Joe is a main character and a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's Tales of the Walking Dead. He is the protagonist of the episode "Evie / Joe".

Overview[]

Joe is an introverted, blunt and resourceful man who has been preparing for the end of the world his whole life. He had spent the majority of his time prepping his bunker before the outbreak, and as such is extremely prepared and is shown to have been faring well during the apocalypse. His bunker is shown to be a particularly luxurious location, with it being completely safe inside and many traps being set outside for walkers. However, since he was spending most of his time prepping, he never had much of a social life and he only ever had his pet doberman, Gilly. Unfortunately, when walkers attacked, one of the walkers got through one of the traps and Gilly was killed, causing Joe much sadness. Besides his dog, Joe had also been in contact with a woman named Sandra, who was also a prepper. Though the two never met in person, Joe saw Sandra as a person who he can relate to, since no one else understood why he was prepping. After Gilly’s death, Joe decides to venture out on his bike and meet up with Sandra.

Along the way, he is trapped by an idealistic survivor named Evie, who is also looking for someone, just like Joe. He is forced by Evie to take her to where she thinks her husband is. Joe generally has a very cynical view of the state of the world, which is in contrast to Evie who is much more optimistic. Anytime Evie expresses the beauty of the world, Joe shuts it down. Though Joe initially dislikes Evie for kidnapping him, overtime a bond is formed between the two and after being forced to work together against walkers, the two start to trust each other. Joe becomes more open with Evie, being willing to share his journal with her, something he is initially extremely against.

Though Joe is shown to be smart and resourceful at times, he can also make unwise decisions. Most likely due to being holed up in his bunker for the majority of the apocalypse, Joe lacks experience against other survivors. He foolishly leaves his bike unattended and running long enough for someone to steal it. He is also shown to be willing to resort to killing, shown when he tries to shoot the thief with Evie’s gun, only to find it was never loaded. Joe is angered by this and lashes out at Evie. He chastises her on her mission to find her husband saying he should've just ditched her. This prompts Evie to call out Joe on him choosing to prep for the end of the world rather than spend time with friends and family. Evie also points out the fact that Joe had plenty of opportunities to ditch her, but he didn't because he is lonely. Not wanting to hear it, Joe leaves Evie showing he can be quite stubborn and naive. However, Joe’s biggest mistake is him trusting Sandra. Though the two had become close on the internet, the two never had met in person, causing Joe to not truly know of Sandra’s true nature. When he meets Sandra, he immediately disregards any suspicion of her, which causes him to be easily tricked by her. She drugs him with brownies which causes Joe to become high. Sandra is revealed to be a psychotic killer, who ties Joe up and almost kills him. Luckily for Joe, Evie finds the bunker and rescues him. Joe is forced to kill Sandra, the person who he thought was his friend.

After this, Joe and Evie’s friendship is repaired. Joe is grateful towards Evie for saving his life and admits that she was right about him wasting his life. Evie encourages him, saying that he can start fresh with her. Joe agrees to this and now has a more optimistic and hopeful view on life.

Pre-Apocalypse[]

Ohio[]

As a young adult, Joe attended Ohio State University where he played football, an avid hobby and interest of his throughout most of his life. In later years, he became a construction worker and a doomsday prepper, eventually purchasing a survival bunker of his own. Joe had little companionship in his everyday life and was believed to be depressed by his sister, however he found comfort in his online conversations with fellow prepper, Sandra, as well as his elderly doberman, Gilly. At one point, Sandra invited Joe to meet her in real life, however this never happened.

Post-Apocalypse[]

Season 1[]

"Evie / Joe"[]

Living safely in his bunker, Joe watches TV commentating a football game. His dog, Gilligan, has to go pee and starts to whimper. Joe checks the security camera to make sure the coast is clear before taking Gilly out. Joe looks at the sunset and states, "You know Gilligan, some things are still nice huh?"

