Jesus Debuts On The Walking Dead

In Sunday’s new episode of The Walking Dead, we learned something about the show. It isn’t slowing down and to keep its pace it will be introducing new character over the next couple of episodes rather than killing them.

The first of several upcoming new characters was introduced in The Next World episode, the tenth of season six. Tom Payne’s portrayal of Jesus met Rick and Daryl while they were out scavenging.

Now, at a glance, it might be easy to dislike this character. However, as we get to know him, he’ll likely become a favorite.

A couple things about the character were changed from his comic book counterpart. First of all, his name. In the comics, Jesus does go by the same nickname, but his real name is Paul Monroe. The character has no relation to Deanna Monroe’s comic book counterpart (Douglas) and the reason for changing his name is likely to clear up that debate immediately rather than leaving members of the audience who don’t read the comics (which is the majority) debating if he is a long lost relative.

Secondly, it wasn’t Rick or Daryl who first discovered Jesus (Daryl doesn’t exist in the comics, anyway). Rather, it was Michonne and Abraham who were attacked by Jesus and forced to introduce him to Rick.

He is, however, a good guy. He hails from the Hilltop Community which we know we will be introduced to in the TV series, apparently very soon, where Xander Berkeley’s portrayal of Gregory will be leading the fine new folks up there. While he comes off quite abrasively at first, Jesus is a very level-headed and smart character, ready to advise Rick and serve as his right-hand man while rebuilding civilization and eventually going to war with Negan.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 PM ET.