Jesus Actor Tom Payne Felt TWD Didn’t Live Up To The Comics When He Left – Looper

From the moment Rick and Daryl (Norman Reedus) first encounter Jesus trying to steal their truck, the new character has some obvious skills. More physically dexterous than any viewers have seen previously in the series, Jesus would undoubtedly be a great asset to Alexandria. Unfortunately for Tom Payne, that would never come to be. One of Jesus’ great claims to fame is the “All Out War” arc in the comic, which Payne had been looking forward to.

“You don’t get the scripts in advance, so I read the comic books, and that’s how I did my preparation. And I was like: ‘Oh, this is so cool, he gets to do all this stuff during All Out War and … none of that stuff happened,” Payne said at the Fandemic Dead panel. The arc features an impressive feat of Jesus holding Negan hostage, as well as catching a grenade in midair and throwing it back at the Saviors. But instead of these exciting moments fans expected from the comic, they got something even more unwanted: the death of Carl Grimes (Chandler RIggs) in Season 8.

After Carl survives being shot, killing his walker mother, and losing an eye, the young character still dies in a plotline that was a huge mistake. This takes place during the “All Out War” arc, overshadowing a pivotal Jesus moment that should have taken place. Just as Jesus was misused, so was Carl. Both characters who survive to the end of the comic are just thankless casualties in the series.