All Of Us Are Dead Zombie Theory Explains Why Some People Become Halfbies

There may be a reason why some people become halfbies in All Of Us Are Dead. Based on the webtoon Now At Our School, Netflix’s popular horror K-Drama follows a zombie virus outbreak in the fictional Hyosan High School. As Class 2-5 sees most people become a zombie after infection, they’re surprised to find some people are only partially symptomatic. These people, dubbed “halfbies” or “hambies,” include the bully Gwi-nam (Yoo In-soo), class president Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun), bully-victim Eun-ji (Oh Hye-soo), and potentially others to be confirmed in season 2.

Usually in All Of Us Are Dead, people turn into zombies through an agonizing process within minutes of being bit. Those who don’t turn still exhibit zombie-like behaviors that include human flesh cravings and spontaneously breaking bones. Halfbies, however, also exhibit superhuman strength, rapid healing abilities, and undetectability from other zombies. The halfbie concept helps All Of Us Are Dead flip the trope of humans being more of a threat than zombies in zombie horror shows by finding a middle ground. In doing so, the halfbies give the show fresh opportunities to explore.

As mysterious as the halfbie strain is, there’s one All Of Us Are Dead theory [via Reddit] suggesting how people really become halfbies. Each person becoming a halfbie has a strong motive that could override the virus, and considering what the virus is, this idea isn’t entirely implausible. Their motive must either override fear, be driven by anger, or experience a combination of the two. Gwi-nam was set on hunting down Cheong-san (Yoon Chan-young), Eun-ji was angry and depressed from her intense bullying and was on a mission to destroy her classmates’ phones, and Nam-ra was protecting Su-hyeok (Park Solomon). In addition, if this All Of Us Are Dead character clue means anything, Cheong-san could also come back as a halfbie in season 2. Cheong-san also had a strong motive that could override the virus, declaring himself “the happiest guy in this school” after embracing On-jo (Park Ji-hoo) in episode 11 and using himself as bait to save his friends. There’s likely more to why people become halfbies, such as the virus’ rapid evolution rate or the halfbie-to-halfbie transmission seen with Gwi-nam’s victims Nam-ra and Cheong-san. However, their emotional state upon infection is clearly a strong factor.

All Of Us Are Dead’s Zombie Virus Explained

The virus was created by Hyosan High School’s science teacher Lee Byeong-chan (Kim Byung-chul) as a way to help his severely bullied son Jin-su (Lee Min-goo) turn his fear into rage and defend himself. It’s christened the “Jonas Virus” after German philosopher Hans Jonas, who wrote extensively about Gnosticism and bioethics. All Of Us Are Dead’s virus solution is hinted at in episode 1 when Byeong-chan explains that an organism’s “will to survive” classifies it as living, and that one’s motivation to live can be powerful enough to overpower the virus. In most cases, unfortunately, the virus’ will to live is stronger than the infected person’s. As revealed in episodes 9 and 10, the virus stops the victim’s heart, stimulates their brain stem for movement, and hides in the RNA of their cells.

All Of Us Are Dead’s zombies take a lot of inspiration from 2016’s Korean zombie horror Train to Busan, a movie that is even directly mentioned in the show. The All Of Us Are Dead zombies’ rage characteristics were popularized by Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and are a common staple in zombie horror, contrasting to the slower-moving drones of George Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead. The full zombies and the halfbies establish multiple All Of Us Are Dead virus variants are in existence.

Halfbie Origin Theory & How They’re Different From Zombies

The halfbies in All Of Us Are Dead are all clearly driven by something upon infection that likely overrides the virus, and Byeong-chan’s comments support this. What makes them different from other zombies, however, is their expressed absence — or lower expression — of fear. The zombie virus was created to strengthen its victim to fight back against adversity. In a way, it supports the amygdala, the brain’s defensive response center. Halfbies may understandably still experience fear while being infected, but other emotions overpower the virus. In Eun-ji’s case, she was bitten by a horde of zombies piling up on her, but she fights the panic and wrestles her way out. While also being attacked by a pile of zombies, Gwi-nam declares to Cheong-san that he’ll kill him.

