What is the meaning of the letter A?
Season 4, Episode 16 of The Walking Dead is titled "A". The previous episode is titled "US", making it a play on "USA" which is where the series takes place. Together, the two episodes show the main characters reunited ("us") but I am not quite sure what the "A" means.
The whole point of the episode is that
The main characters end up together in Terminus, but realize the whole place is one big trap. Rick recognizes his friends' gear on Terminus folk, then they are herded into a train car.
This is backed up by commentary on the episode in "Inside the Walking Dead" on the season 4 discs.
Andrew Lincoln says:
he (Rick) talks about snaring a rabbit in the first scene, and they're the rabbit
Greg Nicotero says:
And they are herded and they are manipulated into that train car
While the conflict and focus of the episode is blindingly obvious from the episode itself and the commentary from a primary actor and an executive producer, I am still not clear about what does the "A" mean? It is not just the title of the episode, it is in several important scenes:
The heroes are herded into a train car to be made into food for cannibals. Along the way, rooftop gunmen herd them by shooting at their feet (instead of shooting to kill) to move them into the train car. Multiple doors have an "A" painted next to them.
During the chase scene, the following doors with an A show up:
There appears to be no explanation as to what the A means in this episode both in the episode itself and in the commentary on the discs.
Furthermore, in season 5 episode 3 we see
Rick and friends leaving the the church to go ambush the cannibals, only to return right away and serve justice before they can eat anyone else.
Along the way, there is another A:
My theory is that the A is some sort of mark for
marking food for cannibals
but there is little proof either in the show or in the commentary on the discs from the producers and actors.
What does the A mean: does it stand for something? Is it a mark that means something specific? What evidence is there, both in-universe or out-of-universe and backed up by credible sources such as producers or actors on the show?
Best Answer
You were looking for credible sources. I found one on the wiki page for the episode, a quote from the comic writer, Kirkman.
Robert Kirkman stated: [The A refers to] Train Car A. They were put in Train Car A.
The wiki doesn't mention it anywhere else, so I would assume Occam's razor, the answer with the fewest assumptions is probably correct. It's just marking the train car they were trapped in.
Pictures about "What is the meaning of the letter A?"
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Meaning of letter A. A is one of the most powerful letters and if your name begins with it, you are determined, enterprising and courageous by nature. You are extremely confident of your skills and are constantly in search of adventure and activity.What is the biblical meaning of the letter A?
DESCRIPTION: Typical Alphabet song, with Biblical references: "A is for Adam who was the first man, B is for Bethlehem where Jesus was born," etc.What are the origins of the letter A?
a, letter that has stood at the head of the alphabet during the whole of the period through which it can be traced historically. The name of the letter in the Phoenician period resembled the Hebrew name aleph meaning \u201cox\u201d; the form is thought to derive from an earlier symbol resembling the head of an ox.What does the letter A mean before A word?
A and an are two different forms of the same word: the indefinite article a that is used before noun phrases. Use a when the noun or adjective that comes next begins with a consonant sound. Use an when the noun or adjective that comes next begins with a vowel sound.Real Facts about a Person Whose Name Starts With Letter \
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Answer 2
Within the context of the show, the letter A seems to show up when the main crew have their control taken from them and need to get it back to avert death; e.g.:
- While they're living in the prison and everyone gets sick, they're quarantined in Cell Block A (controlled/death by illness)
- In Terminus, they're herded past several A's into train car A, which becomes their designation to those people (controlled/death by cannibals)
- In Alexandria, Sam runs around with an 'A' stamp, which is seen to have been stamped on a porch bannister next to Carol, the back of Ricks's hand, and on his mother's hand (controlled by naive leaders, death by a quarry-load of walkers)
Daryl's clothes as a prisoner are tagged with a big letter A (controlled by Negan, death by Lucille)
Answer 3
Section: A, is the designated hostile area inside Terminus, where victims get funneled in, trapped, held, then eventually slaughtered and butchered.
If you pay attention and listen carefully, this information can be gleaned from the tactical team's UHF radio chatter.
Also, it's why in the end, the cannibals, (recycling symbolism, I guess?) tag the church with an upper-case "A".
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