Entertainment

'Santa Clarita Diet' Season 2 Basically Just Triggered The Zombie Apocalypse

by Nicole Pomarico
Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Spoilers ahead for Santa Clarita Diet Season 2. Now that Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet is finally back, we get to catch up with the Hammonds. A huge part of Season 2 is the fact that Sheila isn't the only undead person around — not by a long shot. But how many zombies are actually in Santa Clarita Diet? This season, it seemed like that number never stopped growing, and now that we know the disease came from clams, there's no telling how high that number could end up being.

At first, it seemed like Sheila was alone, especially before the cause of the disease was found. But then, as soon as Eric and Ramona started dating, it became clear very quickly that Ramona was also affected, and so was Ed Thune, who had eaten the tainted clams and tried to kill Joel when he came to find out if he was part of the undead. Loki was also undead after Sheila bit him, but he's just dead dead now. Ramona just seemed to want to live without harming anyone (for the most part, anyway) and Ed was pretty scary himself, so it's for the best that Joel killed him.

Technically, Gary probably counts too; although he's just a head at this point, he's still part of the undead, even if he had never eaten any clams. But seeing that this number has continued to grow through the second season means a lot of problems could be on the horizon in Santa Clarita.

Basically, living in this town has now become terrifying. There are at minimum three undead people who exist, counting Sheila, Gary, and Ramona, who has officially left town. With Ed dead (for real this time), it does cut down on the number of infecting people around, but there's no telling if they're the only ones — beyond the Japopo's receipts, anyway.

The clam special served that night definitely caused the virus, but was it limited to just that night? It's possible that there are more zombies out there like Sheila — trying to hide what happened to them so they can continue living a normal life.

There are so many open-ended questions left unanswered at the end of the season, though, that the number of zombies that are currently inhabiting Santa Clarita (or maybe the world, who knows) could be anything at this point. Is it only the clams from Japopo's that cause the disease, or has it spread to other marine life? Did the building exploding really kill all of clams, or could some of them have survived? Is there a true cure to the disease, or can they really only stop it in its tracks, like Eric discovered? Before we can really figure out how big this epidemic is, this show is going to need to offer up some more answers. If Joel really wants to save humanity, he could have a lot of undead to fight off in the process.

As interesting as it was to see Sheila live her life as the only zombie — as far as she knew — and try to appear normal, it's even more interesting now that she and her family have to face people who are also undead but taking a way more dangerous approach to it. Besides, it opens up so many interesting plot lines for future seasons, and fans definitely seem to be hoping that this show has a long life ahead.

Hopefully, Santa Clarita Diet will be renewed for Season 3 so we'll get a chance to find out exactly how many zombies have the disease... and whether or not this signals the beginning of the apocalypse. It might be for the best if we all avoid clams for now. Just to be on the safe side. (I kid, I kid.)