Father Gabriel, of all people, shows up in TOWL’s penultimate hour
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live | “Become”
Season 1, Episode 5
Airdate: 3/24/2024
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***
Well, I can’t say I saw that coming.
Of all of the Walking Dead’s legacy characters, I cannot say that I ever would have predicted Father Gabriel reappearing in “The Ones Who Live.” It just wasn’t on my radar.
In a way, however, it makes the most sense out of any return, and that has a lot to do with Jadis. Before Rick and Jadis flew away on that fateful helicopter ride, Jadis (then known as Anne) was in a serious and seemingly loving relationship with Gabriel.
This hour ties up a lot of loose ends and answers a lot of smaller questions I hadn’t considered asking, and while the premise continues to be a bit too ridiculous for an AMC show, the franchise’s history is used to full effect in “Become” in the best way.
Let’s start with Jadis and Gabriel. Most of Father Gabe’s appearances in “Become” occur in flashbacks, and in those flashbacks, we learn that Jadis hasn’t been the model CRM solider that she portrays herself to be, Rick deal notwithstanding.
In their yearly meet-ups in the woods, Gabriel slowly picks away at “Anne” as she checks in on him, showing there’s at least one person back home that she’s willing to bend the rules for. Despite this, she refuses his attempts to get her to return to Alexandria with them, or even begin a partnership with him.
But at the end, it doesn’t matter, they don’t get a happy ending. The episode’s closing shot is Gabriel, sitting in their usual spot, waiting for a woman that will never come.
And that’s because Jadis is finally dead. She manages to track Rick and Michonne to a cabin they’re hiding out at in Yellowstone National Park, and almost manages to kill them before Rick agrees to return to the CRM in order to spare Michonne. It’s a ruse by Jadis, who is double-crossed by the duo before she can go back on her word.
The scenes book-ending that one lean into the Walking Dead’s worst tendencies. It’s full of convoluted choreography, incredibly theatrical dialogue and nonsensical narrative choices, but to be honest, this is the first time in this particular spin-off that we’ve gotten to that point, so maybe I have a higher tolerance.
Jadis gets a death episode worthy of the impact that she’s had on the franchise. Both plots of the episode hinge almost exclusively on her, and it’s her dying words that set up the finale. But her actual death scene feels a bit too anti-climatic. After all she’s done, she gets taken out by silent walkers? Sure, Rick gets to shoot her so she won’t turn, but it just feels a bit… unearned.
Pollyanna McIntosh plays it to the hilt though, and you can truly see Jadis unravel and show remorse in her final moments. She gives Rick the wedding ring that Gabriel found for him, and he uses it to propose to Michonne near the end of the episode. At least Jadis did one nice thing before she left this earth.
And while her death serves as a sort of omen for a series that’s ending, it’s hard to see just how this show will manage to be wrapped up satisfactorily in one episode. I believe it’s very possible that we’re going to get a Season 2 to fully flesh things out.
SCATTERED OBSERVATIONS:
– Is Gabriel a cheater? Yeah, maybe he is; emotional cheating is a thing. But Rosita also cheated on him and had a whole baby in the process, so I’m not gonna be too mad at the guy. His meet-up’s with Jadis also explain why he never once brought up the helicopter incident. I don’t know what Negan’s excuse is, if that’s the case.
– Rosita had an absolutely strange taste in men for a woman that was so incredibly badass.
– I think somehow, some way, Father Gabe will meet up with Rick and Michonne next week. Which isn’t the trio I envisioned, but it would be super funny to see Rick’s face when he learns just how awesome Father Gabe has become. The dude simply rules.
– I had just assumed it was the case, but it’s nice to have confirmation that the painter of the murals seen in “Morning Star” way back in Walking Dead’s tenth season was indeed Jadis under her “Anne” name. We’ll just say she’s moonlighting.
– The stone walkers looked SICK in the best way.
– Michonne should have been the one to kill Jadis, although it makes sense that Rick did it. Michonne was just so furious with Jadis that it would have also been fitting.
– RIP Huck, who made a brief appearance in Jadis’ regret montage, was one of World Beyond’s best characters and the woman who trained Jadis to be a total monster until her dying moments.
– World Beyond is very good, by the way. If you haven’t watched it yet, make some time to do so.
– There is a rather surprising amount of comedic lines and moments in this series, and I don’t hate it. It helps that most of them are genuinely funny. When Rick pointing his gun at that guy made him pee himself, I laughed pretty hard. Childish, yes. But still very funny.
– It just dawned on me during this episode that Michonne left her sword behind at the Civic Republic, and now she may very well never see it again. Given how iconic of a weapon that is, it should feel like a bigger deal than it does.
– Lastly, one more immature comment… this is an objectively funny name:
Well, we’re back for one more round next week. There’s a lot of interest in seeing how this ends, and I can’t wait to see it all for myself. See you all next week for “The Last Time.”