The halfbies experience various levels of control in their urges that seemingly depends on their view of the virus. A possible All Of Us Are Dead halfbie, On-jo, doesn’t experience any usual halfbie characteristics despite being scratched by the infected Hyeon-ju (Jung Yi-seo). However, she’s known to be calm and resourceful in times of emergency, and can probably maintain emotional equilibrium regarding the virus. Meanwhile, Nam-ra’s left hand and eye experience varying levels of zombified aggravation throughout the show. She cares greatly about her friends and actively fights against the virus, biting her own hand to satisfy her flesh cravings. Her intensified moments come during stressful or fearful situations. Gwi-nam and Eun-ji’s halfbie states don’t grow in severity. They’re ambivalent to whether people live or die, eating people at their whim and seeing their infected state as a source of power.

Why Some All Of Us Are Dead Characters Still Become Full Zombies

Of course, there are some noteworthy exceptions that need to be explained further. Of the several All Of Us Are Dead character deaths, many characters who still turned into zombies were saving their loved ones, expressing extreme drive and courage in the process. The English teacher Ms. Park (Lee Sang-hee) was saving Na-yeon (Lee Yoo-mi) by sacrificing herself. Cheong-san’s mom (Lee Ji-hyun) is highly determined to save her son from the high school, as is On-jo’s dad, Nam So-ju (Jeon Bae-su). The second-top student Joon-yeoung (Ahn Seung-gyun) sacrifices himself for his friends to escape after he’s bitten. Park Hee-su (Lee Chae-eun) is a student who gave birth during the outbreak and ties herself to a door to keep her newborn baby safe after she turns.

It’s easy to believe that their drive to live wasn’t strong enough, but this ignores why the less passionate On-jo and Nam-ra lived, or why All Of Us Are Dead’s suicidal Eun-ji survived. However, saving people from the virus and therefore, thinking about the virus, may be a reason why they were zombified anyway. This may explain why Nam-ra only became a halfbie, even though she was also saving someone upon infection. In Nam-ra’s case, she was defending Su-hyeok against Gwi-nam, not a zombie.

The most likely explanation is that people’s DNA react to the virus differently. People’s adrenaline production, reactions to dangerous situations, and understanding of the outbreak all vary. This helps explain why On-jo may have become a halfbie, or why Hyeon-ju became a zombie after a little mouse bite. As the virus evolves, though, a person’s mental state seems to become more crucial. As mentioned earlier, All Of Us Are Dead’s halfbie symptom immunity varies between people for reasons yet to be further examined. Nam-ra became infected when the virus was already creating halfbies, but her goal to save Su-hyeok was probably not as passionate as Gwi-nam’s hatred for Cheong-san or Eun-ji’s determination to destroy the phones. Therefore, this may partly attribute to why Nam-ra’s halfbie symptoms are worse than Gwi-nam or Eun-ji’s.

What All Of Us Are Dead’s Halfbie Theory Could Mean For Season 2

If it’s true that one’s reason to live and state of fear upon infection influences whether they become a halfbie or not, this creates many possibilities for season 2. The Korean military takes interest in researching zombies and halfbies, and could potentially be looking into creating halfbie super-soldiers in All Of Us Are Dead. Discovering that one’s mental state creates halfbies, the military could even potentially find a solution to override the virus that doesn’t involve bombing cities.

Despite official announcements of the epidemic’s resolution, Nam-ra confirms the existence of more halfbies like her at the end of season 1’s finale. Therefore, there could be a new outbreak in the future. Speaking of Nam-ra, it’s likely that season 2 will focus more on her because the effective end of the zombie outbreak directs more attention to the halfbies. While season 2 will still give class 2-5 considerable attention, they’re currently in quarantine and, compared to Nam-ra, are given less plot setup. With that said, Nam-ra will likely not be the only halfbie given attention. There are a lot of other possible halfbies for All Of Us Are Dead season 2, including the presumably dead characters Cheong-san and Byeong-chan.

All Of Us Are Dead will examine a lot about the halfbies in its upcoming season. This may include the halfbie origin, whether it’s due to a victim’s DNA, their mental state, or both. Thanks to the halfbies, All Of Us Are Dead sets itself up to explore a lot more about the virus.

About The Author

Allison Wonchoba
(79 Articles Published)

Allison Wonchoba is a Features writer on Screen Rant. She holds a degree in Cinema and English, and she knows (probably) all things film and TV. Working at Hot Topic for a couple years also helped her know all things pop culture-y. Once upon a time, she also interned at a radio station in Dublin, Ireland where she got more media training – and built up her Sudoku skills on the side. She likes Pina Coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain – and she knows that’s NOT a Jimmy Buffet song.

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