Army of Thieves Makes Dieter’s Fate Even More Tragic

Ludwig Dieter’s bittersweet ending in Army of Thieves makes his Army of the Dead death more heartbraking. Although Army of Thieves has little to do with zombies, it does establish a closer connection between the safecracker Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert aka “Ludwig Dieter” and Army of the Dead‘s horde of the undead. Throughout the movie, Dieter keeps having nightmares where he’s attacked by zombies, despite the fact that the zombie outbreak is only beginning to spread in the United States while he’s hunting down Hans Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” safes in Europe.

It seems Korina Dominguez may have been right about these dreams about zombies being prophesies, given that Dieter does end up getting captured by a horde of zombies in Army of the Dead. His apparent demise is tragic by itself, as Dieter is the most innocuous member of Scott Ward’s team. He also decides to make the ultimate sacrifice when he locks Vanderohe in the Götterdämmerung to protect him from the zombies and from the nuclear blast that heads to Las Vegas. Dieter’s sacrifice is then rendered pointless when Vanderohe realizes that he’s been infected on his way to Mexico City.

As if it weren’t tragic enough by this point, Army of Thieves allows the audience to empathize more with Dieter before his inevitable sacrifice. Viewers learn that Sebastian Schlecht-Wöhnert is a disciplined young man with a desire for adventure, who only joins a group of criminals in order to pursue his passion for safecracking and to find a sense of belonging. Having lost his team and without a single cent from the heists, the Götterdämmerung vault represents Dieter’s last challenge, but he barely gets to enjoy it when he’s taken by Zeus and his underlings. To top it off, Dieter is devoured by the horde before he can reunite with the woman who stole his heart, Gwendoline Starr.

Besides Hans Wagner’s safes, Gwendoline became the only motivation in Dieter’s life. For him, no amount of money could compare to her company, which is why her capture at the hands of Delacroix was such a deep blow. Gwendoline’s promise to reunite with him ends Army of Thieves on a hopeful note, but given that Dieter’s fate is already sealed in Army of the Dead, this conclusion only makes Dieter’s story more tragic. Dieter died waiting for Gwendoline to come for him and Gwendoline will eventually realize that Dieter has either been infected by the zombies or pulverized by the nuclear blast.

However, Vanderohe’s time loop theory gives Dieter and Gwendoline one last glimmer of hope. If it is true, there’s still a possibility that Scott Ward and his team will get another chance to reach Bly Tanaka’s vault without so many casualties. The anime prequel Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas and the sequel Planet of the Dead will need to explain how exactly a time loop is possible. For now, Army of Thieves adds yet another layer of tragedy to the bleak world of Army of the Dead.

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