This episode has an unusual start and is once again a duo, but in this case the most bizarre and terrifying that Tales of TWD has ever dared to insert into their stories. We see Davon, the main character interacting with a Walker for the first 10 minutes, but it seems his own conscience is leading him to find out what really happened in that memory lapse. There is a constant mixture wandering between the present, the past and the flashbacks, results of a confused mind in the face of the inexplicable. EP 5 is quite interesting, but this constant back and forth won't get you anywhere until the middle of the episode, but it's all very obvious and we know it will soon make sense at the end of the story. Many fans have noticed an easter egg with the main series but for the story it doesn't add anything so far and I also noticed a similarity between Davon and Morgan when it comes to ethics for life. Everything about this episode was very daring, like putting a French community located in Madawaska, Maine, in French period attire, but fit for purpose. For a moment I felt like I was in a Resident Evil 4 game "El Forastero". With a few minutes to go before the end of the episode, as was predictable, the scenario of events finally begins with an attempt to put the pieces together like a puzzle, which for me did not convince me. A bit of a cliché ending and the absence of Walkers is something to be desired.
17 Reviews
Odd
tristan_194 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The episode feels forced. Like what is the reasoning for keeping children in the basement ? Oh ! So they wouldn't turn bad, so we have to kill them right away ? What is this ?
I have no problem with Jessie T. Usher's acting. He's doing the absolute best with what he's been given. But the whole story is a messy trying to recollect the pieces of the puzzle, which isn't interesting from the jump.
And the whole freaking town not even thinking for one single minute and ready to burn Davon to the stake while crushing all of his bones for no reason ? They have no evidence whatsoever, and acting like entitled people, like what is wrong with them ?
So yeah, I feel like the writers and showrunners had an idea. But they failed in the matter of executing it and writing something that could stand on its own two feet, forcing characters to act certain ways. All that just to have an out of the ordinary, unique spin on a fractured mind type of storytelling. Could've worked. It didn't.
I have no problem with Jessie T. Usher's acting. He's doing the absolute best with what he's been given. But the whole story is a messy trying to recollect the pieces of the puzzle, which isn't interesting from the jump.
And the whole freaking town not even thinking for one single minute and ready to burn Davon to the stake while crushing all of his bones for no reason ? They have no evidence whatsoever, and acting like entitled people, like what is wrong with them ?
So yeah, I feel like the writers and showrunners had an idea. But they failed in the matter of executing it and writing something that could stand on its own two feet, forcing characters to act certain ways. All that just to have an out of the ordinary, unique spin on a fractured mind type of storytelling. Could've worked. It didn't.
Utter rubbish
vintagevaultarcade8 September 2022
What did I just watch? First 4 episodes were truly enjoyable. I'm not sure what kind of artsy fartsy mind trip the writer thought he was taking us down, but save that for some drama show. Like Friends, or Steel Magnolias or the like.
Someone went to some mind journey camp where the ganja was being passed hard, and thought to themselver... what if... what if instead of a show about Zombies.... let's let the main character go through a mind journey... having nothing to do with zombies.
This episode's script read more like a high school drama play.
Tales of the Walking Dead.... this is not. Hard pass.
Someone went to some mind journey camp where the ganja was being passed hard, and thought to themselver... what if... what if instead of a show about Zombies.... let's let the main character go through a mind journey... having nothing to do with zombies.
This episode's script read more like a high school drama play.
Tales of the Walking Dead.... this is not. Hard pass.
Four out of Five have been garbage
mhorg201812 September 2022
This is why the Walking Dead franchise needs to end. First, the parent show, since the ninth season has no guts anymore. Let Maggie, Rick and Michonne (in the stupidest way possible) walk. Then Fear, which has never been great. It's just jumped from utter trash with unlikable people making stupid decisions to mostly unlikable people (the likable ones getting killed off) making stupid decisions. The writers had ZERO clue about fallout and radiation and a SWAT vehicle won't be knocked about by a hurricane, but A NUCLEAR SUBMARINE WILL. Then we have The World Beyond. Terrible beyond belief. I mean ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. Now this. The Dee episode even though it messed with the timeline, was the best. The others were all either stupid, terrible or both. Were there even zombies in this somnambulistic episode? I couldn't tell you with all the yelling and bad French accents. I'm not even sure I'm watching the last episode. And I'm not sure I'm going to watch anymore of the spin-offs which have all been disappointing. I wonder, will they do a spin-off from a zombies point of view?
