All Of Us Are Dead’s Hambies Explained – All Powers & How They Transform

All of Us Are Dead adds a fun twist to the zombie genre with the introduction of hambies, a special class of zombies that are neither dead nor alive. Although there have been plenty of zombie K-dramas over the years, All of Us Are Dead stood out from similar shows and became one of Netflix’s most successful non-English language titles. All of Us Are Dead may not have been the first show or movie to use fast zombies, but it did so in a way that felt fresh.

Set almost entirely in a school, All of Us Are Dead ditched the relatively common trope of not showing how the zombie outbreak began and followed the first hours of the outbreak in the fictional city of Hyosan. Behind the outbreak was Dr. Lee Byeong-chan, who created a virus that could transform fear and rage into strength. Once his experiments went out of control, the Jonas virus became the inception of the zombie apocalypse. However, the virus would soon mutate and lead to a new class of zombies, the hambies.

Hambies Are Asymptomatic Zombies In All Of Us Are Dead

All Of Us Are Dead’s Jonas Virus Works Different On Hambies

Also known as halfbies or half-zombies, All of Us Are Dead’s hambies are people who were infected with the Jonas virus but somehow did not fully transform into zombies. Hambies partially retain their consciousness and memories but have all the desires of regular zombies. In other words, while hambies can behave like humans and might not even show the early symptoms of the transformation – including fever – they still carry the Jonas virus and can transform at any time. When stressed or in pain, a hambie may lose control and transform.

What it takes for someone to give in to the virus is unclear. For example, while Gwi-nam was a hambie for most of season 1, he never seemed to struggle with trying to control his powers. This may have to do with the fact that Gwi-nam was already a violent person who had no problem hurting others. However, Nam-ra kept trying to suppress her transformation but often failed to do so. Another example is Eun-jin, who ended up giving in to her zombie instincts and ate Cheol-su at the quarantine camp.

How Someone Becomes A Hambie In All Of Us Are Dead

There Have Been Two Different Hambies On The Show

The are two ways to become a hambie in All of Us Are Dead. One is to be scratched or bitten by another hambie, which is what happened to Nam-ra after she was attacked by Gwi-nam, who was already an asymptomatic zombie by that point. Shortly after her encounter with Gwi-nam, Nam-ra started showing signs of infection but never fully transformed. It took a while before the rest of the All of Us Are Dead characters agreed to keep her around, although Su-hyeok always vouched for her. The other way someone can become a hambie is more complicated.

Both Gwi-nam and Eun-jin were attacked by multiple regular zombies and left to die. However, they “refused to die” and retained their consciousness despite having lethal wounds. It seems that, even though the Jonas virus entered their body, they managed to keep it in check out of sheer will. This suggested that those with a strong enough will to live – or who have unfinished business – can resist the full transformation. As a result, hambie can survive their wounds thanks to the zombie virus, athough they never fully transform into mindless creatures.

How Powerful All Of Us Are Dead’s Hambies Are

Hambies Have All The Skills Of A Zombie In All Of Us Are Dead

The zombies in the world of All of Us Are Dead are closer to Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake or Yeon Sang-ho’s Train to Busan than to the classic version of the monsters. Not only are they fast, but they are also extremely strong. Given that hambies are essentially zombies except but the fact that they can retain their consciousness, characters such as Gwi-nam and Nam-ra are as strong as any zombie.

This is why Gwi-nam was such a threat throughout the show. Additionally, since they are all but dead after they become asymptomatic zombies, hambies do not care about pain, injuries, or even missing limbs. That is not to mention their ability to blend in among non-infected people, which allowed, for example, Eun-jin to get to the quarantine zone. Although countless zombies have been killed after the military bombed the city, All of Us Are Dead season 1’s final scene teased that there are plenty of hambies still hiding, many of whom are now friends with Nam-ra.