Like many shows based on comic books, “The Walking Dead” often deviated from its source material, resulting in characters who should’ve died early on, yet somehow they’re still alive and kicking in “Walking Dead” spin-offs 16 years later (We’re looking at you, Carol). But even the deaths themselves sometimes drastically differ from what went down in the comics. Case in point, Shane Walsh played by Jon Bernthal.
Bernthal’s visceral performance as Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) increasingly unhinged former police partner remains an all-time high point for AMC’s zombie drama. But as fans of Robert Kirkman’s “The Walking Dead” comics are aware, Shane’s demise in the television universe played out quite differently on the page — he should’ve never even made it to Herschel’s farm in Season 2.
In the comics, Shane’s expiration date arrived much sooner. By issue #6, his obsession with Lori and jealousy over Rick’s surprise survival boiled over into a deadly confrontation in the woods. Before Shane could pull the trigger on his best friend, a young Carl Grimes shows up and shoots Shane in the neck to defend his father. Later, after the group discovers that anyone can turn into a zombie — even without being bitten — Rick returns to Shane’s gravesite to shoot his reanimated ex-bestie in the head.
In the live-action version of The Walking Dead, Carl gets to shoot a reanimated Shane
When it came time to adapt the arc for the screen, it seems the show’s writers decided to shake things up to maximize the emotional fallout. In “The Walking Dead” Season 2, Episode 12, “Better Angels,” Shane lures Rick out into Hershel’s pastures with every intention of killing him and blaming it on Randall — a character from an opposing faction Shane had already eliminated. Rick, playing it smart, refuses to draw his gun and hands it to Shane, offering to put their differences aside. As Shane grabs the gun, Rick drives a knife into Shane’s chest.
As for Carl’s part in Shane’s screen death, the show makes a nod to the source material. As a devastated Rick stands over his partner’s body, Shane reanimates as a walker. That’s when Carl appears on the scene to put a bullet in him. It was a close wink to the comic book killing, except this time he shot a zombified Shane.
Fun fact though: There was a Season 1 moment where fans thought the death from the comics was almost going to play out as planned. In Episode 5, Shane’s jealously is bubbling underneath the surface. There’s a tense moment where Shane — in a forest setting — aims his gun at Rick from afar, clearly tempted to pull the trigger, except he’s caught by a visibly shaken Dale (Jeffrey Demunn). In the end, it was all just a tease for something that wouldn’t come to a boiling point until Season 2.
