Things about the "Walking Dead" universe that should be addressed?

[Jayson1]

I'm not talking about the characters or the ongoing story arcs. Also I have never read the comic's so I don't really know what future stuff from that source material should be used. I am talking more about the world in which the stories are being told. Tell me what you think.

1 If there is no one around maintaining nuclear power plants and other chemical labs doesn't make sense that you should start seeing good portions of the country , start to be polluted by nuclear waste and other chemical germs flying in the air? Maybe even a nuke might go off but i'm not sure about that.

2 Shouldn't most processed food be bad by now? I think it's been 2 years since the world has ended but you still see people sometimes eat things like potato chips or peanut butter. You even saw bread in Neegan's base. How could bread still be around?

3 Are there to many zombies? You would think after 2 years the zombie population would start to go down, especially ones who are still able to be a danger to humans. For starters they are starting to rot so bad they are literally falling apart at the seems. Then you got various human groups who proably kill some every day in the week. Then you toss in natural disasters, and zombies that simply get trapped in places like buildings or who knows what and you would think you would start to see fewer of them.
4 I heard gas goes bad after awhile and it gets to point where you can no longer use it? Shouldn't people's ability to drive cars start to be effected by this, if it is true?

Jason

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

There are a LOT of things about zombie movies (and shows) that just don't make sense. There's all the things you mentioned, of course. Plus more:

- why don't things like animal attacks, severe weather, etc. take care of the zombie threat

- what exactly makes a zombie function in the first place

- why doesn't anyone ever FINISH a zombie storyline (logically, it would end with the deaths of everyone in the world, leaving just a bunch of zombies standing around staring at each other)

- why don't zombies ever attack each other

and on and on and on and on. If they tried to explain them all, the story would grind to a halt.

Although now that we're on the subject, I do have a serious question:

In the TWD universe, I understand that ALL death - not just zombie bites or scratches or viruses or whatever - results in zombification. The sole exception is a direct gunshot wound to the head. ALL other forms of death, even by natural causes, will cause the person to zombify. So why are any of these people still alive? They will all become zombies sooner or later, so why don't they all just shoot themselves in the head so they can avoid this fate?

 

[Silvercrest]

I'm not talking about the characters or the ongoing story arcs. Also I have never read the comic's so I don't really know what future stuff from that source material should be used. I am talking more about the world in which the stories are being told. Tell me what you think.

1 If there is no one around maintaining nuclear power plants and other chemical labs doesn't make sense that you should start seeing good portions of the country , start to be polluted by nuclear waste and other chemical germs flying in the air? Maybe even a nuke might go off but i'm not sure about that.

2 Shouldn't most processed food be bad by now? I think it's been 2 years since the world has ended but you still see people sometimes eat things like potato chips or peanut butter. You even saw bread in Neegan's base. How could bread still be around?

3 Are there to many zombies? You would think after 2 years the zombie population would start to go down, especially ones who are still able to be a danger to humans. For starters they are starting to rot so bad they are literally falling apart at the seems. Then you got various human groups who proably kill some every day in the week. Then you toss in natural disasters, and zombies that simply get trapped in places like buildings or who knows what and you would think you would start to see fewer of them.
4 I heard gas goes bad after awhile and it gets to point where you can no longer use it? Shouldn't people's ability to drive cars start to be effected by this, if it is true?

Jason

1) My understanding is that properly-designed nuke plants, in the absence of maintenance or interference, are intended to simply shut off and cool down before anything catastrophic can happen. Chernobyl was a risky design which we chose not to use in the United States BECAUSE it was a risky design. The plants over here would only be dangerous if someone deliberately broke in and got into the fissionable materials.

And nukes can't go off unless they're deliberately set off. There have probably been "incidents" in that world, but they certainly won't be popping off left and right.

2) Processed food that's a few years old is likely to still be edible. It may taste a little off, but I'm sure the survivors don't care. (I have food older than that in my pantry, something I'm not proud of.) And it looked like the Sanctuary's bread was homemade. At this point people should be learning to grow their own wheat, grind their own flour, and bake their own bread.

3) There are currently 7.5 billion people alive on Earth. If a zombie apocalypse wipes out most of the population and leaves only 75,000 people alive, that means that every one of those people is represented by 100,000 more zombies trying to eat their brains. Realistically we should have been seeing hordes and hordes and hordes of them this entire time. The only reason we haven't is because the story doesn't allow it.

