While viewers still had a rough idea of how much time had passed by the end of season 11, the spinoffs complicated things further. The Ones Who Live and Daryl Dixon's timelines seem to roughly line up, but Dead City takes place years in the future, meaning it doesn't seamlessly fit in with the rest of the franchise. Unfortunately, the constant advancement in the timeline alongside several flashbacks and shows being set during different periods has led to the timeline having plenty of holes in it, creating several inconsistencies and problems that hurt the overall narrative.
10 Variant Zombies Were Around In The Walking Dead's Early Episodes, The Vanished Until Season 11
Variants Disappeared For A Decade In America Without An Explanation
The reason behind this was the change in showrunners meant zombies operated differently, but this still created a massive timeline issue that has never been properly addressed. With these unique types of walkers simply disappearing for over a decade in the US, the return of variant zombies created a Walking Dead plot hole, as their absence was never explained from an in-universe perspective.
The decision to reintroduce variants so late into the series doesn't have any real logical explanation behind it and makes their omission in previous seasons feel strange.
9 The Survivors Spent 8 Months Looking For The Prison
After Hershel's Farm, The Group Spent The Better Part Of A Year Looking For Their New Settlement Despite How Close-By It Was
However, despite the building seeming within driving distance and no more than a couple of days' walk at most, the group took around eight months to find it. Season 3 opened with the survivors scavenging, and Lori was near the end of her pregnancy while the group talked about surviving winter.
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As a result, at least half a year must have passed since the end of season 2, and still, no one came across the prison. T-Dog did mention they "spent the winter going in circles", but given they had a map of the area, surely they should have found the prison much sooner, highlighting a key flaw with the timeline, or the group's navigation skills.
Rick Grimes Has Supposedly Been Back For Years By The Time Dead City Takes Place
Dead City is currently the furthest forward project in the entire Walking Dead TV universe, but despite Rick's supposed return in The Ones Who Live, Maggie and Negan never mentioned it in their spinoff. Although their mission to rescue Maggie's son may not have warranted Rick's name being brought up, the two did talk about the past, particularly Negan's time in charge of the Saviors, which feels like a strong reason for the franchise's protagonist to be mentioned.
7 Dead City Doesn't Even Know Its Own Timeline
Negan's Claim Of "12–15 Years Ago" Proves Dead City Doesn't Know When It Takes Place
Alongside its failure to mention Rick, Dead City's inability to nail down its own timeline also feels like a glaring issue. At one point in the series, Negan mentions starting the Saviors "12–15 years ago", suggesting even he isn't exactly sure what year it is.
If the show took place 12 years after the outbreak, it would mean it is at a similar point to the other spinoffs, which Hershel's age contradicts. He looks to be in his mid-late teens, meaning Dead City could easily be set more than three years after The Walking Dead season 11, highlighting the inconsistencies in its setting.
Daryl's Emotional Departure At The End Of The Walking Dead Only Lasted 1 Month
Daryl Dixon's first season takes place roughly a month after The Walking Dead season 11's flashforward ending, and while this doesn't necessarily contradict the timeline, it does make Daryl leaving the Commonwealth pointless. Had he simply been abducted and sent to France in the spinoff, it may have made slightly more sense. However, Daryl told Carol "I'll be there in about a week" before being forced to Europe, suggesting he already planned on coming home shortly after his departure.
5 The Whisperers Should Have Crossed Paths With The Main Survivors Much Sooner
The Main Survivors Spent Several Years Neighboring The Whisperers Without Ever Clashing
Given The Whisperers were located in Virginia during their time in The Walking Dead, it seems like they should have come across one of the show's main communities much sooner. Alpha's version of the group wasn't formed until several years into the apocalypse, meaning the faction failing to encounter Alexandria, Hilltop, The Kingdom, or Oceanside is forgivable in the first eight seasons.
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However, the fact that all four communities miraculously avoided Alpha's group for several years despite them all being located in Virginia seems like a potential plot hole. Of course, Virginia is a big area, but with only so many survivors left in the State, it's hard to believe it took so long for this brutal war to start.
4 The Saviors Uprising All Happened Within 2 Years
Negan Started An Entire Army & Took Over Multiple Established Communities In Just A Few Years
However, it clearly didn't take long for the former high-school teacher to adapt to the new world, as he went from losing his wife to ruling the Saviors in less than two years. Not only did he manage to start the group, but he also stamped his authority over multiple other communities, including Alexandria, during his reign.
3 Major Walking Dead Character Deaths Happened Really Close Together
Only A Year Passed Between Lori & Carl's Deaths Despite Occurring 5 Seasons Apart
When taking into account the weight and magnitude of the show's biggest deaths, it feels all the more bizarre that many of them happened so close together. Rick losing his wife and son is often a major talking point when it comes to his character arc, but it feels even more bizarre that there was only a year between their deaths, especially when five seasons passed in that time. Likewise, there are probably only a couple of months between Maggie losing her father and sister.
2 Carl's Aging Compared To Chandler Riggs
Chandler Riggs Became A Young Adult While Carl Was Still Supposed To Be A Child
Carl's age is arguably The Walking Dead's biggest timeline blunder, as he barely aged throughout the show, yet Chandler Riggs went from a child to a young adult during his time on the show. Riggs was 11 years old when The Walking Dead season 1 came out, and given Carl was supposed to be 12, he felt like the perfect fit.
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Recasting Carl would feel weird considering how synonymous Riggs has become with the role, but it can't be denied that season 8 Carl looked a lot older than he should have. Ironically, Riggs would be able to perfectly portray Carl Grimes in The Walking Dead's current timeline if he was still around, given the character would have been in his early to mid-20s.
1 Rick Grimes Spent More Time With The CRM Than The Main Group
Most Of Rick's Post-Apocalyptic Journey Happened With The CRM Off-Screen
Rick Grimes has been part of several iconic Walking Dead moments, but despite the protagonist appearing for a little over eight seasons, he spent most of his time in the apocalypse with the CRM. Even after leading several communities and defeating various villain groups, Rick's involvement in the show up until his departure all happened within just a few years of the outbreak, whereas he spent close to a decade with the CRM.
Given the protagonist spent such a long time trying to escape, it paints a picture of how miserable Rick's Walking Dead journey has actually been.
His spinoff did at least provide him with a more hopeful ending, but the franchise's crazy timeline means he's spent more of his life with the Civic Republic than his new family, which feels like an almost overlooked detail.
