Seth Gilliam of The Walking Dead addresses the eyesight of Father Gabriel

Characters on The Walking Dead often go through constant changes in their appearances including Father Gabriel. His eye infection may have taken a turn for the worst.

Father Gabriel has come a long way on The Walking Dead since he was first introduced as the unsuspecting saving grace for Rick and the group upon their escape from Terminus. Back then, he was possibly the least likely of all the characters in the group to survive the apocalypse.

Yet, Father Gabriel defied the odds and become both a spiritual leader and a valuable warrior after being tested multiple times physically, mentally, and with his faith.

He learned a small droplet of Negan’s past while dealing with a horrific eye infection. This unfortunate development hindered Father Gabriel’s every move, making simple actions beyond difficult.

Father Gabriel can be seen several times in the season 9 trailer appearing to have one blinded eye as evidenced by the pale color while his other eye has remained the same. Could this be the result of the troubling eye infection sustained after coating himself in walker guts during season 8?

The actor Seth Gilliam, who plays Father Gabriel, elaborated further on the character’s eyesight troubles and changes in an article on the comicbook.com website.

Gilliam describes the change in one of the eyes as “a little challenging because I can’t really see out of it.” What appears to be a contact, makes a bold statement about what the character had to suffer when he escaped the walker surrounded trailer with Negan in season 8’s episode titled “The Big Scary U”.

“It’s kind of opaque. It’s kind of tough to see out of. I see shapes and what have you. But I think it’s a great look so I’m happy with it.”

Upon closer inspection, it quite literally looks like Father Gabriel’s first physical and visible battle scar after a lot of mental suffering. What does this mean for our hero?

If he is blind in one eye, it’s a far better fate than death…which could have been a possible outcome while he was trying to recover at The Sanctuary. Since next season will feature a time jump, it provides Father Gabriel with time to adjust to seeing with one eye.

The battle scar may prove to be a further warning onto others about the dangers of close contact with walker’s guts without wearing a cover over the body. This was a close call for Father Gabriel’s part and no doubt he will be counting his blessings.

What do you think of the new development in Seth Gilliam’s character for season 9 of The Walking Dead? And what impact will eyesight have on Father Gabriel? Leave your comments in the comment section below!