Can we expect a crossover in the Apocalypse?

- Could we see a crossover between FTWD and TWD? -

Whispers among some of the devoted fans of The Walking Dead; is it possible in our near future that we will see a crossover in the zombie apocalypse?

Although the writers have stayed pretty on track with the original series and actually have had much more liberties with the spin-off series, one must  wonder if there is going to be a crossover between the two successful series.

Timeline and geographic positioning is important!  Obviously we know that when patient zero was discovered in California, that was during the time of Rick being in his coma at the hospital. Since then, Madison's group had moved south of the boarder and majority had returned.. However, back over to the East coast, Rick 's group had moved North.

I'm sure the writers would be able to be creative enough to make this work but from my perspective on this matter I cannot see how they would be able to successfully bring the two shows together for a crossover.

Rick's group is already years into the apocalypse where Madison's group is still in the infancy and trying to figure out what exactly is going on. So, there would be several years gaps between the two and with the distance being practically across the country, I find it hard to figure out how they could possibly pull this off.

Perhaps one or two that may have strayed from the groups during its time would make a way over to the East Coast? Then maybe- just maybe It would be a successful crossover.

Rick's Revelation that he's not baby Judith's Father

There was a beautifully refreshing, yet totally unexpected moment in the most recent episode of The Walking Dead. Rick is at his house in Alexandria setting up makeshift beds on the floor (thanks to Negan and The Saviours for stealing their mattresses, only to go and burn them afterwards. Yes, this is what Michonne saw at the end of the episode for those who didn't catch it) when Michonne walks in to talk to him. 

Michonne begins to question Rick, in order to gauge where he's mentally at. Does he want to fight Negan? Is there a plan lurking somewhere in the back of Rick's head? What's the next step? Sadly, much to Michonne's frustration, there doesn't seem to be one. Rick has ultimately admitted defeat. Negan has won. "they've got the numbers" exclaims Rick. "what about The Hilltop!?" asks Michonne, Rick fires back - "but they've still got the numbers!"

Michonne looks totally crushed, as does Rick. She now realises that this is the way it is. The man she used to look up to has thrown in the towel. He's waving the white flag.

"I had to accept that"

Rick then proceeds to tell Michonne of his former best friend and partner, Shane Walsh. Just to make it clear, I personally love when a TV Series makes a meaningful callback to past characters and events - it's something I think they should do more of in The Walking Dead. It just helps everything connect together and carries on the flow of storytelling - something that a lot of people criticise this show for - much more thoroughly.

Michonne never met Shane as she wasn't around at the time when he was alive, this explains why she looks so shocked as Rick is telling the story of his past relationship and most importantly the love triangle that existed between Lori, Rick and Shane. The love triangle that is responsible for baby Judith, who Rick now admits for the first time is not "really" his own. 

Shane and Lori before the apocalypse

"I know Judith isn't mine, I know it."

Wow, this shocking revelation is one that many fans of The Walking Dead - including myself - never figured would get brought up again, hence why I found it so refreshing. 

Here we have Rick at quite possibly one of his lowest moments (to be fair, there have been a lot!) and yet he still finds it in himself to push on, put his own beliefs to one side - in this case the belief that Judith is not really his daughter - and survive. 

"I know Judith isn't mine," he said. "I know it. I love her. She's my daughter. But she isn't mine. I had to accept that. I did. So I could keep her alive. I'll die before she does, and I hope that's a long time from now so I can raise her, protect her, and teach her how to survive. This is how we live now. I had to accept that too, so I could keep everyone else alive."

Reading into this tells us a couple of key things:

1. Rick says he "had to accept that" likely meaning that he's known for a long time that Judith isn't really his own flesh and blood, even if he didn't admit this to anyone else. The fact that he's known this for a while, and still risked his life countless times to protect her shows us that deep down he truly is a decent, caring man. Some men of this world wouldn't raise a child as their own as it is, so adding a zombie apocalypse to the table really shows us those who do, and don't ultimately care.
2. Rick telling Michonne that "this is how we live now" shows us that Rick is no longer willing to take risks. He's seen the consequences of that first hand with the horrific deaths of Abraham and Glenn. All he wants to do now is survive and keep everyone else alive, most importantly Carl and Judith. This was emphasised furthermore in the episode when he had an emotional crack in his voice whilst explaining to Michonne that he simply can't, and won't lose anyone else!

