The Ones Who Live episode 5 casts The Walking Dead season 11 in a whole new light, proving one major character was keeping some big secrets.

The Ones Who Live shockingly proves that a major character was keeping an even more major secret throughout The Walking Dead season 11. Since premiering in February 2024, Rick and Michonne’s spinoff has steadily revealed what happened to Andrew Lincoln’s character after exiting The Walking Dead in season 9, when he was whisked off in a CRM helicopter by Jadis. As far as the remaining survivors of Alexandria knew, Rick had died blowing up the bridge, while Jadis had disappeared after deciding she couldn’t assimilate into normal civilization.

The main group had no idea that Rick survived until Michonne found clues suggesting otherwise, but even until The Walking Dead’s ending, no character ever discovered a clue to suggest that Jadis had helped Rick, and they remained blissfully unaware of the CRM’s existence too. The Ones Who Live episode 5 proves that isn’t quite what happened, and while the character in question did not uncover the full truth of Rick’s situation, they did know a lot more than they let on throughout The Walking Dead season 11.

Gabriel Was Secretly Meeting Up With Jadis During The Walking Dead’s Final Seasons

Flashbacks in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live episode 5, “Become,” confirm that throughout the main show’s final season, Gabriel was secretly meeting up with Jadis in the woods near Alexandria. The first occasion came three years prior to The Ones Who Live‘s current timeline, when Jadis approached Gabriel as he was gathering water. They met up annually thereafter, briefly touching upon their lives since last speaking, but mostly discussing moral philosophy, with Gabriel always attempting to coax Jadis back.

If their meetings began three years prior, Gabriel probably knew Jadis had survived as early as The Walking Dead season 10, and certainly throughout all of season 11. He even referenced Alexandria’s lack of food in the aftermath of the Whisperer War during their second meeting. Most of Alexandria would likely not have cared about Jadis enough to consider her meetings with Gabriel a major secret, but Rosita might have. Although Rosita and Gabriel’s breakup happened offscreen, they remained together until the Commonwealth arc, which means these secret rendezvous with his ex happened while Gabriel was still in a relationship.

Gabriel Knew About The CRM (Kind Of) In The Walking Dead Season 11

Gabriel knew enough to know danger was ahead

Jadis did not explicitly tell Gabriel about the Civic Republic Military’s existence, but the priest is not an idiot. Across the course of their meetings, Gabriel must have been able to deduce that his ex-lover was part of a large, powerful, militaristic group that was committing deeds even she – the woman who captured several protagonists and sided with Negan – found uncomfortable. Jadis also all but admitted that she had been working for this mysterious group prior to disappearing, acknowledging she was “up to something.”

He may not have been aware of the specifics, but Gabriel absolutely knew that a powerful, evil group was operating in the shadows, and that one of its members knew Alexandria’s location. By not sharing that information with the group, Gabriel has actively put Alexandria and The Walking Dead‘s allied communities at risk. Now that Jadis is dead, there is a strong possibility that the CRM will discover the information she left behind as a contingency plan and wipe out Alexandria in response. If Gabriel had only told his friends what he knew from speaking with Jadis, Alexandria could have been more prepared for an attack.

Why Gabriel Kept His Jadis Connection A Secret In The Walking Dead

It was more than just the obligation of his collar

Gabriel jokes about clergy confidentiality when first meeting up with Jadis, suggesting that he intends to treat their conversations as a closely-guarded secret, like a booth confession from a member of his parish. Nevertheless, religious protocol doesn’t fully explain why Gabriel never revealed to his fellow Alexandrians that he was still in contact with Jadis throughout season 11. His silence instead appears to be motivated more by the personal respect – and perhaps even love – that he held for her, knowing that he lost faith in Jadis once before. He refused to make that mistake again by betraying her confidence.

It should also be noted that Gabriel was deliberately careful not to give too much information to Jadis during their yearly meets. When she dropped a question about Michonne’s whereabouts, Gabriel elusively claimed that Rick’s widow was “away helping people.” He also described the Whisperers as just “the group we were in conflict with.” Evidently, Gabriel matched Jadis’ reticence and tried his best not to give away information that Jadis’ group could potentially use to Alexandria’s detriment. If at any point Gabriel had learned about the CRM’s full power, or learned that Rick was being held captive there, he undoubtedly would have broken his promise of confidentiality.

Additionally, there is no guarantee that Gabriel did not reveal Jadis’ survival to his friends offscreen in The Walking Dead season 11. It was never properly explained why Gabriel and Rosita broke up, with the couple simply drifting apart between episodes. Gabriel coming clean about Jadis may have played a part in the demise of his relationship with Rosita. It is also plausible that after The Walking Dead ended and Jadis missed their fourth date, Gabriel told the rest of Alexandria his secret. If and when the CRM comes knocking, they might find that Gabriel’s people are more prepared than they anticipated.