The Walking Dead's latest episode closely mirrors the first half of Game of Thrones season 8. The Walking Dead's current run has seen gradually escalating tensions between the good guys and the Whisperers and, finally, neither side can stand the other any longer. Alpha has taken her giant horde and is descending on Hilltop, leaving the depleted community to prepare for the battle, with much of this buildup taking place in "Morning Star." The Walking Dead has already drawn parallels to Game of Thrones recently, largely thanks to the midseason premiere's cave scenes, which drew complaints for being too dark, just like Game of Thrones' Battle of Winterfell.

Game of Thrones' final season is regularly criticized of falling short compared to past glories, and at only 6 episodes, is also woefully short. For the first 3 offerings of season 8, much time was spent in the North, watching Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and their various allies prepare for the oncoming Night King and his army of White Walkers and wights. The lengthy battle itself takes place in episode 3, "The Long Night," with the preceding two providing the setup, as well as highlighting key events elsewhere in the world of Westeros.

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There are a whole host of similarities between The Walking Dead's "Morning Star" and the first 3 episodes of Game of Thrones season 8. Firstly, there's the basic setup of different parties arriving to join the battle against a major enemy, aiming to defend a stronghold from invaders. In Game of Thrones, the Northern houses and former members of the Night's Watch arrive, in The Walking Dead, Aaron pulls up in a wagon with Gamma, Judith and others. It's also worth noting that both the Whisperers and the White Walkers use the reanimated deceased as their foot soldiers. Preceding the battle, Daryl's refugees are given a grisly warning when they come across a couple of hanging zombies left by the Whisperers, and this echoes the strange spiral of blood and guts made by the White Walkers during their march south. Just as Daryl gets his repaired jacket from Judith, Jorah is handed down the sword of House Tarly before the fighting commences.

The Walking Dead Hilltop Whisperer battle

The preludes to both battles also include a spot of pre-fight romancing, with Arya and Gendry rekindling their early spark of attraction in Game of Thrones and Carol doing the same with Ezekiel in The Walking Dead. Shortly prior to the Battle of WinterfellGame of Thrones' geek underdog, Podrick, sings a ballad that plays in the background as fighters come to terms with their potential impending demise. Shortly prior to the Battle of Hilltop, The Walking Dead's geek underdog, Eugene, sings a song that plays in the background as fighters come to terms with their potential impending demise. Pod did it better, as usual.

Visually, the respective battles of Winterfell and Hilltop had much in common. Both took place during the dark of night with fire the main source of illumination, although the flame in The Walking Dead came from the bad guys. Fortunately, visibility in the AMC series was a huge improvement and the action was perfectly decipherable. Tactically, the battles played out very similarly, with the first barriers of defense for both the Hilltop and Winterfell strongholds breached by sheer volume of undead, followed by a volley from the archers in the rear and lone fighters battling among the flames, only for a retreat to be quickly called.

The comparisons are so plentiful that Game of Thrones season 8 must have been a huge inspiration for The Walking Dead when they were putting together the final fight against the Whisperers. It'll be even more fascinating if the decisive moment of victory in next week's episode comes courtesy of Judith, the young girl everyone told couldn't fight, since it's Arya who ultimately takes down the Night King in Game of Thrones. However, The Walking Dead's mirroring of Game of Thrones perhaps makes the final run of HBO's fantasy series look even worse, since it accomplishes within a single episode what Game of Thrones managed in 2 and a half - and The Walking Dead isn't exactly known for its brisk pace.

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The Walking Dead continues with "Walk With Us" March 15th on AMC.