‘Walking Dead’ Season 4 Spoilers: ‘Never Again, Never Trust’ Quote Leads To New Cannibal Terminus Theory

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Do NOT continue reading unless you have watched the season finale of “The Walking Dead.”

“Walking Dead” fans have a lot of questions about the people at Terminus after the Season 4 finale on Sunday. Answers won’t be revealed until Season 5, but the final episode left viewers with a couple of clues as to who the “Termites” might be. One of the big clues left for fans? A quote written on the wall of a room: “NEVER AGAIN, NEVER TRUST. WE FIRST, ALWAYS.”

For those who missed episode 16, “A,” Rick’s gang finally found the Terminus sanctuary after a couple of dangerous days on the road. After dealing with the Governor at Woodbury and Joe’s group of marauders, the survivors were cautious about entering the foreign grounds. Instead of walking through the front gates as Maggie and Glenn’s group did at the end of episode 15, Rick’s crew decided to enter through a back door to scope out the people running the camp.

Rick, Carl, Michonne and Daryl were met by Gareth, who after a patdown and warning about “trying something stupid,” welcomed the survivors into their haven. But Rick quickly realized that not all was what it seemed at Terminus after he discovered some of the residents wearing articles of clothing and accessories that belonged to Maggie, Glenn and Bob. After pulling a gun on Gareth and the other Termites, Rick’s group was forced to run through the Terminus grounds to escape.

The Termites didn’t shoot Rick and the others, though. Instead they used bullets to force Rick, Carl, Michonne and Daryl on a certain route through the camp – like mice through a maze. And it was while running through that route that they came across a room seemingly made into a memorial. The open space was covered in candles with names etched on the floor and personal belongings like stuffed animals and shoes lying beside them. On the wall of the room was the quote: “NEVER AGAIN, NEVER TRUST. WE FIRST, ALWAYS.”

Was the room just a simple way to mourn those that they lost at Terminus? Perhaps. But Rick’s crew also ran past another suspicious area in the Sanctuary – a boneyard.

Could the memorial and boneyard be hinting that the Termites are actually cannibals? It’s definitely a popular theory circulating amongst fans, especially since stuffed animals were left on the floor. “Walking Dead” graphic novel readers will remember that the Hunters (or cannibals) first ate their children before turning to hunt the weak and helpless.

The quote written across the wall makes it seem as if, like the Prison survivors, the Termites have encountered some bad people during the apocalypse. At some point the grounds may have been attacked, similar to the Governor’s attack on the Prison. If that’s true, it’s suspicious that they would still be posting signs and broadcasting a refuge for strangers. But as one of the Termites explained to Michonne, “The more people become a part of us, we get stronger. It’s how we survive.” While it initially seemed like a sincere and hopeful statement, some interpreted it as another hint of cannibalism.

But the suspicious “clues” may not be what they seem. Robert Kirkman dished to TV Guide that “Walking Dead” fans can’t forget that Rick started the fight … even though the Termites were suspicious.

“We only know that they had our people’s stuff and our people in a train car, which does not look good for them,” Kirkman explained of the Termites. “We also have these hardened survivors that were out in the world and they are not out in the world. They have some place of community where they’re living together and surviving. It’s possible that our guys could be the bad guys.”

Do you agree with Kirkman and believe that our survivors may be in the wrong? Or are all clues pointing toward the Terminus residents being cannibals? Let us know your thoughts and theories in the comments section or send a tweet to @AmandaTVScoop.