Not this episode
tacsec16 September 2022
Love TWD and Fear TWD, tolerated World Beyond, but this episode was just too weird and boring. This one took way too long to establish any kind of character development, and was just like a drug induced hallucination that made absolutely no sense. Not even sure where this story line was supposed to be going, as I was too confused, and struggled to stay awake to even follow. Bring back more episodes with Terry Cruz and Olivia Wilde. Even the episode with the alpha origin story was better than this one, and that is saying a lot. Maybe the new punisher series will be worth watching as long as they bring back John Berthel in his true form as he was as Shane in the first seasons of walking dead.
Bonjour
justdan20237 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Idk how to feel about this episode. It's confusing and a bit messy. (Spoiler Alert) At the end, Davon said that they don't have to be like this. To be like what?
They ain't done nothing wrong (well, except for misjudging Davon). I think the French community isn't very well fleshed out enough that's why I don't feel the reason why they have to change themselves. And Nora and Davon's relationship ain't going nowhere in the episode like it just seems so cheesy.
However, the theme is interesting enough and the settings are lovely, especially the flashbacks. So overall, the only problem with this episode is the lack of character development and its confusing pace.
They ain't done nothing wrong (well, except for misjudging Davon). I think the French community isn't very well fleshed out enough that's why I don't feel the reason why they have to change themselves. And Nora and Davon's relationship ain't going nowhere in the episode like it just seems so cheesy.
However, the theme is interesting enough and the settings are lovely, especially the flashbacks. So overall, the only problem with this episode is the lack of character development and its confusing pace.
Wow. That Was Truly Embarrassing to Watch...
transientdreams5 September 2022
The first 4 of this series were overall pretty decent and original. I enjoyed them. But I don't know what happened here. It started out ok, but then it got very confusing. And, then MORE so it progressed. Then it got pretty stupid and inconsistent, and then the writers seemed to have handed over the last half hour of work on the script to some college kids fresh out of some New Age seminar on personal responsibility...and zombies. Anything this confusing is never boring, but it's EXTREMELY irritating when you finally realize it NOT you being slow, but rather the entire episode never stopped making that horrible sucking sound the entire time. It was a serious Fuster-Cluck from start to finish. Those flash-back thingys really have to be done with great care, continuity and intelligent writing. This had NONE of that. Sci-Fi type shows about the paranormal and whatnot often lose their edge and get cancelled BECAUSE they start trying to please TOO many people while losing their 'Edginess'(and originality). It becomes pure fluffy dramatic 'filler' and just more Prozac flavored bubble gum that eventually insults people's intelligence by playing everything TOO safe, while trying to put at least ONE tear in everyone's eye while also leaving them 'Tense' at the conclusion of an episode. It doesn't work that way! I don't want to feel good when I watch a zombie flick. I don't want a 'happy ending', I want a SATISFYING ending. I don't want to hear endless droning on and on and ON about someone's past tragedies and emotional hurt when I'm WAITING TO BE SCARED AND UNNERVED!! All that constant blabbering drama has just sunk so many great shows in the past, and THAT is why this series has SO much potential going for it. Bad writing, over-acting, and crappy directing is certainly more forgivable in this case than the constant blubber-blabber we see in the other Walking(and too much talking)Dead spin-offs. And yes, this was actually bad enough that I feel my cable company should send me a rebate of at least five bucks...Oh, and on another note...
...Could someone please, PLEASE give the very talented actress in this episode, Loan Chabanol, some roles actually worthy of her talents?!? It's truly tragic seeing so much amazing acting skills out there just going to waste in bit parts.
