Dale and Shane are dead, so now Rick will have to make his own decisions rather than have these two diametrically opposed characters colouring in his opinion. They're also off that fucking farm so their safety net is gone, leading to a more survivalist based group. There's no more red shirt characters with the possible exception of T-Dawg and whatshername, Sophia's mother, but her only role is to be useless. Michonne is being introduced, and she WILL become a fan favorite on the same level of Darryl. Lastly there's the tease of the prison, which is where the comics started to get very dark and suspenseful because now the Governor is going to be introduced, and he is one of the most despicable characters ever written.