Themes: Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a literary technique that is a recurring theme in The Walking Dead. It is when an event that has yet to happen is referenced, usually in a way only the reader/viewer can pick up on.

Occurrences

Comic Series

• While Andrea and Dale were hunting in the woods, Andrea jokingly says that she would eat Dale if she could get away with it. This foreshadows that Dale is later going to be eaten by the Hunters. _{(Comic Series)}
• Tyreese tells Rick about how he saved his daughter Julie from being raped by killing the assailant. In Issue 57, Rick saves Carl from being raped by killing the assailant as well. _{(Issue 7)}
• Chris and Julie constantly talk about wanting to "do something" together, foreshadowing their suicide pact. _{(Comic Series)}
• Andrea says that it's good to practice shooting in case they're attacked by another group of survivors in the future, foreshadowing that the prison will be attacked by Woodbury. _{(Comic Series)}
• Rick tells Dexter that he will beat him to death if he finds out he killed Rachel and Susie. When Thomas is revealed to be the killer in the next issue, Rick almost beats him to death. _{(Issue 16)}
• Dale tells Rick he might not be able to use his right hand again after he broke it beating Thomas. This foreshadows the Governor cutting his right hand off. _{(Issue 18)}
• Dale wonders what would happen if an organized group attacked the prison, foreshadowing the Governor attacking the prison in Volume 8: Made To Suffer. _{(Issue 18)}
• While at the National Guard Station, Andrea spots a tank and wonders if anyone knows how to drive it. In Issue 42, the Governor attacks the prison with a tank. _{(Issue 38)}
• Hershel Greene says that he thinks he may have seen his daughter Maggie for the last time after she leaves the prison after the initial attack, foreshadowing that he will die in the assault. _{(Issue 45)}
• Dale tells Andrea how weird it is that they haven't run across a single roamer the day Ben killed Billy. In the very next issue, Dale is bitten by a zombie. _{(Issue 61)}
• Douglas tells Rick how he was horrified about reading a story of a man sucking out his son's eyes.  This foreshadows Douglas accidentally shooting out Rick's son's right eye. _{(Issue 70)}
• Rick tells people not to get a gun from the armory if they're not comfortable with one, as they don't need accidents. This foreshadows Carl getting accidentally shot in the eye by Douglas. _{(Issue 80)}
• Maggie isn't sure if it's safe to travel to the Hilltop, as the Saviors could be out there watching them, foreshadowing the group getting captured on the road by the Saviors and Glenn getting killed in the next issue. _{(Issue 99)}
• Spencer Monroe was seen praying in the church for "The strength to do what must be done." This was foreshadowing Spencer betraying Rick Grimes by pleading with Negan to kill Rick and make himself the new leader of the Alexandria Safe-Zone. _{(Issue 108)}
• While fighting off roamers Negan says that no one gets bit by them anymore. That very same issue, Andrea gets bit. _{(Issue 165)}
• Negan mentions that Sherry is an opportunist. This foreshadows Sherry's plan to take over the joint communities after the Whisperer War is over. _{(Issue 158)}
• Dwight likens Pamela Milton to Negan while he holds her at gunpoint. At the end of Issue 190, Pamela orders her forces to attack Rick in a strikingly similar manner to Negan ordering the Saviors to attack in Issue 119. _{(Issue 186)}
• Pamela tells Sebastian be quiet when he opposes her incarceration, unless he wants to end up in a cell next to her. In the following issue, Sebastian is arrested and imprisoned for the rest of his life for murdering Rick Grimes. _{(Issue 191)}