I think the writers created this scene so that we can see clearly the state of mind that Rick is currently in, and who can really blame him? He feels the guilt for everyone's deaths weighing heavily upon his shoulders. His whole emphasis on the fact that Negan is in charge, no matter how much he hates to admit that, tells us he's willing to do whatever is required to prevent anyone else from dying. 

The question now is what will Rick do going forwards - especially when it seems not everyone is as willing to get on board the 'Negan train'. Leave your thoughts and comments below or discuss on our Walking Dead Forum.

The Walking Dead - A Halloween Quiz

Can you tell the episode from the screenshots below? Answers can be found at the very bottom of this post - let us know your score in the comments section. We're looking for 8/8 from you true Walking Dead fans!

1. 

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Answers to the above screen grabs:

1. Days Gone Bye 

Aired October 31, 2010 from Season 1

Everyone should remember this episode; Rick wakes up from a coma to find the world isn’t the same after he’s been shot. 

2. Save The Last One

Aired October 30, 2011 From Season 2

Everyone is waiting patiently at Hershel’s farmhouse Shane, and Otis to return with much needed medical supplies for Carl. 

3. Walk With Me

Aired October 20, 2012 From Season 3

Andrea and Michonne witness the helicopter crashing.  In this episode, we meet the infamous Governor.

4. Isolation

Aired October 27, 2013 From Season 4

The Group makes the decision to isolate the sick from the healthy in an order to protect the healthy. 

5. Indifference

Aired November 3, 2013 From Season 4

Bob has a drinking problem, which then creates a safety issue for the group of people looking for medicine to help the sick back at the prison.  There’s also the big good-bye with Carol.  Rick confronts her, and lets her go. 

6. Slabtown

Aired November 2, 2014 From Season 5

We find Beth waking up in the hospital.  Her and Noah try to escape, but Noah is the only one that gets away. 

7. Here’s Not Here

Aired November 1, 2015 From Season 6

Where has Morgan been?  A lot of questions about Morgan get answered in this episode. 

8. The Well

Aired October 30, 2016 from Season 7

Yes, I would like to try one of those pomegranates. 

If you enjoyed this quiz then make sure to check out The Walking Dead Character Quiz.

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you enjoyed this Walking Dead picture trivia quiz.

Could there be more meaning to TWDs S7E1 'The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be'

Let's focus on something a little bit more than the deaths.  Forgive me Steven Yeun, and Michael Cudlitz!  I can’t begin to explain how much you have brought to TWD for all of the fans, but everyone’s already doing that now.  Including fan created obits.  I know that for months, this was a huge focal point as everyone waited in anticipation of the fate that awaited 2 of our TWD cast.  Could there be more?

"The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be"

We should all remember those words that were said to Rick Grimes by Dr. Edwin Jenner at the end of episode TS-19.

Season 7 premiere episode certainly lived up to its name.  However, could this be the first part of the foreshadowing of what’s to come for season 7?  Andrew Lincoln has already said that this will be the most difficult season for Rick Grimes.  In the past, the hardest thing for him has been losing the people that he has made family.  The list of people left is quickly dwindling, and I can’t help feel that Maggie’s fate is in question.

Glenn said, “Maggie, I’ll find you.”  Could this also mean, I’ll be waiting for you on the other side?  It’s hard to know.  I know that there is definitely a correlation to a past episode between Glenn and Maggie.  But, could it mean more?  Especially after the leaked alternate death scene for the TWD season 7 premiere makes me a little hesitant in believing anyone is safe.  Especially when it seems like TWD writers are taking a page from George R. R. Martin’s handbook.