Even if we imagine that half of them have been destroyed at this point, that's still a LOT of undead. And those zombies won't all rot or succumb to accidents at the same rate. (For example, in colder climates they'd be preserved in winter.)

4). Yes. Most fuel should have been unusable before this. It's a handwave that we have to accept for storytelling.

 

[sojourner]

In the TWD universe, I understand that ALL death - not just zombie bites or scratches or viruses or whatever - results in zombification. The sole exception is a direct gunshot wound to the head. ALL other forms of death, even by natural causes, will cause the person to zombify. So why are any of these people still alive? They will all become zombies sooner or later, so why don't they all just shoot themselves in the head so they can avoid this fate?

Um, the same reason we don't all kill ourselves now? Why would I kill myself just because I know what happens to my body after I die?

 

[Ethros]

^ Aye, I don't understand the question. It's like "you know you're gonna die eventually so why don't you just kill yourself now?" *shrug* because people want to live and naturally have survival instinct maybe?

 

[Gaith]

- why doesn't anyone ever FINISH a zombie storyline (logically, it would end with the containment and eradication of "Walking Dead"-style slow-moving zombies in a fairly short time, followed by a return to orderly society in the course of a few years, if that).

FTFY.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Um, the same reason we don't all kill ourselves now? Why would I kill myself just because I know what happens to my body after I die?

Depends on what happens to your own personal consciousness, I guess.

It's not just having your body continue to exist as a zombie - are you, personally, going to have to live like one?

Meaning: does the "death" that turns a body into a zombie, completely destroy all traces of consciousness and awareness?

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

There are a LOT of things about zombie movies (and shows) that just don't make sense. There's all the things you mentioned, of course. Plus more:

- why don't things like animal attacks, severe weather, etc. take care of the zombie threat

For the same reason animal attacks and severe weather do not eliminate the living: numbers location and circumstance. Moreover, in TWD world, the walkers eat animals (see: Rick's horse), so any carnivorous creatures would be taking a big risk (that they're unaware of) in attacking a walker.

- what exactly makes a zombie function in the first place

Partially addressed with no hard conclusion in "TS-19," the first season finale. Under Darabont, the heroes (well, Rick) decide to get answers and seek a cure by going to the CDC. That was one of the most realistic character / plot moments in the series, and its been abandoned ever since. Understanding why the dead walk and eat is not necessarily a cure, so there should be no showrunner fear of addressing it. Its not as though they are worried about medical accuracy for a series where the dead eat the living.

- why doesn't anyone ever FINISH a zombie storyline (logically, it would end with the deaths of everyone in the world, leaving just a bunch of zombies standing around staring at each other)

If by "anyone" you mean other zombie productions, then Romero's Night of the Living Dead sort of had a finish--at least in that all main and supporting characters died--which was part of the film's many points: there's no true safety or escape.

- why don't zombies ever attack each other

Only attracted to living flesh, hence their attacking both human and animal.

and on and on and on and on. If they tried to explain them all, the story would grind to a halt.

But your questions were fun.

Although now that we're on the subject, I do have a serious question:

In the TWD universe, I understand that ALL death - not just zombie bites or scratches or viruses or whatever - results in zombification. The sole exception is a direct gunshot wound to the head. ALL other forms of death, even by natural causes, will cause the person to zombify. So why are any of these people still alive? They will all become zombies sooner or later, so why don't they all just shoot themselves in the head so they can avoid this fate?

Yeah, but its a fate they will never be aware of. The moment anyone dies, they are gone (just as dead as a natural end), so, aside from some concern that they would pose a threat to others in their company, who would commit suicide all because they would turn? The natural human instinct is to fight for life, no matter the risk.

 

[sojourner]

Depends on what happens to your own personal consciousness, I guess.

It's not just having your body continue to exist as a zombie - are you, personally, going to have to live like one?

Meaning: does the "death" that turns a body into a zombie, completely destroy all traces of consciousness and awareness?

Dead is dead.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

In a universe where "dead" means that zombie bodies can still lurch about, you can't take anything for granted.

