‘The Walking Dead’ Season 4 Comic-to-TV Comparison: “Us”

AMC: Albeit interspersed with talk of video games, Eugene passes time on the road to Terminus by theorizing that the undead infection might also have killed off the dinosaurs, amusing him to ponder the notion of one zombified dinosaur attacking another. Tara also finds a coin on the tracks, to which Eugene poses that he might concoct a homemade battery with certain other household materials.

THE COMICS: Though perhaps a bit less outwardly juvenile, comic Eugene was similarly given to philosophic rhetoric, once passing the time with the preacher Gabriel by debating the logistics of Christianity. Additionally, Abraham had previously extolled the man’s intelligence with an ability to create a compass from silk and a needle, and Eugene was seen on multiple occasions to construct useful inventions from basic materials.

AMC: Late one night during watch, Abraham espouses to Tara that she disproved his ideas about her affections for Glenn by looking down Rosita’s shirt, indicating her interest in the same sex. Abraham also mentions that he’d repeatedly seen Eugene do the same thing, though it remains somewhat unclear if Abraham and Rosita themselves are an item.

THE COMICS: Eugene was repeatedly observed to have eyes for Rosita, despite her well-known pairing with Abraham. Both Rosita and Abraham knew that Eugene occasionally spied on them having sex, though even after Abraham’s role within the comics ended, Eugene and Rosita were never formally observed to couple up.

AMC: Though it happened several weeks ago, we’ve had pointed out to us something familiar about Rick’s new coat, while “Us” also saw Rosita finally covering up the more exposed areas of her first ensemble, and Eugene donned Glenn’s riot gear as part of an exchange to continue pressing onward to Terminus.

THE COMICS: Apart from Andrew Lincoln’s curly hair and comic Rick’s missing appendage, the corduroy-lined coat now makes Rick grimes the spitting image of his comic self. Meanwhile, the books drew understandably less attention to Rosita’s vulnerable attire, and none of the riot gear was seen again until after the prison’s fall.

AMC: Daryl learns more and more of the practices of his brutal new group, particularly the manner in which Joe keeps order by allowing any member to “claim” something as their own, enforcing harsh beatings (or even death) for breaking the rules of their lifestyle.

THE COMICS: It was a longshot, but it appears that Joe’s group doesn’t bear any real resemblance to the comic group of cannibalistic hunters, especially given the discard of Len’s body after the argument with Daryl. That said, it draws more than a little suspicion that Terminus resident Mary first greeted the survivors with a helping of barbecue, but more on that later…

AMC: After parting ways with Glenn and Tara, Abraham, Rosita and Eugene apparently encounter Maggie, Bob and Sasha on the other end of the tunnel, before heading back inside to save Glenn and Tara at the last moment. Glenn and Maggie are happily reunited, curiously with no mention of Beth, marking the first major post-prison reunion of the different groups, save for Rick and Michonne back in “After.”

THE COMICS: Rick, Carl and Michonne appear to have been the only ones truly separated in the aftermath of the prison, as the three would later encounter Glenn and Maggie on horseback, the rest of the group having apparently relocated to Hershel’s still-standing farm. There, Maggie learned of the fates of her father and younger brother Billy for the first time, making her the last living Greene.

AMC: In addition to manipulating Rosita into driving back toward Glenn and Tara, Eugene later makes the executive decision to divert his and Abraham’s mission to Terminus, wanting to stock up and potentially recruit others to the cause before continuing onward to Washington. Sasha, and at least a few others seem eager to join his mission, after ascertaining the fate of other unaccounted-for survivors at Terminus.

THE COMICS: We know the comic version of Eugene’s mission to Washington was eventually revealed as a lie, though he never actively sought to take Abraham, or anyone else off the beaten path, at least for very long. Instead, Eugene’s deception was exposed when Rick found the man’s radio devoid of batteries, though by that point, the entire group had traveled far enough toward Washington to settle in some of the neighboring areas.

AMC: At long last, the combined group of Glenn, Maggie, Tara, Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, Sash and Bob arrive at the fabled Terminus, which appears to be a fenced off railway industrial compound warmly welcoming survivors to lower their weapons as they enter. Apart from the idyllic gardens, all we see of the interior is a lone woman named Mary, who greets the survivors and offers to feed them as they settle in.

THE COMICS: We don’t yet know if Terminus corresponds to any of the survivor communities from the books, be they Alexandria or the “Sanctuary” that housed Negan’s men. That said, the exterior of Terminus at least appears aesthetically closer to the Sanctuary, despite the fact that either complex resided closer to the Washington D.C. area. If anything, we’re a bit more curious about what Mary might have been grilling, given the scarce nature of food in the zombie apocalypse…