Summary
ThroughoutThe Walking Dead’s 12 years onAMC, the beloved zombie serieskept plenty of its secrets close to its chest, especially regarding how the zombie virus came about. However, most fans seem to agree that they are glad the show didn’t drag out the mystery surrounding how people are infected and are thankful the subject was touched upon early in the series.
AsThe Walking Deaddove into its 11 seasons from 2010 to 2022, it became apparent early on that even though the undead played an impactful part in its narrative due to their overwhelming and constant threat, the most important takeaway of the series has always been what humans had to do to survive through a time when the world was on fire. InThe Walking Dead’s horrific post-apocalyptic environment, many decisions that its main characters had before the virus were taken away, so all that was left was to either give in or endure. Surviving in a world that wants to eat you whole was never an easy feat for Rick and the group, but despite eventually learning to adapt and fight off the infected, one of the show’s biggest mysteries was revealed pretty early on, which left its main characters with yet another dire situation on their hands.
Over onThe Walking Dead’s Reddit page, one fan of the show asked whether the mystery surrounding how people became infected was revealed too early and if the series should have held onto this information until much later on.The Walking Deadconstantly shied away from disclosing too much abouthow the zombie virus started, but in season one, when the group went to the CDC in the hopes of finding answers and a potential cure for the zombie outbreak, Dr. Jenner revealed that there was no cure, whispering to Rick that everyone was infected, whether they were bitten or not.
MostWalking Deadfans agreed that revealing this important part of the infection early was vital to the show so it wouldn’t drag the mystery out for too long and, in turn, gave its main characters an extra layer of impending doom and threat. However, one fan was surprised that the group was shocked to find out that everyone was infected, stating “Everyone should have known already. It took a couple of weeks for everything to collapse. Enough time for news reports and such to report that everyone who was dying - heart attacks, car accidents, old age, cancer, etc - was getting back up and attacking without being bitten.” In response to this, another fan of the series said that inThe Walking Dead: Torn Apart,a six-part web series that aired in its entirety on July 29, 2025, it was “explained that news and power was cut off right away, so everyone would have had to rely on word of mouth or first-hand experiences for them to realize they didn’t need to be bitten first.”
Previously speaking toThe Hollywood Reporter, Robert Kirkman, who is the creator ofThe Walking Deadcomics, admitted that he felt “regret” about AMC’s adaptation revealing too much information in the CDC episode, saying “It possibly gave away too much information and was such a big change very early on in the series.” In Kirkman’s comics, Rick and the group learn that everyone is infected after Tyreese’s daughter is killed in what was supposed to be a joint suicide pact with her boyfriend Chris. However, when she comes back to life with no signs of being bitten, Rick and Co figure the rest out for themselves.
In theWalking Dead: World Beyondseason 2 finale post-credits sequence, the zombie virus' origins were finally explained, revealing that it all began in a biomedical facility in France. Since Kirkman’s comic series has finally come to an end, lifting the lid to explore more about the creation of the zombie virus and how to stop it would be a fantastic continuation intoThe Walking Dead’s universe.
