10 Things About The Walking Dead That Make No Sense

The zombie series, which first aired in 2010, quickly became a huge hit on television. Over its 11 seasons, it grew into a franchise with spin-offs like Daryl Dixon and Dead City, both of which will be continuing with new seasons. However, despite its success, the original series has a few plot points that still confuse viewers.

A zombie show doesn’t have to be realistic – it’s common for characters to overcome incredible odds while facing the undead. However, when you revisit the series, even long after it’s ended, certain plot holes and inconsistencies become noticeable.

The Walkers Devolved as The Walking Dead Continued

The show eventually introduced the concept of walkers becoming more intelligent – able to climb, use tools, fight, and even open doors, which felt like a natural progression. Interestingly, in the beginning, the walkers were actually becoming less capable.

The opening credits feature a striking scene of Morgan’s wife, now a walker, attempting to open her front door. However, as the show went on, walkers generally just wandered around, attracted by smells or sounds, and focused on finding something to eat.

During the first season, Morgan’s wife repeatedly came back home seeming to recognize people, but the show’s writers decided against the idea that walkers could retain any human-like instincts.

TWD Characters Who Lost an Eye Didn’t Seem Affected

It’s become a recurring theme in The Walking Dead for characters to lose an eye. The Governor was the first, losing his to Michonne’s sword. Later, Spencer lost an eye during a chaotic escape from zombies at Alexandria. Most recently, Gabriel lost an eye due to an infection and illness.

Despite losing sight in one eye, all three individuals maintained their excellent shooting skills, whether aiming, tracking, or fighting walkers and even other people. It was as if their vision wasn’t affected at all – they simply adapted with stylish eyepatch and glass eye replacements.

Why Is Gas Available in The Walking Dead Universe?

This inventor discovered a method to convert ethanol released from decomposing bodies into gasoline and fuel. By the end of the first season, she teams up with Negan to protect her unique fuel source from the New Babylon Federation, who want to control it.

Fuel has always been a puzzling issue in The Walking Dead. It’s often wondered how the characters consistently find gas for vehicles like cars and motorcycles. Gasoline typically degrades within a year, so even a large discovery ten years after the outbreak might not still be good. The source of the fuel remains one of the show’s unexplained conveniences.

Rick Grimes Surviving His Coma Is Unlikely

The story starts with a man waking up from a coma in a hospital to find the world has been taken over by something terrible. He’s completely confused and alone, wearing just a hospital gown. Everyone else has known about the disaster for a month. The big mystery is how he survived – especially considering his injuries and the fact that the hospital’s supplies wouldn’t have lasted that long on backup power alone.

It seemed likely he would have died once his medication and the generator’s power ran out. Some wondered if he was rescued and had simply entered a deep mental rest. This led many to believe the entire show was a dream he experienced while in a coma, but that idea was later proven wrong.

Characters Avoided Infection While Covered in Walker Blood

The group quickly learned a clever trick for survival: covering themselves in walker blood. This disguised their human scent, allowing them to move among the zombies undetected. To be extra safe, they sometimes even smeared the blood directly onto their skin, including their arms, necks, and faces.

It’s hard to believe no one ever got infected by walker blood, considering how easily it could happen. Even a small cut could lead to fever and infection, and with so much exposure, it’s surprising it only happened to Gabriel once. It seemed like a really risky situation, and someone was bound to have an open wound at some point.

The Word “Zombie” Is Never Used

From the very start, the show deliberately avoided using a specific, common term for the undead, and never actually said it throughout the entire series. While the characters primarily refer to them as ‘walkers,’ almost every group they encounter has its own unique name for these flesh-eating creatures – like ‘rotters,’ ‘roamers,’ ‘biters,’ and even ‘lame-brains.’

Despite being slow-moving, moaning, flesh-eating creatures resembling the undead, no one on the show actually calls them ‘zombies’ – the common name for such beings. This is a unique aspect that sets the series apart from other zombie stories. It feels like at some point, a character should have simply wondered why everyone avoids using the obvious term.

There Shouldn’t Still Be Zombie Hordes

Surprisingly, scientists have actually studied the timeline of The Walking Dead. While the show doesn’t always stick to strict realism, it’s odd that, after over ten years of the zombie apocalypse, there are still such large groups of walkers roaming around.

With over eight billion people on Earth, some research indicates humanity could wipe out all zombies in less than three years. However, in the universe of The Walking Dead, everyone is already infected. This means anyone who dies – from any cause – immediately becomes a zombie, making the situation far more difficult.

Despite survivors killing numerous walkers daily, and walkers not being able to reproduce while humans still can, it’s odd that after over a decade, there are still so many walkers around. It’s especially strange that you never see any young walkers.

Someone Was Mysteriously Landscaping in The Walking Dead

As the group travels around, they often notice how neatly cut and green the lawns are. It’s almost as if someone is secretly keeping up with the landscaping. While places like Alexandria likely rely on traditional mowers and watering, the larger fields and private yards seem to stay beautiful without anyone visibly maintaining them, which is quite puzzling.

A notable example occurs in Season 3 when the group reaches the prison. Although prisoners are present, they’re confined indoors and can’t help with necessary tasks. The actor playfully pointed out this plot hole, later telling Chris Hardwick on Talking Dead that he was even writing fan fiction to come up with a logical explanation.

The Walker Rate of Decay Is Far From Realistic

Throughout the show, viewers saw a wide variety of Walkers in different stages of decay – some newly turned, others aged and deteriorated, some swollen with water, burned by fire, and even lacking limbs. However, the speed at which they fell apart wasn’t realistic.

In a 2015 interview, forensic archeologist Kimberlee Moran explained that the realistic decay of zombies, as depicted in popular culture, wouldn’t allow them to function for very long. Eyes would decompose within nine months, and within three years, the bodies would be bloated, skinless skeletons. Additionally, the stiffness of rigor mortis, which sets in three to six hours after death, would prevent movement until it subsided.

Despite being deceased, these individuals rise again and move around, remaining fully dressed and with much of their skin and eyes still intact for many years. It’s possible the virus itself has properties that prevent decay.

Rick Surviving That Bridge Blast Was Total Fan Service

Fans were thrilled to discover that Rick didn’t actually die in the bridge explosion, despite what everyone initially thought. He had managed to escape before the explosion and survived by falling into the river. He washed ashore and was eventually found, barely alive, by Jadis.

Considering the water was full of walkers, it’s amazing he wasn’t bitten while in it, especially since he was bleeding so much. It’s also hard to believe he had the strength to swim to shore with such severe injuries. On top of everything, he’d already fallen onto some exposed rebar and was losing a lot of blood.

Rick is definitely a hero, but he’s not invincible. The show often hinted that he was, and it felt like the writers were setting him up for a dramatic, impactful exit.

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2026-03-07 06:14