The Walking Dead introduced us to many captivating kinds of sanctuaries and methods of survival, but none are quite as memorable — yet disappointing — as Terminus. Spanning across the last few episodes of Season 4 and the first couple of Season 5, the idea of Terminus is far more impressive than the actual community itself. Terminus is the franchise’s first cannibal group with a vaguely intriguing backstory that had far more potential than what was delivered. With so much anticipation built up during the separated groups’ long travels, coupled with the enduring thematic and narrative impact the community made on the show, Terminus’ quick downfall and stunted screen time was certainly a missed opportunity for The Walking Dead.
‘The Walking Dead’ Built Up Anticipation for Terminus
Terminus became a tentative beacon of hope for the scattered group of survivors that were forced to flee the overrun prison in Season 4. Each group had managed to spot a sign along railway tracks that identified Terminus as a safe haven and deduced that the other groups would be heading in the same direction. With each episode flipping from one small group to another, we are given insight into new budding relationships and character dynamics, from the unexpected bonding between Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Beth (Emily Kinney), to the more playful scenes between Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Carl (Chandler Riggs). This slow build up also rewarded us with one of The Walking Dead‘s most haunting episodes, “The Grove,” where Carol (Melissa McBride) and Tyreese (Chad Coleman) are forced to deal with the unnerving sisters. If Terminus is going to follow episodes like these, it was bound to be just as thrilling, right?
This on-screen anticipation and build up also reflected the anticipation for Terminus in real life, as many fans believed it would be the TV counterpart of The Hunters from the comics. In the comics, the Hunters were a nomadic group of people who had turned to cannibalism to survive the harsh conditions of the apocalypse. Although they initially scavenged for lone survivors or the stragglers of larger groups, they were desperate when they encountered Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group and attacked them. However, the show was extremely tight-lipped about these theories at the time, with executive producer Greg Nicotero resolutely shutting it down as an “interesting theory” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Later on, this theory was essentially confirmed by the Season 5 tagline: “Hunt or Be Hunted,” once again riling up fans for the cannibals’ debut.
Terminus Was Very Underwhelming
Despite the well-crafted and slow-burn build up to Terminus, the sanctuary ended up failing on three distinct fronts: the limited cannibalism, the lackluster backstory and its quick demise. Given that the community’s “thing” is cannibalism, there is far less of it than we are promised. Apart from the bloody scene at the trough and the later scenes of the cannibals eating Bob’s (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) leg, there are no real provoking or scary scenes. Although the walkers give us enough gory “cannibalism” scenes, seeing normal humans do it would have been far more confronting and satisfying for The Walking Dead‘s bloodthirsty fandom. It’s also particularly disappointing that none of the core cast fell victim to cannibalism, especially considering Terminus was a major milestone in their journey.
While the backstory given to Terminus is interesting, it seems slightly arbitrary and underdeveloped, especially when compared to the comics. Terminus was originally a safe haven for lost survivors. However, their generosity and lack of a vetting system was taken advantage of by a monstrous group of travelers that locked the hopefuls up while torturing and assaulting them. As such, the Terminans ruthlessly fought back and eventually resorted to cannibalism, hence “hunt or be hunted.” While their villain origin story is quite harrowing, they haven’t quite unlocked their full potential as believable monsters. In the comics, the Hunters had resorted to eating the children in their group at some point, and adding this element would have elevated the Terminus story, completely doubling down on the Season 5 thematic concerns of brutality vs. humanity, or “can you do what it takes to stay alive?” which Nicotero said in the aforementioned Hollywood Reporter article.
It was particularly damning to see how easily Carol (someone who had only just gotten into her badass era) and Rick wiped Terminus out. While Carol’s Terminus episode was key to her transformation into a lone resourceful assassin and was a pleasure to watch, did it really took a singular tiny woman miles away from the establishment to completely destabilize and demolish the foundations of your sanctuary? Although it is certainly believable that Carol had the gall to single-handedly destroy the community, what is not believable is the utter lack of resistance she faced. She barely even broke a sweat! Similarly, Gareth (Andrew J. West), the leader of Terminus, was quickly reduced to begging after facing Rick, and while Rick is terrifying at times, we expect the figurehead of cannibalism to put up more of a fight. In the end, Terminus was diminished from the hardened community they were made out to be, to a rabble of humans who had simply lost their way.