TV Series

• Glenn Rhee explains to Rick Grimes that he saved him because someone may do the same for him. Ultimately, it is Rick who does this when Glenn and Maggie Greene are taken to Woodbury. _{(Days Gone Bye, When the Dead Come Knocking)}
• Jim digs multiple graves near the Atlanta camp before a walker attack claims several camp survivors due to a dream he couldn't remember. After the camp attack, he finally remembers why he did it. _(Vatos)
• When Rick tells Dr. Edwin Jenner that he is grateful after he opens the doors of the Center for Disease Control to release the group, he tells Rick "the day will come when you won't be", foreshadowing all the horrible events to come. _(TS-19)
• When Lori is talking with Hershel Greene about their children, Hershel tells her that she should be grateful she doesn't have a daughter because they are a handful. Lori does end up having a daughter. _{(Secrets, Killer Within)}
• After arriving on the farm, while talking about Sophia Peletier, Andrea believes they won't be able to find her alive, to which Daryl Dixon replies saying, "It's not mountains of Tibet, it's Georgia. She can be hold off in a farm house.". Indeed, Sophia is later found in the barn on Hershel's farm. _{(Save the Last One, Pretty Much Dead Already)}
• Rick explains to his son Carl that people, in particular Rick and Lori, will die and there is no way he can ever be ready for it, foreshadowing Lori's death.  _{(Better Angels, Killer Within)}
• When Dale Horvath warns Lori about Shane and his belief that Shane murdered Otis, he says that sooner or later, Shane will kill someone else. 4 episodes later, Shane kills Randall and attempts to murder Rick. _{(Nebraska, Better Angels)}
• After Shane breaks the window at the public works station during his fight with Rick, the reflection of Shane's battered face in the window he breaks seems to make him resemble a walker, foreshadowing his death and reanimation 2 episodes later. _{(18 Miles Out, Better Angels)}
• Morgan telling Rick that his son Carl will die, foreshadowing Carl's death. _{(Clear, Honor)}
• Merle Dixon proposes an idea to take the the prison and move Woodbury there. After the fall of the Governor, Rick takes in all the Woodbury citizens. _{(Hounded, Welcome to the Tombs)}
• Merle also tells Hershel Greene that when The Governor returns to the prison, he's going to kill Merle first. Then 4 episodes later, Merle is killed by The Governor during his one-man army mission to kill The Governor. _{(I Ain't a Judas, This Sorrowful Life)}
• Glenn cuts off a walker's pinky and ring finger in order to take the ring off of the walker's hand. Later in the episode, The Governor bites off Merle's pinky and ring finger. ^{(This Sorrowful Life)}
• Caesar Martinez tells Daryl that the Governor and Rick will not work anything out. _{(Arrow on the Doorpost)}
• When Rick and Clara are wandering the woods together, they pass a dead beetle being swarmed by ants, in a fashion similar to the way that the prison was swarmed by walkers. _{(30 Days Without An Accident, Too Far Gone)}
• Beth Greene tells Daryl she is glad that she didn't say goodbye to her boyfriend Zach and that she hates saying goodbye. Later, she doesn't get to say goodbye to her father Hershel. _{(30 Days Without An Accident, Too Far Gone)}
• When Philip Blake, Martinez, Pete Dolgen, and Mitch Dolgen are out on a run, they come across mutilated bodies with signs hanging on them informing of their crimes. One body is decapitated with the word "Liar" written on its sign, foreshadowing Hershel's death in the same manner in the following episode and what the Governor says before committing the deed. _{(Dead Weight, Too Far Gone)}
• Michonne threatens to kill the Governor while she and Hershel are held hostage. Later, she mortally wounds the Governor by stabbing him through the chest while he is strangling Rick. _{(Too Far Gone)}
• Lizzie Samuels' death and Mary's evil secret were both foreshadowed in paintings found by Michonne: one of flowers, hinting at Lizzie's death when Carol tells her to look at the flowers; the other of a woman who bore a very high resemblance to Mary but with her eyes scratched and crossed out. _{(Claimed, The Grove, A)}
• Daryl tells Beth that she would never see Maggie again, foreshadowing her death before she could reunite with Maggie. _{(Still, Coda)}
• Beth says to Daryl he'll miss her when she's gone, hinting at her later disappearance and subsequent death. _{(Still, Alone, Coda, Them)}
• Rick demonstrates a cone-shaped trap he set for rodents. At the end of the episode, Rick's group is trapped in Terminus. _(A)
• Martin tells Tyreese that he is a good person and that is why he will die. Tyreese later dies, and a hallucination of Martin reminds him of what he said. _{(No Sanctuary, What Happened and What's Going On)}
• Rick tells Gareth what weapons he buried in the duffel bag, saying that inside is a red-handled machete, which he will use to kill him with. Later, Rick kills Gareth by hacking him multiple times with the red-handled machete. _{(No Sanctuary, Four Walls and a Roof)}
• Shortly before his death, Bob Lamson warns Rick that someone is going to die when he tries to negotiate with Dawn Lerner to exchange two of Dawn's men for Carol Peletier and Beth. Later in the episode, both Dawn and Beth die as a result of the negotiations gone wrong. _(Coda)
