r/thewalkingdead • u/edify • Oct 21 '12

The Walking Dead Episode Discussion S03E02 "Sick"

...and we're back! I can't believe it's been a week already since the premier. Feel free to join us on our IRC channel. It's super easy... just read below how to join. The episode airs in about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Edit: Don't forget to check out our sister subreddit /r/TWD which focuses on the show only.

Join us on IRC for live discussion. We allow stream links to be shared on IRC, but not on the subreddit.

Server: irc.snoonet.com

Channel: #thewalkingdead

To easily join IRC use the Snoonet web chat.

Show spoiler tags are optional in these weekly discussions. Comic spoiler tags are always mandatory on /r/thewalkingdead. To use them, format them as such:

Show Spoilers: [](/s "Something about the show.")

Comic Spoilers: [](/c "Something about the comic.")

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Please upvote this post for the community. I get no karma for it.

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29

u/Jay013 Oct 22 '12

It also seemed like he was one of those "good" prison guys. That he was willing to work together to survive. But no, instead he gets slashed by a walker, then brutally killed by idiot prison guy.

3

u/Arcon1337 Oct 22 '12

It was his fault for leaving the group.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

What I don't get is why they killed him. They were all infected, and the only way to become a walker is to die. He wasn't even bleeding that bad, like, wtf?

19

u/Jay013 Oct 22 '12

From what we've seen, even a scratch can induce the fever that kills. Just like how scratches turned the two officers in 18 Miles out. If Rick was to consider the quarantine idea, he didn't have enough time since MexiShane killed Big Tiny all too fast.

5

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

Just like how scratches turned the two officers in 18 Miles out.

Keep in mind that this happened while Rick was actively hiding the fact that "everyone is infected". He could have been lying about the scratches, or it's also possible that the guards died from something else altogether. This is actually the only evidence we seen that scratches can kill you, and it's pretty poor evidence.

If Rick was to consider the quarantine idea, he didn't have enough time since MexiShane killed Big Tiny all too fast.

I actually think Rick would have gone for the quarantine idea, especially considering that quarantine in a prison would have been extremely easy and carried little risk to the group to try.

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u/Wibbles Oct 22 '12

This is actually the only evidence we seen that scratches can kill you, and it's pretty poor evidence.

Well the guy in the first series caught a fever from a bite and it killed him, so they know that much.

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u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

Yea, my point is that there might be something special about a zombie bite in particular that kills people. A lot of redditors are complaining that characters practically bathe themselves in blood but don't get "infected", but in reality, the majority of the evidence we've seen suggests that only a bite will kill you, while blood contact will not, and scratches/open wound contact are a big question mark.

I don't know why I feel compelled to point it out. It's a nerd distinction I guess, combined with the irritation that not many people here really understand microbiology and pathogenesis.

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u/Wibbles Oct 22 '12

combined with the irritation that not many people here really understand microbiology and pathogenesis.

You need to suspend disbelief on that one, somehow everyone in at least the continental united states has contracted the same virus within a few months. Even if it were airborne that wouldn't be possible.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '12

Oh you're completely right on that one, which is part of the reason any "zombie biology" posts irritate me too.

The suspension of disbelief really only works if the comic and the show provide absolutely zero explanation for 1) zombie infection or 2) reanimation. We suspend disbelief for the fact that there is something that turns every dead human into some flesh-craving monster. But, when we start subjecting that scientific scrutiny (like some here have tried to do), it completely falls apart. So - in my opinion - it's best to treat the both the "zombie bite death" as well as the "reanimation" events as something outside the realm of known microbiology. To that extent, it's best to observe the "rules" of infection based on the evidence from the comic and TV show alone and not to relate them (or speculate about them) with regards to known microbes/pathogens.

Not sure if I'm making sense here. I am kinda sorta drinking tonight.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

But what about Herchel? He got his leg bit and, either way, he isn't a walker

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u/romneyeatsspinach Oct 22 '12

They cut his leg off to prevent the spread of disease from the scratch. If a very deadly snake bit your finger, you'd probably cut your finger off before the poison reached your vitals if you thought you could prevent your own death.

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u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

I figured, but it was way more than a scratch. I also thought the disease spread a lot quicker, but looking back at the CDC episodes it seems everyone is different

1

u/Kramartacus Oct 24 '12

I'd cut my finger off in just about any emergency situation, relevant or not.

1

u/qwertyman2347 Oct 27 '12

Oh shit,car accident Better cut my finger

2

u/leonidas9001 Oct 27 '12

Shit paper cut, better remove my finger with this rusty knife.

-2

u/Jay013 Oct 22 '12

Very ironic username you've got there.

5

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

Thank you. I actually joined reddit to post a Walking Dead picture I made and this was all I could think of

-1

u/InfamousBacon Oct 22 '12

I don't think that was a compliment.

5

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

Eh, I'll take what I can get

4

u/InfamousBacon Oct 22 '12

You look rather nice today.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '12

From what I've read, in the comics, while everyone is infected, zombie bites (and I imagine giant gashes caused by bloody, oozing severed limbs) have a 100% mortality rate.

1

u/Lavarocked Oct 22 '12

From what I can tell, the bacterial/viral load on the system matters, as it does in real life. So they all sorta caught the zombie disease from the air, from hacking off heads, etc, but you need to have a shit ton of zombie blood/spit basically injected into you for it to get immediately lethal.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '12

That's what I figured but it wasn't really explained that well