A Plot Hole in The Walking Dead(TV Series)

[HippySteve]

WARNING- This post will contain spoilers up to the beginning of season 3 of The Walking Dead TV Series

Spoiler

I found, well, at least what I consider to be a rather large plot hole in The Walking Dead. All right, try and follow along. Edwin Jenner in episode 6 of season 1 tells Rick a secret, revealed in episode 13 of season 2, that the virus that causes one to become a walker is in the blood of all of us, but if that is the case, why did Jenner require blood tests from all the survivors in the group when they arrive at the CDC? Also, if the virus is in every person, when he loses his only good sample of said virus to work on due to the decontamination process of the lab, why can't he just obtain further samples from himself?(Noting that this is well before the arrival of the survivors.) Further, if all humans are carriers of the virus, than why are walker bites fatal by default? Couldn't antibiotics cure it, if it's just a regular infection, which creator Robert Kirkman asserts it is? Further still, why was the virus dormant until the apocalypse began?

How do you think this could be resolved? Or do you see it as an issue at all?

 

[exessmirror]

i thought that those bites where deadly because they "activated" the virus which was already in them. just my 2 cents

 

[Groxnax]

Maybe the walkers/zombie's bites carry special viuses that attack the brain's control over the heart and lungs the bite also contains the activator code for the main virus.

 

[Soundwave]

Robert Singleton's character in season 2 cut himself on a piece of metal fairly early on and used antibiotics provided by Norman Reedus's character and came out fine. So I'm disinclined to believe that just weakening the body is enough to allow the virus to take over. It seems more likely that something in the bites is triggering the change.

Edit: Bad typing

 

[King of Wei]

If I remember right he was looking at the brain tissue of his wife. Kinda hard to replace that.

I always thought the "virus" was a parasite. Just hangs out on the brain before you die because you're living and eating. But once dead it jump starts the body so the host could go find more food. If unable to find food it'll start breaking down the host's body for nutrients, hence the accelerated rotting and why some walkers appear to be more intact than others. Just my thoughts.

As for why the bites are fatal, as said above, you're being bitten/scratched by a rotting corpse. Those things are far from sanitary.

 

[Bucht]

The entire CDC story-line is exactly what made me dislike the tv series to begin with.
They should have ended season 1 on the Wiltshire Estates.

 

[Rose and Thorn]

I didn't mean to post here yet, ignore this post for a bit.

 

[ace_of_something]

There is a difference between a dormant and active condition virus or otherwise isn't there? Any medical professionals to weigh in? I don't really know.

 

[Rogbull]

I like to see zombie bites/fingernails like the Komodo dragon's "poison". As in it's a lot of bacteria infecting a wound. I've never seen a zombie floss atleast.

 

[fenrizz]

1. Jenner likely took blood samples to confirm his theory and/or to check if anyone was immune (which could be rather important inn his further research).

2. Regarding the lost virus sample.
Perhaps Jenner no longer had the necessary equipment to exrtact sufficient amounts of pire virus to work with, maybe there was not enough time to do so or maybe he did not have enough fuel to run the machines (The fuel was running out after all).

3. The virus in all humans is "inactive", but exposure to live virus and/or death would trigger the "inactive" virus and you'll become a walker.

4. Antibiotics do no work on viruses.


Summary: No plot hole.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Robert Kirkman has said that the bite is fatal due to the number of diseases that a rotting corpse has. It infects with bacteria and what not. It doesn't trigger the virus, so much as allows it to have a chance to turn you once you die from other diseases. Once again, the bites are fatal due to the diseases they carry! Not the virus being triggered!

 

[HippySteve]

antibiotics have no effect against a virus apart from a doctor patting you on the head so you feel better

im gathering jenner wanted to confirm that his theory that everyone had it was correct.

as for why walker bites are always fatal? beats me, its been a standard of the zombie genre since day 1.

how the hell everyone is infected is curious thoughfor something to have that wide of a dispersal and it obviously hit hard and fast.. bioweapon?

i will say its weird in a way watching the show and playing the game.. in the game my group pretty much has their humanity for the most part but yeah in the show they will kill you almost as soon as look at you

The humans already have the virus, but the infection from a walker bite would be bacterial. Therefore, antibiotics should be a logical conclusion.

 

[HippySteve]

Robert Kirkman has said that the bite is fatal due to the number of diseases that a rotting corpse has. It infects with bacteria and what not. It doesn't trigger the virus, so much as allows it to have a chance to turn you once you die from other diseases. Once again, the bites are fatal due to the diseases they carry! Not the virus being triggered!

I understand that much, but the infection, those diseases, would be bacterial, which is why antibiotics should be able to save a person.

 

[JayDig]

With classic zombies, their bite is just superpowered-certain-death-poison or something, impervious to medicine and remedied only by chopping off affected areas before it travels, presumably, through your blood. I don't question the zombie poison, but I do wonder in this show about transmission. Like is it just zombie mouths that are poisonous or blood too? No one has caught the fever from zombie blood splattering on their face but who knows.

I kind of disliked the CDC part in the show because it bothered with explanation of the zombie phenomenon. But I liked that the explanation from the scientist was that there basically is no explanation, other than "zombie-brain-virus; we all have it and there is nothing you can do about it".

You'll recall that the Romero dead series has basically the same thing, zombified revival despite cause of death, but the reason was ignored aside from a brief mention of 'cosmic radiation from Jupiter'(it was the 60s). These days zombies are almost always explained by a virus instead of an unknowable act of god or whatever, so thats what the show writers went with, so the audience will stop asking.

 

[sky14kemea]

Like is it just zombie mouths that are poisonous or blood too? No one has caught the fever from zombie blood splattering on their face but who knows.

That's true, but then why do they still worry about getting cleaner water after finding out they're all infected anyway?

At least I think they do.. I've only seen the first ep of Season 3 once, and it was a week ago. (My memory is bad, okay?)

OT: I kinda agree with the "It's the amount of bacteria in the zombie bite/scratch that causes them to die and turn".

Spoiler: Season 3 spoiler

It would explain why they cut off Hershels leg to try and save him.

 

[senordesol]

I think it's like the commodo dragon effect; the bite is toxic enough to kill within hours plus there are such things as anti-biotic resistant bacteria which may result as a byproduct of being bitten by the equivalent of a corpse (whom, of course, has who knows what else festering in its mought for days/weeks/months).

Seems plausible to me, a much better transmission method than simple bites alone (seriously, how many of you would let the average person close enough to bite you, let alone a shambling undead one?)

You want to know the real plot hole? How do they keep finding and using ammunition against the undead horde when a spear and shield would be far more effective? Why do they wear simple civilian clothes when they can fashion some primitive armor to stick between them and the teeth of certain death?