The gripping series follows a group of high school students as they attempt to survive a zombie apocalypse at their school following the outbreak of a virus, which was created by a science teacher at the school (Byeong-chan, played by Kim Byeong-cheol).
The teacher injected his son (who was bullied at the school) with the virus in a bid to help him stand up to the bullies after seeing the emboldening effect it had on lab mice.
Amid the inevitable hell that breaks loose in the aftermath and the gory zombie-slaying galore, All of Us Are Dead is essentially a story about the living—who we are and what we can become. Viewers are left to question: “Can we believe humans are still beautiful after seeing them turn into the absolute worst beings?,” as noted by the science teacher.
“There is no longer any hope to be seen…even if we can conquer this virus, a world in which humanity rules will never return,” the teacher warned.
As the zombie outbreak consumes the city of Hyosan, a martial law ruling is established and the military government later orders a mass bombing over the city in a bid to stop the virus from spreading further.
The surviving students managed to escape the school and dodge obliteration from the bombing. They’re later transported to a quarantine camp for survivors, marking the end of their epic journey to survival.
But several mysteries remain following the dramatic finale of the series. Here we unpack the unanswered questions in All of Us Are Dead.
Where Are the Bullied Girl and Other Captured Zombies?
Eun-ji (the bullied girl who later gets infected, played by Oh Hye-soo) is last seen in captivity at a lab after she kills her school friend at a quarantine camp for survivors. Both students were taken to the camp after being discovered separately by a military rescue team.
The bullied girl (who despite being infected appeared to still be alive) was strapped down to a bed and held in the government’s lab facilities after she was seen annihilating her friend to satisfy her zombie hunger.
Eun-ji, as well as a soldier who was infected during a rescue operation, were last seen in the lab when officials conducted tests to determine what sound frequency is most sensitive for zombies. Both of their beds were later seen empty, with their rooms being cleared by lab officials after the bombing.
It’s also unclear what exactly happened to the science teacher’s son and wife (who were infected and kept chained down in a room) after they were both retrieved by government officials.
In one of his videos, the teacher revealed “there is only one solution—death” to combat the virus. “Completely burning and killing the host so that not a single cell remains. The moment we are consumed by the arrogance that we can defeat the virus, mankind will become extinct,” the teacher warned in the video.
In the final episode, government officials found the teacher’s son and wife in the room from where he recorded his videos. When one official asked in what state the pair are, his colleague said they’re on the brink of dying from starvation. Does this mean the zombies could also potentially be killed if they are starved to death?
The government official ordered the teacher’s infected son and wife be “carefully transported” and to “not lose or damage them.”
Where are these two zombies (and potentially Eun-ji as well as the soldier) being kept and what is being done with them?
Why Are Some Zombies Immune or Immortal?
The show revealed that among the zombies, there are “mutant zombies,” as described by series director J.Q. Lee, including the immune (such as Nam-ra, played by Cho Yi-hyun), who exhibit zombie-like qualities (such as an unbearable hunger for blood) but will not turn into zombies.
The other mutant zombie is the immortal kind (such as Eun-ji and Gwi-nam, the villain character who bullied Eun-ji before the outbreak, played by Yoo In-soo).
Immortal zombies are still alive (as they continue to produce a heartbeat) and retain other human qualities (such as their unrelenting drive for revenge, as played out in the series). But they’re also very much zombies in their unquenchable thirst for blood.
But it’s unknown what causes some to become immune or immortal and why these mutant zombies appear to have supernatural qualities, as seen in Nam-ra (who has an extremely sharp sense of hearing, able to detect noises that are inaudible to others).
Nam-ra as well as Gwi-nam and Eun-ji also demonstrate superhuman-like physical strength, as seen in many of the zombie-fighting scenes.
Did Cheong-san and Gwi-nam Really Die?
Cheong-san (played Yoon Chan-young), who comes to a dramatic face-off with Gwi-nam inside the school while the city is being bombed, appears to attempt to pull himself and Gwi-nam away from the giant blaze from the bombing.
The fire appeared to back them towards what looked like a shaft, where Cheong-san had previously lured other zombies to their death while he clung to the wall at the time.
While it was implied that Cheong-san had died from the bombing, could he have somehow managed to survive this blaze and clung to the wall of the shaft?
Since Gwi-nam is an immortal zombie, could he still be alive somewhere in some form? The back of the white jacket worn by Gwi-nam (which the series’ director said was actually a feature from the original Korean webtoon on which the show is based) reads 한마음 (“hahn ma eum”) in Korean.
This phrase translates to “one heart,” referring to unison or a united front. Could this be symbolic of Gwi-nam perhaps joining or leading an army of other zombies in later episodes?
What Else Was in the Science Teacher’s Laptop Footage?
The last video made by the science teacher is revealed in the scene where the military leader (who ordered the city bombing) records a video message before taking his own life.
The footage showed the teacher could not manage to set fire to his own son and wife, despite knowing complete obliteration was the only solution for ending the outbreak.
But what else could have been unveiled by the teacher in the laptop videos? Is there any key information about the virus or the zombies that military officials have seen in the footage but have yet to disclose?
Could On-jo Have Been Exposed to the Virus?
During a scene back at the school, On-jo (played by Park Ji-hu) and another student head to the science lab to gather materials to create a drone to scope out the state of the building and school grounds. While at the lab, a tiny white mouse (which was what caused the outbreak at the school after it bit the first student victim) is seen dangerously close to On-jo, climbing onto her shoe and sock before the scene cuts away. Could On-jo have been bitten but just unaware of it?
Later in the series, more than four months after the zombie outbreak began, the martial law ruling over Hyosan comes to an end but the city’s surviving residents are kept at the quarantine camp (where On-jo and her friends remain). Their release was opposed by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency due to it being impossible to know the incubation period of the virus, the agency said.
Does this mean there’s still a chance that if On-jo was infected by that mouse, she could turn into a zombie later down the line?
Are There More Mutant Zombies Out There?
The end of the series saw Nam-ra disappear from her friends while running through the streets of Hyosan after they escaped the school. Nam-ra remains missing while the students are taken to the quarantine camp.
The students later return to the rooftop of the school to find Nam-ra, who revealed she’d come across others who are like her. She said: “Some already fled outside the school but there are still a few left.”
In one of his videos, the science teacher said the virus is “an ever-changing monster with a thousand different faces,” transforming and evolving on its own.
The dramatic final words in the last scene of the series finale—“They’re back,” spoken by Nam-ra before she mysteriously jumps off the rooftop—suggests there certainly are other zombies out there who were not killed by the bombing. Could some of these remaining zombies also be new mutants?
If On-jo has been infected by the mouse and turns into a zombie at a later stage, could she be yet another type of mutant zombie?
As the science teacher said in one of his videos, “Science begins with imagination and ends as a mystery.”
But hopefully the answers to the above, and several other burning questions, will be revealed in a second (and possibly even a third) season of the show.
