When Rick Grimes woke from his coma the world that he once knew no longer existed. He found himself in a post-apocalyptic world filled with deadly flesh eating zombies. He also found himself in a world filled with plot holes that infuriate their most loyal fans. The Walking Dead is a horror series that is based on the comic book of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. Frank Darabont developed the series for television and it first premiered on October 31, 2010. The Walking Dead stars an outstanding ensemble cast that includes Andrew Lincoln, Chandler Riggs, Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christian Serratos and Lauren Cohan. The Walking Dead has been both widely critically and commercially acclaimed. The series has been a major ratings success for AMC and often scores the highest ratings for a TV series. Additionally, the series has been nominated for several awards, including Golden Globes, People’s Choice and the Emmys. In fact, the series has won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup.

The show is in its 7^th season and has a fiercely loyal fanbase that catches every little mistake. The series has many glaring plot holes that infuriate many of their fans. These can range from very minor errors to huge plot holes that just don’t make any sense. Regardless, their fans still love the series. Here is a look at 15 Shocking Plot Holes in The Walking Dead.

15. The Zombies' Sixth Sense

It’s established early on that the zombies, known as walkers in the series, distinguish humans and other zombies by their sense of smell. Rick and the other survivors figure this out in season 1 and cover themselves in zombie guts and blood. This confuses the zombies' sense of smell and the survivors are able to walk among the walkers. However, many fans have pointed out that it’s a bit strange that zombies retained their sense of smell. The zombies appear to only have a somewhat functioning brain. Most fans feel that they shouldn’t still have a sense of smell. In many cases, the zombies are missing a nose or a majority of their face and don’t appear to be able to breathe. So, how is it possible that they can still smell when nothing else functions? Fans of the series also point out that if covering yourself in zombie blood and guts confuses the zombies, then the survivors should do it more often. However, they've only covered themselves in blood and guts a few times.

14. Why Can’t Anyone Hear The Zombies Coming?

The zombies are slow moving, loud monsters constantly craving human flesh. The zombies make a great deal of noise when approaching their prey. Fans online have noted that often the survivors never hear the zombies coming and are always caught by surprise. One would assume that the survivors would be able to hear the zombies coming from a mile away, especially when it’s a hoard. It appears that sometimes the zombies can suddenly switch to stealth mode and catch the humans off guard. One Reddit user believes they solved the mystery of the survivors never hearing the zombies. The theory they proposed is that everyone is deaf from the gun use and can no longer hear. This is actually shown in the first season when Rick fires off his gun in the tank and he temporally loses his hearing. Fans believe that at one point each character had that moment of losing their hearing.

13. Defenceless Cities Should Be Easy To Defend

Rick and the other survivors have had many homes, including the woods, the Greene Farm, the prison and Alexandria. They have spent a lot of their time hiding out in the countryside in the south. No matter where they go they’re constantly dealing with the threat of zombies and other dangerous humans. However, it might actually make more sense to live in the city in a high-rise building. Rick arrived in Atlanta in the first season to find it overrun by zombies and abandoned by all humans. Fans online have noted that it would likely be easier to defend and live in the city as opposed to the suburbs. In the city, the survivors would be able to take out the zombies from a high vantage point. Also, it would be easier to trap the zombies in a staircase and pick them off one by one. It would likely make living much easier and reduce the various threats that exist.

12. Perfectly Cut Prison Lawn

In a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies, one would assume that most people wouldn't have time to mow their lawn or to take care to their flower garden. However, it seems that somebody found the time to cut the grass of a prison. Rumors suggest that before filming a location, the production crew pays homeowners $150 not to mow their lawn for three weeks so it can appear run down and abandoned. However, in season 3 the survivors stumble upon a fortified prison and it appears somebody might have forgotten the $150. Rick and his group soon discover that only a few people are living at the prison and they’ve been inside for most of the time. When Rick and his group arrive at the prison the lawn has clearly been cut and whoever did it, did a pretty fantastic job. The question becomes, who in the series mowed the lawn? Perhaps it was a group of nice people who decided to do some yard work, or it might have been a horde of hard working zombies.

