After eight seasons, AMC has finally confirmed how much time has passed since the apocalypse began on The Walking Dead.
The somewhat-convoluted timeline has been a frequent topic of discussion, because inconsistencies like Judith’s aging and Maggie’s extended pregnancy have left fans baffled. For anyone who’s ever lost sleep over the issue, the cable network has now revealed how many days have elapsed between the season premiere and Rick Grimes emerging from Jadis’ shipping container in Season 8.
Day 0 of the apocalypse vs Day 632. #TWD pic.twitter.com/rpDgwvbcgr
— The Walking Dead AMC (@WalkingDead_AMC) September 11, 2018
According to The Walking Dead‘s official Twitter, only 632 days have passed since the zombie apocalypse began and the tail-end of Season 8. Admittedly, Rick’s trip to Jadis’ scrapyard didn’t occur in the Season 8 finale, but the difference is likely only negligible. Over the years, there have been several unofficial timelines that have tried to make sense of The Walking Dead, and most have guessed much longer than two years have elapsed since the pilot.
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Doing some rough math, 632 days mean that about a year passed before Lori’s death in Season 3, and that seasons 4 to 8 took place in the space of less than a year. It would certainly make sense for why Maggie Rhee seems to have been pregnant for an eternity.
In response to the news, viewers were quick to point out flaws in the timeline and one of the first questioned asked was whether we’re supposed to believe Carl Grimes only aged two years. Considering Chandler Riggs joined The Walking Dead at age 10 and left at 18, AMC is telling fans to use a lot of imagination with this one.
The official timeline also means that Rick’s coma, the fall of the prison/Woodbury, the establishing of Alexandria and the entire “All Out War” storyline took place in just two years.
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Admittedly, the TV timeline doesn’t necessarily apply to the comic book source material. Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s iteration of The Walking Dead is currently in a slightly further future, and dealing with a new order known as the Commonwealth. Season 9 of The Walking Dead is confirmed to have a time jump ahead of the season premiere, and at around a year and a half, it means that the events of the entire show will have nearly passed again.
With Season 9 of The Walking Dead pushing toward a soft reboot of the series by picking up after a time jump, and waving goodbye to longstanding cast members like Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohen, a complicated timeline will probably be forgotten as incoming showrunner Angela Kang ushers in a new era of The Walking Dead.
The Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Alanna Masterson, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The series returns on October 9 for its ninth season on AMC at 9 pm ET/PT.