In an interview with Steven Yeun, and Michael Cudlitz, they did say that they’ve known for a while that their time in TWD was coming to an end.   That one of the hardest things to do was to keep it all a secret.  Both the actors and AMC went to extraordinary lengths to keep Negan’s victims a secret.  Everything from being on filming sites where they weren’t needed, keeping it from other actors, going in places with cloaks on, and even to go as far as, filming alternate scenes that weren’t going to be used.  Does that mean that the ‘leaked’ alternate ending, is it really an alternate ending (because this could be Maggie’s last season), or was it staged to keep everyone’s suspicions on the fence for the première episode? 

In recent interviews with Greg Nicotero, he says that "Glenn is not dead; Abraham is not dead," Nicotero said. "Their spirit lives on and the fact that you have Maggie pregnant with his baby, and you have Sasha and Rosita carrying the memory of Abraham. There's more story to tell with the result of what happened with those people, so I certainly look at it a little differently."

Does that mean that Maggie, Sasha, and Rosita are as ‘safe’ in the TWD world as they possibly can be?  If TWD writers are taking a page from George R.R. Martin, one of the hardest things to swallow will be another Red Wedding, Talisa, unborn child.  I’m not saying Maggie is TWDs princess, but…  the similarities are hard to ignore. 

Let's touch on the shared Sunday dinner meal.  Did you catch the 4 candles on the table, and Morgan putting out two of them?  Should we be expecting at least 2 more of our beloved characters to meet brutal ends this season?  It's really hard not to point towards Maggie and the unborn baby.

So many questions, foreshadows, theories that are now being created.  Only time will tell the fate of our beloved cast members. 

Lucille Strikes Again: A Fan Review of Season 7 Premiere

Warning! Spoilers ahead!

It seemed like the premiere was going to start off really well and reveal who Negan killed, but instead, it dragged it out. As if we needed to wait longer! I thought they ended season six on a cliffhanger so that when the show came back it would immediately show who died. So after the first set of commercials, I thought “Okay now maybe we’ll get to the action.” I was wrong as we had to see Negan play with Rick as if he were food. It was actually disconcerting that Rick thought he could still be a hard ass and stand up to Negan instead of shutting up and keeping his friends and family safe.

We then get a flashback and they reveal it was Abraham that was victim to Negan’s bat Lucille. Though Abraham took it like a champ, it still didn’t have quite the reaction I thought it would. I did think the writers were smart in showing Rosita upset, rather than showing more of Sasha because we didn’t see that much of her and Abraham together. Rosita knew Abraham before the rest of the cast so it makes sense she would take it harder. 

Of course, I expected Daryl to be idiotic and go after Negan. That was ridiculous because Negan told them to stay in line and not fight him or he would retaliate. What didn’t they understand by that? He literally beat the brains out of their friend! 

Once that happened I knew it meant bad news for the group, and as I anticipated Negan decided Lucille was hungry for more and swung at Glenn. Now for those of us who read the comic books, that’s no surprise. Regardless, the Walking Dead doesn’t always follow the comics so no one was sure who was on the chopping block…literally! Glenn’s death was way more gruesome than Abraham’s, and they actually followed true to the comics with that one. 

The fact that Negan is capable of such an act, makes me wonder what happened to him to bring him to this point. Sure we got to see the group engage with cannibals and murderers, but this…this is different. Negan kills to make a point. He clearly can’t fend for himself if he has to steal the resources of other groups. Why couldn’t he do what Rick and Alexandria did? Obviously, the character has gone to a dark place, and watching him kill Abraham and Glenn makes me wish he gets what he deserves. 

If Rick wasn’t so cocky and didn’t let his pride get in the way, Abraham and Glenn would still be alive. Now I know that it’s all part of the plot, but it makes Rick less likeable. I did like that Negan shows he’s in charge. He continues to prove his stance as a leader well after he kills Glenn. When he speaks it’s like listening to your parents say “Get over here now. Don’t make me tell you again!”

