Rick the walking dead smiling on a couch

Talking Dead returns following the midseason premiere of The Walking Dead on February 12 th.

When Rick saw a 100 people surround him, he understood then that there would be a way forward, a way to beat Negan, and these people holding guns to his head would be his key to victory.By Sarabeth Pollock 5 years ago Follow TweetДЄMCвЂ™s Talking Dead returns with commentary following The Walking Dead season 7 episode 9, вЂњRock in the Road.вЂќ HereвЂ™s all of the information you need to watch Talking Dead on television and online. They will give him the numbers he needs to defeat Negan. So why was Rick smiling in the final seconds of the episode? Because he realized, as he was being surrounded by the Junkyard Gang, exactly what Gabriel had planned: Gabriel was introducing Rick to his army of red shirts. Why? Because Gabriel knew that the Junkyard Gang would supply Rick with the army he needs to take on Negan and the Saviors. Gabriel took all the food from the pantry as part of a designed plan to lure Rick, Aaron, and a few others back out to the boat. In either respect, Gabriel knew about the boat, and he also knew about the Junkyard Gang. Either that, or Gabriel met and talked with the boot-wearing spy from the Junkyard Gang one night while she was spying, and Gabriel was on lookout. In fact, Gabriel might have even met someone in the new community, which weвЂ™ll call the Junkyard Gang. This, I believe, is when Gabriel likely spotted Aaron and Rick headed toward the boat. Rick correctly surmised that the BOAT Gabriel was referring to was the houseboat that Rick and Aaron paddled a canoe across a zombie-infested pond to get to in order to retrieve supplies for Negan. Inside the pantry, Rick found GabrielвЂ™s Bible - specifically left open to send a message to Rick - and a notebook with the word вЂBOATвЂ™ written on the last page. Rick knows that, so he went in search of evidence proving that Gabriel didnвЂ™t simply runaway. In other words, Gabriel wouldnвЂ™t betray Rick.

Gabriel also wisely staged MaggieвЂ™s fake grave to convince Negan that Maggie had died. Since then, Gabriel has been left in charge of Alexandria in RickвЂ™s absences, as was the case on that ill-fated night when Abraham and Glenn were killed. The tide turned when the herd of zombies crashed into Alexandra, and Gabriel protected baby Judith as they navigated themselves through the walkers while covered in zombie guts. Though they were once at odds - and Gabriel had even sold Rick out, at one point - in more recent times, Gabriel has become one of RickвЂ™s most trusted friends. While many in Alexandra assumed that Gabriel took the food and ran away because of the pressure he felt from Negan and the Saviors, Rick understood that Gabriel would never so such a thing. Late in the episode, when Rick, Aaron, and the others returned from their visits to both The Hilltop and The Kingdom, they were informed of GabrielвЂ™s getaway. HereвЂ™s the best explanation I could come up with: In the opening minutes of tonightвЂ™s midseason premiere, вЂњRock and the Road,вЂќ Father Gabriel took all the food from the Alexandria pantry, as well as a few other items of interest, packed them in his car, and - for mysterious reasons - drove away in the middle of the night.

Rick the walking dead smiling on a couch