The Walking Dead Season 4 Finale: 7 Major Terminus Theories

7. It's A Cult

Of the pre-finale rumours that appeared, one of the most irresistible focused on the religious imagery hinted at in the teaser for A. Audiences are too savvy and too well-versed with the visual language of TV to not immediately associate a significant number of candles either with cult behaviour or with Prince videos, and in the finale, those hints were furthered. Rick and the gang came upon a candle-lit room during their attempted escape, with writing scrawled on the walls, and what appeared to be the name of "victims" marked also by a precious trinket or trophy relating to them. That scene in particular screamed the idea of memorial, and the curious lay-out of the "graves" definitely feels like a conscious attempt to channel the simple geometric shapes favoured by early cults. The Hints It's not just in the patterns on the floor that we see big hints; it's all in the name of the place. "Terminus" relates to Roman cults, and is a boundary of stones or posts fixed in the ground during a ceremony of sacrifice and anointment. At the yearly festival of Terminalia, celebrating land owners would leave sacrifices and offerings to the god Terminus; which all seems oddly familiar. And how come there aren't any walkers around? There was one attack somewhat close to Terminus, but wouldn't walkers be tempted by the smells of barbecuing meat? Or the sound of gunfire? Perhaps the Terminus cult members make sacrificial offerings to their "gods" - the walkers - or at least to preserve their own lives.