



Dr. Walter Kurian is a character and the main antagonist of Season 1 in Z Nation, first encountered in Season 1 Episode 13 "Doctor of the Dead" .

Contents show]

Dr. Walter Kurian is responsible for the virus known as ZN1, the virus that caused the zombie apocalypse.

Gathering samples from krokodil addicts in New York, Ebola camps in Africa, abandoned bio weapons in Kazakhstan, and brain matter from a man in Haiti, he managed to create a virus meant to use in bio-warfare. The virus "Red Death" was created at a lab in Fort Collins, Colorado and jumped to humans by infecting a lab technician named Brandon Doyle. From there it spread and Kurian went underground.

Kurian has kept himself hidden during the three years since the apocalypse. Kurian hacked Citizen Z to find out where Murphy was heading, and thus was able to misdirect and intercept the Westward-bound survivor group at his lab in Fort Collins. At the lab he threatens Murphy and shoots Doc. Cassandra attacks Kurian and his team, which gives Murphy a chance to escape, triggering the fail-safe on his way out.

As nukes are homing in on the lab, Kurian is seen abandoning his car and running off.

He hides inside an old refrigerator to avoid the exploding bomb, but the blast opened the gate. Walter Kurian's body shows radiation infection.

Kurian is still alive despite being seen as dead or turned in Season 1. He still wants "The Murphy".

Kurian is last seen with his head in a box mumbling something before it was closed by one of Le Reina's henchmen and was set on the porch of the restaurant after hours later of the signal flare to the CDC from the Submarine.

Trivia Edit

Dr. Walter Kurian, the creator of the ZN1 virus and the 'father' of the zombie infestation in Z Nation, has a very similar name to Dr. Roy Curien, who has the same role in the House of the Dead series of video games.

In the opening shots of Season 2, he is shown seeking shelter from the nuclear strike inside a lead lined fridge. This is a reference to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull where Jones finding himself in a nuclear testing sight uses the same tactic. (In both scenes this tactic would offer little to no protection.)