• Dawn states "One of yours for one of mine" during the negotiation between her and Rick. Soon afterwards a member of both factions die as Beth and Dawn are both shot in the head. _(Coda)
• While the group is making their way to Shirewilt Estates, Tyreese is the only one to glance at a skeleton on the ground, foreshadowing his immediate death. _{(What Happened and What's Going On)}
• As the supply runners enter Aiden's van, the song "Internet Friends" by Knife Party plays and the lyric "Now, you're going to die" can be heard. Both Aiden and Noah are devoured by walkers in this episode when a herd shows up during a supply run. _(Spend)
• Michonne asks Heath if he has ever been covered in so much blood, that he didn't know if it was his blood, or his friends', or walkers'. This foreshadows what happened to Glenn later in the episode, who was covered in so much blood, he didn't know if it was his, Nicholas' or walker's blood. _{(Thank You)}
• Carol tells Sam that if Sam tells his family about Carol sneaking into their house then he will end up being devoured due to fear, which eventually happens in No Way Out. Also, at the start of Start to Finish, ants are seen swarming a cookie on a plate, foreshadowing all of the Anderson Family being swarmed during No Way Out. _{(No Way Out)}
• After the Lead Savior and his group are blown up, the Lead Savior is decapitated and one side of his face is significantly more burned than the other, possibly foreshadowing Dwight's fate. _{(No Way Out)}
• Glenn finds pictures of smashed in heads in The Saviors' compound, fitting the M.O. of their yet to be introduced leader, who later in "Last Day on Earth" kills Abraham with Lucille and later Glenn himself in "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be". _{(Not Tomorrow Yet, Last Day on Earth, The Day Will Come When You Won't Be)}
• After Dwight and the small group of Saviors that he leads kill Denise and hold Eugene, Daryl and Rosita at gunpoint, Eugene, who thinks of an escape plan from their captors, says that if Dwight is going to kill someone else, then he can start with Abraham who is hiding behind the nearby oil barrels. This foreshadows Abraham being the next member of Rick's group to be killed by the Saviors (particularly their leader Negan) only a few episodes later. _{(Twice as Far, Last Day on Earth, The Day Will Come When You Won't Be)}
• Rick is told by a Savior that the current day could be the last day on earth for him or a member of his group. Abraham and Glenn would soon experience that day as their last. _{(Last Day on Earth, The Day Will Come When You Won't Be)}
• Spencer goes into the woods on his own and, to get a bow and arrow from a tree, cuts down a walker that is hanging from the tree next to the bow and arrow and the walker has its guts hanging out. Later, in the following episode, after Spencer tries to convince Negan to kill Rick so that Spencer can take charge of Alexandria, Negan, disgusted by Spencer's cowardice, disembowels Spencer with his knife. _{(Sing Me a Song, Hearts Still Beating)}
• Richard digs a grave close to a drop-off point between the Saviors and the Kingdom intended for himself. Richard's plan was to lighten the load of the current supplies required and have himself executed as it was promised he would die if discrepancies occurred, all in order to spark an all-out-war between the two groups. Despite being killed under different circumstances, Richard is still buried in the grave he dug for himself. _{(Bury Me Here)}
• A dying Savior gloats to Rick that Carl will die as a result of going to war with Negan. Carl is later bitten on the abdomen by a walker. _{(Mercy, How It's Gotta Be)}
• In Carl's dream of a better future, Negan is seen to be close to Judith Grimes. Six years after Rick's apparent death, the two do in fact have a close relationship to the point that Negan risks his life during a dangerous blizzard to rescue Judith. _{(Honor, Who Are You Now?-The Storm)}
• While exploring the Smithsonian Museum, the group sees a walker go over a balcony and land on a rebar, penetrating the side of its stomach. Rick ends up in the same position after being thrown off his horse. _{(A New Beginning), (The Obliged)}
• Jed ambushes Carol and Rick by pretending to be a walker, in order to get Carol to holster her gun and use her knife instead. This possibly foreshadows the Whisperers, who also pretend to be walkers and camouflage themselves in herds. _{(Warning Signs)}
• Alpha decapitates Helen, possibly foreshadowing the events of "The Calm Before". _(Guardians)
• The Whisperers are seen keeping walker skins on the pikes. This foreshadows the massacre made by Alpha at the fair. _{(The Calm Before)}
• After Ezekiel, Carol, and their entourage retrieve the bulb from the Royal cinema, a symbol of a group known as the Highwaymen can be seen on a post. _(Bounty)
• Daryl and Michonne's scars seen throughout season 9 are revealed in the episode "Scars." _{(Season 9)}
• Alpha predicts to Daryl that there is a hard winter coming. Later, at the pikes where the decapitated heads were displayed, snow flurries come down as Daryl and Lydia leave, foreshadowing the massive blizzard to come and the fact that the Kingdommers have to cross through that exact spot to survive. _{(The Calm Before, The Storm)}

