Edwin Jenner

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“	Jenner: There's your chance, take it. Rick: I'm grateful. Jenner: The day will come when you won't be.	„
	~ Jenner after freeing Rick Grimes' group and his most famous quote

Dr. Edwin Jenner is a major antagonist from Season 1 of AMC's The Walking Dead. He is a scientist and researcher who at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.

Rick Grimes and his group of survivors encountered Jenner in the penultimate episode of the season, where they sought refugee from the outside world that had been overrun with walkers, and in hope that the CDC was developing a cure for the outbreak.

He was portrayed by Noah Emmerich.

Biography[]

Pre-Apocalypse[]

During the early stages of the outbreak, Jenner and his wife, along with CDC colleagues, worked desperately to find a cure, but their efforts were in vain as the situation worsened. Many colleagues either left to be with their families or took their own lives.

When Jenner's wife, Candace, was bitten and infected, she chose to donate her body for study in hopes of finding a cure. Before she died, she urged Jenner to continue his research as long as possible, a request he reluctantly agreed to. Jenner recorded her time of death and reanimation precisely: two hours, one minute, seven seconds.

For the next 63 days, Jenner worked alone in the secure CDC, isolated from the outside world and interacting only with the facility's main computer VI. He armed himself with discarded military weapons and learned that scientists in France were the last to continue their research.

Post-Apocalypse[]

Season One[]

Dr. Jenner is first seen recording video logs to find a cure during a global outbreak. On day 63, an accident destroyed his last tissue sample. Devastated, he contemplated suicide but let the Atlanta survivors in after Rick begged. He tested them for infection and explained his lonely work after colleagues opted out.

In the control room, Jenner revealed TS-19's brain, his infected wife Candace. Dale asked about a countdown on the screen. Jenner revealed that it was a countdown to the CDC's destruction; Jenner then proceeded to seal them all inside with him to die by locking all of the doors and exits, triggering panic. Despite attempts to escape and Shane's aggression, Rick persuaded Jenner to release them.

As the survivors fled, Jenner whispered to Rick, and Jacqui chose to stay with him. Andrea hesitated but left with the group. Jenner and Jacqui watched the survivors escape on monitors, holding hands as the CDC exploded, ending their lives together.

Season Two[]

After abandoning Hershel's farm, Rick reveals Jenner's final words to him. Jenner revealed that the infection causing everyone to turn into walkers resides within all of them. Rick initially doubted Jenner's claim until Shane, whom Rick killed without any bite, later reanimated.

The Walking Dead: Word Beyond[]

In a flashback, a female scientist from France is seen watching a recorded message from Jenner discussing the challenges the CDC faces with zombie virus samples. He admires the French scientists' work on cardiac plaques. She's interrupted and killed by a man, due to her team's actions.

After her death, Jenner requests more data on "variant cohorts" the French mentioned, unseen in the US. He hopes they'll overcome it, as Dr. Jenner believes. As the woman reanimates faster and stronger, Jenner signs off.

Personality[]

Dr. Jenner is shown to be both dedicated to finding a cure for the virus and also deeply affected by the loss of his colleagues and the collapse of society. He ultimately chooses to stay behind at the CDC and initiate a self-destruct sequence to prevent the remaining samples of the virus from falling into the wrong hands, sacrificing himself in the process.

External Links[]

Edwin Jenner on the Walking Dead Wiki

Navigation[]

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Merle Dixon | Edwin Jenner | Ed Peletier | Three Criminals

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