Despite some minor pet peeves with Rick’s decision making, it was a pretty spectacular episode. I’m pretty bummed they chose two amazing and dynamic characters to kill off, but it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Mid-Season 4 Finale... SUCKED

I rarely blog about television shows – most likely because I don’t watch that many and also because being an author, mother, and wife doesn’t leave much time for anything else. However, after last night’s mid-season episode of The Walking Dead, I am angry. I would love to have ‘The Powers That Be’ from the show in front of me so I could tell them exactly how they screwed up. I’ll have to settle for a good rant and a cup of coffee.

We all knew we would lose a cast member that we loved on the mid-season finale. After all, The Walking Dead is notorious for knocking off favorites (Dale comes to mind here). The show is also known for its creativity when it comes to these casualties, and they own the patent on bombshells and shock-factor. I thought I was prepared for just about anything last night when I sat down to watch the show. What I was not expecting was to see a beloved character die so horrendously.

On Talking Dead, Robert Kirkman stated that when it comes to the demise of a character that has a major impact on the show (such as Herschel), he believes their death should reflect their importance – that they should die how they lived or some crap like that. In other words, the death should be as monumental as the character was. I took it upon myself to read between the lines of gibberish he spouted and interpreted his speech to mean that a character’s departure from the show should emulate the type of person they portrayed.

In Herschel’s case, his death should have been a noble one. He lived his life trying to save others. He instilled hope, humanity, and morals in the group. He was their conscious – a little angel sitting on everyone’s shoulders whispering that just because the world had gone to Hell didn’t mean they should give in to their inner demons. He should have died in a blaze of glory while saving someone or perhaps by gunshot as he iced the Governor or one of his followers. Instead, his head was partially chopped off with Michonne’s katana (which has never failed to take a head clean off in other episodes) and then left to drag his broken body along the ground until the Governor finished him off (which took several more blows with the sword). WTH was that about? Is that Kirkman’s idea of a death that reflected Herschel’s impact on the group? If so, I’m sending the man a dictionary. He has no idea what the word ‘reflect’ means.

Let’s talk about the Governor’s death. The man was scum. He kept walker heads in a fish tank. He tortured, maimed, and killed without batting his one eye. Kirkman stated that in the comics the Governor is killed by Lilly. He later learned this was not a ‘satisfying’ death and decided to change things on the show by giving him a “three-punch” murder with Rick, Michonne, and Lilly all getting a turn. In the end, Kirkman’s idea of a ‘satisfying death’ was Rick getting a few punches in before the Gov. nearly choked him to death. Michonne ran him through once with her sword before helping Rick to his feet and giving the maniac a sly smile. Lilly, whose only real contact with the man was a roll in the back of a van and questioning his attack on the prison, was the one chosen to deliver the final blow. Again, I say WTH?! Also, that idea of sending Kirkman a dictionary is looking better all the time.

Hello?! Herschel’s head was chopped off! The psycho mentally tortured Maggie, killed Andrea, tried to have Michonne killed, and was responsible for Oscar, Axel, and Merle’s deaths – and these are just the ones associated with Rick’s group. In all, the Governor killed twenty-three people during his time on the show. Twenty-three – and his death was quick and almost painless compared to what he dished out to others. This was a ‘satisfying’ death? Not for me.

My final gripe about last night’s episode is one I am sure I share with other fans. How many bites does it take from a snake before you stop playing around with it (trying to reason with it and tame it) and kill the thing? Carl was the only one with a brain in that episode. He was right when he told Daryl they should take the Governor out – no more talking or trying to negotiate. You can’t negotiate with crazy. How many times have we seen it in this show? Shane. Tomás. Their first round with the Governor… What did talking and negotiating do for them on those occasions? When someone has gone that far around the bend, you can’t pull them back. Some have said, “Rick tried to talk him down because he had Herschel and Michonne held hostage.” I’m sorry, but their death certificates were signed the second the Gov. got his hands on them. If you think for one second he was going to let them all walk free if they gave up the prison, then you obviously haven’t been following the show very well. There is no way he would have let them go. Once they cleared those gates he would have shot down as many as he could. He wouldn’t risk leaving anyone alive who could get word to his new followers about his past. That would have incited a revolt from within. The Governor might have ended up hanging over the prison fence from a very long rope as a Walker chew-toy (now that would have been a proper death for him).

