In contrast, “Evie/Joe” attempts a similar push-pull between a gruff doomsday prepper (Terry Crews) and a free-spirited softie (Olivia Munn) who become unlikely and somewhat unwilling road trip companions a year into the apocalypse - but neither the plot beats nor the characterizations ever move beyond threadbare tropes. It’s a human-sized heartbreak in the midst of world-ending chaos, a reminder of what’s at stake amid all the gloom and doom. Though an hour will prove to be too brief to fully explore the deeper themes raised by this premise (another recurring habit throughout Tales of the Walking Dead), the time we do get feels like a worthwhile trek into a distant corner of the Walking Dead universe, thanks to Edwards and Liu’s nuanced performances as flawed, complicated, sometimes funny individuals rather than mere mouthpieces for the characters’ opposing philosophies. Directed by Haifaa al-Monsour ( The Perfect Candidate) and written by Ahmadu Garba, the installment centers on a scientist (Anthony Edwards) whose belief that what he terms homo mortis is part of the natural reclamation of the planet from the depravity of homo sapiens is challenged by an unplanned encounter with a traveler ( Hacks‘ Poppy Liu) who’s been separated from her people. Everett,” is a reminder of how grounded and humane the franchise can feel at its best. When deployed with care, the formula can be a persuasive one.

And all but one of the four episodes sent to critics (out of six total for the season) center on the conflict between one hardened survivalist who’s lost any faith they once had in humanity and prefers to go at it alone and one more upbeat type who believes community and connection are if anything more important than ever in the face of extreme global trauma. We’ll be reminded more than once that few were willing to believe how dire the zombie outbreak would become until it was too late. Zombies - or walkers, chompers, “the dead,” whatever the characters are calling them now - will be the obvious threat, but the living will frequently prove to be far bigger ones.

The Walking Dead universe being what it is, a few common themes tend to recur throughout Tales.

Cast: Terry Crews, Olivia Munn, Parker Posey, Jillian Bell, Samantha Morton, Poppy Liu, Anthony EdwardsĬreators: Scott M.

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