Here's What You lot Need to Know Near The Maze Runner Before You See It

In the opening scene of The Maze Runner, our uniquely special protagonist Thomas wakes up on a zooming lift with his mind wiped clean of memories. Understandably, he's pretty freaked out, and every time he asks one of the other boys what'southward going on, they just reply, "I don't know." The disorientation isn't necessarily bad, though: Our critic Bilge Ebiri wrote, "Not knowing anything near The Maze Runner … isn't a bad way to see The Maze Runner." Just for those of you who like to know what's in the pie before you consume information technology, I took the liberty of reading The Maze Runner, its prequel The Kill Guild, and watching the movie to give you the lowdown on what to expect. (Mild spoilers in the service of trying to figure out what the hell is going on.)

What'due south The Maze Runner?
For full newcomers, here'southward the trailer:

That explained nothing. Is this just more YA dystopia?
Sort of. The Maze Runner is based on a book by James Dashner of the aforementioned title published in 2009, and information technology's your typical "young people trying to outwit an authoritarian government" story. In The Maze Runner, a group of 50 amnesiac boys alive in a clearing (chosen the Glade; they're called Gladers) that is in turn surrounded by an intricate maze. Roaming around the maze are Grievers — half goopy spider, one-half machine creatures — which can kill y'all. The boys refer to the people watching them equally the "Creators."

And so, why are they running?
Basically: Information technology'due south their job. Each boy'south identity is adamant by his job (building, beast husbandry, etc.), and some of them are "runners," that is, those who explores the surrounding maze to find a mode out. They have to render by sundown lest they be trapped in the maze. No one has survived a night in the maze.

Is there a world exterior of the maze?
Why, yeah! In the prequel, The Kill Order, Dashner explains how the apocalypse happened: Sun flares scorched the Earth, irradiating the surface and melting the ice caps, thereby flooding major coastal cities (cheerio, New York). But at that place were more survivors than resources, so the interim governmental torso, known equally the Post-Flares Coalition, based in Alaska, decided to release a virus targeting the encephalon as a way to reduce the population. They shot entire villages with darts containing the virus — confusingly called the Flare — that killed people fairly instantaneously. But as viruses are wont to exercise, the Flare mutated and became communicable to the signal where basically anybody who came into contact with someone who had it got infected. It acted differently on the newly infected and made them slowly lose their minds.

So, how does this connect to The Maze Runner?
Well, in that location were some kids who were immune to the Flare, which makes them special (the No. 1 grapheme requirement for any YA hero). At the end of The Kill Guild, Thomas and Teresa are two of those kids. The kids are existence studied as they're in the maze for the ostensible purpose of finding a cure for the virus.

Still don't really become why they're in a maze, though.
Yeah, it'south a movie, get with information technology.

Who is our protagonist?
Thomas. Fun fact from the books: The Creators named all of the kids after scientists. And then Thomas is named later on Thomas Edison, Newt after Isaac Newton, Gally after Galileo, etc. (Minho is supposed to correspond the futurity, or something.)

Why is there simply one girl?
In a video Q&A, Dashner said, "The Maze Runner series was ever about variables … Having a order of boys, and then having it disrupted past a daughter suddenly appearing just seemed like a really absurd dynamic for them." From our perspective, information technology'southward only very obviously a volume written by a male author.

Is this a dearest story?
Nope. Romantic considerations are depression on the list of priorities for these kids.

Will I still have questions after I watch the motion-picture show?
Admittedly. Honestly, I'm still not sure why they're in a maze.

What to Know About Maze Runner Before Seeing It