Fear The Walking Dead

• Madison Clark finds Art Costa sitting in a chair bent over and unresponsive before learning that he is merely distracted. _(Pilot) This is similar to how walkers are sometimes found and foreshadows Art becoming a walker. _{(So Close, Yet So Far)}
• While talking with his father about Brandon's Group planning to kill James, Chris states that they've known James since he was around six years old and are still planning to do it. "Imagine what they'll do to me if anything happens, Dad," Chris comments. _{(Date of Death)} In the very next episode, it's revealed that Brandon Luke killed Chris after he broke his leg in a car crash. He also uses the weapon he killed James with. _(Wrath)
• When en route to Austin, Wendell asks Jim how is he the only one "without a scratch" and the former brushes it off as him being "good". In the same episode Jim is bitten on the back by a walker. _{(MM 54)}
• Al comments that Martha ran her SWAT van without coolant and fills the vehicle with anti-freeze. This foreshadows the later revelation that Martha has poisoned everyone through the tampered water bottles with anti-freeze. _{(... I Lose Myself)}

Webisodes

• As Hannah runs through the neighborhood looking for her children, a bicycle can be seen at the side of the road, referencing her eventual fate as the bicycle walker. _{(A New Day)}

Video Game

• While driving Lee Everett to prison, a police officer tells him, "People will give up and go mad when they believe their life is over.", foreshadowing the chaos that is to come. _{(A New Day)}
• Shawn Greene argues with his father about repairing the fence, foreshadowing that it will break. _{(A New Day)}
• Hershel tells Lee that he will have to depend on the honesty of strangers. _{(A New Day)}
• To motivate Mark to boost his work on the fence, Larry mentions some coins and considers giving them to Mark. These coins are later used to help the group to escape the meat locker. _{(Starved For Help)}
• When speaking to Kenny while pushing Duck on the swing, Kenny will ask you if you're on his side. If you respond "I'm not choosing sides", Kenny will say "That time is coming", foreshadowing that Lee will have to choose sides in the future. _{(Starved For Help)}
• Mark foreshadows his own fate before stepping foot on St. John's Dairy Farm. _{(Starved For Help)}
• Mark foreshadows Larry's fate in the meat locker. _{(Starved For Help)}
• After Larry's death, Lee can say that Kenny talks a big game but could he have done it if it were Katjaa or Duck. Kenny says that it would never happen. This foreshadows that either one of them would have to put Duck down in the next episode. _{(Starved For Help)}
• Jolene mentions that with the St. John's Dairy Farm operating, Clementine has nothing to fear from bandits. This is foreshadowing that the bandits will be a problem for the survivors in the future. _{(Starved For Help)}
• Katjaa says she loves Duck more than life itself, which foreshadows her suicide due to her son's death. _{(Long Road Ahead)}
• Ben Paul tells Lee that he will "punch his own ticket" if a walker gets a hold of him, foreshadowing him bring grabbed by a walker and his attempt of suicide. _{(Long Road Ahead)}
• Christa says that Kenny is "on the edge" and that she is afraid of being there when he "falls over" since she cares about his relationship with Lee. This foreshadows that Kenny and Lee's relationship will be tested once more. _{(Around Every Corner)}
• When interrogating Clementine about the radio, Christa explains to Clementine that the man on the radio does not want to help her find her parents. This foreshadows that his true intentions will be revealed. _{(Around Every Corner)}
• Ben says that he has a bad feeling about the group's raid on Crawford, foreshadowing that night's events and his possible death. _{(Around Every Corner)}
