The Walking Dead’s Safest Country Makes It The Exact Opposite Of Another Iconic Zombie Franchise

After a major twist revealing which country is safest after the zombie outbreak, The Walking Dead is now a perfect mirror of the 28 Days Later franchise. Whether in movies or TV, zombie viruses have a nasty habit of spreading uncontrollably across the globe, and that certainly appeared to be the case in The Walking Dead. Across The Walking Dead‘s various shows, more or less the entirety of the United States has been shown, and no area is safe from undead.

This is also true of foreign countries The Walking Dead has visited, including Mexico, France, and Spain, which will be the main setting for Daryl Dixon season 3. Indeed, the Civic Republic Military believed that, as far as it could tell, the entire world had been crushed by The Walking Dead‘s zombie virus. While nowhere is zombie free, however, one location appears to be riding out the apocalypse better than others.

The UK Is Seemingly The Safest Place In The Walking Dead (For Now)

Anarchy Is Apparently NOT In The U.K.

As explained in Daryl Dixon season 2’s ending, the United Kingdom appears to have survived the zombie outbreak, broadly speaking. Beginning their long journey back home from France, Daryl and Carol briefly allied with two survivors from Scotland. According to this married couple, the U.K. government rapidly locked the country down when The Walking Dead‘s virus first hit in 2010, entering a state of martial law. Daryl Dixon takes place over a decade later, meaning the U.K. has been holding on that entire time. While not totally unaffected by the virus, 10 Downing Street represents the only government in The Walking Dead‘s world confirmed to be standing.

Nevertheless, some ambiguity remains over exactly how safe the United Kingdom is in The Walking Dead. Despite what the Scottish survivors claimed, Daryl Dixon season 3’s trailer shows glimpses of the U.K. looking barely any different from the rest of the world, with red buses abandoned on London streets and survivors looking worn and weary. It’s possible that the U.K. is stable, but not quite business as usual. Alternatively, things might have taken a turn for the worse while the married couple from Daryl Dixon were visiting France.

The Walking Dead Is Now The Total Opposite Of 28 Days Later

Alex Garland Seemingly Had Less Faith In The U.K.’s Ability To Cope With Zombies

While some questions still need to be answered, it does seem that The Walking Dead‘s virus covers the entire globe, but the United Kingdom sits in the middle of that chaos relatively unaffected. This is the complete opposite to 28 Days Later. In Danny Boyle’s original 2002 movie, England was the epicenter of the Rage Virus, but other countries seemed largely unaffected after the titular 28 days had passed. Scandinavian planes picked up Jim and his surviving friends in 28 Days Later‘s ending, then the U.S. arrived to provide assistance in 28 Weeks Later.

There is still some debate over whether 28 Days Later is a zombie movie, since those infected with the Rage Virus aren’t technically dead.

That remains the case in forthcoming sequel 28 Years Later. Releasing in 2025, plot details confirm the United Kingdom remains gripped by the Rage Virus, but the rest of the world is fine. This is despite a tease at the end of 28 Weeks Later showing infected storming through Paris. In a perfect flip of The Walking Dead, therefore, the U.K. is a small blob of viral chaos surrounded by relative calm. The comparison is especially fascinating because The Walking Dead and 28 Days Later share some history. Both contributed to the huge zombie boom of the 2000s and 2010s, and both stories started with the protagonist waking up from a coma to be greeted by the post-apocalypse.

One Way The Walking Dead’s Global Situation Is Different Compared To 28 Days Later

The British Haven’t Been Quick To Help In The Walking Dead

Curiously, there is a significant difference in the respective global situations of The Walking Dead and 28 Days Later. In Danny Boyle’s movie, unaffected countries attempted to help the afflicted U.K. by evacuating survivors. 28 Weeks Later then revealed a U.S.-led NATO relief effort had effectively ended the outbreak’s first phase. Even in the upcoming 28 Years Later, NATO retains a presence in the U.K. Evidently, efforts have been made across that 28-year period to help the British through their rage crisis.

The United Kingdom’s conspicuous absence on The Walking Dead‘s global stage is a plot point future releases can address.

Unfortunately, the U.K. has not extended that same courtesy to the rest of the world in The Walking Dead. Despite being in a better position than most states, the United Kingdom simply locked itself away in 2010, even erecting checkpoints inside the Channel Tunnel to keep French survivors out. Across the entirety of The Walking Dead‘s timeline, no representative from the U.K. has ever made contact with the communities in the U.S. and attempted to lend a hand.

The U.K. might be barely clinging on, as suggested by Daryl Dixon season 3’s trailer, and so finds itself in no position to help elsewhere. Maybe the government is simply unwilling to risk lifting the lockdown and reaching out to other countries. Perhaps the Zexit referendum votes are still being counted. Whatever the reason may be, the conspicuous absence of the United Kingdom on The Walking Dead‘s global stage is a plot point future releases can address.