11. The Governor and The Prison

The Governor is one of the most iconic, violent and evil characters in both the comic book and TV series. However, the comic book and TV versions of The Governor have different motivations. In the comic book, Woodbury is depicted as being an unsafe environment with the threat of zombies around every corner. The sick and twisted Governor discovers the prison, which is a safe utopia protected from the zombies. The Governor’s motivation is to take over the safer environment, the prison. However, in the TV series Woodbury is actually depicted as the safer environment and zombies constantly overrun the prison. For fans of both the comic book and TV series, The Governor lacked motivation in the TV series. He still wanted to take over the prison despite Woodbury having fortified walls, guards and a plethora of guns. Also, the living conditions at Woodbury are excellent as everyone lives in a house while the survivors are living in prison cells. It makes little sense that The Governor wants to abandon Woodbury and move into the prison.

10. The Song From The Future

In the season 7 episode “The Cell”, Daryl is held prisoner at the Savior compound. Savior Dwight is tasked with breaking Daryl and convincing him to join up with them or suffer a terrible fate. The Saviors torture Daryl by locking him in a cell naked while forcing him to eat dog food sandwiches. Throughout the episode Daryl is forced to listen to an upbeat song as a form of torture. The song “Easy Street” is by Jim Bianco and Petra Haden. The memorable song was used to torture Daryl but had fans humming the tune for weeks after the episode. There has been much debate over the timeline of the series. According to the spin-off series Fear The Walking Dead, the zombie apocalypse started in 2010. In The Walking Dead only a few years have passed since the outbreak occurred. This creates a bit of a problem in the timeline because the song “Easy Street” wasn’t released until around 2015. That would mean that the Saviors used a song from the future to torture Daryl.

9. The Dead That Remained Dead

It was established early on in the series that if bitten by a zombie, it would turn the person into a mindless, flesh eating zombie. They also establish that the only way to kill a zombie is to stab or shoot it in the brain. However, at the end of season 2 it’s revealed that the zombie virus affects everyone regardless if they’ve been bitten or not. The virus already infects every human. This means when someone dies either from natural causes, an accident or murder, they will turn into a zombie. This does cause a minor glaring error earlier in season 2. The survivors stumble upon a highway of dead people in their cars. However, none of the dead people turn into zombies and clearly none have been stabbed or shot in the head. It’s possible that the writers made this decision of the virus affecting everyone midway through the season.

8. Where Are All The Vicious Animals?

In the world of The Walking Dead, there seems to be only a few animals, such as deer, horses and pigs. The zombies don’t care if they’re eating humans or animals. It makes perfect sense that animals, such as sheep, cows or pigs, would be completely devoured by zombies. They wouldn’t be able to fight back and the zombies could enjoy their meal. However, what about all the other animals? There are animals out there that could cause some serious damage to zombies and humans, too. The series has yet to show any vicious animals. It’s very likely that wolves, coyotes and bears would be wondering around the woods and countryside. These animals are known for attacking and eating humans so it would make sense that they’d attack a slow moving group of walkers. The series hasn’t explained how the zombie virus affects animals. Several fans have proposed the idea of animals becoming zombies as well because it would raise the danger in the series.

7. Hershel’s Prosthetic Leg

When Hershel Greene is bit by a walker in the calf in the season 3 episode “Seed”, there seemed to be no way to save him. However, Rick Grimes is a very determined man and decided to amputate the leg from the knee down so that the virus wouldn’t spread. Later in the season 4 episode “30 Days Without An Accident”, Hershel appears with a prosthetic leg but it’s never explained in the series where the leg came from. At no point did any character explain the leg. The Talking Dead is a show hosted by Chris Hardwick that airs after each Walking Dead episode. Here it was explained that Daryl found the leg one day while scavenging. Many fans of the series feel that fact could have been easily explained in the series. Also, fans noticed that Hershel adapted to the leg with no physical therapy and was able to both drive and fight zombies with little difficulty.

6. Zombies Become Dumb and Dumber

In the series, zombies are depicted as being slow moving, mindless and vicious. All they care about is eating human flesh. They pretty much just claw and grab at their prey. They seem to be dumb monsters but in the first season the zombies appeared to have a bit more intelligence. One of the most memorable visuals from the first episode, “Days Gone Bye”, is when Rick meets the girl zombie. He sees a girl he believes is in trouble but quickly realizes she’s a threat. The girl is able to pick up a teddy bear she finds on the road. Later in Atlanta, zombies are able to pick objects up and throw them at windows. Also, at that point the zombies had the ability to climb over fences. Additionally, a zombie is able to turn the doorknob at Morgan’s house. However, over time the zombies have become dumb and dumber. It’s possible that as the zombies decay they lose more intelligence. It’s also possible that the writers simply changed their mind and made the zombies less intelligent.

