No bullets? No problem! In the world of The Walking Dead there are literally thousands of “weapons” waiting right outside the walls of Alexandria ready to be put to good use. Since Rick spearheaded the migration of walkers from the rock quarry to outside of the safe zone, we already know that his people are more than capable of herding the dead, and since working vehicles are about the only thing Negan has allowed Rick’s people to keep for their supply runs, the group should be able to lead a herd toward the Sanctuary no problem.

The allies use a similar tactic in the comics. After they arrive at Negan’s doorstep, they start shooting up the windows of the Sanctuary to make a racket and draw the walkers toward them. But since they’re out of guns and ammo on the show, they’ll just have to put a little more effort into getting a herd of walkers to the Sanctuary.

This first move will not only make the Saviors waste a bunch of their ammo, but will also buy Rick’s group some extra time by keeping Negan and his men surrounded until they’re able to put the horde down. Sounds like a win-win to us.

RICK OFFERING THE SAVIORS A TRUCE, TWICE!

In the comics, Rick arrives at Negan’s doorstep with his army and offers him an alternative to war: surrender your army and everyone else in the Sanctuary gets to live. Of course, Negan laughs in Rick’s face, which Rick was prepared for, as it was all part of his attack plan in the first place. However, in the show the only thing that the allies have going for them is the element of surprise, and announcing their arrival to Negan would give the Saviors too much time to prepare for battle. Giving one of Negan’s snipers the chance to shoot him also doesn’t seem like a risk that TV Rick is willing to make.

Rick offering Negan a truce doesn’t just happen before the first battle in the comics; it also happens before the final one. Again, Rick uses a speech as part of his battle plan, and in this instance he uses it to get close to Negan so he can cut his throat. Here, Rick offers Negan the chance to be partners and use their network of towns to trade equally with one another, and Negan actually agrees! We definitely don’t see Negan willing to compromise on the show, especially after a war where Rick continues to defy him at every turn.

GREGORY BETRAYING HIS PEOPLE

Alright, so this entry shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as Gregory basically tried to sell out Maggie and Sasha just a few episodes ago. But we’re predicting the weak and ineffectual leader of the Hilltop Colony will go straight to Negan (or Simon) to rat out his own people in an attempt to save himself before the impending war.

His opposition will did little to stop Jesus from rallying fellow Hilltop members into joining, we seen Gregory planning on meeting up with the saviors in the last episode. It has many believing he is the little birdie that got to Negan like he did in the comics but his scene was after Negan told Sasha about the birdie But we also predict that, like anything else Gregory tries to do, his plan to switch sides will have little effect.

In the comics Gregory does survive the war, but plays little part in the remainder of the series. We wouldn’t even be surprised if Negan kills Gregory himself for failing to keep his people in line.

DWIGHT KILLING HIS OWN MEN

So far, Dwight is one of the characters that we liked far more in the comic. Though he was undeniably one of Negan’s top men, he put his survival above all else, and wasn’t afraid to go behind Negan’s back in order to help Rick’s group whenever he could. During an attack on Alexandria, Dwight even shot a number of his own men in the back and gave Jesus a few grenades to use in Alexandria’s defense.

On the show,  Dwight has done what he could for Dwight, but on the last episode he does show up wanting to team up with Rick and in the comics Dwight takes over as leader of the Saviors even if it is a role he does not want.

MAGGIE TAKING OVER THE HILLTOP

With Gregory holed up in Barrington House with his Scotch which he now switched to tequlia  and impressive painting (which the Saviors recently confiscated), both Maggie and Jesus have pretty much been leading the Hilltop by proxy. But now that Maggie has had some time to grieve, we believe she’ll step up and take control of the colony since they’ll need a strong leader, now more than ever. Since King Ezekiel already seems fully on board to take down the Saviors (he served them tainted pig meat, after all), Maggie stepping into place will officially solidify the allied forces against Negan.

Whether Maggie will take over the Hilltop before or after Gregory’s treason has yet to be determined. In the comic, Maggie even lets Gregory live at the colony following his betrayal. We don’t see TV Maggie being quite as forgiving, considering Gregory’s creepy crush and how often he forgets Maggie’s name. In the Comic Maggie eventually kills Gregory by public hanging which gets some of the hilltop to turn against her

THE SAVIORS USING “BIOLOGICAL” WARFARE

In the TV series, the Saviors come off as a far more foreboding opponent than they do in the comic. They have hundreds of members, multiple outposts, and enough fire to slaughter everyone in Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom, if they so desired. Meanwhile, in the comics, while Negan still leads a formidable force, his numbers don’t even hit triple digits, and they also must rely on primitive weapons in addition to their gun arsenal.

Before the final battle between the two forces, Negan instructs his soldiers to dirty their arrows and blunt-force weapons with walker guts as he demonstrates with Lucille. The objective here is to infect Rick’s army in the instance of an otherwise minor injury. However, with the sheer amount of fire power the Saviors have on the show this seems like a moot point, and if anyone was going to use this tactic in the show, Michonne’s katana or Daryl’s crossbow arrows would be ideal for coating in walker blood.

