What 'TWD's Ominous Warning Means

This week's episode of The Walking Dead introduced us to Father Gabriel Stokes. Based on what we know about Gabriel from the comic books, there is nothing good expected to come of his addition to the gang. His uneasiness around the walkers and inability to fight them off at the food bank made it apparent that he lived a very different, and more sheltered life, from most of the other characters on the show. Of course, the question hinges on The Walking Dead scene with "You'll Burn For This" on Gabriel's church. What could that possibly mean?

In the episode, Gabriel made claims that there were others living with him at the church until supplies ran out. Yet, there were not necessarily any signs of other people having lived at the church with him. All we got to see was his empty cans of food strewn about. While Carl originally thought that everybody can't be bad, he started to think otherwise when he found a carving on the outside of the church which read "You'll burn for this." Like Carl stated, this does not necessarily peg Gabriel as a "bad guy," it definitely gives legitimacy to Rick's skepticism of the pastor and his past.

So, did Father Gabriel lock himself into the church and keep all of the supplies for himself? According to the comic books, the answer is a resounding "yes." Gabriel, in the books, selfishly holes up in the church, safe from walkers, and refuses to let anyone else into the sanctuary. Hence the "you'll burn for this" carvings.

Of course, while that is one potential for why someone made the carving on the church, there is still potential for AMC to throw in a twist in that strays away from the comic book series when it comes to this shifty pastor.

Image: Gene Page/AMC