海角大神

Season 3 of has come to a close, but just like the gruesome fate that potentially awaits each and every character, the series will return to stalk and torment those still counted among the living.

But unlike the 鈥� which teased viewers with a tantalizing and somewhat-foreboding glimpse of the prison 鈥� season 3 reached its conclusion with a slight sense of optimism (as Rick and the others welcomed the citizens of Woodbury into the prison), but no real indication of the direction The Walking Dead would be headed in .

In a series of interviews, comic book creator Robert Kirkman discussed , the fate of Andrea, Milton and the Governor, as well as what fans can expect from the core group of survivors, now that they seem intent on making a go of it as a community in the prison.

While there have been the series has taken from the source material, e.g., Andrea鈥檚 demise, Kirkman maintains that at least some of season 4 will focus on the dynamic between Rick and the recently-welcomed Tyreese.

Kirkman said:

鈥淭here鈥檚 some really, really cool and big stuff that people have been expecting, or that people have been anticipating from the comics, that will work into Season 4. To give a hint, I will say that we do have Tyreese and Rick, who are now united, which is a big moment for the comic book fans. There鈥檚 a lot of story that comes from those two guys being on the same side. We鈥檒l possibly see a bit of that in Season 4.鈥�

But Rick aligning himself with Tyreese won鈥檛 be the only change fans will see in the character. According to Kirkman, Rick鈥檚 brief interaction with the Governor and has caused Rick to re-think some aspects of how he intends to survive in this zombie-infested world, and what it means now that he鈥檚 decided to no longer keep everyone at arm鈥檚 length or, as we saw in 鈥楥lear,鈥� ignore a stranger鈥檚 plea for help.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be different in a lot of ways. We鈥檒l see a very different Rick Grimes for one. His experiences against the Governor and with the various things that happened to him in season three are informing his character in huge ways. We鈥檒l see a lot of familiar elements from season three: we鈥檒l see the prison, Rick and his group are still in the same place but those elements are all going to be radically different. I can鈥檛 really get into it but season four is going to be extremely different than season three in some very startling and cool ways.

This is the moment where Rick takes a turn; he鈥檚 no longer going to be pushing people away, he鈥檚 no longer going to be doing what ever he can to protect these people in ways that hurt other people. He鈥檚 not going to be the guy who would leave that guy on the side of the road 鈥� the backpack guy in Episode 12. He鈥檚 letting the people of Woodbury in and trying to tell Carl that these people are like us, you have to be open to this and the only way to survive in this world is to have people and be in a community. That鈥檚 going to be a big part of season four.鈥�

While Rick seems more intent on exploring his compassionate side, and possibly , Carl has adopted a far more ruthless, kill-or-be-killed type of mentality. As evidenced by his merciless killing of a young man who appeared to have been surrendering, into that of a child soldier has now yielded some negative results, and the youngster may soon find himself at an ideological crossroads with his father.

鈥淩ick鈥檚 got his work cut out for him. He鈥檚 aware of this and he sees what allowing his son to become a child soldier has brought, which is a very big part of Season 4. Moving forward in the show, this is a guy who鈥檚 working as hard as he can to maintain a life for this child. [In] the process of surviving鈥� he鈥檚 allowed his son to lose a pretty substantial piece of his humanity. It鈥檚 now a question of: Is there going back? Is this now status quo? These are the things that a father will have to deal with.鈥�

In the closing moments of 鈥榃elcome to the Tombs,鈥� we saw as Rick welcomed not only Tyreese and Sasha into the fold, but he also brought the people of Woodbury to the prison. There have been questions circulating as to why the decision was made to stay in the prison, rather than the relatively normal confines of Woodbury, but Kirkman says the continued threat of the Governor makes the prison the more sensible choice for Rick and the others.

鈥淭hey see the prison as something that is much more easily defended than Woodbury. They were able to get into Woodbury easily聽themselves. The Woodbury defenses are very effective against zombies, but not very effective against humans. They see [the prison] as much more of a defensible position.鈥�

And while the comic creator acknowledges the next season鈥檚 storyline , there鈥檚 no guarantee that is where it will end.

鈥淭here鈥檚 always going to be new locations and new places to discover and explore. I don鈥檛 want to reveal聽too much; Season 4 is still five months away. But I will say that as we see at the end of Season 3 we鈥檙e definitely going to聽start聽Season 4 at the prison. We may be there the whole season and we may not be鈥� But there are going to be some聽big聽differences from Season 3.鈥�

Kevin Yeoman blogs at .