The Terrifying Tale of the Terminus Group in The Walking Dead

The Enigmatic Terminus Group

The Terminus group in The Walking Dead is a mysterious and dangerous survivor group that may or may not practice cannibalism. The Walking Dead premiered in 2010 and lasted for 11 seasons before the series finale in November 2022, but that was not the end of the franchise based on the comic of the same name. The Walking Dead franchise includes spin-off TV shows, video games, webisodes, and more as it's dug deeper into the valley-sized lore of The Walking Dead. There is so much going on in the franchise that some stories and characters are only briefly explored. Even the main groups in The Walking Dead don't always have more than half a season to get to know the inhabitants and their roles in the new world.

Gareth prepares to butcher Rick and his group to eat in The Walking Dead.

These survivor groups are fascinating, however, and they serve a significant purpose within the story of The Walking Dead. What people do after society collapses is a more intriguing question than how to stop the walkers. There comes a point when the walkers are no longer much of a threat, but the remnants of society fighting for survival are the real danger. Some groups are fascistic, some are opportunistic, and some, like the Terminus group, are monsters disguised as sheep.

The Horrifying Truth Revealed

The Terminus group first appears in The Walking Dead season 4, episode 15, 'Us', and at first, they seem friendly. However, in the next episode, the Terminants attack Rick and his group and shove them into train cars to await an unknown fate. At this point, it has not been revealed that Terminus are cannibals, but there have been hints. The leader of the group, Mary, is constantly seen cooking some unknown meat she is eager to serve, and when Rick and the rest flee the Terminus group, they find flesh and bone in the compound and hear strange screams from inside other train cars.

Rick writing on a Terminus sign in The Walking Dead. 

Scott M. Gimple, The Walking Dead showrunner, specifically obscured the fact that the Terminus group were cannibals until season 5, via EW. When asked if Terminus would follow the cannibalistic storyline of a different group from the comics, Gimple said, 'It can be inspired by the comics, it can be totally different from the comics. Terminus simply wasn’t in the comics, and it’s its own thing. It might circle back to aspects of the comic, it might be more of a long road to other things in the comic.' Gimple waited until the season 5 premiere, 'No Sanctuary' to reveal that the Terminus survivor group were cannibals. In flashbacks, it's revealed that the current Terminus group was butchered and eaten by bandits. They attacked their captors and decided to practice the same cannibalism to survive. When Rick and his group are brought to a killing room to be slaughtered, they finally understand what's going on.

Terminus and The Walking Dead Comic

In one of the many villains changes in The Walking Dead from the comics, the Terminus group is an original creation for the show. However, it takes some notes from a similar comic group, the Hunters. Beyond being opportunistic cannibals, the groups don't have very much in common. The Hunters were driven to cannibalism by pure hunger, while Terminus made a moral and mental decision to never be taken advantage of again, and went about achieving this by being even more monstrous than any other group on The Walking Dead.