‘Walking Dead’ Season 5 Spoilers: ‘Star Wars’ Comparison Leads To New Theories About Terminus

After months of waiting, “Walking Dead” fans got their first bite of Season 5 Sunday, July 6. To celebrate the Fourth of July, AMC ran a full series marathon of the hit series during the “Dead White and Blue” weekend. The marathon rounded out on Sunday evening with a special summer episode of “The Talking Dead,” where host Chris Hardwick interviewed “Walking Dead” cast and crew members before airing a special sneak peek look at the highly anticipated fifth season.

During “The Talking Dead” special, Hardwick grilled showrunner Scott Gimple about Terminus and the cannibal rumors. While Gimple did his best to keep spoilers to a minimum, one of his answers sparked some new rumors for fans.

“Walking Dead” viewers will remember Mary, one of the residents of Terminus. Mary was introduced in the final episodes of Season 4 when Glenn and Maggie’s group arrived at the supposed safe haven. The mysterious woman, who was working behind a large grill, offered them food and a safe place to stay. However, fans learned at the end of the season Terminus might not be the sanctuary for which the prison survivors hoped.

The only thing we know for sure about Mary is she lives at Terminus and appears to be their head chef -- although kind of meat she’s cooking on the large grill remains unknown. Scott Gimple gave a little insight to the character during “The Talking Dead,” revealing Mary was created with Luke Skywalker’s Aunt Beru in mind.

For those unfamiliar with “Star Wars,” Aunt Beru raised Luke Skywalker with her husband, Owen Lars. Owen was overprotective of Luke because of his father, Darth Vader. However Aunt Beru always stood up for him and fought for Luke to be able to make his own choices. One of those choices that Aunt Beru and Owen struggled with was the decision to let Luke go to the Imperial Academy to become a stormtrooper.

“That doesn’t mean that Luke is a bad guy,” Gimple explained of Luke Skywalker’s desire to go to the Academy. “He was just going with what he knew … that might say something about Terminus if you could follow me at all.”

While the showrunner’s comparison of Terminus to “Star Wars” was a little difficult to follow, we’ve got a couple of theories on what Scott Gimple might be hinting at in Season 5:

1. Gareth, the leader at Terminus, was immediately made out to be a bad guy because he herded Rick and the other survivors into a train car. But what if Garth only did that to protect the residents of Terminus?

In the past few seasons it has become clear humans are a real threat. It’s definitely possible the Termites had a bad experience letting people in, and the roundup of Rick’s people could just be a precautionary measure. That of course doesn’t explain the reasoning behind the stolen poncho, watch and riot gear.

2. Scott Gimple could be hinting Mary and Gareth have been working together from the start of the zombie apocalypse. Since the pair was only introduced in the final episodes of Season 4, “Walking Dead” fans are not aware of their backstory yet. Mary might be the voice of reason for Gareth, which could help Rick’s group. Or Mary could be the reason why they are all locked up in the train car.

3. The big question for Season 5 of “The Walking Dead” is how Rick and the rest of the survivors will escape the train car. Since they were stripped of all their weapons, things are not looking good. However the group may be able to sway a member of Terminus into setting them free. One resident could just be going with “what they know,” and talking with the prison survivors may shift their attitude on Terminus.

4. Scott Gimple pointed out on “The Talking Dead” Aunt Beru was “barbequed.” Mary might find herself in a similar situation -- especially since she’s the main person handling the grill.

What are your thoughts on Scott Gimple’s comparison of “The Walking Dead” and Terminus to “Star Wars”? Tweet your thoughts and theories to @AmandaTVScoop.