Plot hole?

sometimes_blondie

The other day, I was rewatching the other seasons, and noticed something strange. Dr. Jenner had said that everbody was infected and no matter how you die (except brain trauma), you'll turn into a zombie. Yet, in a lot of the scenes, there are corpses in their cars who clearly didn't have any hits to the head, but didn't turn either. Is there any explanation to this, or is it just a plot hole?

Laces_0ut

only thing i can think of is that by the time they got to the CDC everyone was infected. but at the outbreak the infection was still spreading. so in those early stages of the zombie outbreak not everyone was infected yet.

meshashesha2012

a few ideas

- those people missed their appointments in the makeup chair

- extras were needed quickly and the creators didnt count on people pausing their tv to scrutinize and overanalyze every.single.little.background prop. although post-Lost , you'd think they'd know that there are people with this level of obsessive viewing out there

- those people died in whatever the army released when they dropped whatever they dropped. it's possible whatever it was caused permanent brain damage and the brain couldnt restart

- maybe those people did turn but they are like that one that bit hershell in the jail, so they are sleeping or daydreaming or depressed about their lot and life and not super motivated to go after people until a body part is pretty much rubbed over their lips

- it's been said that different people take different time to reanimate. maybe some people it takes weeks?

but really i like laces idea. maybe those people died from natural causes or shock or whatever and when they died it was before they could be infected.

tomomatic

Another idea:

Maybe the virus morphed? Michonne didn't seem to know all the rules.

Here's a thought: What happens when a walker eats someone? Do they actually get digested?

thelaurameister

I feel like they explained it in the episode where Shane turned, so the end of Season 2 I think?...But I can't remember the reason, so maybe I'm just full of it I agree with Laces as well...

Early in in the outbreak, there wasn't as many walkers. As more and more become infected, the walkers lose food sources and scope out food elsewhere, making it easier for large volumes of walkers to be condensed into one area so the airborne infection is more prominent.

sometimes_blondie

I was thinking that maybe the bodies in the cars were immune to the virus. From what the show has told us so far everyone is infected. You don't have to be bit to become a walker. A bite will cause a deadly infection, but isn't necessary to turn you into a walker. The only thing that is sure to prevent you to turn is brain trauma. Perhaps I'm overthinking it!

RBXChas

I was thinking that maybe the bodies in the cars were immune to the virus. From what the show has told us so far everyone is infected. You don't have to be bit to become a walker. A bite will cause a deadly infection, but isn't necessary to turn you into a walker. The only thing that is sure to prevent you to turn is brain trauma. Perhaps I'm overthinking it!

I wondered if the "everyone is infected" thing happened later, so the people who died early just died. However, how did the people in the cars die? If they were bitten/partially eaten, they'd be walkers. I don't remember seeing any car accidents. Did they just starve to death in their cars? Commit suicide?

The interesting thing is that in this past Sunday's episode, Mr. Coleman seemed to take a while to turn. Others turn almost instantaneously. Because of the delay, I wondered if they'd be waiting for Mr. Coleman to turn only for it not to happen. I was sort of hoping for that, that perhaps there are people who are immune, like in I Am Legend.

sometimes_blondie

I was thinking that maybe the bodies in the cars were immune to the virus. From what the show has told us so far everyone is infected. You don't have to be bit to become a walker. A bite will cause a deadly infection, but isn't necessary to turn you into a walker. The only thing that is sure to prevent you to turn is brain trauma. Perhaps I'm overthinking it!

I wondered if the "everyone is infected" thing happened later, so the people who died early just died. However, how did the people in the cars die? If they were bitten/partially eaten, they'd be walkers. I don't remember seeing any car accidents. Did they just starve to death in their cars? Commit suicide?

The interesting thing is that in this past Sunday's episode, Mr. Coleman seemed to take a while to turn. Others turn almost instantaneously. Because of the delay, I wondered if they'd be waiting for Mr. Coleman to turn only for it not to happen. I was sort of hoping for that, that perhaps there are people who are immune, like in I Am Legend.

The people in the cars looked just like dried out bodies. It seems like they might have died from dehydration, starvation, and exposure. If they had turned at all, they would've been like "bicycle girl" in the pilot episode. There wasn't much left of her, but she was still truckin'! I'm really thinking they were probably immune, as you said, in I Am Legend. I'd hate to be one with immunity and in the presence of Milton! :laugh:

LorinaLynn

I just assumed the virus mutated and everyone wasn't infected at the beginning.

And combine Atlanta + summer + parked cars + walkers outside the car... and I could see a lot of people dying quickly from heat stroke.

Thomasm198

The other day, I was rewatching the other seasons, and noticed something strange. Dr. Jenner had said that everbody was infected and no matter how you die (except brain trauma), you'll turn into a zombie. Yet, in a lot of the scenes, there are corpses in their cars who clearly didn't have any hits to the head, but didn't turn either. Is there any explanation to this, or is it just a plot hole?

Not a plot hole. In every zombie book and movie, they basically fall into two categories: walkers and lurkers.

The walkers are the ones you see roaming the countryside. Lurkers are lazy. They sit and wait for prey to walk past them.

The people in the cars are just lurkers.

strychnine7

That people come back no matter how they die (other than severe enough head trauma) is taken right from the comics. That some of the dead in the show do not have obvious signs of head trauma, is not explainable with certainty. It could be indolence or negligence on the part of those producing the show. It could be an unexplained phenomena such as proposed in this thread already.

But to say it's a plot hole? No. It's simply unexplained to this point. A plot hole would be more like Dale or Shane or someone, appearing alive, with the group again with no explanation forthcoming, or The Governor wearing an eye patch two or three episodes before Michonne stabbed him, or something equally as out of order and senseless.