The Walking Dead: Pope isn’t just another Teddy Maddox

Throughout The Walking Dead series, we have met many crazy people and leaders of groups. You remember Mary & Gareth from Terminus, Clara who kept her husband’s reanimated body, Alpha and Beta, The Governor, the Wolves and the list goes on. Next, we have the latest threat, the Reapers and their “on a mission from God” leader Pope. Some have said he is just another Teddy Maddox from Fear the Walking Dead and that this story is just being retold. That isn’t the case at all.

First, Teddy Maddox was a murdering cult leader. He lured young women into his clutches to torture and kill them. He spent time in prison that had zero effect on his rehabilitation because the moment he was able to escape, he took off and started his cult once again.

The apocalypse just allowed him to reinvent himself, and instead of murder individuals, he would plan a mass murder using nuclear bombs.

The Walking Dead, Pope leader of the Reapers

Pope is a man who served his country and, after he returned, was a lost man. Like many veterans who return from war, they aren’t sure how to acclimate to civilian life. They have suffered battle wounds, physical and mental, and trying to survive outside of the military was difficult. His squad became mercenaries and did the work no one else wanted to do and received generous compensation for their duties.

When Pope talked with Daryl, he told the story of what took place for the Reapers after the fall.  Pope referred to this time as the ‘real dirty work.’ They saw and did things they could never have imagined. Even with all he had witnessed in Afghanistan, nothing prepared him for what he saw during the beginning of the outbreak.

Pope and his squad holed up in a church on the edge of town when the bombs came down. They were protected from the bombs and fire that consumed everything else around them. No one was hurt, not even a scratch. This led him to believe that God had chosen them. Just like He had chosen Daryl.

"Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Ritchie Coster as Pope – The Walking Dead  Photo Credit: Josh Stringer/AMCAnd that’s when I knew. We were the Chosen Ones. These men–these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power. God chose you tonight. I mean you–you came out of that fire alive and whole. And look at you now, sitting right here. Are you hurt? Hmm? Any burns? A scratch?– Pope"

We still don’t know the motivation behind Pope ‘marking’ Maggie. What has gone on between these two characters? We know Maggie hasn’t told us everything, but the truth is sure to come out soon.

The Reapers have killed many people in the short time we have known them, so they are certainly a vile group. But, where Teddy was a serial killer who was most certainly insane, Pope is a military vet with severe PTSD. I am not saying either one is better; they are not the same as some have stated.

We will see more of the Reapers in The Walking Dead 1106, “On the Inside,” which airs on AMC on September 26. This episode is currently available to stream on AMC+.