Like any good samaritan, person with a soul, etc. I will first warn you, DO NOT READ THIS, if you haven’t seen the show!! There are major spoiler alerts throughout this entire article, and it WILL ruin the surprises of the series if you have not seen it. I would also like to note, I have NEVER read TWD comic series, and I’m STRICTLY talking about the TV show. If I say something that’s inaccurate or has already been explained by the comics, by all means yell at me in the comments or send a nasty email. Now that you have been thoroughly warned, let’s talk about the zombie virus…..

In season one it’s clearly stated that the virus is some type of airborne pathogen. Everyone on the globe has contracted the pathogen, and as far as we know, no one is immune to it. The origins of the pathogen are a complete mystery. Also, despite common misconception, zombie bites do not transfer the virus, “The rule is WHATEVER it is that causes the zombies, is something everyone already has. If you stub your toe, get an infection and die, you turn into a zombie, UNLESS your brain is damaged. If someone shoots you in the head and you die, you’re dead. A zombie bite kills you because of infection, or blood loss, not because of the zombie virus.” This is stated by Robert Kirkman and I’m mentioning it just to be sure everyone is in the know how. One would say, “why not just take some penicillin?!” Because apparently the zombies carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria, especially in their mouths. How nice. In Fear the Walking Dead, they’ve gone into the origins of when the virus first started breaking out, but have yet to detail what it is or why no one has a cure, etc. This is something I think will be explained in the series finale of TWD. Moving onto…

Statements about how the TWD will end and then I’ll be following up with theory #1.

“I do know what I’m building toward, yes. I don’t know exactly what issue that’s going to fall on, per se, and I do have a lot of road laid out before that is going to take a long time, but I certainly know exactly what I’m building to.” –R. Kirkman. This tells me that there are clues and hints, in regards to the ending, already being shown throughout the tv series and the comics. Writers hardly ever keep endings a complete mystery, usually it’s a subliminal build up. But then again, I could be wrong.

“Decades from now, you will be able look back and … you never would have guessed from the beginning where it was that we were going to end up. Having the luxury of telling a story over such a long period of time with so many different characters is going to end up with something really cool and unique when it’s all said and done.” This second statement about the series’ ending, also by Kirkman, tells me that it won’t be your typical; everyone dies, worlds ends, blah blah blah shit. That’s already been done by Romero and countless others. (And God bless them for their contributions to the zombie universe. Without Romero, you cutie you, we wouldn’t have all the great flesh eating zombie stuff we know and love today.) Getting back to my point, these statements are basically why I’m writing this article. So I will now explain my first theory!

The secrets in the kids!!! No literally, the babies of the show are the real heroes. Now don’t roll your eyes or go to another browser. Let me explain this theory and then give evidence. You’ll want to read it, trust me. So basically it boils down to this; we’ve never seen a baby die in the show. (As long as my memory is correct). Now I’m sure somewhere in TWD land some babies have died, etc., but we’ve never seen that portrayed in the show. Sure some older toddlers and kids have died, like the girl who had zombies as her ‘friends.’ But despite all odds, “little ass kicker,” also known as Judith, has managed to survive and escape the worst of events. First case in point; when the unnamed flu like virus hits the prison. Everyone is getting sick, it’s obviously airborne, and baby Judith, who has no built up immunities of any kind, doesn’t even get a cough. Now you could say, “well they quarantined the kids and that’s why she didn’t get it.” Granted that’s true, but viruses that are in your system take many days before symptoms begin to show. Which means it is highly likely, like 99.9%, that she was exposed to the virus at some point in time before the lockdown. She survives. Second case: when the prison is raided by the Governor, and everyone is going berserk, shooting all around, zombies everywhere, Judith is highly exposed… she magically survives. Third case: when Lizzie, her sister, and Judith almost get eaten by walkers, and then Carol pops out of nowhere and saves them. Now this particular instance is most substantial because there is no real reason to save Lizzie or her sister. They both end up getting killed only a few episodes later, AKA throwaway characters. So why is that scene needed?? To save Judith. I’m sure you’re getting the point by now. Basically that baby seems to be pretty important to the show so far. Now why? Just for emotional impact? I doubt it. They already have enough of that in spades. I believe the reason is lightly hinted at in the last episode of season five. Deanna wanted her last moments to be with Judith.  I mean she struggled to get to that room. This is significant, because Deanna, as a character, was always looking towards the future, and the “hope of humanity.” I believe that scene was a making a subtle point, that Judith is the future! That within the babies hope is found. Now what does this mean?? I think that everyone born AFTER the Z pathogen hit the world, is somehow immune to it. DUH DUH DUH. This could be done through the womb, also known as passive immunity, this is when a mother transfers antibodies to the child. Generally this only occurs when in the womb, and lasting only a few weeks after birth. You could say, “well couldn’t she transfer the zombie virus too??” Yes, technically that is possible. But it’s well known that HIV positive mothers, can and have, given birth to perfectly healthy HIV negative children. After the passive immunities wear off, children begin to develop their own immune systems. Now you’re probably saying, “well yeah, but if the pathogen is airborne, wouldn’t she just get infected anyway?” Again, totally possible. But let’s not forget pathogens are usually only active for certain periods of time, or mutate into something else entirely. It’s possible the Z pathogen has now become inactive or mutated into a passive state, as many viruses throughout history have done. Meaning baby Judith and Glen/Maggies’s baby are the future of the world!! The only, known, immune humans. Again, this is all theory, and when season six or the end of the show airs and it turns out I’m totally wrong…. oh fucking well!! And if I’m right, well then I’ll actually be pretty stoked on that. I have a few other theories as how the show might end, but I think 1400 words is substantial enough for this first article. Thanks for reading!!