'Tales of The Walking Dead' Episode 1 Review: Terry Crews, Olivia Munn headline quirky and romantic opener
Where there's Terry Crews, there's some football, protein shakes, barbells, and some healthy chow. And there's all of it, except he's living in a post-apocalyptic, walker-riddled world in 'Tales of The Walking Dead'. The 'TWD' spin-off starts off on a relatively light and quirky note. The six-episode anthology starring Crews and Olivia Munn in the first chapter is promising and a far cry from the OG series that's all set to end after eleven part-brilliant, part-boring seasons. Perhaps, this was the route the franchise needed to take. If the season opener is any indication, the focus will surely be on new characters and a deviation from the gory and snarling zombies.
The first episode focuses on relationships and how it serves as a motivating factor for survival. Joe (Crews) and Evie (Munn) ask one question: How far are you willing to go to find the one you love? While one searches for a person he's been exchanging messages with, the other is looking to make up with her husband who she's been separated from for well over a year, or in their words, since the world went down. It is a predictable affair considering that Joe and Evie are frenemies and have the standard issue of trust problems, arguments, and even some light moments.
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They do get what they are looking for, but it ain't exactly how they expect it to be. After fending off enough walker threats, Joe finds Sandra (Kersti Bryan) who isn't what she is. On the outside, she's a survivor, but the loneliness eventually turns her into a killing machine. On the other end, Evie's husband Steve makes sure he leaves a mark that he still loved his wife, but he's not around. Perhaps a walker did him in, but these twists — unsurprising, yet key makes it for a good episode as it shows two people in misery finding comfort.
It's a love story and something that the franchise could do with. With audiences saturated after 'Fear the Walking Dead' and let down with 'The World Beyond', 'Tales' comes as a fresh take and promises more. There's one Alpha episode in the offing and that forms the cynosure of all eyes, but the Crews and Munn-starrer is a good start to the miniseries. Buoyed by two actors who have done some quality work, it's the cast performance that adds more teeth to the opening chapter. Crews is himself while Munn makes you believe in magic and love. A love tale isn't the generally expected from 'TWD', but this one's a breath of fresh air.
'Tales of The Walking Dead' premieres Aug 14 on AMC. The first episode is available for streaming on AMC+.
