The Walking Dead 2.12: Walkers Without Bites

Episode 2.12 of The Walking Dead could have begun, with a nod to Rod Serling, "Submitted for your approval ..."
Randall, who as far as we know has not been bitten by walkers, turns up staggering in the woods as a walker, after Shane has killed him by breaking his neck.Shane, who as far as we know has been been bitten by walkers, goes staggering as a walker towards Rick, after Rick has killed Shane (with a knife, as Shane was trying to kill Rick).But how, as Glenn says about Randall, can that be?   As we saw last year, a bite by walker takes time to turn its victim into a walker. 

Best hypothesis - maybe the only viable hypothesis - is that is all the humans are now carrying around the walker virus, which they picked up without being bitten.   Presumably there are no overt symptoms of this virus not introduced by a bite.  (Though maybe that's what was afflicting Beth.)  Unclear whether the virus introduced in this way can be beaten back by the human immune system, and, if not, how long would it take for a human infected in this way to turn into a walker?

What is clear, if this hypothesis is correct, is that if a human so infected is killed, he or she rises very shortly after as a walker.   That would explain what happened tonight to Randall and Shane.

I generally am not thrilled about rabbits pulled out of hats, but this opens up some interesting possibilities, to say the least.  Maybe Hirschel is right, after all, that a cure van be found, based on studying the antibodies of humans carrying the walker virus.   Maybe that's what the scientist at the CDC told Rick at the end of the last season.   More practically, is every human in our group now infected in this unbitten way?

I can't say I'm sorry to see Shane go, and, with what Lori told him about her not really knowing if he or Rick was the father of her baby - an uncertainty we already knew - it's not surprising that he pushed the envelope tonight.  It was also good to see Carl save Rick's life by killing walker-Shane.

I have no idea what the sum total of fans are thinking about this year versus last year, but I'm liking this year of The Walking Dead just fine.

See also The Walking Dead Back on AMC ... The Walking Dead 2.2: The Nature of Vet... The Walking Dead 2.3: Shane and Otis ... The Walking Dead 2.4: What Happened at the Pharmacy ... The Walking Dead 2.6: Secrets Told ... The Walking Dead 2.7: Rick's Way vs. Shane's Way ...  The Walking Dead 2.8: The Farm, the Road, and the Town  ... The Walking Dead 2.9: Worse than Walkers ... The Walking Dead 2.11: Young Calling the Shots
 And see also The Walking Dead 1.1-3:  Gone with the Wind, Zombie Style ... The Walking Dead Ends First Season
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