THE SAVIORS RETALIATING… WITH EXPLOSIVES

It’s an unfortunate fact of life: as civilizations become more advanced, so do their methods of wreaking havoc. Though Negan is undoubtably ruthless, you can’t deny that he is an effective leader who has built the most sustainable civilization yet (even if it was on the backs of other people). Therefore, when it’s time for the Saviors to retaliate, you better believe they will up the stakes of the war and unleash an arsenal well-equipped with explosives.

We already know that Negan has acquired a bazooka from Alexandria’s armory, and in the comics the Saviors have a heavy supply of grenades that they hurl over the wall of Rick’s town. While in the comics, Rick is foolish enough to lead his people back to Alexandria, we hope he has a better defense plan on the show. We do remember Rick and crew finding that stash of explosives that the took, so it’s  possible that Rick’s group will end up fighting the Saviors with some explosives of their own.

THE DEATH OF SHIVA

Believe it or not, no actual tiger was used in any of the episodes where we got a glimpse at Shiva, because having a tiger on set mere feet away from actors is undoubtably an insurance risk. We have to admit, the CGI tiger was impressively well done, which also means that it was extremely hard (and probably very expensive) to produce.

Even in the comics, where the addition of a tiger wouldn’t effect the cost or length of production at all, Shiva’s life is fairly short-lived. She only takes down a few Saviors and eats a number of zombies before sacrificing herself to a hoard in order to save Ezekiel. Just as it’s impractical to have a pet tiger, it’s also impractical to have one as a character on a live-action show. We just hope the showrunners give Shiva the chance to shine before they put her down.

MULTIPLE FIGHTS BETWEEN RICK AND NEGAN

By this point in the comic, Rick and Negan have already exchanged a few blows, once after Glenn’s death and then  again in Alexandria. In the show, however, the two arch enemies have largely kept their hands off each other, despite Rick promising that he will one day kill Negan and Negan’s constant prodding for Rick take a swing at him. The closest thing we’ve gotten to a fight so far is Rick charging at Negan with a hatchet, only to have Negan stop him dead with the threat of a machine gun.

On the show, tensions seem far too high for Rick and Negan to partake in a few lower-stakes fist fights. If the two are going to go at it, it’s going to be to the bitter end, or at least until one group has definitively overtaken the other. Therefore, we think it’s safe to assume that the two will only have one ultimate throw down near the war’s end.

THE ALLIES RETREATING TO THE HILLTOP

In the comic, after Rick attacks the Sanctuary and the Saviors unleash their explosives on Alexandria, the allies retreat to the Hilltop for one final battle between good and evil. This is where Rick and Negan have their final showdown, which begins with Rick offering up a truce before pulling a knife and nicking Negan’s throat.

Though anything is ultimately possible in the series finale, the move to Hilltop Colony still seems logical enough. After all, once the war gets started, Negan will likely seek revenge on Rick’s community first, and between the Kingdom and the Hilltop, the latter seems to have the best defenses, as higher wall and a better vantage point are always preferable when it comes to guerilla-type warfare.

While assembling all of their groups together at the beginning of the war would make them too easy of a target for the Saviors, we expect Rick’s forces will have to come together once the numbers on both sides begin thinning out.

RICK BEGGING TO SAVE NEGAN’S LIFE

So far, when Rick promises to kill someone, he hasn’t gone back on his word. However, in the comics, Rick undergoes a serious change near the war’s end. He gets serious about rebuilding the world as it once was, and while Negan is near death on the battle ground, Rick commands his men to save his life before he receives any treatment of his own. Rick goes on to imprison Negan, keeping him locked up in his own basement in Alexandria where Negan is forced to watch for years as Rick rebuilds and flourishes.

It will be interesting to see if the showrunners decide to keep Negan alive following the war’s end. After all, Morgan has already built a nifty jail cell in his basement at Alexandria. But even if Rick decides to keep Negan alive, we highly doubt that Rick will be the one begging to save Negan’s life in the midst of war. Rick has had daggers in his eyes for the past nine episodes, and he’s going to need serious convincing from his followers if he’s ever going to extend some mercy to the man who killed some of his closest friends.

NEGAN LIVING OUT HIS DAYS IN A CELL

In The Comic Rick keeps Negan ALive and a cell he even goes to him for advice several times

Following the war between Rick’s army and Negan’s Saviors, the leader of the bad guys is locked away in an Alexandria jail cell for an undisclosed number of years. Rick sees this as an opportunity to prove he and Alexandria have better ways of rebuilding the world than Negan, which means there are alternate methods of handling threatening people than killing them. Given Morgan’s jail cell constructed in Alexandria, it seems that the show is setting up the live action version of the character for the same fate.