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Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive survive.
―Terminus' broadcast.[src]

Terminus was a secured compound in AMC's The Walking Dead, located near Atlanta, Georgia. Originally a train station at the end of a railway line, Terminus was founded sometime after the Trials by Gareth, his brother Alex, and their mother Mary. Terminus was meant to be a sanctuary for all in the apocalyptic wasteland. Signs were put along the railway lines in West Georgia, as well as outgoing radio broadcasts inviting people to the community. Eventually, a group of marauding bandits followed the signs and took over Terminus. The residents who weren't killed were imprisoned in the freight cars where they were continually beaten and raped.

After weeks of imprisonment, Gareth led an uprising. The residents regained control of Terminus and killed the bandits. The leader of the bandits was imprisoned and the others were cannibalized. Afterwards, Gareth implemented cannibalism to provide for the community and to also protect them against future possible threats. Strong survivors were welcomed into Terminus, but weak survivors or people that rejected Terminus were placed into train cars to await slaughter. Prisoners were stripped of their belongings before being slaughtered, giving the community supplies as well as food.

In early 2012, survivors from a nearby fallen community led by Rick Grimes, and a small group led by Sgt. Abraham Ford traveling to Washington, D.C., arrived at Terminus and were placed in freight cars to be butchered. Carol Peletier, a friend of Rick's, used explosives and a nearby herd to attack and infiltrate Terminus. Rick and Abraham's groups joined together and managed to escape Terminus as it was overrun by the zombies. While Terminus was destroyed, Gareth and several residents survived and formed a small hunting group, but were later killed by Rick and his people.

Pre-Apocalypse

Nothing is known about the train yard before the outbreak, except that it likely provided passenger and cargo train access to certain parts of Georgia.

Post-Apocalypse

Season 4

Foundation and Occupation

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 regarding the Terminus' occupation[src]

The occupation of Terminus was a period that occurred long before Rick and his group came to Terminus. It is revealed that after Mary and the other original residents put up the signs directing people to Terminus in hopes of creating a sanctuary, a group of bandits saw the signs, came and took over the town. For unspecified reasons, they then herded the people into train cars and kept them there as prisoners before killing some of them, also raping the women. However, after weeks of occupation, the people of Terminus managed to escape and overpower their captors, retaking the facility. Presumably as a result of the rapists starving them during their captivity and eating all of their food supplies, the starving Terminus residents cannibalized most of the men who had attacked them, although they kept the bandit leader alive and tortured him into insanity before imprisoning him permanently in a train car as revenge, leading the deranged man to mutter "We're the same" over and over (referencing how the Terminants and the bandits are now the same kind of monster). The occupation convinced the Terminants that there was no good left in the world and by trying to be good they were making themselves easy targets. The Terminants adopted a new ideology built on the idea of taking advantage of trusting people so that they themselves can survive. This is evident in their motto: "You're the butcher or you're the cattle." After rebuilding their community, the signs were kept up and the Terminants would ask new arrivals if they were willing to accept cannibalism as their way of survival in the community. Those who rejected the notion were then captured, killed, and eaten.

After their victory over the bandits and the end of the occupation the Terminants built a shrine to those who had been killed during the occupation in a building. It was lit with candles and had the victims' names and lifespans written on the floor along with personal effects. On the wall is written: "Never Again. Never Trust. We First, Always." This shows how Terminus devolved from a sanctuary to a place that thinks of itself first.

Pre-Prison Attack

While on a supply run, Daryl Dixon, Michonne Hawthorne, Bob Stookey, and Tyreese Williams hear a scrambled broadcast mentioning Terminus. It is soon interrupted by Daryl dodging a walker in the middle of the road, which eventually leads to them fighting off a large herd of walkers.[1]

Post-Prison

Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive survive.
―The phrase written on the sign that Tyreese, Carol Peletier, and Lizzie and Mika Samuels encounter while on the tracks[src]

Michonne, Rick Grimes, his son Carl,[2] Maggie Greene, Bob, Sasha Williams,[3] Glenn Rhee and the Claimers discover a similar sign attached to a railway freight carriage and a map.

The maps show railway lines through different counties that lead to Terminus. Each railroad route intermittently has signs along it leading the way to Terminus. Based on the railroad map marking out its location, its location seems to be Macon, Georgia, in Bibb County. (See Gallery)

Terminus appears physically for the first time in the episode "Us", as Abraham Ford, Bob, Eugene Porter, Glenn, Tara Chambler, Rosita Espinosa, Maggie, and Sasha finally reach it, where they are greeted by Mary, one of the residents who offers them a bite to eat and welcomes them to Terminus.

It appears to be an abandoned railroad yard termination complex for maintenance of trains.

The leaders of Terminus appear to be Mary and Gareth, Mary's son. They indicate the sanctuary has been in existing since the beginning of the apocalypse. Members of this community are called "Terminants".[4]

Terminus is hinted to be the home of a cannibalistic cult. It is seen in the episode that Mary is always cooking an unknown meat product at all her appearances. As the group is running from gunfire, human remains could be spotted in a courtyard for a brief period, muffled cries for help can be heard from nearby railway containers, which raises even more questions, and finally the desire to keep humans captive may mean that they are keeping them as a food supply for basic survival. It is also referenced in the beginning of the episode "A" when Rick teaches Carl how to catch a rabbit by directing it into a trap to get food, his lesson is similar to the whole chase sequences when the group is being directed by gunfire to possibly trap them and obtain a proper food source.