• Molly says to take care of Clementine as she leaves the mansion, foreshadowing that Lee will lose her the next morning. _{(Around Every Corner)}
• If Lee takes Clementine to Crawford, he can say to her that he will teach her things like in school. This foreshadows how he teaches her how to get out of the jewellery store which is symbolically the classroom. _{(Around Every Corner)}
• Lee can comment on a rat he sees in the sewers and how he hopes to not die due to a "god awful disease", foreshadowing him being bitten by a walker and dying from the infection. _{(Around Every Corner)}
• During the stand in the mansion, Kenny asks everyone how many bullets they have left. Lee says five, Ben says two (Determinant) and Christa says four. The numbers are the numbers of chapters that character had left in the game; Ben dying in two chapters, Lee within five and Christa and Omid becoming separated in four. Interestingly, Kenny is the only one to not state his bullet count, likely due to his departing chapter differing depending on players choices. _{(No Time Left)}
• If Clementine states that she's never shot a rifle, Peter Joseph Randall tells her that the gun's recoil "would probably knock you on your ass." This foreshadows the instance during the walker attack at the Moonstar Lodge as Clementine grabs a hunting rifle that Carlos dropped and attempts to shoot it, with the force of the gun sending Clementine to the ground. _{(All That Remains)}
• When talking to Clementine, Luke says that family is important and is something that a man would travel miles for. This foreshadows William Carver coming and reclaiming the group, particularly Rebecca, who may be carrying his child. _{(A House Divided)}
• When alone with Clementine in the cabin, Carver notes how the white King on a chessboard is three moves from defeat, foreshadowing his own defeat in the next episode. _{(A House Divided)}
• When the group are sitting around the campfire, Luke and Bonnie have hazard signs around them, foreshadowing Luke's, and possibly Bonnie's, death the next day. _{(No Going Back)}
• When talking to Kenny about Jane's attitude towards him, he tells Clementine that "It feels like another Lilly situation to me." Later on, Clementine will have to make a choice between siding with Kenny or Jane, much like how Lee had to make a choice between siding with Kenny or Lilly in Starved For Help. _{(No Going Back)}
• Marlon sneaks up behind AJ and puts a hand on his shoulder, resulting in AJ elbowing him in the groin. This foreshadows Marlon's death at the end of the episode, with AJ sneaking behind him and shooting him in the head. _{(Done Running)}
• Violet says she wishes Louis' mouth would cease, this can actually happen to Louis in "Broken Toys" where he gets his tongue cut out and is unable to talk if he was taken in "Suffer The Children. _{(Done Running)}
• If Clementine went alone at the end of Season 2, she will lose one of her fingers. Louis can take notice of her missing fingers if you went with him in "Suffer The Children" and if you choose to save him at the end of the episode, then he can lose his fingers in the next episode. _{(Suffer The Children)}
• Violet says she would "give an eye for a chicken nugget". She can later become blind in her right eye in "Take Us Back" if she was captured by the Delta. _{(Suffer The Children)}

Social Game

Coming

Survival Instinct

• During the cutscene after the first mission, Jess says that Merle isn't right, which foreshadows that he will go back to the bar to retrieve his medicine stash and kill the gang members which Daryl says to Merle that Jess was right about him.

Novel Series

• Tyreese foreshadowed the Governor's death by saying to him and Lilly Caul that Brian will "die by their own swords."