TS-19

The first season ends inside the CDC, with a scientist who has given up and a countdown.

"TS-19" (Test Subject 19) is the sixth and final episode of the first season of The Walking Dead, first aired on AMC on December 5, 2010. It was written by Adam Fierro and Frank Darabont and directed by Guy Ferland. The group finds refuge at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where the only scientist left, Dr. Edwin Jenner, hides many secrets.

Quick Facts

Series: The Walking Dead
Season: 1
Episode: 6
Air date: 5 December 2010
Writer: Adam Fierro; Frank Darabont
Director: Guy Ferland
Photographer: David Boyd
Editor: Hunter M. Via

Lore & Background

Jenner shows the group what he learned from Test Subject 19, his own wife, who volunteered to be recorded after she was bitten: the infection kills its carrier and then re-activates the brain. He had been in contact with facilities worldwide before they went silent, and knows the French had been close to a cure. When the generator's fuel runs out, the building enters a self-destruct mode by design; Jenner seals it, but Rick convinces him to let them leave. Jacqui stays behind, Andrea and Dale escape moments before the explosion, and as Rick departs Jenner whispers something to him.

Reader's Guide

The episode attracted 5.97 million viewers and was for a time the show's highest-rated episode. It was filmed at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre rather than at the real CDC headquarters, which was impractical because of the area's high security.