Why Doesn't The Walking Dead Use the Zombie Disguise Trick All the Time? Plus More Burning Questions

Robert Kirkman sort of explains why the trick can't be used that frequently

By Chris Harnick Nov 30, 2015 8:34 PMTags
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If you watch The Walking Dead then you most certainly have questions (aside from wondering if they really tried to fool viewers about Glenn's "death"). Your number one question was asked and answered on Talking Dead last night by The Walking Dead's comic creator Robert Kirkman.

In the midseason finale, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) decided it was time to break out the old zombie disguise trick. He and Michonne (Danai Gurira) cut open two walkers and covered bed sheets with their warm (are they warm if the are the undead?) guts in order to create zombie ponchos. This way they'd be able to walk through the hordes of zombies unnoticed, the smell of the undead covering the smell of the living. It's worked for Rick and Glenn (Steven Yeun) before. So if this is such a smart play, then why don't they cover themselves in guts when they're out on runs? Or when they were living in the woods before Alexandria? Why not just disguise themselves as zombies all the time? Well, because.

"Well, look. One, it's not very practical. Coming in close contact with that material is also going to, you know, cause all kinds of illnesses aside from any kind of zombie-related nonsense. So you don't want to be doing that all the time," Kirkman said. "Two, it's not going to last. You would have to be replenishing those zombie guts because they will dry out and lose their nastiness. They won't smell. It's just not a practical way to go about things."

However in Kirkman's comics, The Whisperers are a particularly nasty group of human survivors who wear the skins of zombies and exist within hordes, blending in. They aren't sick as far as we know. Are they re-hydrating the skin? Switching it out every once in a while? Yes, we know The Walking Dead TV show is a different universe and has different sets of circumstances than The Walking Dead comic books. Like the miraculously clean Hyundai that was the star of the TV show for a while.

With that question asked and sort of answered, we'd like these addressed now:

Why do the Wolves have such bad teeth? Does Alexandria have all the toothbrushes? Not one of the Wolves tries to maintain good dental hygiene in between all the killing and what not?

Why didn't the Alexandrians just light all the zombies on fire when they were in the quarry? A controlled fire probably could've solved that problem…

When will Carl Grimes cut his hair?

When was the last time Daryl showered?

Is Daryl making more arrows?

Are all the Alexandrians really that incapable of defending themselves? Didn't they take in outside people (like Rick and his group)?

What other The Walking Dead questions do you have? The Walking Dead returns this February.

Watch: How Have "The Walking Dead" Stars Changed?