All in all, I think those of us who have been loyal fans of The Walking Dead since Rick woke up from a coma were treated like virgins in last night’s episode. How gullible do ‘The Powers That Be’ think we are? Not all of us watch the show for the ‘zombies.’ Some of us actually follow it, think about scenarios, make predictions, and love the show for the struggling characters, as we relate to them in some way or another. The least they could have done was acknowledge that not all of us fell off the turnip truck yesterday and given us a show worthy of the three and a half years we’ve given them.

Nicole Storey

www.nicolestoreyauthor.com

When One Door Opens, Another Closes

This is a twist on the old adage meant to give hope and inspiration to people whose lives have taken a turn for the worse; to give the illusion that opportunity is always just around a corner. In The Walking Dead however, it seems that every time a new face turns up, one of the core group is irrevocably lost.

Before I explain the examples of this thought, let me first clarify my restrictions for choosing them. I do not include the Morales family because to our knowledge they have not been killed, but rather chose to leave the group and head out on their own. Those I do include are people who have become a part of the group, with the exception of Otis, who would have been a part of the group (as a member of Hershel’s group he would have merged with the original Atlanta group) had he lived.

The first example of this idea comes when Rick meets up with the survivors in Atlanta. Unfortunately, he is the new face in this instance. With his arrival, we see a horde of zombies attack the camp the survivors had staked out, which causes the deaths of Amy, Ed and ultimately Jim. Next we have Jacqui’s death. This occurs after being allowed into the CDC and discovering that a cure has not and likely will not be discovered within the United States. She chooses to stay in the building when it explodes as part of the emergency safety measures. When the group moves to Hershel’s farm after Carl is shot, we have Otis killed by Shane. In this instance, I’d say he was both the new face and the death that followed, which is an unusual circumstance in the pattern. After meeting and getting to know Hershel’s household, we discover that Sophia is indeed dead, and was one of the Walkers kept in their barn. Finally, Randall is brought to the farm in an effort to save him, Rick decides to let him live, and then Dale is killed by a Walker.

After seeing this pattern, I couldn’t help but wonder why it happens that way? I brought up this topic with fellow writer Amy Gugerty and she pointed out that there is a logistical reason for this: too many characters to follow means not enough attention devoted to them. People don’t remember who they are or what they’ve done. I am guilty of this myself. I had forgotten who the Morales family was, who Jacqui was, and that Jim was a part of the show. This makes sense, but I think there’s more to it than just logistics.

I think that the line of who has died mirrors not only the deteriorating humanity of the group (Thanks Amy for that bit), but also their deteriorating hopes and morale. With each death, something vital is sucked away from the company. Obviously a life is gone, but each death indicates a loss of chance, of future opportunities that would have existed had that person survived. With Amy, it was a chance of familial bond for Andrea, which at the time she felt was the only reason she had to keep going forward. It’s difficult to see this kind of opportunity present with Ed and Jim, as their ties were tenuous to the group. Jacqui’s death corresponds with the death of the hope for a cure, and has members of the group wondering if suicide is the better option than survival. When Otis is killed, we see the death of decency in Shane – he has become a creature that will do whatever it takes for its own survival. Sophia’s death indicates the end of childhood; not even children are sacred or safe in a world where the dead rise again. And finally, Dale’s death expresses the finality of the group’s concern for safety superceding the untried killing of an individual. His is a symbol for the death of justice as we’ve known it, and the death of civilization and the qualities of goodness that make people greater than the sum of their individuality. Even with Rick’s turnaround, the fact that Dale is killed gives a sense of too little, too late, and there’s no going back now. An irrevocable act, a door closed.

My thanks to my friend Joe for giving me the idea for this article, without his comments I wouldn’t have had this brainstorm!

The Angel and Devil on Andrea's shoulder

As the countdown to the Season Two Finale begins, fans of The Walking Dead wonder which cast members will fail to survive and fight on in Season Three. For the first time since the group left the CDC in Atlanta, I find myself hoping Andrea is not part of the upcoming body count.

