After years of focusing largely on America, The Walking Dead has finally started branching out into other parts of the world, with the franchise revealing more about the outbreak’s global impact. When the original show first started, the story very much revolved around Rick Grimes and a small group of survivors, but as the cast expanded and the narrative got more complicated, the true influence of The Walking Dead‘s zombie virus became clearer. The apocalypse completely decimated the US and forced people to adapt to the new world, creating a plethora of interesting factions and communities in the process.

Alongside changing Rick and his countless allies’ personalities, the new world also produced some more sinister groups, like the Saviors and the Whisperers. Although most of these people were likely pretty peaceful before the apocalypse began, the threat of zombies changed everything. Given the undead seemed to have a similar effect on the entire world, The Walking Dead‘s most prominent settlements are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to exploring the apocalypse. Thankfully, the franchise has begun dropping hints at life outside America in the zombie universe, with one spinoff even taking place in Europe.

8The CRM Believed The Zombie Outbreak Was Completely Global

Nowhere Across The Entire Globe Managed To Avoid The Outbreak According To The CRM

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live‘s CRM revealed a few key details about the rest of the world, with one of the biggest being their belief that the disease was global. The Civic Republic is the largest known community in the entire franchise and, alongside their impressive military, they contain some of the world’s leading scientists. Protecting them has been one of the group’s main priorities, and their research has suggested that the virus has spread worldwide. As a result, they put plans in place for how to best survive, including savagely destroying other communities to take their resources.

If the CRM believed there were unaffected countries, they’d likely have tried to relocate there and begin rebuilding the world. However, the fact that they were adamant that the outbreak was global suggests they had some pretty solid evidence, and their 500-year-plan confirms they have no hope of anywhere else surviving. Although the viewers aren’t privy to all the details about their research and findings, the CRM’s resources seem better than anyone else in the entire franchise, making their concern about the rest of the world a pretty good indicator that the majority of the planet has fallen to zombies.

7The Entirety Of Western Europe Seems To Have Fallen To The Virus

Daryl Dixon Season 1 Confirmed Western Europe’s Biggest Countries Were Impacted By The Outbreak

While the CRM’s theories aren’t direct confirmation that the rest of the world has been impacted, Daryl Dixon season 1 did highlight that Western Europe was heavily damaged by the outbreak. Although the spinoff largely focused on what France looks like over a decade into the apocalypse, one small detail all but confirmed most of the surrounding countries also suffered. Daryl Dixon featured a map of Europe that had several countries marked on it, including Spain, Portugal, England, and Ireland, with a recorded message claiming “Nowhere is safe“, proving that all of these locations were likely overwhelmed by walkers.

With Daryl Dixon season 3 set to take place in Spain, it will seemingly validate this information. It’s unlikely the series would move to a location without zombies, and if Spain is indeed infested with the undead, it proves that the other countries on the map have fallen as well. It can then be presumed that most of the neighboring territories are also filled with walkers, indicating that most of Western Europe is gone. Therefore, Daryl Dixon‘s European reveal helps back up the CRM’s findings, meaning there is little chance of any country completely avoiding the impact of the virus.

6Daryl Dixon Season 2 Suggests Different Countries Have Unique Zombie Types

Pouvoir’s Zombie Experiments Involve Gathering Walkers From America

There have been all types of zombies displayed in The Walking Dead over the years, especially with the recent rise in variants, but Daryl Dixon suggested they were unique depending on their region. Although the details were left fairly limited on this, Genet and Pouvoir needed American zombies rather than French ones for their experiments, indicating there is something significant that sets them apart. World Beyond also hinted that variants started appearing in France well before the US, meaning there has to be some sort of notable genetic difference that makes some zombies more viable than others.

Although this could simply be put down to Genet experimenting on so many French walkers, it wouldn’t explain why she is traveling all the way to America, rather than countries closer by. While this could be a detail that The Walking Dead never confirms, it’s a crucial reveal that makes other locations outside of America feel far more interesting. Hopefully, the franchise offers more clarity on exactly why French and European zombies are different from American ones, but even if it doesn’t, Daryl Dixon has made it clear that the undead are distinct in each part of the world.

5The Ones Who Live Revealed That The CRM Have Spies All Over The World

The Walking Dead’s Biggest Faction Isn’t Just Confined To The US

The Ones Who Live showed how devastating the CRM’s influence in America was before they were liberated, but they also have a worldwide presence. During Rick’s meeting with Major General Beale, the villain mentioned that the CRM had spies all over the world. Although Philadelphia appeared to be their main base of operations, they also had allied communities in Portland and Omaha, but their worldwide impact means there could be more large Civic Republic communities out there.

Soldiers could still show up in Daryl Dixon , be it in France, Spain, or another location.

