The Walking Dead: Dead City Addresses One Of TWD's Biggest Plot Holes

Contains spoilers for "The Walking Dead: Dead City" Season 1 Episode 4, "Everybody Wins a Prize"

"The Walking Dead" is full of confusing moments, and the Saviors' unlimited fuel supply is one of them. Season 9 briefly touches on the topic by revealing that they're able to turn corn into ethanol, but they might have explored alternative options, too. "The Walking Dead: Dead City" depicts a very different method, and it doesn't involve plant-based substances.

In AMC's latest spin-off of the hit horror franchise, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) set out to retrieve the latter's son from the clutches of The Croat (Željko Ivanek). The villain is a former Savior who has a past with Negan, but he's also an impressive scientist who uses methane from rotting zombie corpses to produce fuel.

With that in mind, it's entirely plausible that the Saviors also used zombie juice to create fuel. They once had access to the Croat's genius mind after all, and the group has a history of partaking in gruesome acts. In Episode 4, the Croat reveals that his previous profession saw him explore alternative energy sources, but did he introduce them to the Saviors' camp? 

Some fans have issues with how fuel is portrayed on "The Walking Dead." The series' story takes place over a number of years, but some characters seem to have no problem operating vehicles. However, fuel tends to expire within a year, so it can't exactly be stored — and it should be difficult to obtain in post-apocalyptic societies. That being said, using the methane from zombies is one way to overcome this problem, as there are lots of undead creatures in the "Walking Dead" universe. 

Negan and The Croat's interactions in Episode 4 of "The Walking Dead: Dead City" suggest that this fuel-creation method was commonplace in the Saviors' side of town. Negan is hardly shocked by his antics, presumably because he once endorsed them. In one scene, Negan also tells Maggie that he doesn't want to visit the villain as it will remind him of his days as a morally questionable person in his own right. Once upon a time, Negan would have been happy to exploit zombie corpses for his own gain, but he's a changed man these days.

Zombies supplying biofuels is certainly one of the most outlandish concepts on "Dead City." However, the storyline deserves some praise for providing a clear explanation as to why the Croat is able to keep his Madison Square Garden sanctuary running. This source of fuel production is also a more substantial backstory than the aforementioned plant-based method, which should address some people's criticisms of the franchise.