9 Problems With The Walking Dead Nobody Wants To Admit: A Counterpoint

Counterpoint #2: Home bases make for good hygiene.

If you were to stop yourself in the midst of an episode of The Walking Dead, you might realize how good everyone looks. At a glance, this might seem incongruous, I mean, with the world being in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, wouldn’t this level of hygiene be…unlikely? Would everyone really look this good?

Now, some of this can’t be explained, nor will I attempt to. Jules acknowledged that Rick and Daryl look consistently scruffy, but, the rest of The Group, not so much. He’s correct. Certainly when it comes to ladies of The Walking Dead, they, for the most part, look relatively clean compared to their environment.

But, I contend that the reason for this surprising amount of cleanliness stems from the fact that The Group has, pretty consistently had solid home bases to operate out of. What does that have to do with everything? Well, if you think back to The Farm, or The Prison, there was always someone doing laundry (Even if by hand), and some means of taking showers. Remember that Patrick died while taking a shower at The Prison in “30 Days Without An Accident”.

What’s more, Alexandria has running water and electricity. That means that, for the better part of the last two and a half seasons, the group has had those things at their disposal. Their cleanliness becomes much more reasonable with that realization. But, if that isn’t enough for you, contrast that with how the group looked during the second half of season four (After The Prison fell) and the majority of season five. Just about everyone looked dirty, sweaty, and scruffy.

Oh, and, as for their teeth, remember: In season six’s “The Next World”, Michonne requested Rick bring her some toothpaste. Though the show doesn’t focus on it, dental hygiene has not been lost on the survivors.

Next: It's All In How You Play.