‘Tales of the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Evie/Joe’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Tales of the Walking Dead’.
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One thing that we can all agree upon, is that the horror genre has made it utterly known, that it is the genre to turn to when someone wants to learn something about our world or about current events. Because horror is where social commentary and observations thrive and for proof… just look at the recent crop of scary stories out there. For the genre is flush with observations about the world and it is diving even deeper now into the human condition and some of our most primal fears and struggles. Making it one of the most intelligent genres out there. Yet what’s fascinating, is that despite the fact that it is bold and brave in what it has to say… the genre has for the most part, avoided speaking about one particular hot button topic that has impacted all of us over the past couple of years.
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Specifically… the pandemic. Which could be attributed to the fact that Covid hasn’t quite gone away just yet. Or it could be related to the ‘too soon’ mantra that sometimes concerns audiences everywhere. But regardless of the reason, there’s been little to no commentary on the matter from horror… but that is starting to change as time rolls along. In fact, one particular franchise that leads the way in social commentary, opted to make observations regarding our experiences from the pandemic in a supremely positive manner last night. For the series premiere of Tales of the Walking Dead, plunged us right back into the beginning of the zombiepocalypse that began in 2010 in this universe to ponder upon what we should be taking away from the past couple of years of madness, and it accomplished that, by introducing us to some unique characters.

For ‘Evie/Joe’ wasted little time in having us meet, Joe. Who was always worried that the world was going to take a turn for the worse and spent several years investing in a world class shelter for he and his dog to live within in the event the world went under. Which of course, it did, when the dead began to walk on that fateful day, giving Joe a sense of satisfaction and plenty of quiet time to just… live his life as he always wanted to. Which involved enjoying the best memories of his life from a sports perspective and spending time with his aging pup. But alas, that perfect routine changed in a matter of seconds one fateful night. For when he helped his senior dog outside to use the restroom, the living dead were waiting for them and that sweet baby dog was lost in the ensuing battle, leaving Joe beside himself.

Because his dog gave him purpose and direction… and most importantly, connection. Which in turn motivated him to perhaps ponder upon visiting another doomsday prepper that he shared a connection with before the world went zombie up. And that motivated Joe to hit the road, where he met a woman named Evie, a spunky and perky individual that was also on a mission to reconnect with an important person in her life. Giving rise to a grand zombie themed road trip, where these two frosty acquaintances transformed into close friends. The kind that eventually made their way to their respective destinations to find vastly different closure. For Evie, that involved learning that she was respected and loved despite her transgressions at the end of everything and Joe… well… he unfortunately pulled the short straw in his quest to find connection at the end of humanity.

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For his old friend Sandra had in fact, seen some ugly days following the collapse of modern society. The kind that motivated her to begin to use her shelter as a trap for those who would do her harm and sadly, since she was no longer able to trust or harbor kindness… she brought Joe within moments of losing of his own life. But thankfully, Evie was on the case and went to check on her friend since they were in close proximity and found the shelter and saw through the ruse and saved the day. Giving rise to a new beginning for these newfound buddies and well… it is that uplifting ending and the kind words that Evie offered to Joe following his pondering of what could and would come next for the both of them, that really transformed this road trip into something far deeper than a simple jaunt through the world of the dead.
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Because everything that Evie had to say about surviving their harrowing encounters with both the dead and the living, spoke to how we should be viewing our experiences over the past couple of years. In that, while it was terrifying and ugly and costly in many ways… we made it through the worst parts of the proverbial storm, and we have in essence, been granted a second chance at well… everything. Because we simply stared something dark down and came out of the other side stronger and with perspective and we should in fact, seize the opportunity and enjoy life to the fullest and that’s… a shocking message to find within the world of The Walking Dead, since this is a very bleak place at times. But it is there, and it is something we honestly need to hear right now as we shift to endemic instead of pandemic. 

But while it was lovely to find a beautiful message/observation about the past couple of years, this was an episode that wasn’t without deeper observations on the matter. For in many ways, Sandra serves as a stand in for all the negativity of what also accompanied the arrival of Covid. Since her fear and distrust echoes the sentiment of those who were against any restrictions or progress toward stopping the virus, not to mention she exudes the fear and rhetoric that also impeded progress. Making for some fascinating observations on the impact of a global pandemic on the human psyche and it allows for this episode to become time capsule of the Covid-19 era as well, and you cannot ask for a better setting to do so, than the world of The Walking Dead. Since the zombie is the O.G. of allegory and commentary and well, all of these elements make this nothing short of a brilliant series premiere, one that has even more to offer beyond its intelligence.

Because this is a journey that also features some humor in it, something that we don’t often see within the framework of this universe because of the subject matter. But it does prove that TWDU can in fact… have a little fun with the source material. Plus, it also doesn’t hurt that some huge names are in this tale and offer up some great performances. Since Terry Crews and Olivia Munn sell every single moment both sorrowful and joyful with an incredibly honesty that helps to draw us into the story further. In the end, this episode just makes it clear that this really is going to be a dynamically different chapter in this already storied saga. One that is going to take some chances with its storytelling and inject new ideas and concepts into the mix to provide us with a horror experience unlike any other, and truly, it is going to be fascinating to see what other unique concepts await us in the weeks to come as season one of this fascinating new series continues along. Until next time.

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