8 ‘The Walking Dead’ Couples From the Comics That Didn’t Make the Show
WARNING: Spoilers for The Walking Dead comic series follow.
If you’re a fan of AMC’s The Walking Dead, you almost certainly know the story points that were changed from the source material—even if you haven’t read the comics. Maybe you remember the outcry when Glenn (Steven Yeun) wasn’t the first person Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) killed in that infamous lineup scene. Maybe you heard rumblings that Ezekiel (Khary Payton) wasn’t going to make it out of the Whisperer storyline, only to see him alive and heading to the Commonwealth. You almost certainly caught the outrage that accompanied Carl’s (Chandler Riggs) death, given that he sticks around way, way longer in the comics.
But what about romantic relationships? Many of them, too, are different — and some of the pairings might surprise you. Here are eight couples from the source material that never made it to the TV series.
The Walking Dead, Returns 2021, AMC
Dale and Andrea
Yes, really. While they had a father-daughter bond on the show, in the comics, Dale and Andrea were romantically involved (and yes, the age gap between them still existed). Bonus fact: in the comics, Dale took the death that went to the show’s Bob (Lawrence Gilliard, Jr) — you know, the whole being-devoured-by-cannibals-while-also-having-been-bitten-by-a-walker demise.
Carl and Lydia
To be fair, this same kind of dynamic happened on the show, given that Sam (Matthew Lintz) had a brief romance with Lydia (Cassady McClincy). But in the comics, Carl and Lydia’s courtship lasts far longer, though at the story’s conclusion, Carl ends up with Sophia, who most certainly didn’t die at the farm.
Rick and Andrea
The relationship between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) is perhaps the closest this dynamic came to being translated to the screen. In the comics, though, it’s Andrea who Rick eventually falls in love with and who Carl grows to see as his mom. We’re happy Michonne didn’t meet Andrea’s fate, though; comics Andrea dies at the conclusion of the Whisperer War after sustaining a bite to her side.
Carol and Tyreese
There certainly wasn’t anything romantic between these two on the drama, given that Carol killed Tyreese’s (Chad L. Coleman) girlfriend in an attempt to stop a deadly virus from spreading at the prison. In the comics, however, they’re in a relationship… which ends badly, after Carol discovers he’s cheating on her. The show’s nod to this very well might be pairing them together in the latter half of Season 4 when the group was split up, but that didn’t culminate in anything romantic—if they’re bonded by anything, it’s the trauma of knowing the tragic fates that befell the Samuels girls.
Michonne and Morgan
In the comics, these two get together before All Out War and the Negan storyline. Their relationship has its ups and downs, but Michonne does love him—it’s tragic, then, that she has to be the one to put him down after he succumbs to a bite wound. On the show, the closest these two came to a relationship was Michonne stealing Morgan’s peanut butter protein bars. Twice.
Eugene and Rosita
This pairing was hinted at on the show, given Eugene’s (Josh McDermitt) long-standing unrequited crush on Rosita (Christian Serratos), but it never came to be. In the comics, however, Rosita does eventually get together with Eugene. That said, she dies in the Whisperer War—her head is on one of the spikes.
Michonne and Ezekiel
The show gave a clever nod to the comics storyline between these two earlier in Season 10, when they shared a kiss (he even said something to the effect of, “In another life, perhaps.”) In the comics, Michonne and Ezekiel have a romantic relationship, which she breaks off, though she later seems to regret doing so after he dies.
Aaron and Jesus
It’s not entirely clear whether this did or didn’t happen at some point during the show’s six-year time jump. In the comics, though, the relationship between Aaron and Jesus is quite a bit different; they become a couple around the time of the Whisperer War, and they remain together at the end of the series (so Jesus doesn’t die by Whisperer). They’re also the ones who kill Beta.
BONUS: Negan and Lucille
Okay, this isn’t, strictly speaking, a romantic relationship (although I think we can all agree Negan loves his barbed wire baseball bat). But it’s worth noting that in the comics, Lucille—the bat, not Negan’s late wife—sticks around longer and gets a more iconic exit; when Negan fights Beta, he swings Lucille down on his back and it (she?) snaps in half. Oh, the horror!
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