Father Gabriel embracing his dark side on The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead has seen a variety of characters over the course of its ten seasons. As it enters its eleventh and final season, we see many characters who have evolved into someone drastically different from the character we first met. Father Gabriel is one of those people.

Seth Gilliam has taken the character of Father Gabriel from the most frightened character to one of the most fearsome over his time on the series. Our first introduction to this character was way back in season 5, “Strangers.” Rick and the group heard his calls for help. They seek shelter in his church. We learn that he is a coward who abandoned his flock to save himself. At this point, he has never learned how to defend himself against the undead. He joins Rick’s group and ends up going to Alexandria with them.

Even though Rick and company take him in, he still betrays them to Deanna, telling her that they are evil and dangerous and don’t deserve a paradise such as Alexandria. We don’t see a drastic change in Father Gabriel until season six in “No  Way Out,” when he picks up his machete and joins Rick in the others as they defend Alexandria against the horde of walkers.

Father Gabriel embracing his dark side in The Walking Dead

Over time Father Gabriel has become an important leader among the communities. He is respected and is no longer a coward but someone who will lead by example.

In an interview with AMC, Gilliam had some great insight into the state of mind of Father Gabriel going into season 11.

Interestingly, he shared that he feels the ultimate change occurred in the character when Michonne handed him the pen to sign the charter. For someone of her strength and respectability to show confidence in him, this strengthened his confidence in himself.

Father Gabriel’s role in the Whisperers war truly made him realize the evil in this world. For a group to be so vile as to wear the skins of the undead and walk among them made him realize how far humanity has truly fallen.

When asked if he felt the Whisperers or Reapers are a worse threat, he stated that although the Reapers are a formidable force, the Whisperers are by far worse. Anyone who would walk among the undead must be “crazed zealots,” where the Reapers are just “violent and greedy.”

When Gabriel agreed to go on Maggie’s mission for food, I think this symbolizes his chance to right a wrong from his past. He locked himself in his church, with plenty of food, while his flock was eaten alive outside. Now, he is risking his life to secure food for the residents of Alexandria. He has come full circle.

The Father Gabriel we see in season 11 is a much darker character. He has lost his faith somewhere along the way. In the AMC interview, Gilliam stated that Gabriel could no longer hear God’s voice. He stops in the middle of prayer because he can’t hear His voice and feels he must do things on his own. When he utters “God isn’t here anymore” in the scene below, we know this is a dark time for Father Gabriel.

Will he find his faith once more? Or will this world just drag him deeper into the darkness?

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on September 12 with “Rendition.”  This episode is currently available to stream on AMC+.