Oh, I still don’t like her much. I also don’t like Lori, to the point I almost cringe typing my own name. The argument the two women had in the kitchen of the farmhouse a few episodes ago drove me crazy, because I agreed with every single rotten thing they said about each other. I sort of hoped a walker would lurch out of the pantry and have a bitch buffet.

But now I feel as if Andrea is on the cusp of something, and it could be very interesting. She’s made a lot of transitions in the first two seasons, perhaps more than any other character. She started out trying to be tough, going into town on missions. Still, despite being a civil rights attorney with – presumably – a life of her own, she in many ways remained the daughter who fished with her father and wanted to make up for ignoring her younger sister.

When Amy was attacked and awoke as a walker, Andrea dug deep, searching for the inner strength to do what had to be done to prevent her baby sister from continuing in that dark existence. It was undoubtedly the most difficult thing she’d ever had to do, but that decision came from love, not calculated, strategic violence. The act changed her profoundly, making her doubt her will to live in this new reality.

Dale wouldn’t let her “opt out.” Seeing him as her surrogate father, Andrea saved herself to save him, and eventually regained her will to go on. But in order to protect herself from further emotional and psychological damage, she started pushing Dale away and stomped all her emotional sensitivity down, adopting a stoic, practical persona. And who guided her and nurtured this mercenary attitude? Shane. He taught her to shoot, and he encouraged her to tap into her repressed rage to find the cold, dead attitude he believed she needed to survive.

As the debate raged about deciding Randall’s fate, Dale reminded her of her former role as a civil rights attorney. She cared about fighting for people who couldn’t fight for themselves. By the time a decision was reached, she was wavering, asking if they could find another way to eliminate the threat the boy posed, short of killing him.

Dale was the angel on one shoulder, whispering in her ear about humanity, fighting for what’s right, and not letting the daily horrors change who she is on a fundamental level. Meanwhile, Shane was the devil on the other shoulder, urging her to shed her emotions in favor of a hard, calculating, merciless approach, focused on nothing but survival.

Now, in the space of about twenty-four hours, Andrea has lost her two primary influences. Her angel died, his integrity intact, even if his innards were not. Her devil also died, victim of his own murderous plot and the error of underestimating exactly how far Rick would go to protect his family.

Andrea has alienated herself from much of the group. The remaining men don’t really see her as the warrior she tried to become, and the women see her as a slacker or a cold, distant, delusional guardian wanna-be. Who will become her new stabilizing or destabilizing influence, if anyone? Will she become even more isolated and bitter in the absence of Dale? Will she become more ruthless, stepping up to fill the void left by Shane? Or will she remember her connection to Dale and recover her emotional balance, perhaps even developing into a unifying force in this traumatized, fractured group?

If she isn’t among the dead (or un-dead) at the end of the Season Two Finale, she will be a fascinating character to watch in Season Three.

Best Friend or Barky Liability?

In a world ruled by walkers, survivors must surround themselves with those they trust and who can help keep them safe. Bad choices are often made, leading to betrayal or fatal mistakes. With my slightly skewed priorities, this makes me ask one question: Where are the dogs?

In our reality, every time a major natural disaster occurs, there are people who refuse to evacuate because many shelters don’t accept pets. Others leave behind nearly everything else, but pack their vehicles to the dome lights with animals.

So far in The Walking Dead, we’ve seen virtually no dogs. I believe there were a few shown slinking around the streets of Atlanta, but the only ones I remember being the focus of anyone’s attention are the “little-fluffies” tucked in their doggie bed at the nursing home protected by the Vatos. Is this how it would be?

Many dogs would fail to survive the early days. Their owners might be unable to return home, and some would flee without their pets. If the dogs were unable to escape their houses, they would eventually perish. Some pets who were outdoors or able to find a way out would become prey to other animals. We’ve seen walkers eat horses, rats, woodchuck, and (sadly) at the beginning of season two, dogs. (Thanks Iain for finding that reference – and disturbing photo – for me!) So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised not to see many dogs wandering about, but I would have expected to see more.

