‘The Walking Dead’ Cliffhanger Ending Drawing Comparisons to Scooby-Doo

Some viewers are comparing the twist ending of The Walking Dead's mid-season finale to a common trope famously seen in Scooby-Doo.

The winter finale culminated in a foggy cemetery as Daryl (Norman Reedus), Jesus (Tom Payne), and Aaron (Ross Marquand) rescued a hobbled Eugene (Josh McDermitt) from a relentless herd of walkers.

When Jesus went to strike down what appeared to be another mindless muncher, the walker ducked and impaled Jesus with its own concealed blade. After fending off their foes with Michonne (Danai Gurira), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) and Magna (Nadia Hilkes), Daryl inspected a walker corpse and noted its face was sewn on.

Cutting it free, Daryl and Michonne were surprised to find a human corpse beneath the mask made from walker flesh.

The surprise reveal has since inspired a series of tweets comparing the twist to the adventures of Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang, who would often investigate a seemingly paranormal threat only to unmask a human impostor.

when daryl took off the whisperer’s walker mask #TheWalkingDead #TWD pic.twitter.com/Q4d1kHiQfU

— kathleen (@kathleen_hanley) November 26, 2018

Despite the new meme, the Whisperers are the latest major threat to reach The Walking Dead, sparking the central conflict for the remaining half of Season Nine as led by freshly-revealed leader Alpha (Samantha Morton) and number two Beta (Ryan Hurst).

"They're a scary group," showrunner Angela Kang warned when speaking to ComicBook.com.

"In [Episode 908], we reveal that these are humans. They're not like evolved walkers. We really start delving into and showing what the Whisperers' philosophy is when we get back into the new season and they are unlike any group that we've encountered before, just their philosophy to survival is very specific."

When Daryl and Michonne encounter Alpha and Beta in the back half of the season, they'll come to learn the villains are "hardcore in a very different way than any other person that our group has come across, so it leads to some particular sorts of challenges for them to deal with," Kang said.

The Walking Dead returns with new Season Nine episodes February 2019 on AMC.