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The Walking Dead Season 4 Flashback Creates A Confusing Timeline Error

The Walking Dead's season 4 finale flashbacks created a confusing timeline error when it comes to the age of baby Judith Grimes.

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The Walking Dead has often been vague about the passage of time, which is probably for the best as the occasions when it’s got into specifics have tended to make it difficult to put the timeline together. Case in point, a flashback in the season 4 finale creates a big continuity error to do with baby Judith.

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In season 4 episode 16, “A,” there’s a flashback scene to the early days of Rick Grimes and his community’s stay in the prison. Hershel notes they’ve been there for two months at the point this flashback takes place. However, we see Rick with his daughter and she’s shown to be just as she is at the end of the season, when the prison fell, which is about eight months later. Judith’s birth, that resulted in her mother Lori’s death, happened in the first week of their time in the prison. So, baby Judith shouldn’t have been as old as she’s depicted here.

Obviously, there’s a simple behind-the-scenes explanation for this: they used the same infant actor to portray 10-month old Judith as they did to portray the just-born Judith in the flashback. Funnily enough, though, this baby created another continuity error in the very same episode. As likewise pointed out by a fan on MovieMistakes.com, the last flashback scene in the finale shows Judith flipping between being asleep and awake numerous times as the camera angles change. What do they say about never working with kids and animals again?

Judith was played by various young actresses over the seasons, until Cailey Fleming took on the role permanently following the season 9 time-jump. Judith’s a major character now, having particularly interesting dynamics with Daryl and Negan. She just lost her mom Michonne, too, who’s gone off in search of Rick, and it’s unknown if she’ll ever see either of her parents again.

The Walking Dead is due to return to AMC for its delayed season 10 finale sometime this summer.