diff --git a/core/modules/comment/comment.module b/core/modules/comment/comment.module
index 216c89f..3ea4a7d 100644
--- a/core/modules/comment/comment.module
+++ b/core/modules/comment/comment.module
@@ -865,10 +865,12 @@ function comment_get_thread(EntityInterface $entity, $field_name, $mode, $commen
     $query->condition('c.status', COMMENT_PUBLISHED);
     $count_query->condition('c.status', COMMENT_PUBLISHED);
   }
-  if ($mode === COMMENT_MODE_FLAT) {
+  if ($mode == COMMENT_MODE_FLAT) {
+    debug($mode, 'flat');
     $query->orderBy('c.cid', 'ASC');
   }
   else {
+    debug($mode, 'thread');
     // See comment above. Analysis reveals that this doesn't cost too
     // much. It scales much much better than having the whole comment
     // structure.
@@ -877,9 +879,7 @@ function comment_get_thread(EntityInterface $entity, $field_name, $mode, $commen
   }
 
   $query->setCountQuery($count_query);
-  $cids = $query->execute()->fetchCol();
-
-  return $cids;
+  return $query->execute()->fetchCol();
 }
 
 /**
@@ -899,7 +899,7 @@ function comment_prepare_thread(&$comments) {
   // A counter that helps track how indented we are.
   $divs = 0;
 
-  foreach ($comments as $key => $comment) {
+  foreach ($comments as $key => &$comment) {
     if ($first_new && $comment->new->value != MARK_READ) {
       // Assign the anchor only for the first new comment. This avoids duplicate
       // id attributes on a page.
@@ -920,7 +920,6 @@ function comment_prepare_thread(&$comments) {
         $divs--;
       }
     }
-    $comments[$key] = $comment;
   }
 
   // The final comment must close up some hanging divs