Since The Walking Dead has ended, there are some major unanswered questions that can be uncovered in Tales of the Walking Dead season 2. Premiering on AMC in August 2022, Tales of the Walking Dead expanded on the world set up in the main series of The Walking Dead, centering on new characters and their stories of survival in the zombie apocalypse. The six-episode anthology first season starred the likes of The Boys star Jessie T. Usher, Parker Posey, Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Terry Crews, and the return of Samantha Morton, reprising her role of Dee, a.k.a. Alpha, the sinister leader of the Whisperers from The Walking Dead seasons 9 and 10.
Tales of the Walking Dead received a mixed response from critics and audiences alike, with many praising the expansion of The Walking Dead universe, but criticism falling on the actual characters and stories introduced. While Tales of the Walking Dead hasn't yet been renewed for a second season, there is a way that the show can continue in future that could be more pleasing to audiences, since it's the perfect opportunity to develop stories that were started in The Walking Dead but never got enough backstory or a satisfying pay off. There are several dangling threads that Tales of the Walking Dead can explore in depth in a second season.
How Did Shane And Lori Survive Without Rick?
Rick Grimes woke up from his coma almost two months after the start of TWD's initial virus outbreak, meaning Lori and Carl had to survive for that time without him. Shane ensured Rick's family's survival, and while snippets of this had been shown in earlier seasons of The Walking Dead - particularly during a flashback in season 1, episode 6, "TS-19," and season 2, episode 5, "Chupacabra" not much is known about their time surviving before Rick found their group. This would make for a fantastic storyline for a Tales of the Walking Dead episode, as it would help to answer several burning questions from the start of The Walking Dead.
A flashback in "Chupacabra" revealed that Shane, Lori, and Carl had been stuck in a traffic jam during the initial stages of the outbreak, which is where they watched Atlanta get bombed during Operation Cobalt. This is the only piece of backstory viewers were given about the time before Rick woke up, so Tales of the Walking Dead can certainly expand on this story. Questions can be answered surrounding Shane and Lori's relationship, how they found the other members of the Atlanta camp, and what the start of the apocalypse was like for them, all leading up to Rick finding their group in the Atlanta department store.
Who Was That Soldier In The Tank?
During his brief adventure in Atlanta in The Walking Dead season 1, episode 1, "Days Gone Bye," Rick finds himself trapped inside a tank with a walker, which he hastily dispatches. As it turns out, this walker was going to see a lot more development during season 2, but after Frank Darabont was fired by AMC, these plans were scrapped, and the tank walker was forgotten as just another body. The original plans to develop the story of this walker, portrayed by Being Human's Sam Witwer, could easily be integrated into a Tales of the Walking Dead episode.
The first two episodes of The Walking Dead season 2 would have explored Witwer's character's story, explaining how he ended up in the tank, and how Atlanta fell during the outbreak. Viewers would have seen his character get bitten, leading to his eventual death inside the tank, but not before Andrea and Amy made appearances, meaning they would have crossed paths with Witwer's character during their escape from Atlanta. It's possible all parties would be interested in returning to their roles, so this story could still be told, helping to flesh out the early stages of the outbreak in Atlanta, and providing some backstory for Andrea and Amy too.
How Did The Governor Start Woodbury?
David Morrissey was introduced as Philip Blake, a.k.a. the Governor, during The Walking Dead season 3, which saw him already being the established leader of the town of Woodbury. Despite spending most of season 3 in Woodbury, audiences were never given a proper backstory to the seemingly sleepy town, aside from the Governor once proclaiming that it had started with nine people barricaded in an apartment when the outbreak first started. The creation of Woodbury and the Governor's initial rise to leadership (and into villainous tendancies) would be the perfect story to tell in Tales of the Walking Dead season 2.
What Happened At Grady Memorial Hospital After Beth’s Death?
After the fall of the prison and spending some time on the road with Daryl, Beth was kidnaped and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, which would be the eventual setting of Beth Greene's death in The Walking Dead season 5, episode 8, "Coda." Most of the backstory for life in the twisted hospital was told to viewers during season 5, so there wouldn't be much more information there to cover for a Tales of the Walking Dead episode. However, what has never been revealed is what happened in the aftermath of Beth's death, and the death of the hospital's leader, Dawn.
It was revealed in TWD season 5 that there was a plan to oust Dawn, and for someone potentially kinder to take her spot as leader of the group. This could have happened, and Grady could have become a safe refuge, but as viewers will surely know, a group in the center of a city during the zombie apocalypse can't last too long. It's likely that the hospital fell not long after Beth and Dawn's deaths, but this would still be a great story to tell in Tales of the Walking Dead, especially since so much time was spent there, but nothing's been revealed about what happened since.
How Did Deanna & Reg Build Alexandria From Scratch?
