One Bloated Zombie, Does Not A Body Make!
By: Chris “DOC” Bushley
Three graves have been dug on the outskirts of the prison walls, but only one contains an actual corpse. The others remain bare, filled more with the grieving tears of the survivors than with the decomposing flesh of the dead. The crosses above them are etched with the names of those that cannot be found, but is it premature to give such finality to just the mere thought of death? Some think so!
In one of the most controversial seasons yet, Season 3 of Robert Kirkman’s opus to the undead, shows the band of survivors split into groups while being pursued by Walkers. Things happen, horrible things that leave at least on of the group dead, one in labor and one missing. The most memorable, yet tragic, scenes plays out as Carl has to seemingly shoot his mother after she gives birth to his sister so she will not become a Walker. It is unnerving to watch but also completely captivating and shocking! That is, until Episode 5 begins to shine new light to that particular scene! As much as we will all miss T-Dog, it is the legitimacy of Lori and Carol’s deaths that are in question!
As I spoke with my intern, DRox, quite feverishly about Episodes 4 and 5, we began to think that maybe – just maybe – everyone’s favorite candidate for mother of the year did NOT die after giving birth to little baby “Ass Kicker!”
Here are some facts and speculations for you to ponder:
FACT: T-Dog saves Carol by tackling two attacking zombies and pays the ultimate price for his heroism.
FACT: Rick and the “Hit-Squad” find T-Dog’s corpse in a hallway along with Carol’s head wrap. They NEVER find another trace of Carol, nor look to find her, just assume she is dead!
FACT: Lori goes into labor and Maggie must perform an emergency C-section on her in order to save the baby. Carl stays behind as Maggie takes the newborn to find the others. As she approaches the group in the courtyard, a single gunshot rings out. Carl emerges from the prison and Rick breaks down.
FACT: Rick goes all “Here’s Johnny” with an axe and destroys any Walker that stands between him and his discovery of Lori’s body.
FACT: Rick finds a bloated Walker with, what Greg Nicotero told The Talking Dead, “were strands of Lori’s hair by his mouth,” shoots it and proceeds to stab its belly numerous times. NO BODY PARTS ARE PULLED OUT OF ITS STOMACH!
FACT: In Episode 2, Carol kills a female Walker in order to perform a practice C-section on it because Hershell may not be able to deliver Lori’s baby!
FACT: When Rick discovers the room where Lori went into labor, he also discovers a bullet fragment on the floor. There is NO BLOOD surrounding the area where the bullet was pulled from!
FACT: There are no bones, nor anything else, from Lori found where she went into labor! T-Dog was attacked by TWO Walkers and his body was still found! Yes, he was larger than Lori, but her entire body – bones and all – fit into a Walker’s belly?!
FACT: We know that Carol’s knife is found By Daryl in the upcoming Episode 6!
FACT: We know there is a well stocked Infirmary and it is close to cell block C from Carl’s comments in Episode 2!
This is what we believe MAY have occurred: Carl, as bad-ass as he has become in Season 3, still does not have the heart to shoot his own mother in the face. He shoots wide and leaves Lori, who has passed out due to the pain and blood loss, to “rest in peace.” Carol, who is still running through the prison, stumbles upon Lori just as a Walker is approaching her. She fends off the Walker, stabbing it between the shoulder blades and knocking it into the wall. She then grabs a semi-conscious Lori and escapes the room. With Lori as “dead” weight, Carol cannot keep up the pace for long. Panicked, she scours the hallways for a room she had seen before – the Infirmary! Though not “professionally’ trained, Carol does her best to patch-up Lori to the best of her abilities as she hears a gunshot ring out from the room she saved Lori from. Help could be on the way.
Though these ideas are pure speculation, given the facts above, nothing adds up to either Carol or Lori definitively being dead. There is enough wiggle room there to imagine numerous possibilities rather than the one given to us. But, if I’m right, and Lori is not “dead,” there are even more ideas that can be brought into this amazing season! Who knows, maybe the next time we see Lori she could look like this (below)!
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC.