Cheers!~
...Could someone please, PLEASE give the very talented actress in this episode, Loan Chabanol, some roles actually worthy of her talents?!? It's truly tragic seeing so much amazing acting skills out there just going to waste in bit parts.
Cheers!~
Interesting for sure
traffordbage4 September 2022
I don't think this episode is outstanding. But it's something new and interesting. Missed opportunity to film somewhere other than America, and clear reuse of the lakeside set from the previous episode.
The main character is a great actor and some of the other side characters are quite poor in comparison but overall I enjoyed it. I'm glad the talking walker thing stopped quickly as I feel these episodes rely too much on mental issues.
The story wasn't really surprising, but it was still not very predictable. The episode was a bit short to make the end result convincing. So far it's one of the better episodes, but for me, Dee is still the top. Followed by the previous episode.
The main character is a great actor and some of the other side characters are quite poor in comparison but overall I enjoyed it. I'm glad the talking walker thing stopped quickly as I feel these episodes rely too much on mental issues.
The story wasn't really surprising, but it was still not very predictable. The episode was a bit short to make the end result convincing. So far it's one of the better episodes, but for me, Dee is still the top. Followed by the previous episode.
Memories of 'The Lottery'
avnrulz19 September 2022
I tried concentrating on this episode, but had a hard time caring about the characters. I started getting 'The Lottery' vibes about ten minutes into the episode; the cloistered village, the stranger questioning their ways, maybe it was just me.
I was hoping for more from the 'anthology', but an episode of bad decisions (1), a 'Groundhog day' episode which had no correlation to any episode in TWD, a retcon episode (Alpha), an episode about a scientist making questionable decisions (and what was powering the Ranger station?) have left me wanting. But, hey, they were better than 'The World Beyond' which caused plot holes for 'FTWD' (if all the bridges over the Mississippi were blown, how did Morgan get to Texas and the truckers make their supply runs?).
I was hoping for more from the 'anthology', but an episode of bad decisions (1), a 'Groundhog day' episode which had no correlation to any episode in TWD, a retcon episode (Alpha), an episode about a scientist making questionable decisions (and what was powering the Ranger station?) have left me wanting. But, hey, they were better than 'The World Beyond' which caused plot holes for 'FTWD' (if all the bridges over the Mississippi were blown, how did Morgan get to Texas and the truckers make their supply runs?).
Best Episode of the Anthology! By Far!
james-patrick-732-4634686 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Look, if you've decided you hate Tales no matter what, you'll probably down vote my comment. But this was seriously the best episode so far, by far! I had no idea the kid was the killer. I figured him Mom Amanda was doing it. Again, like all of the episodes this was another character study. These people were set to execute Devon without any proof. I actually felt like it was a commentary on society and how people are automatically considered guilty or being cancelled with no due process. I would highly recommend this episode but again if you're one of those people who expected this to somehow be tied into the original series, you probably just here to hate on positive reviews.
Tres bien (?)
colakilija6 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Honestly I am not sure how much I liked this one. It is definetely another way of aproach than the other episodes so far, and well done for experimenting - that's always good... but the story itself kind of went diferent direction from how it begon. At least in my eyes.
I am reading Stephen King lately, so forgive me for saying but in the first 5-10 minutes it kind of had King's atmosphere in it (with chained with walker Amanda following Davon, talking with him, messing up with his head), and when they mentioned they were in Maine I thought - ok, let's see into what is gonna develop, this one. But it kind of declined in suspense, with all his flash backs the plot wrote itself into happy ending - at least for Davon...
I liked that french noir concept, but I guess I (under influence of King lately) expected this episode (how it started) turning a bit more into some psychological horror thriller - and yes, there was basis for that, or just plane gory horror but not into drama.
So far the weekest episode but still, after TWD, I find The Tales of TWD my favourite series in TWD Universe.
