‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Theorize About Michonne and Daryl’s “X” Scars

The latest mystery playing out on The Walking Dead has fans stumped.

Michonne (Danai Gurira) was shown carrying an “X” scar on her lower back in 906, “Who Are You Now?,” with 907, “Stradivarius,” revealing woodsman Daryl (Norman Reedus) has the same mysterious marking in the exact same spot.

Its origin was hinted at in 906 during Michonne’s hostile treatment towards the rescued group of newcomers led by Magna (Nadia Hilkes), who went before Michonne and Alexandria’s council in an attempt to assimilate into the safe haven community.

“I remember. And I know that you do, too,” Michonne told her fellow Alexandrians, hinting at their shared trauma. Whatever happened, it left Michonne both physically and emotionally scarred.

“What we know is that she has a big X on her back. It wasn’t there before, so it’s something that has happened during that time jump,” showrunner Angela Kang told EW.

“She alludes to it in the council room when she takes the chances of the group that’s come there. She says that she remembers and that she knows that many of them do too. They have obviously, in the six years that have passed, faced some probably human foes that have affected the way that they deal with new people and their level of trust. It’s definitely something that we’ll learn more about as the year goes on.”

Michael Cudlitz, who directed “Stradivarius,” warned the explanation behind the Xs is “a really f—ed up story.”

“It’s a big, really f—ed up thing that happened during that break. At some point, we will find out about it,” he told EW. “You will find out eventually what that is. It was bad.”

Speaking to ComicBook.com, Kang said the Xs aren’t tied to the new hostility between Alexandria and the Hilltop, which appears to have been caused by choices made by Michonne — decisions that left her estranged from Hilltop leader Maggie (Lauren Cohan).

“I will say that it does not directly have to do with that,” Kang said of the Xs and the Alexandria-Hilltop falling out. Answers about both stories are still to come in the back half of Season Nine, premiering in early 2019.

“So the X marks, that’s one of the sort of mysteries that we have this season,” Kang explained.

“It’s a story that we will tell in the second half of the season. Clearly something has happened during the time jump, and one of the things … we kind of just wanted to seed in is the idea that six years have passed, a lot of story has happened off-screen that we didn’t see.”

That story will continue to unfold “as the season goes on,” she noted.

For now, audiences are puzzled.

The mystery has since given rise to numerous fan theories, tying the Xs to everything from kidney transplants and the departed Maggie to the pack of survivors now led by former Alexandrian Morgan (Lennie James) on Fear the Walking Dead:

Crossover II

Oceanside or the Saviors

Kidneys

Maggie

Branding

Cult