‘Tales of the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Blair/Gina’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Two of ‘Tales of the Walking Dead’. To revisit the series premiere, clickhere.
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One thing that we can all agree upon, is that The Walking Dead Universe has done a phenomenal job of establishing what it stands for. In that, it is a hardcore zombie horror franchise through and through, and it has cemented that by way of its epic scares, herds of walking corpses and dark moments that have left us sitting in silence long after the series has come to a close. And what is truly amazing, is that none of the newer shows in the saga’s lineup, have deviated from that in the slightest. After all, Fear the Walking Dead just finished its darkest season to date, one that featured a fusion of our fears of nuclear winter and the living dead and World Beyond, presented us with the horrifying realities of the Civic Republic Military and their lust for power. 
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Not to mention, the latest iteration of this franchise, Tales of the Walking Dead, started off with a bleak tale regarding the horrors of loneliness and what that can transform us into, making it clear that anything more lighthearted would be reserved for special moments or to simply offer levity in the midst of a supremely dark time in one of these stories. Which is why this week’s episode of Tales is of note. Because ‘Blair/Gina’ is a story that signaled a surprising shift within the franchise. Wherein writers are now eager to see if by chance they can use this anthology show to do things that that the TWDU has never done before and break from the norms. Specifically, injecting comedy and more outlandish concepts into the mix and it turns out that the show most certainly can.

For this is a story that really did some amazing things, that is… after it outright fooled us into thinking this was more of the same. For this particular story opened up in the early days of the end. Where people hadn’t a clue that the dead were returning to life and attacking the living or that all of modern society was about to collapse and that allowed for us to meet, Blair and Gina. Who both worked at the Circle of Trust Insurance Company and well… it was Blair’s job in this tale to rally her employees, who had concerns about the panic growing in the nation, since she was the branch manager here. Which of course she was able to do, by informing them that this could be their finest hour, where their customers could be treated like royalty and of course, buy new policies to quell their worries.

Which made this story appear to be heavily ground in commentary on modern day capitalism, and toxic work environments. Since Blair was keen on treating Gina, the receptionist at this branch, like utter garbage. In fact, Blair was so toxic a boss… that she left her crew to handle the chaos and disaster that was beginning to pick up within the city of Atlanta, so that she and her beau could gas up their car and leave the city behind as the dead began to take over. A move that is the absolute PERFECT way to hammer home the modern work environment and its gross and uncomfortable nature. But that’s when this story took quite the amazing turn, one that injected all kinds of surprises into the world of The Walking Dead.

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Because Gina showed up at the same gas station that Blair was basically hiding at, and that of course led to a toxic confrontation between the two of them and of course, there were shenanigans involving the living dead alongside a fight to steal a gas tanker so that Gina could escape the growing chaos and that… led to an explosion of the tanker and a stunning surprise for Blair and Gina. In that, they were immediately returned to the Circle of Trust office at the very moment where we met them, forcing them to re-live an already garbage day and well… once fate brought them back to the very same gas station, where the very same poor decisions were made, resulting in another explosion… they found themselves back at the beginning once again, making it clear that this story… was a time loop themed story. One from where it seemed there was no escape.
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Because it didn’t matter how many times Blair warned others of the chaos to come or how often she tried to rationalize with Gina, the explosion happened, and time was reset again. And even a team up between the two of them yielded no different result, leaving the both of them to ponder upon how to escape this nightmare and well… eventually they found the key. In that, they both harbored some ugly traits when it came to how they treated others and themselves, with Blair of course… leading the way in such matters. But if they worked to change that and worked to help others, then perhaps the universe might give them a fighting chance to survive at the end of everything. And wouldn’t you know it? That did indeed do the trick. For after they heroically saved a group of people from a wall of the living dead… they were finally free to live their own lives.

Which... is something of a bleak ending for certain, since we all know what lies ahead for those who made it past The Fall. But what matters more here, is that this story really did do some brave and bold things regarding this universe. Because a time-loop is just unheard of in this franchise and in zombie themed horror to begin with. But this episode straight up went for it to see how it would play out and what’s wild… is that it works here. For a world where we didn’t learn about the cause of the virus until sometime into the apocalypse, doesn’t require answers, just our attention and this twist absolutely sucks you in and leaves you curious if they can escape the nightmare since this time loop is just the worst, and it also opened the door for a comedic episode.

Because both Blair and Gina find themselves in some awkward and wild situations, and Parker Posey and Jillian Bell’s stunning comedic and acting chops allow for the two of them to sell the goofiness and the seriousness of the moment, allowing for us… to laugh hard, because the jokes genuinely work here, and pull for these characters as well. Since clearly, they do deserve a fate far better than burning up in a giant tanker and well... in the end… this was a brilliant episode. Because it took some hard risks and stuck the landing, and it allowed for all of us to see that this franchise can indeed take chances that entertain and engage. And it will be fascinating to see if the fun factor here spills over into Fear and Isle of the Dead and the other spinoffs that await, and perhaps we will see it again in this brilliant series as season one of Tales of the Walking Dead continues along. Until next time.

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