After more than a decade of smart zombie confusion, The Walking Dead has plugged a season 1 plot hole. Through four TV shows, numerous one-shots, and an entire comic book series, The Walking Dead's zombies have long established themselves in the horror hall of fame. AMC's live-action undead assume the classic zombie mold, their lack of speed matched only by their lack of intellect, but that formula only became concrete in The Walking Dead season 2. During his debut run, Rick Grimes encountered zombies who could jog after him, zombies who remembered their past lives, and reanimated corpses that still possessed enough coordination to open doors and pick up objects. For years, these scenes stood out as a plot hole, but thanks to The Walking Dead season 11's "Variant" episode, it's a plot hole no more.
The Walking Dead season 11, episode 19 formally introduced variant zombies after The Walking Dead: World Beyond whet the appetite with a lore-busting post-credits scene. Aaron, Jerry, Lydia and Elijah encounter a zombie that can sense them from afar, grab their weapons, and even climb fences. According to Dr. Jenner (and the episode's title), this is a "variant" type. The Walking Dead hasn't yet explained how these zombies gain extra skills (although World Beyond hinted the evolution was unintentionally man-made) but there's no denying they exist. That means the aforementioned super-zombies in The Walking Dead season 1 are no longer a plot hole, but a previously-unidentified strain. As if to prove that very point, season 11's variant picks up a rock to bash Jerry over the head - a deliberate callback to the zombie using a rock to smash a glass pane in The Walking Dead season 1.
The Walking Dead Explains Morgan's Wife From Season 1
One of The Walking Dead season 1's errant zombies was Morgan's late wife, Jenny, who attempts to turn the door handle of the house Rick, Morgan and Duane are hiding inside. The Jones family had been living in this house since the outbreak began, and Jenny trying to open the door - despite no real stimulus drawing her toward that house specifically - demonstrates an echo of memory from when she was alive. Aaron explains this in The Walking Dead season 11, episode 19, stating, "We've all seen some come back to the places they remember."
Despite Aaron's statement, zombies with memory retention haven't been a frequent feature in The Walking Dead. Like the new variant picking up a rock, the comment feels designed to address a specific plot hole from The Walking Dead season 1 - in this case, Morgan's wife remembering the house she lived at.
Why Did Variants Disappear For 10 Seasons?
As one The Walking Dead plot hole closes, another opens. Zombie variants are so common in The Walking Dead season 1, multiple examples can be found throughout the season. Why do they then disappear almost entirely between The Walking Dead seasons 2-10, only to reappear in season 11? The question is impossible to answer without knowing exactly why variants happen, and this is a mystery that must be addressed either before The Walking Dead ends, or in an upcoming spinoff. At the very least, it seems variant zombies did vanish for a time. None of the survivors are familiar with variants - even well-traveled characters like Aaron - and when The Walking Dead: World Beyond visited the CRM's zombie lab, there was no mention of variants there either.
That suggests variants were around when the zombie outbreak began, and have only just started to resurface over a decade later. We know variants were active in Europe as early as The Walking Dead season 1, and it makes sense that characters such as Rick and Glenn wouldn't remember their experience with smart zombies because they were still getting their heads around the dead coming back to life. Now that something is bringing the variants back, the zombie apocalypse will never be the same.
The Walking Dead continues Sunday on AMC.