# The Walking Dead; 5.02 "Strangers" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868 "2014-10-20T00:12:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/61 "2014-10-20T20:25:23Z")
I kinda hope Bob dies just to end his suffering, but Herschel kept surviving everything. What do you call a guy with no arms and legs in a swimming pool? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/62 "2014-10-20T20:31:47Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > She tried the starter but the battery was dead. Then she looked in the trunk and found a good backup power supply/jump starter thing, I thought. Those don’t last forever either. The best one I’ve owned needs to be recharged every few months at least even if I’m not using it. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/63 "2014-10-20T20:34:53Z")
Since everybody is already infected, it’s still a little sketchy how a bite speeds things up so fast. But hell, if we are debating a mythical zombie pathogen, we already suspended our disbelief. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/64 "2014-10-20T20:39:02Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Say Bob was bitten, and the Termites are eating the now “activated” flesh. > > Wouldn’t cooking the meat pretty much kill off even the most virulent strain? Unless they like their human medium rare? I’m not convinced about the “Bob’s been bit” hypothesis, and have no idea what the writers think should happen if one were to eat somebody who has an active case of zombitis, considering how fast and loose the rules appear to be, but inadvertent contamination would be pretty easy. They are cooking and performing impromptu surgery in a totally inadequate environment. Improper sanitization of knives or hands could easily transfer pathogens from the infected person to the cooked food, then to the diners. Food safety is a big enough pain in the ass when you’re backpacking in the real world, it would have to be worse in zombieland. One of the drawbacks to cannibalism is that any pathogen or parasite in the victim can infect the killer, which is not always the case in interspecies predation. Between the seasons, I wondered if they would depict the Terminus people as suffering from some kind of prion disease, like kuru. They’re apparently not going that way, though. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/65 "2014-10-20T20:47:35Z")
Walking Dead zombie physics is already timey whimy magic. I’m not going to overthink it. Mullet already introduced the pathogen vs. pathogen crackpot theory. Maybe the active zombie virus and inactive zombie virus will combine in the head Termite guy and he’ll be the immune golden child they have to save and get to DC. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/66 "2014-10-20T20:50:04Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > She tried the starter but the battery was dead. Then she looked in the trunk and found a good backup power supply/jump starter thing, I thought. > > Daryl even proceeded to bash out the working tail lights when he saw the kidnap-mobile, so it at least had juice. Though I’m sure Carol just got it running, before she had to take out that lone walker. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Those don’t last forever either. The best one I’ve owned needs to be recharged every few months at least even if I’m not using it. When she turned the key to try - she got the “fast click” - where the battery is only “mostly dead”. She checked the emergency jumper - it went to green - she then closed it up for “later”. Later came - she had the car started, was interrupted by zombie, then Daryl - then the cross car conveniently zoomed past - broken tailight and a chase ensues. ---
**Author:** ![PlumBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@PlumBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlumBob)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/67 "2014-10-20T20:54:27Z")
I know this is a stretch… Let’s say, Bob got bit in the left leg. The Termites cut off & cooked the same leg. They get sick & die and at the same time save Bob. I know they removed Hershel’s leg quickly. Probably a good thing I’m not a writer for TWD. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/68 "2014-10-20T21:03:04Z")
> [@PlumBob](#): > > I know this is a stretch… > Let’s say, Bob got bit in the left leg. The Termites cut off & cooked the same leg. They get sick & die and at the same time save Bob. > I know they removed Hershel’s leg quickly. Probably a good thing I’m not a writer for TWD. > :rolleyes: That would be _hilarious_. Kind of a stretch, but I’m willing to allow it. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/69 "2014-10-20T21:08:02Z")
> [@PlumBob](#): > > I know this is a stretch… > Let’s say, Bob got bit in the left leg. The Termites cut off & cooked the same leg. They get sick & die and at the same time save Bob. > I know they removed Hershel’s leg quickly. Probably a good thing I’m not a writer for TWD. > :rolleyes: That would be cool. Putting a tourniquet (I assume) on his bitten leg, and cooking and eating it could actually save Bob. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/70 "2014-10-20T21:20:31Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Since everybody is already infected, it’s still a little sketchy how a bite speeds things up so fast. But hell, if we are debating a mythical zombie pathogen, we already suspended our disbelief. Bites don’t speed up the zombie virus. Bites just kill you. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/71 "2014-10-20T21:46:53Z")
In every episode one of the Scoobies gets walker blood & goop up to his/her elbows- last week Carol even deliberately smeared it on herself- and they don’t turn. It’s hard to imagine that they’d get it from consuming the charred flesh of somebody who’s been infected but hasn’t turned. But, again, timey whimey zombie wombie and all. I’m still wondering how there are so many ambulatory walkers when everytime we see them take down somebody they devour it til there’s almost nothing left. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/72 "2014-10-20T21:49:43Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > It’s been about 2 years since the Zombocalypse. How long will most canned food last? [Indefinitely?](http://www.foodreference.com/html/tcannedfoodshelflife.html) > [@](#): > > In fact, canned food has an almost indefinite shelf life at moderate temperatures (75° F and below). Canned food as old as 100 years has been found in sunken ships and it is still microbiologically safe! We don’t recommend keeping canned food for 100 years, but if the can is intact, not dented or bulging, it is edible. I’ve read that other places as well. Last week we ate a spam sandwiches from a can that expired six years ago. It was fine. (Keels over dead.) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/73 "2014-10-20T21:53:02Z")
