Father Gabriel went missing in the first few minutes of The Walking Dead Season 7 episode 9. The assumption is he left because he is still a coward. Rick doesn’t believe he would leave Alexandria without telling anyone, and neither should you.
Father Gabriel has come a long way from when we first found him in the church. Instead of providing safe haven to his parishioners when the initial outbreak occurred, Father Gabriel locked himself in the church and hoarded supplies. Somehow, Father Gabriel managed to survive until he encountered Rick’s group.
At first, Rick didn’t like Father Gabriel. He looked after him because it was the right thing to do. Father Gabriel made things worse for himself when they arrived in Alexandria. He told the community’s original leader Deanna that Rick was a bad person and the group was up to no good. Maggie overheard the conversation and Rick eventually discovered his betrayal.
Rick iced out Father Gabriel for a while. He knew he shouldn’t have gone behind Rick’s back and tried to make amends. Rick finally began to trust Father Gabriel when he stepped up to lead Judith to safety when the walker herd invaded Alexandria.
Fast forward to The Walking Dead Season 7’s midseason premiere. Father Gabriel emptied out Alexandria’s pantry and left in one of their cars. Now, this looks bad on Father Gabriel. He’s betrayed the group before. However, Father Gabriel would never do something so selfish. He wouldn’t steal food from the people of Alexandria. He dug up a grave for Maggie to hide the fact she was alive from Negan. He’s loyal to Rick. If he were to leave, Father Gabriel would’ve told Rick. That’s why Rick refused to believe he would let him down.
And Father Gabriel didn’t. The man left two big clues for Rick: his bible and the word “boat.” The also marked something in his notebook and bible, which might be another location. Father Gabriel is definitely a captive of the new group we’ll encounter in episode 9 of The Walking Dead Season 7. Have faith in Father Gabriel, the man has a plan.
The Walking Dead Season 7 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.