Rick and the other survivors reached the Alexandria Safe-Zone at the end of The Walking Dead season 5, episode 11, "The Distance," and were introduced to the community's leader, Deanna Monroe. Deanna reveals that her husband, Reg, was an architect, and put up the community's huge walls himself, a statement confirmed by a plaque inscribed with Reg's name secured to the first panel he erected. That's all the backstory viewers were given for Alexandria, despite the community becoming the home-base for several main characters, so Tales of the Walking Dead has the opportunity to dig into the origins of one of the most important settlements in The Walking Dead history.
The debut of Alexandria in The Walking Dead meant the return to civilization for Rick and the group after spending so long on the road. The community was built up significantly over time, but it would be great to go back to the start and see what Alexandria used to be like, and properly introduce audiences to some secondary characters who might have been forgotten about, such as Alexandra Breckenridge's Jessie or Jason Douglas' Tobin. Not only would Tales of the Walking Dead help to fill out the backstory of the community, but it could also prove the point that Rick's group made the community a much better place.
What Are The Origins Of The Saviors? (After Here’s Negan)
The Walking Dead season 10, episode 22, "Here's Negan," filled in a lot of blanks with Negan's backstory after almost four years not knowing how the villain came to be the way he was. Even so, the episode "Here's Negan" barely scratched the surface when it came to the beginnings of the Saviors and the establishment of the Sanctuary, aside from introducing Laura, one of Negan's most trusted allies, and, as it turns out, the original owner of his baseball bat, Lucille. It seems unlikely that Negan's upcoming TWD spinoff will delve too deep into his past, so Tales of the Walking Dead would be the perfect place to explore this story.
"Here's Negan" gave viewers an insight into Negan's married life, his wife's battle with cancer, and the origins of his infamous bat, but the episode ended just as the fun was getting started. Jeffrey Dean Morgan's portrayal of Negan was captivating since the first moments he walked out of the RV in the season 6 finale, "Last Day on Earth," so it would be brilliant to see him reprise the role and show the true extent of his rise to ultimate power. Tales of the Walking Dead can fill in all the remaining gaps in Negan's story, and get viewers ready for his next adventure with Maggie in New York.
How Did Ezekiel’s Kingdom Begin?
During his introductory episode into the world of The Walking Dead, season 7, episode 2, "The Well," Ezekiel does reveal a little about his backstory in conversation to Carol, but the story he weaved sounded so fantastic that it's a shame it was never shown on screen. Ezekiel reveals he had been a zookeeper, and saved the tiger, Shiva, after she suffered a traumatic leg injury, before using his experience in amateur theater to create the King persona for his people to follow. The backstory of the Kingdom is so remarkable, it's curious that it has never been investigated further, but Tales of the Walking Dead can solve this.
Whatever Happened To Georgie & The Twins?
One of the biggest mysteries in The Walking Dead was the introduction of Georgie during season 8, episode 12, "The Key." Georgie greets Maggie, Rosita, and Enid, with an opportunity to exchange records for "the key to [their] future," a book detailing how to build essential structures for survival in the new world. This is the only time Georgie and her Walking Dead group are ever seen, though it's revealed that Maggie spent a lot of time with Georgie after leaving the Hilltop Colony. Tales of the Walking Dead has the chance to develop this story in a much clearer way than what was laid out in the main series.
How Did The Reapers Take Meridian?
The Reapers were one of the biggest wasted chances in The Walking Dead season 11, since their story could have been something remarkable but was rushed to save space for the Commonwealth arc as the series was soon coming to an end. The fact that the Reapers weren't featured in the comic source material, and were completely original to The Walking Dead series, meant that there was a huge amount of creative liberty that could have been taken to make them formidable adversaries. However, they ended up being eliminated in only eight episodes, and the Reapers' story was made out to be practically pointless.
Tales of the Walking Dead has the opportunity to fix this problem and not make the Reapers' storyline so insignificant. Focus could be put on their lives as mercenaries before the outbreak, as well as Leah's departure from the group which led to her meeting Daryl, and the group's eventual takeover of Meridian, Maggie's previous settlement. The Reapers could be done justice with an entire episode centered around their origins, meaning Tales of the Walking Dead could literally bring these characters back from the dead.
How Did The Miltons Found The Commonwealth?
One of the more recent introductions into the world of The Walking Dead was the Commonwealth and its leader, Pamela Milton. Although the Commonwealth storyline was rushed during season 11, Pamela Milton did drop little nuggets of backstory, but Tales of the Walking Dead can explore how the massive community was actually founded by Pamela and her family, and how they gathered together over 50,000 inhabitants. This episode could provide a less-rushed explanation for a lot of Pamela's actions in The Walking Dead, which could make Tales of the Walking Dead season 2 one of the most important installments in the franchise.