The Maze (2024)

"Well, I think it's safe to say the Maze Trials were a complete success. I wasn't expecting so many survivors, but the more, the merrier. Thomas continues to surprise and impress. But for now, they seem to have taken the bait. It's too soon to say, but they could be the key. So, let's move forward. It's time now to begin Phase Two."

— Ava Paige, The Maze Runner

The Maze was Phase One of the Trials created by WICKED executives for the Gladers to solve, so they could study their brain patterns and kill-zone. It was located in Alaska, underneath the WICKED Complex.

Description[]

The Maze Runner[]

In the Books, there were two Mazes, one for Group A and one for Group B. Both were built deep into the bedrock that lies under the main buildings of WICKED's headquarters. Since they were underground, the sun and sky are simulations and it was always sunny (until the Ending is triggered). The Mazes could be entered and exited through the Griever Hole.

The two Mazes were identical in design and described as giant labyrinths. They were divided into eight sections surrounding the Glade. Every night, the Walls of the Maze change, repeating the same pattern every month. This pattern was a code. In the book, the code consists of keywords which are formed by the walls of the eight sections at the rate of one letter per day. The Gladers had kept records on paper of the Maze patterns for a year or so, and they had known that each month the patterns repeated. Thomas discovered that letters could be found by placing the maps of the eight sections from the same day over each other. When a month's worth of maps were examined, they discovered that the letters formed the keywords FLOAT – CATCH – BLEED – DEATH – STIFF – PUSH.

Eventually, Thomas realized that the keywords was a shut-down code for the Maze. Once the Gladers broke out of the Maze and made it into the Griever Hole, Teresa entered the keywords into a computer. All of them worked except the last one. Chuck realized that "push" was not a word to be typed, but instead referred to a button below the computer console that read KILL THE MAZE. Thomas pushed it and successfully shut down the Maze and the Grievers.

The Death Cure[]

The Maze reappeared in the final book, The Death Curewhen Thomas realized that WICKED has hidden the captured Immunes inside of its walls, in the Glade. After Thomas and his friends found the Immunes, Thomas started talking to the Immunes only to be cut off by a loud crack; a section of stone near the East Door broke off and killed many of the Immunes. Thomas realized that the Right Arm has set off the explosives, so he and his friends and the rest of the Immunes found a maintenance room, where Thomas successfully killed the Grievers that were inside the Maze, but at the cost of several Immunes. After finding a Flat Trans, Thomas and his friends fought and killed A.D. Janson when he arrived with some guards. They jumped into the Flat Trans, while the Maze kept on splintering around them.

The Maze Cutter[]

The Maze will appear in The Maze Cutter. It was the area the Godhead lived and worshipped. The Maze was buried underneath the bedrock after the events during the end of The Death Cure. A lot of the Maze was destroyed during the explosion, along with the Glade.

Origins[]

In The Fever Code, Thomas and Teresa helped WICKED construct the Maze for Group A, working on it until it was completed before entering themselves. Aris and Rachel, two other teen subjects, worked on the Group B Maze. It was Aris, Rachel, Teresa, and Thomas' incredible intelligence that convinced WICKED to use them to help build the Mazes. After his friends were sent in, Thomas observed them using Beetle Blades before parting and being sent off into the Maze himself per his request (although his memory was wiped without his consent). In the epilogue of The Fever Code, it was revealed that Teresa and Aris kept their memories when entering their Mazes, coordinating everything telepathically on WICKED's behalf.

Portrayal in the Films[]

In the The Maze Runner, the Maze was not underground, and the sun and sky were the real ones. Hence, the Gladers experienced fluctuations of weather (rainfall, temperature change,etc.) In addition, the Mazes for both Group A and Group B were designed quite differently from the Book. In the book, Group A's Maze was a square shape, but in the film, the Maze was circular. In addition, the film's Maze was not divided into eight distinct sections, but was rather divided into three circular sections. The difference between each section was the density of the Maze paths, with the inner ring closest to the centre (the Glade for Group A and the Spring for Group B)havingthe greatest density of paths. The next two rings had fewer paths. The outermost ringwere also divided into eight sections, which seemed to correspond to the way the Maze in the book was divided.

Instead of the keyword sequence mentioned above, the Maze's escape code in the film was the opening sequence of the Maze sections: 71526483. In addition to this, the Griever Hole as such did not exist; instead, there was a secret room in the Maze they happened to find.

Group B's Maze in the film was itself significantlydifferentfrom Group A's Maze (unlike in the books, where the two Mazes are identical). Whereas Group A's Maze remained flat throughout, The Scorch Trials Official Graphic Novel Prelude (canon to the film-universe) showed that the outer section of Group B's Maze became vertical.The climate between the two Mazes in the film-universe also differed. While Group A's Maze enjoyed a temperate climate with their centrallivingarea filled with deciduous trees, Group B's Maze endured a far colder climate, with the Maze walls constructed of ice. They also had extensive snowfall, and their Maze centre area was filled with coniferous trees.

In The Scorch Trials, many Immunes from different Mazes, meaning that while in the Books there was only 2 Groups participating in the Trials, there were many different Groups participating.

Trivia[]

• In the Books, there were only 2 Mazes.
• in the Films, there were dozens of different Maze Trials.
• In the The Death Cure, a metal artwork of the Maze could be seen in Ava Paige's office.

Gallery[]