[QUOTE=pohjonen] I’ve read that other places as well. Last week we ate a spam sandwiches from a can that expired six years ago. It was fine. (Keels over dead.) [/QUOTE] Would you still have eaten the 6+ year old spam if you’d had a nice muscular 20-something leg to roast? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/74 "2014-10-20T21:53:30Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Bites don’t speed up the zombie virus. Bites just kill you. [Per this blog post](http://blogs.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/talk/2012/10/infection-bites.php): > [@Joe Diehl](#): > > Q: What about the walkers’ bite or scratch? If it’s not spreading the infection, what is everyone so worried about getting bit for, and why chop off Hershel’s leg? > > A: There’s a SECOND threat to worry about here. We’ll call it Walker Fever or WF for short. WF is caused by one of two possibilities, we’ll take a moment and explore both: > > 1. It is a seperate pathogen > > 2. It’s VENOM! like a snake or spider > > The first is an easy enough concept to grasp. Dead bodies can harbor many different pathogens, not all of which are deadly. In fact it is actually unlikely to catch a deadly disease from a dead body, though you may catch something that will make you sick. In a world devoid of readily available antibiotics to battle these foes, even a normally curable disease can be fatal. WF has it’s own very distinct symptoms which include: high fever, chills, sweat or clamminess, hallucinations, loss of appetite, vomiting, paleness of skin, sunken eyes, sensitivity of bones and muscles and delerium. Having such distinctive qualities, it is safe to assume that WF is caused by only one pathogen, or the same group of pathogens, since the symptoms are consistent from person to person. WF has only been seen to transmit via bite, so as for now the only area on a walker we know of that harbors WF is the mouth, and the only fluid we know of is the saliva. Though there is the assumed possibility that the space between a walkers’ fingernails my also harbor WF. There is no cure for WF > > The second possibility here is venom (my absolute favorite concept here). Venom by definition is a general term refering to any toxin(s) delivered to a victim via injection by bite, sting, any sharp body part (a walker’s fingernails?) or sharp implement (e.g. death row lethal injection). Venoms differ from poisons as poisons are ingested or inhaled. Venoms usually have a consistent symptom base which don’t differ from person to person. Considering how we know a bite from a walker will inject someone with WF, and it is assumed a scratch can too, WF also fits the bill to be a likely type of venom. The venom may be produced by mutated saliva glands (this is my personal working theory on the venom production in walkers) and as a walker feeds and bringing it’s hands to its mouth, there is a transference of venom onto the fingers (which could also explain transference of a pathogen). There is no anti-venom for WF (what a great concept though, WF anti-venom) > > Hershel’s leg was bitten, this meant that the blood in his leg was contaminated with either a pathogen or a venom, so amputation was the only way to stop the blood in his leg from spreading to his heart, and thus other parts of his body. I don’t buy the venom hypothesis. Last I heard, monitor lizards’ saliva poisons its prey; but I’ve just done a quick search, and apparently monitor lizards do have venom glands. Gila monsters also have venom. Humans don’t have venom glands, and I see no reason they should magically come into being upon death. I’m sure there are animals with toxic bites (human bites are said to be pretty dirty – slow lorises, maybe?), but I’m not aware of any whose bite is _always_ toxic. I’d accept a separate pathogen though. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/75 "2014-10-20T21:54:36Z")
To me, the best thing about this episode–and something I rather expected more conversation about–was the quiet conversation midway through between Michonne & Rick. I just loved it. It made me like Michonne a lot more than I ever have before, while simultaneously making her initial unlikability both more understandable and less arch. Anybody feel the same? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/76 "2014-10-20T21:54:39Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Would you still have eaten the 6+ year old spam if you’d had a nice muscular 20-something leg to roast? [Pointing to fourth sailor] I’d rather eat Johnson, sir. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/77 "2014-10-20T21:59:52Z")
I guess I’ll die in the apocalypse because I think canned food without obvious dents has an infinite shelf life. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/78 "2014-10-20T22:01:56Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > By rights, Carl should die next. He’s optimistic about the team being strong enough to handle whatever comes. Bye Carl! I find myself hoping for something to happen to Carl. Kinda the same way that I felt about Wesley Crusher… Get off of my TV! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/79 "2014-10-20T22:35:07Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Does anyone know what happens when you eat infected pre-zombie meat? You become a vampire. Yessir, that’s what this show needs: some vampires. > [@Lightnin](#): > > Wading through opaque water you \*know \*to contain walkers is pretty effin’ stupid. > > … It seems to me that if you’ve got time to carve “YOU’LL BURN FOR THIS” into the wall, you’ve got time to break into the church. It’s not like the pacifist preacher’s gonna shoot you, or anything. These were both _disgustingly_ stooooopid plot developments. Even if the writers had bothered to come up with a plausible reason that Our Heroes HAD to go into that water (and the writers didn’t make the least effort to justify it), anyone with sense would have come up with some wader-pants. The Episcopal priest wouldn’t have scrounged all the garbage bags and duct tape from the town, fer corn’s sake. Any infections you get in your nether regions from that water won’t be cured with sunny thoughts. You will need serious antibiotics–so you won’t go into the water without protection. (I won’t even mention the stupidity of exposing oneself to underwater bites. Well, okay: I mentioned it.) As for the carving on the church wall: obviously that would have taken a lot of time. So it _wasn’t_ carved by frantic villagers trying to get into the church as the walkers closed in. And as you say, anyone who’d have had time to do that carving, would have had time to break into the church building. (Have the writers never heard of Sharpies?) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868/80 "2014-10-20T22:36:56Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > You become a vampire. Yessir, that’s what this show needs: some vampires. Vee preFER to be called ‘wom-PEERS’! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-02-strangers-open-spoilers/701868.md?page=5)