"Papa Bear" (real name unknown) is a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He was a resident of the Hilltop Colony. He later moved to the Commonwealth.
Pre-Apocalypse
United States
Nothing is known about Papa Bear's life prior to or as the outbreak began.
Post-Apocalypse
Culpeper, Virginia, United States
At some point in the apocalypse, Papa Bear joined a community called the Hilltop Colony.
Season 9
"Stradivarius"
Papa Bear carries barrels of moonshine around Hilltop with a fellow distiller.
"Evolution"
Papa Bear socializes among other residents at Hilltop.
"Adaptation"
When Daryl and the search group return to Hilltop, Papa Bear is saddened to see Jesus' body. He then listens as Tammy tells Tara that the Hilltop will now look to her for leadership, reminding her that it includes getting justice for Jesus. A short time later, Papa Bear attends Jesus' funeral and watches on in sadness as the other residents hammer nails into his coffin. That afternoon, Papa Bear helps with laundry with his neighbors.
"Bounty"
Papa Bear witnesses the commotion that ensued when the Whisperers arrived, and arms himself with a spear and joins the other townspeople at the front gate. Later, he opens the outer gate with another guard to make way for the hostage exchange.
"The Calm Before"
Papa Bear is among the Hilltop residents to attend the fair in the Kingdom. He watches from the crowd as Ezekiel declares they've finally accomplished Rick, Carl, and Jesus' dreams of reuniting the communities. “Let the fair of a new beginning begin!” Ezekiel says as everyone celebrates and applauds. At the fair, Papa Bear sells moonshine and other beverages from his booth with Quan to the fair attendees.
The next day, he listens from the crowd as Siddiq delivers the tragic news about the fate of the missing fair attendees, tells them how brave the victims were in their final moments, and how he was intentionally kept alive to tell this very story. He encourages everyone to remember the fallen as brave heroes and to honor them.
Season 10
"Lines We Cross"
Some months after the blizzard and fall of the Kingdom, Papa Bear is among the Coalition members drafted into the militia that was formed in response to the Whisperer threat. He and the other militia conduct a training exercise on the Oceanside beach. As Ezekiel and Jerry methodically release walkers from a shipwrecked boat, he and the other militia work together as a unit to take out the walker threat.
The militia is successful with their training day, and everyone returns to Oceanside to rest, eat, and socialize with each other. That night, Papa Bear helps put out the fire that was ignited in the woods in Whisperer territory after a satellite from outer space crashes.
"Ghosts"
Papa Bear is among the Coalition soldiers stationed at Alexandria to help fight against the waves of undead sent to the town's gates by the Whisperers. After several days of nonstop waves of hundreds of zombies, this man is among the Alexandrians, Highwaymen, and Coalition soldiers gathered at the meeting house with the town council. He listens as they discuss what to do with the Whisperers and cheers when Margo demands justice for the Highwaymen, referring to the deaths of Ozzy and Alek.
A short time later, Papa Bear returns home to Hilltop Colony.
"Silence the Whisperers"
Papa Bear opens the gate for Magna and her group to go outside the walls to defend Hilltop from walkers continuously sent by the Whisperers.
"What It Always Is"
Papa Bear works on construction and repair projects in Hilltop with the other townspeople using wood from the large fallen tree.
"Morning Star"
Papa Bear joins several dozen soldiers and militia on the frontlines at Hilltop and helps kill as many walkers as he can along the barbed wire fences. After getting the call to retreat, he and the others flee back towards the gates but are quickly stopped in their tracks as fire arrows ignite the walls and ground around them.
"Walk With Us"
With the frontlines breached and the Hilltop on fire, Papa Bear tirelessly fights back against the Whisperers and the massive horde. At one point, as the community burns and the number of zombies proves to be too much, he is forced to abandon her post and flee.
Season 11
"The Lucky Ones"
Papa Bear is among the refugees from Alexandria who move back to Hilltop in an attempt to rebuild the town after the devastating Whisperer War. After Maggie decides on behalf of her community that they will not accept a partnership with the Commonwealth, some of the residents are dissatisfied, including Papa Bear. He listens as Dianne discusses her beliefs with Maggie and explains that she cannot continue to fight any longer, and makes the decision to move to the Commonwealth in hopes of a better future, along with Papa Bear and another longtime Hilltopper, no longer able to tolerate the hardships of living in Hilltop.
"Faith"
At night, Papa Bear is awoken and rounded up with the rest of the imprisoned Alexandrians and Commonwealth exiles and forced outside to the windmill. He is horrified as the prison warden attempts to execute Annie and Negan, but is relieved after back-up arrives and the Commonwealth soldiers are forced to surrender, thus liberating everyone.
"Family"
Papa boards the bus and accompanies the Alexandrians and the liberated prisoners to the Commonwealth. He survives the ambush at Union Station and flees into the streets with the rest of the group as the undead swarm the city.
"Rest in Peace"
Papa helps enact Mercer's plan to divert the herd out of the Commonwealth and uses riot shields to create a wall in Union Square, along with other Alexandrians and Commonwealth citizens.
One year after the defeat of Pamela Milton, Papa Bear is living in a thriving, rebuilt Alexandria.
Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Papa Bear has killed:
- Possibly numerous unnamed Whisperers
- Numerous counts of zombies
Relationships
Allies |
Enemies
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Appearances
TV SeriesSeason 9
Season 10
Season 11
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| Season 9 | 👁 | 👁 | 👁 | 👁 | 👁 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Season 10 | 👁 | 👁 | 👁 | 👁 | 👁 | 👁 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season 11 | 👁 | 👁 | 👁 |
| ✔ | Appears | ✔ | Voice is heard |
| 👁 | Appears with no lines | ✔ | Appears in a flashback |
| ✔ | Appears as a walker | 🖼 | Appears in a photograph/video |
| ✔ | Appears as a corpse | ✔ | Appears in a hallucination/dream |
Gallery
For more images of Papa Bear, please visit Background Survivors (TV Series)/Hilltop Colony.
.png "Hilltop3 (The Calm Before).png (104 KB)")
.png "Extra4 (Lines We Cross).png (91 KB)")
.png "Hilltop1 (The Lucky Ones).png (207 KB)")
Trivia
- While his name has not been mentioned in dialogue nor has the character been credited, the name Papa Bear comes from a chalkboard displaying his name at the moonshine booth in "The Calm Before". The chalkboard reads "Hilltop Hooch + Papa Quan's Lightnin Shine. Mmm good!".
- "Papa" refers to Jamel Vaughn's character name from the set, Papa Bear, while Quan is named after the actor who portrays him, Quandae Stewart.