Juan Gabriel Pareja’s Morales, ‘strut your stuff’ on last night’s Walking De

Major spoilers below for the second episode of The Walking Dead Season 8, so be sure to watch before reading on.

Over the course of The Walking Dead‘s TV run, there have been relatively few characters who exited the show in a way that maintained their survival, with most getting taken out by walker bites or shot. This week’s episode, titled “The Damned,” teased a familiar face returning to Rick’s life, and now we know that face belonged to Juan Gabriel Pareja’s Morales, who hasn’t been seen since Season 1, just a few episodes after being introduced. And that initial shock of Morales’ reappearance was compounded by the reveal that he’s apparently a Savior now.

Makes sense?

Right!

Does it really make sense that Morales would have ended up in the exact same spot as Rick’s radically changed group? Considering how big this country is, and how many cities and potential survivor communities are between Birmingham and D.C., it’s quite a leap…

Logical or not, it was still a pretty cool moment to see Rick and Morales once again standing opposite one another, but with a completely different situational context.

And his re-arrival almost definitely ties into all of the season 1 call-backs that showed up in the Season 8 premiere, particularly the reappearance of that very first walker girl.

I can’t wait to see just how long Morales has been a part of Negan’s crew, and to know how long he’s been aware of Rick’s presence. Not to mention if he’s noticed just how many people from that original group are no longer a part of it, from Lori to Dale to Shane and more.

Unfortunately for the villains, Morales likely wouldn’t have been able to offer Negan much info by way of Rick’s personality and war tactics, considering they parted ways so early. But having him show up… is a great way to give Rick a ‘what-the-hell-is-happening?’ that he definitely wasn’t expecting, and the element of surprise offers major advantages to those who utilize it properly.

Culturedemandsgeeks thinks Rick and Daryl are in for a messy situation over the next few weeks.