Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) kicked off season 7’s winter premiere of The Walking Dead by doing the unthinkable: bailing on Alexandria. Or at least that’s what the show, which aired on February 12, wanted you to think until the very end of the opening scene. Did you catch the moment that someone sat up next to Gabriel as he drove away from Alexandria? Probably not!
You pretty much had to squint to see it, but in a split second before the opening credits rolled an adult head slowly popped up beside Gabriel. It’s as if the figure was ducking down or hiding, though it’s unclear if Gabriel was aware of the person’s presence before taking off. However, it’s also worth noting that what Gabriel did — taking food, supplies, weapons, etc — was extremely uncharacteristic for him since he finally starting pulling his own weight. Hmm!
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One big theory about who the mystery person could be is the same person we saw break into Alexandria in the post-credits scene of the mid-season finale. In case you don’t remember, all we saw of that person was their boots after they hopped the tall fence into the safe zone and then started walking down the dimly lit street.
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Now, here’s where the theory gets really interesting: the mystery intruder found Alexandria not long after Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) raided an abandoned boathouse for food. As you saw in the mid-season premiere, Gabriel left a note for Rick that just read “BOAT”, which led him and the group right back to the boathouse and surrounded by a group we haven’t seen before. There has to be a connection, right? Hmm!
Can’t wait to find out more about the mysterious new group, Father Gabriel’s passenger, and more on the war against Negan when a new episode of The Walking Dead airs Sunday, February 19! Fingers crossed we figure this puzzle out.
Tell us, HollywoodLifers — Who do YOU think could be in Father Gabriel’s passenger seat? Comment below with your TWD theories!