During the gunfire chase, Rick, Daryl, Carl, and Michonne run into a memorial room full of candles, with names ages and possibly where they were from written on the floor with personal effects.[5]

Once they reach an open courtyard, the group is surrounded, and Gareth instructs each of them individually to walk over to a train car and enter. Inside they meet Glenn, Maggie, Sasha, Bob, Tara, Eugene, Abraham, and Rosita already inside. Rick then states that they are "fucking with the wrong people".

Season 5

It is shown in a flashback that, after the original residents put the signs up leading to Terminus, a group of bandits came and attacked Terminus, imprisoning some in the train carts - raping some of the women and killing others, leading Terminus to become a distraught place, where they do not trust any who arrive. The Terminants eventually managed to escape after weeks of rape and torture, kill the group and imprison their leader.

It is later confirmed that Terminus is indeed a cannibalistic group, where they kill then carve up any new arrivals to Terminus that refuse to join them or prove to be a threat. Rick and the group are taken to the slaughter house, ready to be bled out. The compound is attacked by Carol in an attempt to free her friends after witnessing them being dragged out of a train car to be slaughtered. She explodes a large tank of flammable gas and allows a large herd of walkers to enter. The walkers overrun Terminus and many of the residents are killed. The group escapes, leaving Terminus behind in flames and overrun by walkers. Unbeknownst to them, Gareth and several other Terminants manage to survive, and begin tracking down Rick's group, although they are eventually all slaughtered by Rick and his group at St. Sarah's Church. For further detail, see:

Main article: The Hunters (TV Series)

It remains unknown whether any other Terminus residents survived the compound's destruction.

Inhabitants

Formerly

Killed Victims

  • Sam
  • Many unnamed bandits
  • Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people

Deaths

The following are deceased Terminus residents whose names were seen in the memorial room:

  • Scott Johnson
  • Guenn Johnson
  • Judy Adams
  • Kristen Miller
  • Brian Freeman
  • Amanda Knight
  • Zane Camden
  • David Cornett
  • Jessica Ogden
  • Timothy Walters
  • Michael Ellwood
  • Sean Cook
  • Jessica Bent
  • Robert Wolford
  • James Smith
  • Nick Smith
  • Brian Case
  • April Case
  • Justine Burke
  • James Wellborne
  • Billye Holified
  • JD Duncan
  • Brendan Poole
  • Brittany Rose
  • Ben Ross
  • Michael Roper
  • Matt Ayers
  • John Campbell
  • Jenn Batch
  • Joy Johnson
  • Christian Roberts
  • John Lee
  • Sara Addison
  • Suzy
  • Fred Jimenez
  • Shuford Adams
  • Christopher Adams
  • Thomas Richards
  • Eric Baker
  • Stephan Murray
  • Brandon Kochin
  • Ashley Bennett
  • David Diamond
  • Barbara Baldwin
  • Mariana Taylor
  • Lauren Pitts
  • Stephen McBrayer
  • Rachel Roper
  • Jamie Smith
  • Stacie McKinnon

Appearances

TV Series

Season 4

Season 5

Season 7

Season 11

Trivia

  • "Terminus", translates to "the end of the line", is the original name of Atlanta.[4] In the 1830's it was the name of a settlement at the end of the Western and Atlantic Railroad line.[6]
  • "Terminus" is the Roman God who protected boundary markings. "Terminus" is also Latin for "Border."
  • The Terminus scenes are not far from where the series pilot was filmed in Atlanta. The skyline and topography around the building have been digitally altered to remove recognizable landmarks and the city skyline behind it in some angles.[4]
  • The frequency from which Terminus' radio message was broadcasted in "Isolation" is 97.1 FM, in reality this station belongs to the station WSRV, based in Gainesville, Georgia.
  • There is a deleted scene from "A" in which Rick and Michonne see zombies attached to chains and remains on the floor.[7]
  • Rick, Daryl, Carl, and Michonne enter Terminus through the "map room".[8]
  • Ultimately all of Rick's group (at the time) ended up at Terminus except for Tyreese, Judith, and Beth.
  • The church with the candles is where the community honors fallen Terminants, with the names and belongings of members of their community who have died. The following is painted on the walls: "first always" "never again" "never trust" "we first always".[4][9]
  • Despite being in a different state, Terminus is referenced through graffiti on walls in The Walking Dead: Onslaught.
  • The set of Terminus was used in the episode "Evie / Joe" in Tales of the Walking Dead.
  • Terminus appears in the archival footage shown at the beginning of "A New Deal" and "What's Been Lost" as Judith narrates past events of the show to the audience before the episode's story begins.

References

  1. Isolation
  2. Claimed
  3. Alone (TV Series)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 The Walking Dead: Everything We Know About Terminus, Comicbook, Russ Burlingame, (April 3, 2014). "They have a "church" where they honor the fallen Terminants. It looks like a creepy altar, but they call it "The Church." That’s where you can find the names and belongings of members of their community who have died. "And this right here is Church. It's kind of a memorial to our departed Terminants," said Andrew J. West, who plays Gareth."
  5. Referred to as the church. Walking Dead spoilers: Secrets of Terminus revealed, Movie Pilot, Matt Carteron, March 31st, 2014.
  6. Talking Dead, Inside the Dead, Season 4, Episode 15.
  7. File:The-Walking-Dead-Season-4-Deleted-Scene.jpg
  8. Matt Carteron, Walking Dead spoilers: Secrets of Terminus revealed, Movie Pilot, (March 31st, 2014)
  9. Referred to as the church. Walking Dead spoilers: Secrets of Terminus revealed, Movie Pilot, Matt Carteron, March 31st, 2014.

External Links

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