As AMC’s The Walking Dead creeps up on its sixth season, it seems the apocalyptic show about flesh-eating zombies just won’t die. With twists, turns, and numerous fan-favorite deaths throughout the show’s run (we miss you, Emily Kinney), the odds of Rick Grimes and his crew walking off into the sunset seems less and less likely. Recently, creator Robert Kirkman filled in loyal fans as to how the show will eventually play out, and there’s a chance we’ll see something we’d never expect. Unlike most zombie flicks, where the one survivor (if any) struggles to figure out what happens at the end of humanity, Kirkman sees a resolution.
“People talk about how The Walking Dead is bleak, and if you take a certain cross-section of the story, then yeah. Horrible. People have their loved ones eaten and they have a horrible time. But I see the story from beginning to end, over many many years about humanity overcoming this insurmountable apocalyptic situation.”
Whatever the conclusion may be, we foresee a lot more guts and gore coming our way. After hearing these predictions, a few of our oh-so talented editors here at Maxim wanted to chime in on what they think should be the ultimate ending to hit AMC series.
Gabriella Paiella – Senior Editor
The Walking Dead will end with the walkers overtaking all the humans. Eventually, they’ll start a new civilization, rebuild destitute cities, and generally introduce new cultural norms. One day, a group of them will vacation in the north pole, where they’ll encounter the White Walkers from Game of Thrones. Hello, crossover episode.
Adam Linehan – Associate Editor
I’ve never seen the show, but I’m almost positive this is how it will end: The giant horde of Walkers battering down the door of the factory where the remaining survivors have been pinned down for days seems to signal their doom. Suddenly, a manhole cover slides open and a little man with a great big mustache pops out and yells, “follow me!” Having nowhere else to go, the survivors slip into the manhole and begin following their mysterious new ally through a network of underground tunnels that eventually lead to a subterranean nightclub paradise. At first, everyone is super happy to have made it through the zombie apocalypse alive, and someone orders a round of tequila shots. Then another. That’s when things begin to take a turn for the worst. After years of fighting zombies, the survivors have developed severe psychological problems, which unfortunately don’t mix very well with alcohol, especially tequila. Their attempts to drink away the pain only makes matters worse, and soon everyone is arguing and calling each other names. What begins as a minor skirmish between two of the survivors quickly escalates into a violent, eye-gouging, head-stomping free-for-all. When the dust settles, everyone is dead, except one: the little man with a mustache, who, it turns out, had planned this all along. Because he’s a necrophiliac.
Cara Hessels – Social Media Manager
In the final episode of The Walking Dead, Rick finds himself, once again, in a dire situation surrounded by zombies. His crew, either dead or incapacitated, surround him. Tired of fighting the good fight, Rick pulls a brick of napalm out of his back pocket. It’s taken him years collect the materials, and now, he knows what he needs to do. He lights the brick on fire (I have no idea how one sets off napalm, but this is my story, so…), looks up to the sky as it explodes, taking down the hundreds of thousands of zombies around him. The screen goes black. We hear a gasp. Zayn, the 5th (and hottest) member of One Direction shoots up out of bed. Panicked and sweaty from his terrible nightmare that seemed to last 6 years long, he too knows what he needs to do. He grabs his phone, rings Simon Cowell and announces he is quitting the band. When Cowell asks why he replies, “night terrors.” The end.
Sean Abrams – Associate Editor
My big thing is that there’s no way Rick is making it to the finish line. The evolution of his character has been pretty sublime, to say the least, but I don’t see the series’ main protagonist going all the way without succumbing to the virus he’s been avoiding all along. The group has suffered the loss of so many people close to them that I think it’d be pretty entertaining for him to go out in a really pitiful way. Some might say that’s disappointing, but I call it genius. To be honest, as long as they don’t end the show like Lost (you know what I’m talking about), then I’ll be one happy camper.
Check back later to see which one of these outlandish claims is ultimately correct, and who would therefore likely survive the zombie apocalypse.
Photos by Greg Nicotero/AMC