"Zombie" Virus

[timberwoof]

Nice Analysis Wooly. Good job man.

[Pikepaw]

As Saul said in Chapter 1, "Who said they were dead?"

I think they are like 28 Days Later infected, in that they are still alive but have a disease. Also in Chapter 3, Saul points out that some people are killed (and eaten) while others are turned and wonders how the Zed's choose.
While head-shots are most effective, there is evidence that at least certain types of zombies will die from damage to the center mass. In 12-4, Burt kills the Jumper with a shotgun blast to its chest and in 13-2, -3 he uses a SAW on the mass horde surrounding the firetruck. No way he was getting all head shots with that. The last one I can think of is in 7-3, where Lizzie describes Michael and Saul as blowing holes in the two zeds that had come onto the roof. I think one bullet to the head will drop them, but cause enough damage to the center mass and they will go down. This I think points to some kind of parasite or microbe or something controlling the body, in that it can make them tougher but enough damage will take them down.

Also, the Behemoths have something special that no other zombie has, with their thick hides and they don't need their frontal lobes (how the one in 10-3 survived Riley's arrow). However, Kalani was able to slay two by shooting them in the mouth. They still must have a soft pallette and the roof of the mouth would be much closer to the center cortex of the brain than going through the eye. The brain-stem part (I'm currently blanking on a lot of the scientific terms, forgive me) of the brain is the area most zombie experts agree needs to be destroyed, since it runs the body functions. That is my explanation for why Kalani could shoot Behemoth's dead through the mouth when Riley's arrow failed

[nikvoodoo]

Also, the Behemoths have something special that no other zombie has, with their thick hides and they don't need their frontal lobes (how the one in 10-3 survived Riley's arrow). However, Kalani was able to slay two by shooting them in the mouth. They still must have a soft pallette and the roof of the mouth would be much closer to the center cortex of the brain than going through the eye. The brain-stem part (I'm currently blanking on a lot of the scientific terms, forgive me) of the brain is the area most zombie experts agree needs to be destroyed, since it runs the body functions. That is my explanation for why Kalani could shoot Behemoth's dead through the mouth when Riley's arrow failed

I'm pretty sure Riley shot that one in the eye, which doesn't guarantee it made it to that behemoth's brain. The penetration power of a bolt vs. a bullet is pretty drastic (I base this off years of watching Mythbusters). As of now, there's not evidence that shooting a behemoth in the head isn't effective. When Angel and Kalani tried, the behemoth blocked its face and they didn't get a clean shot at it.

[COsurvivor]

GREAT! Thinking Dead Heads...

[Luna Guardian]

This I think points to some kind of parasite or microbe or something controlling the body, in that it can make them tougher but enough damage will take them down.

So kinda like the Necromorphs in Dead Space, though slightly different?

[fairyfartz]

Bear with me, I don't quite know how to say what I'm trying to say.
I think Skittles has a lot of answers. I think the trauma and inability to cope coupled with isolation and fear of being held accountable simply for knowing or being a part of what happened is why he acts as jittery as he does. (Does that sentence even make sense?)
He is the one who explained about the different types of zombies. How does he know this? Yes it's possible he knows from observation and survival but does he really seem clear enough? He was simply being evasive so they wouldn't catch on that he knew more than he should. It seems like if they would have asked the right questions or paid a bit more attention they might have. I think Angel is dismissing him as being a bit touched. I hate to say this, but I think if Michael had been the one interacting with Skittles he woulda figured it out or trailed him for a while to pick his brain. I'm not knocking Angel at all it's just that his and Michaels brains work differently. If Michael does get the chance to meet Skittles or talks with Angel about him, they'll figure out he knows more and make an effort to seek him out. That's when we'll learn more about what happened to cause all this. Or at least point them in the direction of where to go to get answers.

I really hope this makes sense or at least gives you an idea of where I'm trying to go and why. Give me a little time to go back over the episodes I'm thinking of and gather my thoughts more coherently. Or for pete's sake if you get it and can clear it up go ahead.