Zombie variants are a new and exciting addition to The Walking Dead Finally Explains Season 1's Smart Zombies
The Walking Dead Needed Variants 5 Years Ago
A probable factor in The Walking Dead's main series ending is the viewership decline that began somewhere around season 8 in 2017 (via Variety). While it's impossible to nail down exactly why The Walking Dead's couch horde began dissipating, keeping the undead fresh for so long was always a nigh-on impossible task. Zombies are, by their very nature, simplistic creatures - stagger, eat, limb drops off, repeat. By The Walking Dead season 8, Rick Grimes and co. had approached the zombie horror sub-genre from almost every conceivable angle, and increasingly focused on human villains, but that approach invited accusations of The Walking Dead minimizing the undead's importance - an unenviable catch-22.
To say variant zombies would've fixed any and all problems would be too great an oversimplification, but introducing these faster, smarter, stronger zombies in The Walking Dead season 8 would've at least invigorated the show's zombie threat. Giving walkers the opportunity to run and strategize adds a completely new dimension to The Walking Dead, and it's a dimension that makes AMC's spinoffs vastly more attractive. Rather than wait until the final episodes to make that change, however, throwing variants into the mix around season 8 when those viewership numbers were first beginning to turn would've signaled that The Walking Dead's well of zombie ideas was far from dry, and maybe given wavering viewers a reason to stick around to witness the carnage these variants might cause, and unravel their mystery.
The Walking Dead's Variants Are A Spinoff Setup
Clearly, five episodes isn't anywhere near enough time to properly unpack variant zombies. The only logical conclusion is that Aaron's encounter in The Walking Dead season 11 was designed as a launching pad for AMC's spinoffs, where variants will be a bigger deal. Though details for The Walking Dead: Dead City with Maggie and Negan and Rick's series alongside Michonne are few, Daryl Dixon's spinoff is confirmed to take place in , which is where the variant from Walking Dead: World Beyond was spotted. This heavily suggests Daryl's show will enjoy the lion's share of variant zombie fun.
The Walking Dead continues Sunday on AMC.