"The Thing" doesn't make a lot of sense...

[publiusr]

Having read Alan Dean Foster's superb book tie-in, I've always assumed that Blair pretended to go berserk precisely so they can isolate him in privacy.

That makes sense. Fuchs said to only eat out of cans, so I think it was Blair’s food that turned him. It replicated Norris too well—right down to the bad heart.

I remember watching a narrated version, where the last scene was of the dog. The creature emerging from the Blair-Things chest did look canine. BTW there is a nice site called Outpost 31 you can look into.

Once, I saw a photo of the Norris-head/thing somebody put a facehugger on

Here is a question for you.
The Thing meets The Blob.

Does the blob just break down the Thing like other victims? Or does the Thing look at the blob as a rich culture, and absorb it more easily than any other creature?

 

[Christopher]

The Thing meets The Blob.

Origin of the Great Link?

 

[Nightowl1701]

From the early script and novelization, the most likely point Blair was assimilated was during the extended blackout that led to Fuchs's death (explicitly at first from the Thing, as he was originally shot speared through a door via a shovel). Both Palmer and Norris are already infected at this point, so one to take care of Fuchs and one to infect Blair. "Lights were out for an hour. Any one of us could have gotten to him."

Fuchs said to only eat out of cans, so I think it was Blair’s food that turned him.

Good guess on the food, but Blair was shown eating from a can when MacReady checked on him - obviously Fuchs had already given out directions to the others.

 

[publiusr]

One of the rejected shots of the Palmer-Thing coming apart looked almost comical (probably why it was omitted):
https://thething.fandom.com/wiki/Palmer-Thing?file=Thingpalmerearly.jpg

That's in keeping with his character. This might be how he infected Blair, through the little door in the larger one.

"Surprise!"

Yeah--that would be just like Palmer.

Other out-takes
https://www.outpost31.com/deletedscenes

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

So I guess the next question is...

Who got to the blood?

 

[publiusr]

I had the only key