Why all the worrying about flesh wounds on ‘The Walking Dead’?

Warning – Spoilers abound for last night’s episode ahead. If you aren’t all caught up, read at your own peril. Also, don’t scroll down.

So I was watching last night’s episode of The Walking Dead, and something struck me as odd. Herschel gets a bite on the ankle by a walker, and they amputate his whole leg. Big Tiny gets a scratch on his back trying to clear the cell block of walkers, and then they flat out murder him. Both seem a little excessive. Why the big deal about the flesh wounds?

In most other zombie media, I could understand the worry. In those stories, that is how the zombie infection is spread from person to person, usually through fluid transfer. However, The Walking Dead has gone out of its way to make it very clear that everyone is already infected regardless of any contact they have had with zombies. If you die, no matter how, as long as your brain is intact, you’re coming back as a zombie. We’ve actually seen several instances of people being zombified upon non-zombie related death, like the guy who hung himself in the woods in early Season 2, or when Rick stabs Shane in the gut. So if everyone is already infected, why does it matter if they get bite as well? Then it just becomes overkill.

The way the characters react to these wounds though, it seems they are worried about these wounds “turning” them, for lack of a better word. In fact, in Season 1, that appears to be what happened to Jim, who was bitten while defending the campsite. However, that’s really been the only time someone has been bit or scratched and managed to get away without being eaten by the zombies, and it’s entirely possible he didn’t succumb to the bite because it was zombie related, but the non zombie, germ related infection that followed.

Big Tiny said he felt normal after he was scratched. Could he really have been fine? He didn’t live long enough for us to find out. Did they really need to be so extreme with Herschel, or should they have only been concerned with making sure the wound didn’t bleed out and getting it sterilized? Unless these injuries in and off themselves are life threatening, it seems to me that Rick and crew are totally overreacting, at least based on what the show has worked hard to establish. However, it’s also the zombie apocalypse, and you can’t really overreact to that, at least not if you want to stay alive as long as possible.

There had to have been something less drastic they could have done besides this, right?

 
Am I overanalyzing things here? It’s entirely possible, I tend to do that alot. Most likely it’s just a case of a show stumbling out of the blocks, and slowly growing as it gets it’s feet under it, like Star Trek: The Next Generation. I picked up the Season 1 blu-ray set, and while it looks fantastic, sweet Jebus was it horrible television until Season 3. So while The Walking Dead started with the standard zombie plague dispersal pattern, they found something else that worked for for them. I also understand the need for extreme things from a storytelling point of view, as it makes for great conflict. I’m just saying it seems like they are trying to have their cake and eat it too. Either flesh wounds are worrisome or they aren’t. They need to pick one and stick with it, not flip back and forth. Or maybe the whole flesh wound overreacting is a red herring, and meant to eventually lead to some type of misdirection where someone gets injured and left behind, assumed for dead, but then makes a triumphant return.

I’m just saying, the show isn’t being consistent and playing by the same rules all the time. It’s still awesome and the best drama on TV, just a nitpick from a hyperobservant nerd.

JohnScott is the proud owner of a life size replica Captain Kirk Chair. He is a hoarder of Comic Books, Transformers, and Star Trek action figures. He attended Space Camp as an adult. He has taken vacations to the closing of the Star Trek Experience and the final night Shuttle launch. He has been known to yell at his television when the kids can't put together the damn statue in the Shrine of the Silver Monkey. When not writing for InsufficientScotty, he is a Software Engineer for a major healthcare communications company. You can Email or follow on Twitter @NotEnoughScotty or Facebook