Jon Bernthal’s return as Shane on The Walking Dead is probably going to be a hallucination, flashback, or dream. You know it, I know it, he, she, we knows it. But why not have a little fun and theorize on why the man who died seasons ago is yet again returning to the world of The Walking Dead!
1. It’s all been a dream.
After 9 seasons we come to find out that it’s all been a grand ol’ dream born out of Rick Grimes mind. He’s been in that bed and in that hospital we saw in the first episode the entire time. Dreams work in an odd fashion and one night of dreams can feel like months. Maybe that’s what happened and Shane just left Rick in the hospital, right as the zombie apocalypse started taking a hold of the world.
2. Shane has evolved into something new.
The walker virus combined with his human DNA to create something new, something different. Killing Shane when he was a human turned him into a walker. What if killing him when he was a walker made him a human again? What if he’s been stumbling about all this time and trying to figure out what happened to him and why he’s alive? I’d watch that story, honestly.
3. He had a twin brother.
If soap operas have taught me anything it’s that twin brothers are always out there. What if that’s the same thing that happened with Shane? He had a twin brother separated at birth and who ended up living in Atlanta. They never met but somehow ended up crossing paths with Rick Grimes. Crazier things have happened on TV.
4. He faked his death.
Shane got shot, I know this. But work with me. Maybe Shane faked his death. Maybe he laid there, confused and out of sorts because he’d just been shot. People have survived crazier things and maybe this is Shane’s crazy. Once he was all healed up he made it his mission to find the man who ruined the perfect little life he started and “led” to the death of Lori. Rick Grimes.
5. Magic, the supernatural, or Doctor Who
When in doubt, blame the supernatural or otherworldly. Maybe the Doctor popped up in the Tardis, out of sorts and lost. Spotting an injured Shane, she hauled him on the Tardis and used science/magic to fix him right up. A handful of adventures later, where Shane healed up right when it came to his mind and body, she dropped him back into his timeline. Yes, I did just use the Doctor as an excuse for why Shane is back.
What crazy theories do you have for Jon Bernthal’s return as Shane on The Walking Dead? Let us know in the comments below!
The Walking Dead returns Fall 2018 for Season 9.
