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The Walking Dead’s Father Gabriel: I’m His Only Fan

By Susie Graham

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Kill him. He’s a punk. He deserves to die. I hate him. You’re crazy. He’s useless. Sasha should have pulled the trigger. 

These are all obviously referring to The Walking Dead’s most hated character since Lori and Andrea. I don’t know why I still love Gabriel. The same way I love Eugene and I loved Hershel even when he was constantly threatening to kick them off the farm and when he believed the walkers were sick people.

My theory is that Gabriel is the victim of timing in the show. If he would have shown up in the first season, I think he might have been viewed and possibly received a little bit differently. Yes, he’s a coward. I know I would be a coward, especially in the beginning of the outbreak when it was completely unknown what was happening.  Of course, I wish that he had been able to save some of his congregation, but we only heard the story. Perhaps, if we had seen it, it might have been different. The dead on top of the members already. There have been many times when walkers were already on people when our group has stopped and said, there’s nothing we can do now to help them. 

Holding onto some kind of faith and not believing things were as bad as the group presented it. Hershel was the same way. We felt for Hershel when his family came out of the barn.  When he realized “what an ass he’d been.” Father Gabriel gets no such empathy. We don’t feel the same now for people. We’ve stopped thinking about protecting innocence and have moved onto how useful people are to us.

Carl of all people said that they are strong now and can help people. I agree. Not all people. And not being stupid or careless about things. But remembering. Remembering the Carol who was hiding underneath a car when Sophia ran off. Remembering the disgust they all felt when destroying the walker to cover themselves in guts. Remembering that the walkers were once people and it wasn’t always so easy to kill them up close. The reason we fell in love with Morgan.

I don’t expect a positive response here or to change anyone’s mind. I just want to present my feelings for the good Padre and why I was screaming,”No!” and had tears in my eyes rather than yelling, “Do it!” when the pristine-white-shirted Gabriel strolled toward the walker outside of Alexandria.

Well see what happens in Season Six and if “The Audience Can Forgive Father Gabriel” as I have.

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