Tales of the Walking Dead episode 4 is set far into the zombie apocalypse's future, but when does Dr. Everett and Amy's story take place?
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How far into the zombie apocalypse's future is Tales of the Walking Dead episode 4 set? When The Walking Dead premiered in 2010, the zombie apocalypse represented new territory for survivors and audiences alike, as Rick Grimes and co. were forced to adjust in a scary new world. Twelve years later, The Walking Dead season 11's landscape is entirely different. Over a decade has passed since the outbreak began, and communities like the Civic Republic and Commonwealth have all resumed some semblance of normal life. Alongside Walking Dead: World Beyond season 2, The Walking Dead season 11 has been the tip of AMC's zombie apocalypse timeline thus far.

Tales of the Walking Dead episode 4 takes place in an era when zombies occupy the Dead Sector - a massive chunk of land surrounded by a gorge 40ft deep. The dead (homo mortus) are studied by Anthony Edwards' Dr. Everett, who's more comfortable hanging around the dead than the living. Everett comes across Amy, a young woman who crossed into the Dead Sector from outside and reveals things are so bad beyond the trench, humans now want to repopulate the zombies' land. Tales of the Walking Dead is deliberately vague about when episode 4 is taking place, but clues can thankfully be found elsewhere...

Tales of the Walking Dead episode 4's official synopsis confirms Dr. Everett has been in isolation for approximately a decade, which suggests that's roughly how long the Dead Sector has been up and running. As for how much time has passed since the zombie apocalypse actually began, the answer can potentially be found in an interview with Tales of the Walking Dead showrunner Channing Powell, who described an episode "tentatively 35 years into the future." That promise certainly doesn't apply to Tales of the Walking Dead episodes 1-3, and while one of the final two installments may contain a futuristic surprise, it seems more likely that Powell was talking about "Amy/Dr. Everett."

Will The Dead Sector Appear In A Future Walking Dead Show?

If Tales of the Walking Dead episode 4 takes place 35 years out from Z-day, and Dr. Everett has been in isolation for 10 of those, the Dead Sector must be formed around 25 years after Rick Grimes awakens from his coma. The Walking Dead season 11 is set around a decade into the outbreak, so we're still 15 years out from Dead Sector safety. Given the scale of the "man-made" trench that surrounds the undead's zone, however, construction would've taken a good long time. The operation also would've required a massive, coordinated operation...

The timing and scale of the Dead Sector will inevitably trigger speculation that the Civic Republic Military is responsible. The Walking Dead's most powerful community has the explosives necessary to blow open a trench, the sonic weapons needed to herd a large amount of zombies into one area, and their tracking technology (seen in The Walking Dead: World Beyond) is almost identical to Dr. Everett's. If the CRM is the group responsible for the Dead Sector, that would also explain why Amy claims things are worse outside the trench, since the villains are hardly likely to be fair and just rulers of human society.

The Walking Dead's Civic Republic Military carving out the Dead Sector could happen in a future spinoff series, since there's plenty yet to be revealed about the evil group's motivations and goals. Given how Tales of the Walking Dead exists on the very edge of franchise canon, however, it's just as likely the Dead Sector will never be mentioned by anyone ever again.

Tales of the Walking Dead continues Sunday on AMC.