Summary
- Daryl Dixon may have uncovered the person responsible for releasing the zombie virus, suggesting a twist in the mystery of the outbreak.
- The Doctor, working for Genet, has been conducting experiments on zombies, potentially releasing the virus that created the undead.
- Genet’s possible connection to the origins of the virus makes her the most important villain in The Walking Dead universe, adding a significant storyline to the franchise.
A minor unnamed character introduced in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon might be the person responsible for releasing the zombie virus that kicked off the entire Walking Dead franchise. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon takes the action to France, where the titular crossbow-wielding zombie slayer has taken on a new diabolical villain called Genet. Genet and her group could be the key to solving the mystery of how the zombie virus got out in the first place – especially one scientist working for her. Nothing has been explicitly confirmed, but this character seems to set up a twist resolving the mystery of the outbreak.
The Walking Dead has always been trepidatious about explaining the origins of the zombie virus in no uncertain terms. It would maintain an air of mystery around the hordes of the undead if their origins remained unexplained. But as long as The Walking Dead is being expanded into sequels and spin-offs, the writers might as well sink their teeth into how the zombie apocalypse came to be. There have been a few hints about the backstory of the zombie virus in the flagship series and in The Walking Dead: World Beyond, but Daryl Dixon may have revealed the man behind the virus.
Genet’s Scientist Could Be Responsible For Walking Dead’s Zombie Outbreak
The gray-haired scientist that Genet has under her employ, simply known as “The Doctor,” could be responsible for the zombie virus outbreak in The Walking Dead universe. In Daryl Dixon, the Doctor has been shown conducting experiments on zombies to mutate them into even more dangerous killers with black eyes and the veins of a burner. It could’ve been one of the Doctor’s experiments that released the virus that created the zombies in the first place. In his brief appearances on the show, the Doctor doesn’t exactly seem willing to keep conducting these experiments for Genet, suggesting that he’s a prisoner that Genet is holding hostage.
The flashback sequences have revealed that the Doctor has been experimenting on zombies for a long time. The Doctor’s experiments are ongoing, and he refuses to tell his zombie providers what he needs the zombies for. He just needs walkers that have only turned within the past couple of months, and is willing to pay for them. It’s possible that, while Genet is forcing the Doctor to make the captured walkers even deadlier, he intends to use his research to develop a cure. Creating a cure would be the only way for the Doctor to achieve redemption if he did cause the initial outbreak.
What We Know About “Primrose Team” In The Walking Dead
In the series finale of The Walking Dead: World Beyond – season 2, episode 10, “The Last Light” – a woman was seen in an abandoned laboratory in France, copying files from a hard drive onto her own computer. This included a video of Dr. Edwin Jenner from the CDC, first seen in The Walking Dead’s season 1 finale – season 1, episode 6, “TS-19” – which contained the franchise’s first hint at the international origins of the zombie virus. The woman was held at gunpoint by a man who demanded to know where the Primrose team went, suggested to be the group responsible for the outbreak.
The woman told the man that the Primrose team was at a conference in Toledo, Ohio “when it happened.” The man proceeded to shoot her dead and she promptly transformed into a faster, stronger, and more aggressive zombie than the ones Walking Dead fans are used to seeing. In the video, Dr. Jenner mentions various international zombie variants that were reported by the Primrose team but have yet to be observed in America by the CDC. World Beyond strongly suggests that the Primrose team has since been killed or captured, but Genet’s scientist could be a surviving member of the Primrose team, which would explain where his knowledge comes from.
Genet’s Virus Connection Would Make TWD’s Most Important Villain Yet
Genet’s supposed connection to the origins of the zombie virus would make her the most important villain in The Walking Dead universe to date. All the iconic villains from The Walking Dead franchise’s past, from Negan to the Governor, had no personal connection to the outbreak of the zombie virus; they simply took advantage of a lawless world to become ruthless dictators. Genet is the first one who may have ties to the origins of the virus. If The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon confirms that the Doctor was responsible for the virus outbreak, then it’ll become one of the franchise’s most significant stories.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