 

[Push The Button]

I'm wondering if a "cure" may have been discovered elsewhere in the world by this point, remember that the French were the closest to understanding the nature of the virus. Maybe Rick and Negan are fighting another Battle of New Orleans and don't realize it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Only attracted to living flesh

And how could they know the difference?

I suppose they could go by heat, or smell, but I assume those would still require some kind of functioning brain to interpret.

 

[Push The Button]

And how could they know the difference?

I suppose they could go by heat, or smell, but I assume those would still require some kind of functioning brain to interpret.

How are they able to still see and hear, or move without falling over? I was under the impression that the higher order functions were gone, only the brain stem and low level autonomic stuff was still working.

Nevermind that you have decaying organic tissue that is deriving sustenance from..nothing, apparently.

 

[Silvercrest]

Dead is dead.

But look at what has been done with hearts and kidneys!

 

[F. King Daniel]

I'd like to know where they keep getting razors from. Years after the zombie apocalypse and none of the women have so much as a stubbly armpit, let alone hairy legs.

Realism, people!

 

[Starbreaker]

Why rick and company just don't leave DC. There's got to be somewhere in the world that's fortified that doesn't have a Negan.

 

[Jayson1]

Why rick and company just don't leave DC. There's got to be somewhere in the world that's fortified that doesn't have a Negan.

I got to admit I wonder why they feel they can't ever go back to the prision. The governor is dead so you don't have to worry about dealing with him. You would have to repair the fence the tank destroyed but we saw them do something even more harder and that in rebuilding the wall around Alexandria. You would have to kill any walkers milling about but I figure most of them that were there when we last saw the prision have already moved on looking for new food and even if you still have some around I asume you could kill most of them, much like they first did when they took over the prision.


Jason

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I'd like to know where they keep getting razors from. Years after the zombie apocalypse and none of the women have so much as a stubbly armpit, let alone hairy legs.

Realism, people!

You can shave with a sharp knife.

I got to admit I wonder why they feel they can't ever go back to the prision. The governor is dead so you don't have to worry about dealing with him. You would have to repair the fence the tank destroyed but we saw them do something even more harder and that in rebuilding the wall around Alexandria. You would have to kill any walkers milling about but I figure most of them that were there when we last saw the prision have already moved on looking for new food and even if you still have some around I asume you could kill most of them, much like they first did when they took over the prision.


Jason

Yes, the Governor is dead, and the zombies would have moved on in search for food, but there's a few problems with trying to reclaim the prison:

1. Say they send a scout, and discover its occupied by others, the scout would need to waste precious gas getting back to the ASZ.
2. Even if abandoned, the tank caused considerable structural damage to one side of the prison (the "getting attention" shot), destroyed a walkway and another part of the prison (which made no sense from a writing standpoint, since the Governor wanted the place, but we'll have to let that go...). The heroes do not have the skills to repair that damage, and frankly, after some time of being neglected, I would not risk trying to stay in a massive structure with crumbling walls, etc.
3. Finally, returning to the place of so much emotional weight (Andrea and T-Dog's graves / Maggie last saw Beth alive there / Carol's bonding with Lizzie & Mika / Hershel murdered, etc.), the heroes would be stepping into drama they been separated from for some time.

They should have found a warehouse (think Wal-Mart) structure, and converted the interior, which would be more than enough room for the main characters.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

For the same reason animal attacks and severe weather do not eliminate the living: numbers location and circumstance.

But the living can outrun or outmaneuver such things. Zombies can't.

Moreover, in TWD world, the walkers eat animals (see: Rick's horse), so any carnivorous creatures would be taking a big risk (that they're unaware of) in attacking a walker.

I'm sure there's animals out there who could manage.

 

[Jayson1]

Warehouse would be okay but I wonder why nobody has ever thought about just moving deep into some forrest. Deeper you go the fewer humans or zombie's you would meet. Granted you would eventually run out of medical supplies so you might have to return to "civilization " if that is even acurate description of the "Walking Dead" universe, from time to time but even those will naturally run out someday as well so it doesn't seem like a huge sacrifice.

In the jungle you could hunt for food, eat various fruit and I asume find a fresh water source that hasn't been touched by humans. If you really plan ahead you could even build a home and bring books or other things for entertainment. Maybe pop out of the jungle from time to time to see how the zombie threat is going and if any kind of new society might be starting up but other than not you could just stay in that jungle for the rest of your lives if you have to.

Jason