In urban areas, where wild game doesn’t exist and food sources are dwindling, survivors would eventually begin to hunt dogs. I imagine they’d be relatively easy targets, given their ingrained inclination to trust humans. In fact, I wrote this element into my own apocalyptic novella. I hated it. You might not believe me, but I’ve given this way too much thought. I would honestly starve before I would kill and consume a dog. Still, I recognized it as a likely scenario in the story, so I included it.

Cats are another story. Feral cat colonies exist nearly everywhere, in both urban and rural areas, but they are way harder to catch than most people realize. Which makes me also wonder why we aren’t seeing more feral cats slinking around.

Felines aside, I’m a true-blue dog person, and I know you can never discount people’s devotion to their canine companions. Shouldn’t we see at least some dogs accompanying groups of survivors? I would certainly try to bring my dogs with me and keep them safe. Yes, I’d have to find a way to feed them, but it would be worth it.

Wouldn’t it?

On one hand (or paw, as the case may be), dogs could be a huge liability. In addition to feeding them, most dogs bark. In the case of my dogs, they bark a lot. We know walkers are attracted to sound. What would the primitive survival instinct sparking in their brain stems tell them about barking? It could be “Yay, sound! Let’s eat!” But in their human lives, walkers would have known the sound of a barking dog served as an alarm. This might continue in their primitive reptilian brains as “Uh-oh. That sound means our snack-packs know we’re coming, so we should shamble as fast as our decomposing joints will allow in the opposite direction.”

That being said, babies and small children make noise and are hard to control, too, yet everyone seems determined to haul them along through the countryside.

On the other hand, dogs could be a significant benefit. Sure, not a crazy, out-of-control yap-monster…but perhaps a more cooperative canine? Dogs are our companions, giving us comfort and acceptance when no one else does. But they also evolved to work by our side.

Dogs have senses which greatly exceed ours. Their eyes are sensitive to movement, their ears are far more acute than those of humans, and their noses are so much more advanced it’s hard to calculate. Many breeds, especially if trained, could be of enormous benefit in the quest for game.

A dogs sense of smell would be extremely useful
during an apocalypse

In the area of security, their eyes would detect a rustle in the woods or the flicker of movement between buildings which would be invisible to their bipedal companions. This would be especially true at night, when people are nearly blind. Their (adorable, scratch-worthy) ears would pick up the distant shuffling of festering walker-feet while they were still far enough away to allow the luxury of escape. If the humans were attuned to their dogs and paying attention, this early alert system could save many lives.

And those wonderful doggie noses! I must assume walkers don’t smell all that great, what with the rotting and absolute absence of personal hygiene.

This brings me to a quick side note. Where does all the flesh the walkers eat end up? Does it just sit and rot in their stomachs? They’re dead, so I’m guessing “no metabolism.” I’ve never seen a walker, um, eliminate digestive byproducts, so I’d expect them to eventually swell up and burst from all the yummy, bloody goodness they’ve consumed. But enough about that, as I’m grossing myself out.

Back to those dog noses. The advantages of having these marvels of evolution working for you would be immeasurable. Dogs would quickly develop an aversion to the undead, especially if their people knew anything at all about training and reinforced appropriate responses. Imagine approaching a building full of food or supplies and knowing well before you enter whether there are “Dead Inside.” And, as previously mentioned, dogs would be valuable when it came to detecting and locating delicious, roastable wildlife.

I’ve been surprised by the lack of dogs in The Walking Dead, even on Hershel’s farm. It’s true the wrong dog might get you killed. But the right dog might be the thing that tips the survival scales in your favor.

What do you think? How else might dogs be beneficial (or detrimental) to a group of survivors? Larger dogs could be used to help carry things, like water. Could they be trained to attack walkers, taking out the legs and hindering their ability to reach you? Could they guard injured people or small children, giving an alert if walkers ventured into the vicinity? Would you take your dogs with you?

I certainly would.

***

More About This Blogger:

Lori Whitwam Author Page

Lori Whitwam Facebook Fan Page