walking Dead continues to follow its story arc from the comics, Game of Thrones is straight up killing people who are still alive in the books.

That’s a major detour from the books and it might be something that The Walking Dead should consider and maybe take a page out of the Game of Thrones playbook.

Put an emphasis on taking a page out — because maybe The Walking Dead needs to start moving away from the comics and forging it’s own path.

Of course, for comic book readers this could be a slap in the face, but it really doesn’t have to be. Game of Thrones book readers foam at the mouth when the show moves away from the books, but what is the enjoyment in watching something you’ve already imagined in your head play out in a way that is probably going to disappoint you?

For The Walking Dead, there’s an even heavier need to move away from the comics because it’s a visual medium. Maybe that leads to less of a gap between what you imagine and what you see on the screen, but watching the comics come alive isn’t the most thrilling thing ever.

The Walking Dead deserves credit though, because they’ve took pivots away from the comics in some major ways in the past. The most obvious of which is the creation of Daryl Dixon, who isn’t in the comics at all. But is it merely a coincidence that he’s the most popular thing about the show — and he’s not in the comics?

That’s a big tip to the idea that the show needs to move away from the comics. Nothing against the comics or the comic book readers, but the show needs to exist on it’s own and that can’t happen if it’s shackled the the arc of the comics.

Perhaps the same story can be followed, but the route to the major plot points are different. That has been something The Walking Dead has done in the past, and it’s always encouraging to see them do. For this viewer and fan, at least, there needs to be more of that and it’s for the betterment of the series as a whole.

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