I am reading Stephen King lately, so forgive me for saying but in the first 5-10 minutes it kind of had King's atmosphere in it (with chained with walker Amanda following Davon, talking with him, messing up with his head), and when they mentioned they were in Maine I thought - ok, let's see into what is gonna develop, this one. But it kind of declined in suspense, with all his flash backs the plot wrote itself into happy ending - at least for Davon...
I liked that french noir concept, but I guess I (under influence of King lately) expected this episode (how it started) turning a bit more into some psychological horror thriller - and yes, there was basis for that, or just plane gory horror but not into drama.
So far the weekest episode but still, after TWD, I find The Tales of TWD my favourite series in TWD Universe.
The writers didn't necessarily care enough to do research for the town
zyr00017 September 2022
Shouldn't be a deal breaker for a lot of people, but the little amount of effort put into researching what Madawaska is genuinely a bit disheartening coming from someone who is originally from Madawaska. For starters, the French accents are way off. Sure, it can't be perfect, but it felt pretty unrelatable. The French spoken in the episode sounded like someone attempting to imitate a stereotypical French accent. When the town was mentioned by Amanda, it felt more like someone reading off of Wikipedia than a genuine introduction. The acting was abysmal by most people; it felt really impersonal. The ones that I didn't mind so much were from Davon and Arnaud, but even then, I wasn't a fan. In conclusion, I would've much rather the writers taken the time and effort to really research Madawaska and see what could've been done with it.
Worst tv show ever
danakhaled-0856722 September 2022
Im a big fan of TWD and Fear TWD , but this show was just too boring. This one took way too long to establish any kind of character development, and was just like a drug induced hallucination that made absolutely no sense. Not even sure where this story line was supposed to be going, as I was too confused, and struggled to stay awake to even follow. Bring back more episodes with Terry Cruz and Olivia Wilde. Even the episode with the alpha origin story was better than this one, and that is saying a lot. Maybe the new punisher series will be worth watching as long as they bring back John Berthel in his true form as he was as Shane in the first seasons of walking dead.
S1.E5 - A Confusing Mess [3/10]
panagiotis199318 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
(S1. E5) My Reaction / Review for Tales of The Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 5 ''Davon'': Episode 4 was good and I gave it a rating of 7.3/10. Let's see if this one is better or worse. Davon seems to be very confused. He hears voices and it seems like he doesn't know where he is? What's going on? Does he suffer from some kind of mental illness? I don't get it, he has a walker with him but the walker wont bite him? Is this a dream or something? All I see is Davon having flashbacks and being confused. This doesn't even feel like a walking dead episode. The acting is very mediocre. Wow I don't know what to say, this is a confusing mess, I hated every minute. My rating is 3/10.
Flawed and needed more time to be fleshed out, but absolutely not deserving of the hate.
frankiesilver-9183621 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This was a very different feeling and mysterious noir type of episode. Both the cool way of showing shattered memories with old style film and the French-speaking community made it very unique.
Davon was an incredibly likable protagonist. He is my favorite original character Tales has introduced. Jessie T. Usher does an amazing job showing his dread, distress, and compassion.
Since the entire story is told through him in his concussive state, it leaves you guessing what is really going on. It admittedly is painfully obvious early into the flashbacks that Amanda is the killer, but the vibe and atmosphere keep it tense. Plus, Amanda's son starting the child kidnapping was a good crazy plot twist.
Some may find the memory flashbacks slow, but I believe they work as a to really show in a single episode how much Davon cared for this community and its people.
The cinematography in this episode was unexpectedly epic. I especially loved the rain scene that was accompanied by beautiful French music. Visually and tonally, this is my favorite episode of the season.
But despite how well the director made this episode feel distinct, it's also the biggest example so far of the show being held back by a lack of unique sets. A twisted French community in Maine is exciting and alluring, but we don't see much of it. I wish we had more time spent on the community's backstory, inner workings, and citizens to flesh out the location more. How did people like Amanda and Arnaud become so insane? There's definitely some extra story missing here.