Terminus Had a Lasting Impact on ‘The Walking Dead’s Characters
The failures of Terminus are amplified when its significant impact on major characters is also considered. The events of Terminus, namely the ending, were considerably formative for Rick’s development back into the heartless sheriff we grew to adore. His time at the prison saw him losing loved ones, hallucinating dead people, then renouncing all violence and becoming “Farmer Rick” instead. Terminus marked the confirmation that merciless Rick had hit his stride again, proving that his brutality towards the Claimers, that led to Rick’s gnarliest kill of the franchise, was not just a one-off.
At the final execution of the last Terminans, Gareth was pleading for his life on his knees while a menacing Rick stands over him, brandishing the red machete he had promised to kill Gareth with. After an awfully silent split second, the once honor code driven sheriff savagely hacks away at the kneeling man, galvanizing Michonne, Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) to follow suit on their own prisoners, while leaving Maggie (Lauren Cohen), Glenn (Steven Yeun), and Tyreese to gawk in horror. Becoming another dot point on Rick’s list of controversial decisions despite his best intentions for the group, the characters become slightly more wary of Rick’s growing rage and lack of mercy. Interestingly, this scene had the potential to become more sadistic than it already is, with comic-book Rick threatening to eat the final Hunters as a way of revenge, but as per usual, the show tends to omit the uglier sides of the main characters.
At the other end of the spectrum, the long-winded lead up to Terminus cements the budding friendship between Michonne and Carl. Their journey towards Terminus is filled with Michonne trying to uplift Carl’s mood through candy bars and crazy cheese, but ultimately it is when she shares her grief over her lost son that she is able to connect with Carl. Just before they enter the faux-sanctuary, the two also share a tender moment where Carl reveals his innermost thoughts that he is uncomfortable revealing to his father. An embrace solidifies their friendship going forward, and it is also worth noting that Rick acknowledges the importance of their bond, especially in terms of Carl building his emotional support structure. With Terminus having a lead up and aftermath that is this formative for characters and relationship dynamics, they certainly deserved to be more than a blip in The Walking Dead timeline.
Terminus Changed How Rick’s Group Approached New Communities
Terminus was also a part of a cluster of groups that the main ensemble encountered in rapid fire succession, all cumulatively affecting the way Rick’s group approached new communities for the rest of the franchise. Up until this point, Woodsbury was the only big sanctuary the group had discovered, and whilst they had a healthy dose of distrust and hostility towards them, it was only really due to Maggie and Glenn’s abduction. Considering how they almost blindly followed the railway signs to Terminus and waltzed in with minimal preparation, it’s as if they perceived Woodsbury as the bad egg of sanctuaries rather than a forewarning.
Alongside the Grady Memorial Hospital and the Claimers, Terminus permanently instilled hostility in the way they approached new communities. This onslaught of deaths and brutality trickled down into Rick’s decision to temporarily hold Aaron (Ross Marquand) hostage, especially after he mentions he is from a peaceful community with walls, Alexandria. While the group was not unfamiliar with imprisoning strangers, they often did so reluctantly. But at this point, Rick is salivating at the thought of killing Aaron, only to be held back by Michonne’s reasoning. It is a callback to Rick from early Season 3, who was determined to dictate the actions of the group with an iron fist, except this time he is far more animalistic and paranoid, and rightfully so. It’s hard to believe that these drastic changes to the group’s attitude to strangers, particularly Rick’s, are catalyzed by the Terminus cannibals, who ended up being more of a shock to the system rather than a legitimate threat.
Terminus Is Underdeveloped in ‘The Walking Dead’
The primary issue with Terminus is that it lacked merit or development to stand on its own. Instead, it is used as a function to highlight character, relationships, and thematic arcs and only succeeds at that. Terminus has an enduring and meaningful impact on Rick and Carol’s characters, Michonne and Carl’s friendship, and the overall thematic concern of crumbling humanity in Season 5. Even further down the line in Season 11, it is thematically linked to the Resident Evil Licker-like cannibals that Connie (Lauren Ridloff) and Virgil (Kevin Carroll) try to escape. This subtly outlines a gruesome progression of cannibalism in a post-apocalyptic world, where Terminus reflects the early stages of cannibalism in a Lord of the Flies-like manner. Yet arguably, this connection could also be because Terminus was showcased while it was still in its early stages of development.
With only two real confronting scenes of cannibalism, an arbitrary backstory, and a whimpering exit, Terminus is far more one-dimensional than many of the complex sanctuaries that have been constructed in The Walking Dead universe. Terminus itself was greatly overshadowed by its build-up and fallout, and definitely deserved more screen time to allow it to make a memorable impression, but instead we are left with a muted representation of an interesting idea that could not fulfill its potential.
The Waking Dead is available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.
