Photo: AMC
Looking back at The Walking Dead, we’re noticing things have dramatically changed since the beginning. While we’ve had our season finale predictions in the past, as well as a bit of fun with our favorite “Walking Dead” tweets, right now we’re focused on how much things have changed in recent seasons compared to the pilot and its early episodes.
From the ways of the walkers to how hot the cast has gotten, we’re into it all. Not only has the cast changed and aged plenty along the way, but the turnover of characters, pace of episodes and Rick’s ability to call his son by the correct name have all taken drastic turns.
Come with us as we break down the 10 things that have dramatically changed on The Walking Dead since the beginning as we gear up for “all-out war” in season eight, premiering on Sunday, Oct. 22 on AMC. And if that doesn’t get you excited, check out the slide of Rosita bending over and remember why it is you still tune in.
10 Things That Have Dramatically Changed on ‘The Walking Dead’ Since the Beginning
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TWD S8 vs 1
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Walkers Are Less Capable But More Grotesque
In the pilot, walkers are climbing up on tanks, moving much more quickly and are more capable at killing the living. The creators likely saw this World War Z style of zombie difficult to work with and slowed the walkers down, making them easier to thwart for the sake of longevity. But we love when a loud ass walker somehow pops up out of nowhere and rips someone's neck off.
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The Women Are Only Getting Hotter
In the first season, Lori was about the hottest thing we had. Thank goodness when she died. If she were on the show now, she couldn't hold a candle to some of the women on the show, especially our favorite, Rosita (Christian Serratos). It's like Lost all over again, even Carol is getting hotter.
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The Evolution of 'Coral'
As the seasons progress, "Carl" sounds less like the name of his son and more like what you'd scream while snorkeling if you didn't have to worry about getting a bunch of "carl" in your mouth. Chock it up to British actors bombing at sounding like American rednecks.
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The Turnover Is Much Higher
The show has always kept a steady killing of walkers with the occasional character death, but now we're getting droves of walkers killed at a time in recent seasons, and the side characters are plucked off one after another, sometimes in the same episode.
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The Seasons Rely Upon Villains Now
Whereas survival (food, water, shelter) was key in the early episodes, that seems to come secondary to killing other living people that Rick and the gang don't like. This is not good resource management, Rick.
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The Casting & Relationships Have Gotten More Progressive
Shane and Lori having their side fling was about as far as love stories went in the first two seasons, but since then we've had plenty of inter-racial relations (Glenn & Maggie, Rick/Michonne, Abraham & Sasha/Rosita) as well as multiple gay couples. While the first seasons were limited on non-caucasian characters, now there is quite the diverse cast.
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Slower Seasons & Solo Character Episodes
Though the turnover may seem higher, less happens in each season now, which may change with the "all out war" season eight. Solo character episodes like Tara meeting the all-women community, the Governor backstory and Morgan going from deranged to zen were all episodes that could've never worked early on. Now we get 16 episodes instead of 12, but they are milked way more.
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Torture Porn
The introduction of Negan and the building threshold of blood and death has essentially led to the show becoming torture porn, in which viewers may now be disappointed if they don't see something highly disturbing. I find eating dinner during this show to be less and less inviting.
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More Exotic Pets
We weren't surprised when they brought Shiva the tiger on in seasons even, but when Tobias dressed up for the Blue Man Group made his appearance, we were stunned and thrilled.
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We Have Even Less of a Clue About the Ending
When the show started, we were pretty sure there was an outbreak and someone would find a cure. Now we're not so sure, and the odds of Trump showing up and firing everyone seems just as plausible as any ending.