Plus there's other minor world-building hints that I desperately want to see more of, such as the PPP Easter egg. Could the mentioned Montreal community be CRM connected? I really hope we see Davon in Canada in the future.
All in all, I found this to be a story worth telling. It's a bit blunt with its theme, but Jessie's performance sells you on it. There were things about how the story was told that weren't perfect, like how I found Nora blaming Davon to be a bit unbelievable, but they work out in the end.
That specific example led to the awfully emotional ending of Davon not being able to forgive the woman he loves. He believed in people, but people couldn't believe him.
While being an overall basic story due to being less than an hour long, the brutal scenes, dark plot, and fitting end make it worth a watch.
Davon was an incredibly likable protagonist. He is my favorite original character Tales has introduced. Jessie T. Usher does an amazing job showing his dread, distress, and compassion.
Since the entire story is told through him in his concussive state, it leaves you guessing what is really going on. It admittedly is painfully obvious early into the flashbacks that Amanda is the killer, but the vibe and atmosphere keep it tense. Plus, Amanda's son starting the child kidnapping was a good crazy plot twist.
Some may find the memory flashbacks slow, but I believe they work as a to really show in a single episode how much Davon cared for this community and its people.
The cinematography in this episode was unexpectedly epic. I especially loved the rain scene that was accompanied by beautiful French music. Visually and tonally, this is my favorite episode of the season.
But despite how well the director made this episode feel distinct, it's also the biggest example so far of the show being held back by a lack of unique sets. A twisted French community in Maine is exciting and alluring, but we don't see much of it. I wish we had more time spent on the community's backstory, inner workings, and citizens to flesh out the location more. How did people like Amanda and Arnaud become so insane? There's definitely some extra story missing here.
Plus there's other minor world-building hints that I desperately want to see more of, such as the PPP Easter egg. Could the mentioned Montreal community be CRM connected? I really hope we see Davon in Canada in the future.
All in all, I found this to be a story worth telling. It's a bit blunt with its theme, but Jessie's performance sells you on it. There were things about how the story was told that weren't perfect, like how I found Nora blaming Davon to be a bit unbelievable, but they work out in the end.
That specific example led to the awfully emotional ending of Davon not being able to forgive the woman he loves. He believed in people, but people couldn't believe him.
While being an overall basic story due to being less than an hour long, the brutal scenes, dark plot, and fitting end make it worth a watch.
Great episode!
kevinbrown-26 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I'm not sure the people giving this a bad review 100% understand what's going on. Arnaud, Amanda's son, is a pedophile/psychopath. His mom Amanda knows, and is protecting him. The entire episode is about Davon finding that out, and regaining his memory of that after Arnaud attacks him, after he accidentally causes Amanda to fall into the acid bath. Once I figured out the nonlinear chronological telling of the story, I was extremely excited, because I truly never expected a story with a plot like this in the Walking Dead universe. Bravo! Bravo for the writer who wrote it, the director, and the actors who brought it home. I personally think all the Tales episodes have been great, and that this one is the best so far. (I still have to watch the final episode. 🙂 )
Unsure which episode of Friends
ghcjf28 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I'd read a couple of reviews for this episode, so I was half expecting it to be like that Episode of Friends where Ross discovers Phoebe is murdering children in the apartment basement and Chandler leads a lynch mob to kill Ross.
It wasn't like that episode at all, I haven't seen Steel Magnolias, so it must be more like that movie... I never did trust Dolly Parton... she's got psycho cellar dwelling kiddie killer weekend all over her.
I enjoyed it, clever and different... (I think).
Written in a way that plays like a cross between a Noir mystery, psychological thriller and old style horror, this episode really entertained.
It wasn't like that episode at all, I haven't seen Steel Magnolias, so it must be more like that movie... I never did trust Dolly Parton... she's got psycho cellar dwelling kiddie killer weekend all over her.
I enjoyed it, clever and different... (I think).
Written in a way that plays like a cross between a Noir mystery, psychological thriller and old style horror, this episode really entertained.
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