InsaneJournal

So the priest character, Father Gabriel Stokes, has appeared for a couple of issues now, and since his arrival has coincided with that of the Hunters--a group of mysterious people stalking Rick and co.--a lot of readers have guessed that something is up with him and that he might be a spy. In this issue, Gabriel takes them to his abandoned church. Andrea realizes they are being watched from the trees, and Rick assumes that Gabriel is in on it. He calls bullshit on Gabriel's previous story--that he had just holed himself up in his church all this time with no problems--and the priest admits that he was lying. He now realizes that Rick was sent by God to punish him.





Needless to say, I'm glad that Kirkman didn't make the priest one of the 'villains'. Granted, he has a lot of skeletons in his closet, but this way there's a lot more potential for the character to grow. Having him be a 'spy' for the Hunters would have been too predictable.

And what of the Hunters? They've been little more than shadowy figures for the most part...until now. 

Dale, who had been kidnapped earlier, wakes up to find himself being greeted by a man named Chris. "You probably think I am crazy, and I understand that. Why wouldn't you?" He says. "But I'm not, none of us are. I don't expect you to believe that, but it's important to me that I say it."