How 'TWD' Changed Hilltop Colony For TV

There’s nothing better than when a new location is introduced in The Walking Dead. It means new characters, emotional losses, and of course, so much drama. In last week's episode of The Walking Dead, Hilltop Colony was finally introduced, along with the important residents who live within its walls. Usually, the AMC series follows the original comic books' major storylines pretty closely, but it does love to switch things up, combine characters, create new people, and throw in surprises for even the most avid comic reader. So how is Hilltop Colony different in the comics than on the show? Though the two are very similar so far, there are some changes worth knowing about.

First, let’s talk about what was the same between the book and the show. The Walking Dead did a great job of making Hilltop Colony come to life visually. If you look at photos of Hilltop in the comics, you will see that it’s pretty much identical to what viewers saw on Sunday. In both versions, Rick's group meets with Gregory and tries to convince him to trade with them before Ethan stumbles in with a message from Negan, stabbing Gregory. Rick then attacks and kills Ethan on the spot, pissing pretty much everyone off. Then the group made a deal to trade supplies for finding and killing the Saviors, just like on the show. So the major storylines were on point, but there were some differences that might change how things work out for the group going forward on The Walking Dead.

Crystal vs. Craig

In both the comic book and the TV show, Ethan comes back after a run, stabs Gregory, and says it's a message from Negan. That whole scene stays true to the comic except for one tiny detail: Negan didn't capture his brother Craig in the comics. In the source material, Negan is holding a woman named Crystal hostage, who is assumed to be Ethan's girlfriend.

Carl The Stowaway

On The Walking Dead, Rick assumed that Carl would be coming with them to Hilltop Colony, but Carl says someone has to stay behind. Almost the opposite happens in the comics, as Carl sneaks his way into the car for the trip, and they find him hiding under blankets in the back seat. He is then with Rick's group the entire time they stay at Hilltop.

Michonne & Rick

The new romantic relationship between Michonne and Rick is completely created for the TV show. Their relationship on-screen progressed quickly last week as they went from sleeping together once to constant hand-holding throughout the episode, and this change in their relationship could affect some of the story ahead.

Maggie Taking Charge

The TV show begins Maggie's reign over Hilltop very early, as she was the one to negotiate the terms of their trade with Gregory, but in the comic that's not how things go. For the first visit, Glenn goes to Hilltop while Maggie stays behind, though she eventually does become a leader of the community. I like this change, however, as Maggie hasn't gotten much attention this season and it's awesome to see her becoming a leader from Day 1.

Daryl Dixon

This will be different for any storyline, as Daryl does not exist in the comics, and that is one reason we should always be very, very grateful that The Walking Dead isn't afraid to stray from its source material.

Images: Gene Page/AMC (5); telltalesonline, johnrsilver/tumblr