They have their small troubles, but their relationship is strong, and they're good parents to their daughter, Abby. And then Sheila vomits during a showing.
She vomits a lot. After recovering from her brief illness, Sheila notes some changes. She has no heartbeat. Her blood is clotted. And she has a taste for raw meat. She doesn't want to use the word "zombie," but Strangely, Sheila's fine with her undead state. It's pulled the cork on her repression, and she feels absolutely uninhibited, willing to live it up, make impulse purchases, and party like a rockstar.
Unfortunately, that also means there's not much of a barrier when she wants to chow down on flesh. And eventually, the flesh of animals stops doing it for her. Joel, Sheila, and Abby are going to make this work, though. No matter how many people need to die He goes from hardened Scary Black Man to soft-spoken folk singer who also dabbles in poetry.
He's also much more polite and cordial, even when he's kicking Joel's ass : Loki : Sorry, Joel. You seem like a nice man, but for Sheila to be free, she has to stop clinging to her past! All for Nothing : The entire Season 1 arc is about the main characters going after a cure, shown in an old Serbian book, for Sheila's zombie condition. They find the "cure" in the very end, but it turns out that it will not make Sheila human again, just stop her body from rotting.
Amazingly Embarrassing Parents : Sheila tries too hard, at least in Abby's opinion, to bond with her and seem cool. Joel: Are you and Eric dating? That is so cute! Abby: We're not dating! Sheila: Or whatever you kids call it today! Lisa has no problem talking about sex in front of Eric and Abby, and is very forward about helping him out with his love life.
