'The Walking Dead': What Does The Blue Boot Mean?

The Walking Dead fans are still busy unpacking last week's Pulp Fiction-style episode, "The Lost and the Plunderers", especially one it comes to one particular thematic thread that could spell out big things for how season 8B will play out. The topic in question is none other than the mysterious blue boot that Simon (Steven Ogg) ends up wearing, after his horrific visit to Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) and her scrapyard gang.

So what is this blue boot all about (or "aboot" if you want a to throw a little Canadian humor in there...)? Let's break it down!

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The Color Blue

A fan theory from The PT Channel calls on viewers to recognize the color blue as a thematic motif in S8E10 - and not just any blue. The color blue that we see (particularly in the scrap yard scenes) is said to be one relating to (among other things) the idea of authority, which is recalled several times over, as Jadis, Simon, and Rick all vie for different positions of authority over one another.

This is an intriguing interpretation, as it could be a foreshadow for what's going to happen in the back half of season 8:

He Who Wears The Blue Boot...

According to the line of symbolism surrounding the color blue in "The Lost and the Plunderers," we now have a better interpretation surrounding Simon's blue boot - i.e., the paint stain left on his boot after massacring the scrap yard gang. That blue boot could be a foreshadow that Simon is going to make a big power move to seize new authority - by usurping control of The Saviors!

This plot thread has already been sewed in, as we saw a tense interaction between Negan and Simon, in which the latter seemed to inch ever-closer to bucking Negan's authority for good. With the drastic decision that Simon made in killing the scrap yard people, it now seems like only a matter of time before he and Negan have a hard collision for leadership of The Saviors.

What Simon Says

Here's what Walking Dead cast member Steven Ogg had to say, when asked directly about all the blue moments in S8E10, during an interview with Mirror UK:

"[Pollyanna] clocked me! I wanted to have my nose, or a cut on my face... but when you go to the Sanctuary it's harder to play it off, but I have a bright f***ing blue boot... Because [Negan] doesn't even ask about that but I step out of the truck and it's like a beacon. There's a lot we can't say, but there's a lot we just don't f***ing know."

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What are your theories about The Walking Dead's "blue boot" mystery? Let us know in the comments!

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. Fear the Walking Dead will debut its fourth season after The Walking Dead concludes its eighth, at 10 pm ET on April 15.