The Stand Theory: Why Some Survivors Are Immune (Every Possibility)

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for The Stand series (and book)

Stephen King’s The Stand features a virus so lethal it wipes out more than 99% of the human population in the United States, and presumably the rest of earth as well. The Superflu, also known as Captain Tripps, is a ruthlessly deadly flu-like virus that kills everyone who gets it, except for a lucky (or unlucky) few who survive it. The question is, what makes them immune? What makes them impervious to such a merciless disease, and are they chosen? Here’s every possible theory.

While The Stand certainly begins with a deadly pandemic, the Superflu is only a small part of the overall narrative. The majority of the story revolves around the survivors being drawn and split into two different camps, one led by 108-year-old Abigail Freemantle and the other by a man known as Randall Flagg, aka the Dark Man and the Walking Dude. There is a real sense of destiny—as if the survivors are special for more than just their random immunity to the Superflu virus. It’s as if they are chosen for a reason.

That said, there’s nothing particularly special about the survivors of the Superflu pandemic. For the most part, they appear to be average people from various walks of life. Stu Redman, for instance, is a man from a small town in East Texas. Similarly, Larry Underwood is an immature and self-centered musician who proves immune to the Superflu. However, these average people rise to the challenge to rebuild a community and eventually challenge Randall Flagg and his people. While it’s easy to say the survivors are chosen for a reason, there are several possible theories why the survivors are immune to the Superflu.

Survivors Have Innate Immunity

In The Stand, the survivors of the Superflu don’t spend a lot of time questioning why they are immune when everyone else around them is not. Of the survivors, Stu Redman is the only one who was taken to a facility to be studied for why he’s immune. However, the Superflu moves too quickly, and the scientists and doctors capable of studying such things are killed before they have much of a chance. Still, the implication seems to be that the survivors have some sort of innate immunity.

Innate immunity is something that happens when a percentage of people have a genetic mutation or anomaly that makes them immune from a virus. For instance, around ten percent of Europeans are effectively impervious to the HIV virus. This has to do with the mutation of a particular protein HIV uses to enter the immune system. As it turns out, certain people still carry this mutation as a response to exposure to hemorrhagic fever, aka the Black Death.

Of course, there’s no way of knowing the particulars of Superflu as it is a fictional virus, but it’s safe to assume there could be a scientific explanation for the immunity of its survivors. That said, even such an explanation would not detract from the destined nature of the survivors and how they are drawn together to enact the eternal conflict between good and evil. In fact, it’s safe to say that no matter who the survivors turned out to be, they would then begin dreaming of Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg with eventually the same outcome.

Survivors Are Chosen By Gan And The Crimson King

It’s possible that survivors of the Superflu are chosen in some divine way. As The Stand unfolds, the apparently average people who have survived grow and become leaders of the new world. As such, Larry Underwood, despite his selfish ways before the Superflu pandemic, becomes the leader who is chosen by God, at least according to Mother Abigail. Similarly, Mother A chooses the five leaders of the Boulder Free Zone because she was told to by God. That means Larry Underwood, Stu Redman, Frannie Goldsmith, Glen Bateman, and Nick Andros were all chosen by divine guidance.

However, given how The Stand connects to the larger Stephen King Universe, particularly The Dark Tower, it’s safe to assume that Mother Abigail serves Gan, the deity associated with “the light” and the generally “good” side of things. Although Stephen King wrote The Stand before he’d openly connected his work via The Dark Tower books, the way Mother Abigail speaks about God’s will feels like she’s referring to “Ka”, a word from the High Speech of Gilead that means the will of Gan and is related to destiny and fate. In this way, it’s not far-fetched to say that the survivors of the Superflu were chosen for immunity by divine means.

Of course, the reverse side of this means that survivors like Lloyd and The Trashcan Man are chosen by the other side. In this case, Satan or, considering Randal Flagg’s connections, the Crimson King. In fact, people like Lloyd and The Trashcan Man seem chosen by Flagg himself. He draws them to him and offers them great kindness in exchange for their unquestioning loyalty. Interestingly, at this stage, Randall Flagg seems unaware of The Dark Tower. In fact, his memories are somewhat scrambled. However, his intentions to sow chaos are clear.

Survivors Have The Shine Or Other Supernatural Abilities

Given the dreams that all of the survivors of the Superflu pandemic have, it’s quite possible they all have some form of the Touch or Shine. Every survivor begins to dream of Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg. In some cases, certain characters are approached by both sides before choosing their loyalties. Nick Andros, for instance, dreams of Flagg and is offered a position by his side before he then dreams of Mother Abigail and goes to her to act as her “voice.” Others throughout the narrative have various prophetic dreams. Joe/Leo certainly seems to shine. As does Tom Cullen. Even Stu’s dreams have a shine-ish quality to them. It’s quite possible that the Shine made people immune to the Superflu.

This would explain why many of the surviving characters on both Mother A and Flagg’s sides seem to be exceptional in odd ways. Joe/Leo is certainly an exceptional boy capable of prophetic dreams and other shine-like powers. On Flagg’s side, the Trashcan Man seems to have a supernatural understanding of fire. It certainly seems like the survivors of the Superflu are oddly accepting of their dreams and the roles they are drawn into on both sides of the conflict.

Whatever the case may be, the one thing that all of the survivors have in common after the Superflu pandemic wipes out over 99% of the population is that they all dream heavily and are aware of both Mother A and Randall Flagg whether they have seen them in person or not. For this reason, there’s a very good possibility that all of the survivors are supposed to have the shine and that’s part of the reason they survive. It will be interesting to see how/if this is addressed in the latest adaptation of The Stand on CBS All Access, especially with King’s new ending promising changes to his original source material.

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