5. There Should Be More Food

There is a new diet that is has become the newest diet craze in America. This new diet has replaced the Atkins Diet, Master Cleanse and Juice Fasting. It’s the all-human zombie diet that involves eating only human flesh. Rick and the group of survivors are constantly searching for food, cars and guns. Food is one of the scarcest resources and the group is often trying to find food. However, many fans online point out that food shouldn’t be so difficult to find. A major part of the population has all turned into zombies and are much more interested in eating human flesh. Therefore many fans assume that at least canned foods, fruits and vegetables should be available. Even if at the onset of the apocalypse many people stocked up on food and batteries those houses should have an abundance of food available.

4. Zombies Should Decrease In Numbers

In The Walking Dead, the zombies have slowly decayed over time. A deceased human body decays very quickly, so after a few years the zombies should have actually decayed much more. Fans have pointed out that most of the series takes place in the South. Therefore, the heat should cause the bodies to decay at a much faster rate. Additionally, it might be wise for the survivors to travel to an area that is much colder. The cold temperature would destroy the zombies before they can slowly attack their prey. Also, the series features the brutal deaths of zombies in just about every episode. Almost every character has killed a plethora of zombies. Even with more of the dead turning into zombies the numbers should have decreased by this point because a good portion have been killed.

3. Sophia’s In The Barn

At the conclusion of season 2 many fans had the same burning question, “Why didn’t Hershel mention the young zombie girl in his barn?” Throughout season 2, Rick and the survivors spent most of their time searching for Carol’s daughter, Sophia. She had been separated from the survivors and they searched non-stop for her, and Carol refused to give up hope. They eventually stumbled upon Hershel Greene, his family and his farm. It’s established early that the Greene Family had been storing a massive group of zombies in the barn and feeding them regularly. The survivors ended up camping out on the Greene farm but Hershel wanted them to leave as soon as possible. Many fans pointed out that Hershel knew the group was searching for a young girl and knew that there was a young zombie girl in his barn. So Hershel could have simply informed that group that there was a girl that fits the description of the girl they’re looking for and the group would have been out of his hair. One explanation might be that Greene Family friend Otis, found Sophia and put her in the barn without Hershel’s knowledge. However most fans feel that Hershel knew everything that was going on at his farm.

2. Why Are Guns and Ammo So scarce In America?

In The Walking Dead, the survivors struggle to find food, shelter and guns. It makes sense that it would be difficult to find these essentials and that it would be wise to conserve. Often they find themselves having to fight off hordes of zombies and even humans that want what they have. It’s a good idea to not waste anything like ammo or food. The survivors sometimes have a difficult time finding guns and ammo. However, the series is set in America with much of it taking place in the South. One would assume that it wouldn’t be too tough to find guns and ammo in the US. In fact, when the zombie apocalypse first occurred just about every person should have had a gun. Perhaps over time guns and ammo in particular will be very rare but at this point it should be easier to find guns and weapons. Additionally, zombies aren’t using guns so there should be a lot more to go around.

1. Maggie and Beth

Maggie and Beth were sisters that had a bond that was stronger than any other bond in the series. This might have been strengthened by the fact that their family had all died with their father being beheaded by the evil Governor. However, Maggie and Beth are eventually separated and Daryl is witness to a mysterious black car abducting Beth. Maggie seems concerned with Beth’s disappearance only for a little while. She is far more concerned with finding Glen, and even leaves him a message to meet at Terminus. She does not leave a message for Beth. Both Daryl and Carol are greatly concerned with Beth’s whereabouts while Maggie shows little concern. Daryl and Carol soon go in search of her and find her being held captive. Soon Maggie finds out Beth is alive and is elated, despite not really mentioning her sister up to that point. In fact, many fans felt that it seemed that Maggie had completely forgotten about Beth.

Of course, the reunion never happens as Beth is killed before Maggie can see her. Maggie breaks down in tears and weeps for her sister. Several fans pointed out that her emotional reaction here didn’t match up with her lack of concern for her sister earlier.

Sources: moviepilot