It might be good point. I mean they are bringing that up again, but the again who knows. The little girl zombie also carried around her Teddy Bear which shows that as well.

I have not read the comics, so I am not sure of who The Governor is and what associations he has.

 

I was just re-watching episode 1 season 1 and realized that the little girl that Rick first encounterd who was a walker did bend down and pick up the teddy bear. So, I'd also say, yes they keep some part of themselves.

 

I watched series 1 again recently and I came to the conclusion that it could be that because she'd just turned (I don't know how long the little girl had been turned but seeing as she was near her teddy I don't think it'd been long) that she still had some kind of residual memories. Remember that house wasn't Morgan's family home, it was just a house they'd holed up in. Maybe after a period of time you finally lose every part of your former self. Even Amy looked like she was cradling Andrea's face for a brief moment before she started to take a firmer grip.

Having said all of that, Jenner says that it's just basic motor functions that come back. There were some contradictions throughout the first series, that they eventually ironed out.

 

In season 2, when they went into the church (while searching for Sophia) the parishioners were sitting in the pews facing forward. Obviously they are leading up to something with the question posed.

I wonder if the Governor saved his wife's and daughter's heads. If HE thinks they retain memories, he may have. Plus it might explain the head aquariums beyond the obvious "governor's a psycho" explanation.

 

Bassman, I agree. Plus we are dealing with reanimated corpses. All previous medical knowledge is suspect when it comes to evaluating them.

 

I will quote what the governor said, which I really liked.. not accurate, kinda forgot it.
"Applying Logic to Chaos."

I mean speculating about the nature of the Walkers is like talking about the moon without the invention of Telescope.

 

I don't think it was so much because she remembered her family was there as she had the basic idea that there might be fresh meat there. Seriously I know its weird but if anything I would think it was more muscle memory, the way your body can do a repetitive act without you ever thinking about it because you've done it so often. I don't think there are any thoughts firing off in them. Maybe I just don't want to believe that there could be anything human left inside them, because that would be just awful.

 

If something was really important to a person in life then the zombie may have a compulsion towards that thing without knowing why. Just like all the zombies feeling pulled to the mall in Romero's Dawn, or Steven remembering the hidden passage in Dawn, or the little girl in the pilot picking up her teddy bear. A zombie doesn't have actual memories but there are echos. Morgan's wife died in that house so now her zombie is pulled there, but she has no clue why because she has no higher brain function and can't reason or think.

 

The Governor wants there to be something remaining of the person that was. We know hes insane already. Fro the end of your post i assume you have read "The rise of the Governor". I think the walker belonging to the governor will appear some point, the story from the book is too good for show to ignore.

 

What about when the zombified mother TURNED THE DOOR'S KNOB??? O_O
Do you remember that?