[UltraAmbiguousID]

Re-watched Infection episode, again, and something has been bothering me.


When Patrick follows Karen from the shower area, he is distracted by a cough and goes to another cell where he chomps the neck of mustache guy. In the morning, the cell block is over run and our heroes must reclaim the area.

Rick asks, "Are we clear down here?" He's answered, "Yeah," by Sasha. There are about four walkers dead on the ground and Ryan Samuels in the cell with Carol.

Daryl, Glenn, and Rick go up the flight of steps to check the second floor. Daryl sees a brunette dead at the top of the landing. Patrick comes out of a curtained cell to attack Glenn. Daryl bolts Patrick. Daryl bolts a blonde... second floor. Rick stabs someone in their cell... second floor. We then have Charlie, locked in his cell, who Rick stabs... second floor.

Walkers can climb steps? How else did Patrick get upstairs? Can anyone think of a previous episode where we saw this behavior before?

Do you think this is part of the theory that walkers are becoming smarter or evolving somehow? Could it be because Patrick was still relatively... um, fresh?

[That Guy]

Walkers climbed stairs while chasing after Shane at the high school as well. One also followed Hershel up the steps in episode five of the third season. Case closed, I guess.

Edit: I just realized to get to Merle in Atlanta, the walkers had to climb the stairs leading up to the roof. They're not evolving, they've always been able to. Would be quite a boring show if you could be safe from them by just going upstairs somewhere.

[Dr Cank]

^ I thought the same thing about Walker Patrick at first, but....

Walkers can walk up steps. Since Merle was locked on the rooftop at the walkers came to the door, walkers have been able to walk up steps. Shane and Otis escaping the gymnasium (damn That Guy just beat me to it)

[edit] I will add they appear poor at going down them. didn't a walker take a tumble down the stairs at andrea during PREY. When andrea and the Guv are playing Hide and Seek in the industrial wharehouse/fab shop.

[That Guy]

And you just beat me too, damn it.

[Dr Cank]

touche, ant f*cker




I'm sorry if the ant f*cker has gotten old for you but it will take me years before I let that one go.

[Valleyaggie]

It seems that walkers can go up and downs stairs (as has been pointed out and proven) but not ladders, which makes sense. Ladders require a lot more coordination than simply stepping up. A dog can go up the stairs easily but not many of them can climb a ladder. And I recognize that none of this is important ; I'm just bored. lol

[Dr Cank]

That one walker in season one looked like he was about to climb a ladder after the great tank escape of season one. But I prefer to forget all about walker behavior from the first 3 or 4 episodes.


[edit] +1 not being interspecially racist, in acknowledging that some dogs can indeed climb ladders. (and yes I googled "interspecial" and it is vaguely a word)

[DeadCave]

Another example though not seen. Morgan's apt. was on the 2nd floor and he rigged an axe at the top of the stairs, in case a walker managed to get past the welcome mat.

[ssnider75]

But they can climb fences though. Remember the episode, "Guts". Rick and Glenn were covered in zombie guts and it started to rain.

The zombies were chasing them, they climbed a fence and then 1-2 zombies climbed over after them.

[Serenity@sea]

Another example though not seen. Morgan's apt. was on the 2nd floor and he rigged an axe at the top of the stairs, in case a walker managed to get past the welcome mat.

Well, the mat did say "Welcome". It's only natural they would come upstairs.

[MyZomB8UrHonRStudent]

I still like the old walkers better. Morgan's wife turning the doorknob and looking like she knew where she was. And the walker that climbed into the RV looking around when he came upon Andrea.

Those walkers are scarier to me.

[UltraAmbiguousID]

Walkers climbed stairs while chasing after Shane at the high school as well. One also followed Hershel up the steps in episode five of the third season. Case closed, I guess.

Edit: I just realized to get to Merle in Atlanta, the walkers had to climb the stairs leading up to the roof. They're not evolving, they've always been able to. Would be quite a boring show if you could be safe from them by just going upstairs somewhere.

Thank you!!! I'd forgotten about that!

[UltraAmbiguousID]

But they can climb fences though. Remember the episode, "Guts". Rick and Glenn were covered in zombie guts and it started to rain.

The zombies were chasing them, they climbed a fence and then 1-2 zombies climbed over after them.

That'd be absolutely freaky if they start climbing the fence at the prison!

[UltraAmbiguousID]

Another example though not seen. Morgan's apt. was on the 2nd floor and he rigged an axe at the top of the stairs, in case a walker managed to get past the welcome mat.

I assumed some of those traps, like the axe, were for other people. Morgan was about to kill Rick, Michonne, and Carl. And, he had to amass all those armaments from somewhere. If the rural people of King County had all those weapons... whew!... those would be some scary country folk!

[zombiehunter]

I wonder why Patrick went up the stairs when there were fresh victims downstairs.

[ZedHead]

Like in the house in the past episode, that zombie that fell down the stairs at carol, in the preview, i knew someone was in the room because its strange a walker would be upstairs.

But with any animal, if it sees prey, it chases it.

[backwoodsroamer]

I hate to be a wet blanket, but it has always seemed to me the walkers can do anything that is convenient to make the story work. Maybe I'm just too cynical though.

[Valleyaggie]

I hate to be a wet blanket, but it has always seemed to me the walkers can do anything that is convenient to make the story work. Maybe I'm just too cynical though.

Shhh! You're not supposed to notice that! Please don't look directly at the bugs!

[Thierry88]

Walkers indeed do what is convenient for the story. Sometimes they are shown to prefer fresh moving prey over a corpse they are currently eating. But when Daryl arrived at the scene where he found zombified Merle, it was only Merle noticing Daryl while all other zombies kept on munching on the other corpses, despite Daryl heavily crying while stabbing Merle over and over. And in season 1, when Glenn and Rick climbed the ladder, it seemed one walker was attempting to follow them. It did not show whether the walker would succeed if they kept looking down as they continued over the roofs of other buildings.

[backwoodsroamer]

Shhh! You're not supposed to notice that! Please don't look directly at the bugs!

Oh I never lie Aggie. Come with me and we'll talk about it. It's safe, I'm a really nice guy. Honest!

[Steph]

Dude! I did want to be able to fall asleep tonight!

[backwoodsroamer]

Dude! I did want to be able to fall asleep tonight!

Oh come now Steph. The chances of you waking up to something like this are rather remote.



Not impossible mind you, just not likely. Well, not VERY likely anyway. Sweet Dreams! Sleep Tight!

[Serenity@sea]

One more clown pic and I will add that pic of you in a dress to your siggy.

[backwoodsroamer]

One more clown pic and I will add that pic of you in a dress to your siggy.

Dang! Got a little to big for my britches here.

[theglassintheguvseye]

BWR in a DRESS? Ya don't say. But he's right. It's all about moving the story along. Makes it all the more fun to pick apart inconsistencies. Hell, so many people have run the show in a few short seasons that I find it all highly entertaining. I like the smarter zombies. Makes it more terrifying. Not that it's ever terrifying, just a little edgier when the can do more than stumble around slack jawed and try to gnaw on anything within reach.