Tales of the Walking Dead: Did Skull Hunters give a clue?

During the most recent episode of Tales of the Walking Dead, “Amy/Dr. Everett,” a new group was introduced. This group, known as the Skull Hunters, was only talked about but could have given some fascinating insight into the state of the world more than 30 years after the outbreak initially occurred.

In the fourth episode of The Walking Dead spinoff, Tales of TWD, viewers were introduced to a naturalist, Dr. Everett (Anthony Edwards), who dedicated his post-apocalyptic life to studying the undead in a location known as the Dead Sector. This area was cut off from the rest of the country by a massive trench 40 feet deep and over 600 feet wide, spanning hundreds of acres. While this area was untouched by humans, except for himself, nature had been allowed to flourish.

But, one group, because there is always that one, traversed the trench in order to hunt heads of walkers or Homo Mortuus, as Dr. Everett coined them. But, it doesn’t make much sense as to why they would risk the trek across such an obstacle to retrieve walkers’ heads.

Tales of the Walking Dead episode 4

This episode also introduced viewers to Amy (Poppy Liu) whose group felt it was time to take back the land set aside as the Dead Sector for the humans. They didn’t feel it was fair to give the undead so much land when things “out there” were so horrible. Dr. Everett tried to explain to her that not only had the vegetation begun to thrive but the zoo animals settled in this spot and they have thrived in an area untouched by humans.

When he accuses her of being part of the Skull Hunters, she denies this stating she is only helping them, but her group is a different group who only wants to settle in the Dead Sector. This is never proven as no Skull Hunters are seen, but the truck he finds is full of boxes of walker heads.

But that still doesn’t explain why the Skull Hunters travel across the trench to get the “trophies.” What do they use the trophies for? To scare people? Why not just get the heads from their side of the trench?

Unless this is the episode that showrunner Channing Powell eluded to that does take place 30+ years into the future, and things have altered so greatly “out there” that the walkers have been contained in Dead Sector and what is causing all of the trouble on the outside is, once again, humans.

I discuss the 30-year time jump possibility in depth in this article. 

Follow Undead Walking on Twitter and sign up for the once-daily Undead Walking newsletter to avoid missing out on all things in The Walking Dead universe.