Even if it is a small group of spies scattered across different countries, they were likely spreading the CRM’s dangerous message from before Rick and Michonne ended their villainous reign. Knowing there are still CRM spies across the globe makes The Walking Dead‘s larger world more interesting, as it is unclear exactly how deep their mission went. Soldiers could still show up in Daryl Dixon, be it in France, Spain, or another location. Additionally, if the series continues to focus on other international locations, we could see CRM personnel show up where they are least expected, highlighting their global influence.

4The Zombie Outbreak Almost Certainly Began In France

Some Key Pieces Of Evidence Point Toward France As The Source Of The Outbreak

For years, the origins of the zombie virus remained one of The Walking Dead‘s biggest mysteries, and while many facts are still unknown about how the apocalypse began, its location has supposedly been revealed. During World Beyond‘s post-credits scene, Dr. Jenner from The Walking Dead‘s first season appeared via a recorded video message, talking about his research to a French scientist. While this video alone revealed some interesting information, it was the unnamed character watching it whose conversation heavily implied the outbreak first started in France.

She was approached by a man with a gun, who questioned why she was there. The duo’s conversation revealed that there were numerous teams of scientists working on some experiments that seemed to spark the outbreak. It appeared to be a multinational effort as some of the team were traveling to America when the outbreak happened, but with the man accusing the scientist of “starting this” alongside the French writing that translates to “The dead are born here“, it can be assumed that France is the unwanted home of The Walking Dead‘s zombie virus.

3Variant Zombies Also Seem To Have Originated In France

French Scientists Allegedly Made The Virus Worse

France’s role in the apocalypse doesn’t stop at creating the virus, as the country also seems to be where variants originated from. Once again, it was World Beyond‘s post-credits scene that hinted at variants first showing up in the European country, as Dr. Jenner claimed America hadn’t seen any signs of the variant cohorts reported by France. Daryl Dixon followed up on this by showing Genet and Pouvoir experimenting on zombies to create a new virus that could turn zombies and people into mutated versions of the undead.

As a result, it seems like in an attempt to reverse the damage they’d done, French scientists wound up creating even more deadly zombies. How Genet and her scientists got their hands on this knowledge is unclear but given she has frequently used variants to her advantage, knowledge about the virus and its mutations is clearly most prominent in France. With France also being the home of the outbreak, it isn’t too surprising that variants were created there as well, but Daryl Dixon and World Beyond have helped confirm this, giving us more insight into the rest of the world.

2Daryl Dixon Season 2 Confirms Zombies Exist Even In Remote Areas Of Greenland

Greenland Being Overrun By Zombies Highlights Just How Far The Virus Has Spread

Alongside putting a spotlight on France, Daryl Dixon showed how badly the outbreak impacted Greenland, and it was just as catastrophic as everywhere else. Although Carol and Ash were able to safely land their plane, they were quickly attacked by walkers, confirming the virus made its way to even the world’s most remote locations. Despite being a pretty isolated country, the disease was still able to devastate Greenland and had a pretty substantial effect, as the spinoff showed only two survivors were still in the area.

The Walking Dead Spin-Offs

Title
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

The Ones Who Live
88%
82%

Daryl Dixon
72%
60%

World Beyond
46%
32%

Dead City

Fear The Walking Dead
73%
58%

Tales of The Walking Dead
74%
55%

While this was only a small part of a rather large country, the two natives claimed Carol and Ash were the first people they’d seen in years, indicating that the apocalypse had wiped out most of the population. Although it’s fascinating to hear about other countries in The Walking Dead, seeing how they’ve adapted to the outbreak firsthand will always be more interesting. Therefore, the Greenland reveal was not only another example of a country being destroyed by the virus, but the remote location continues to support the theory that nowhere went unscathed.

1Most Of France Is Controlled By Genet’s Pouvoir Du Vivant Group

France Is Controlled Largely By One Faction, Unlike America

Genet and Pouvoir Du Vivant are Daryl Dixon‘s main villains, and the spinoff has revealed that they rule France. While there are resistance groups like L’Union and a few other communities, Pouvoir is the dominant force in the country and has almost complete control. Most of the surviving population follows Genet’s orders in exchange for resources and protection, making her a strong yet ruthless leader. Her ideologies and methods are often flawed, but it’s hard to argue they aren’t effective given how much power her group has.

Genet seems to know about most major events happening in France, making her one of the most fearsome leaders the franchise has ever seen.

Naturally, they still have weaknesses and, with Daryl helping fight against Pouvoir, the antagonists have faced plenty of problems. Still, Genet seems to know about most major events happening in France, making her one of the most fearsome leaders the franchise has ever seen. Whether her control spirals into other countries or not is yet to be seen, but as for now, Daryl Dixon‘s antagonist group remains the most influential faction in France and could be a problem elsewhere if they choose to expand.