| This article is about the TV Series character. You may be looking for the Novel Series character. |
| “ | The signs... they were real, it was a sanctuary. People came and took this place. And they raped, and they killed and they laughed... over weeks. But we got out, and we fought and we got it back! And we heard the message! You're the butcher... or you're the cattle.
―Mary to Carol Peletier[src]
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Mary is an antagonist and survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. She is a resident of Terminus, and is the mother of the Terminus leader Gareth, and his brother Alex.
Pre-Apocalypse
Location Unknown
Nothing is known about Mary's life before the outbreak or as the outbreak began except that she had at least two children, Gareth and Alex.
Post-Apocalypse
Sometime during the apocalypse, Mary is implied to have started Terminus with her sons, to which it was originally an actual sanctuary for survivors. However, she and the other Terminus residents were eventually attacked by a violent group of men who, for unspecified reasons, killed some of the residents while at the same time imprisoning the others and raping the women, including Mary. After weeks of imprisonment, however, Mary and the others somehow turned the tables on their attackers and overpowered them, reclaiming Terminus, but their trauma at the hands of the rapists dangerously twisted all of their minds. They killed all of the rapists (most likely after torturing them) except for the leader whom they mentally (and presumably physically) tortured into insanity by locking him in a train car permanently and leaving him to rot. However, the residents decided as a result of all this that there was no good left in the world and decided that by being good people, they were making themselves vulnerable. Hence their decision to begin cannibalizing survivors who arrived for sanctuary.
Season 4
"Us"
After Glenn, Maggie, Bob, Tara, Sasha, Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita arrive in Terminus, they encounter Mary with her back turned to them as she tends to a grill with large slabs of (presumably human) meat. She welcomes them and offers them a meal.
"A"
In this episode, it was revealed that Mary is a high-ranking member of Terminus. Mary and the others of the community offer Rick, Carl, Daryl, and Michonne a meal, which she is currently cooking. However, Rick realizes that the attire of some of the residents belonged to Maggie and Glenn. He is also seen to focus on Alex's pocket.
Rick quickly reaches into his pocket to pull out Glenn's pocket watch, which was given to him by Hershel. Rick holds a gun to Alex's head, interrogating him on where they'd gotten the possessions. On Gareth's cue, his men begin to fire upon them and one bullet accidentally hits and kills Alex. Mary runs away as the battle begins.
Season 5
"No Sanctuary"
Mary is first seen in a flashback along with Gareth and Alex as they sit inside of a boxcar, revealing that the three were in a predicament similar to Rick's group until they took back Terminus from their attackers.
Mary next can then be seen at the fence through Carol's gun scope, killing walkers when a herd approaches. Mary and the others flee from the fence, seeing the herd, and Carol destroys the large propane tank, destroying part of the fence to allow the herd to infiltrate the facility.
Mary finds Carol inside of the room with candles, ordering her to turn around and drop her weapons. Carol quickly counters, leaving Mary to duck her bullets. The two struggle, and Carol comes out on top. Carol holds Mary at gunpoint, demanding to know where the group is holding Rick and the others. Mary explains that Terminus originally was a sanctuary, but it became a place where they would lure people to take their possessions and ultimately, eat them. Carol asks Mary again where Rick and the others are, and when Mary doesn't cooperate, she shoots her in the leg. Mary then tells Carol that she could've been a resident of Terminus, to which Carol responds that she could never be like that. Instead of killing her, Carol opens up the door to the outside, allowing a group of walkers to come inside to devour the crippled Mary.
In a second flashback, we see Mary being put back in the boxcar with Gareth and Alex. It is implied Mary was raped by the men who had overtaken Terminus.
Killed Victims
This is a list of victims that Mary has killed:
- Numerous counts of zombies and possibly unnamed people.
Death
Killed By
- Carol Peletier (Caused)
- Zombies
Carol shot Mary in the leg and then opened a door to let in walkers to eat her alive. It is likely that Mary was put down, due to Gareth mentioning her death, suggesting they found her body.
Relationships
Gareth
Mary is Gareth's mom and they seem to care a lot about each other, specifically during the time they were captive inside the train car.
Alex
Mary is Alex's mom and they seem to have a stable relationship. Oddly enough, Alex referred to her as "Mary" instead of mom while asking her to make plates for the survivors. Mary doesn't show sadness when Alex is killed and is seen killing walkers at the fence shortly afterwards without a hint of emotion or distraught. She also didn't object to having her son's corpse dissected for food.
Appearances
TV Series
Season 4
Season 5
Trivia
- In "A" Alex refers to Mary by her name rather than calling her mom. This could be to avoid letting any newcomers know of their relationship as it could be used against them.
- In the episode "Claimed", Michonne finds a painting covered in blood that heavily resembles Mary.
- In the episode "Coda", Gabriel finds a Bible at the Hunters' campsite which is inscribed to "Mary B.", likely belonging to Mary and brought from Terminus by Gareth.
- In the episode "Not Tomorrow Yet", in Carol's list of people that she killed, she lists Mary as Candle Woman.