A montage is shown of Joe's everyday routine such as lifting weights, doing sudokus, and watching football. One day, Joe takes Gilly outside as usual to pee when walkers start to approach. Joe puts up a trap that surrounds him and Gilly with rakes and other sharp tools that stop the walkers from getting to them. However, one of the walkers manages to get through without Joe noticing. Gilly jumps on the walker to save his owner but ends up being devoured in the process. Joe kills the walker, but it is too late. He cries at the loss of his best friend. Joe buries Gilly near the bunker.

Now all alone, Joe starts to enter a depressive state. He no longer enjoys the activities he used to like. One day, Joe starts angrily throwing books, no longer finding any enjoyment in them. However, he finds a box full of messages he and a user named "USHLDBSCRD" had sent to each other before the outbreak. Both of them were preppers who had been preparing for the end of the world. Joe reads through the messages until he gets to the part where she talks about meeting with him in person. Joe was initially hesitant before the outbreak, but now curses himself for being a coward. Joe packs his stuff and sets out on a journey on his motorcycle to find her.

In the middle of the night, while Joe is driving, his tires get popped by some spikes. Joe walks away when suddenly he is caught in a booby trap which puts him in a net. The person who had set the trap, Evie, approaches the net and kills a walker about to bite Joe. Evie forces Joe to cuff himself before freeing him. Evie takes Joe captive in her house and she explains her situation. She plans on stealing Joe's bike, though she does tell him of some benefits he'll get in exchange. However, Evie is unable to drive it since Joe has a killswitch, so she forces him to drive her to her destination. Joe remains uncooperative despite Evie's attempts to be friendly. She gifts him a necklace to wear which she puts on him. Joe and Evie hop on his bike and drive off, with Evie holding Joe at gunpoint.

On the road, Joe and Evie still don't trust each other. When Joe stops to go pee Evie forces him to put on handcuffs. Joe then puts on headphones and plays music so he doesn't have to hear Evie. Joe starts to sing along with the song and Evie attempts to join in. However, one glare from Joe gets her to stop. Eventually they stop for the night. Evie starts going through Joe's bag to see who he really is. When Evie grabs Joe's journal, he becomes angered and tells her to stop. Evie starts reading Joe's messages with Sandra. Evie apologizes for prying into Joe's business and reveals she's also looking for someone like he is. Joe doesn't answer and instead lies down to get some rest. Evie puts a blanket on him to keep him warm.

The next day, the two go on the road again. Evie looks at the sunset sky in amazement, something Joe once did, and says how there's still magic in the world. Joe initially answers in a very cynical manner, but apologizes. That night, when the two stop to sleep again, walkers surround them. Joe asks for Evie to take off the cuffs since there are too many walkers to handle by herself. After some hesitation, Evie throws Joe a weapon, though still remains handcuffed. The two fight the walkers and Evie demonstrates her martial arts skills. Now having formed a trust, Evie gives Joe the keys to uncuff himself. The next day, Joe teaches Evie how to drive the motorcycle and start to bond with each other. This time, the both of them happily sing along with the song together.

The two stop for the night again, with Joe finding a drink. Joe starts asking Evie where exactly he's taking her and finds out their destinations are only 10 miles apart. Joe questions Evie's optimism in the apocalypse, and she states that the apocalypse made her into who she is. Evie starts talking about her ex-husband Steven and her hopes of finding him. Joe then gives Evie his journal to see if she can figure out where the person he's looking for is.

The next morning, Joe starts up his bike when Evie calls for him. Evie reveals that she figured out where user USHLDBSCRD is. Joe is ecstatic over the news and laments about how this is the longest he has spent with another person in years. However, while they are talking, a man steals Joe's bike and leaves behind a lamb with a sign saying, "Thanks for the bike." Joe grabs Evie's gun and aims at the thief. However, the gun is unloaded, allowing the man to get away.

The two continue down the road, now having to go on foot. Joe is saddened at the loss of his possessions. Joe blames Evie for their situation and the two begin to argue. Joe calls Evie's mission to find Steven foolish and believes that he should've ditched Evie. However, Evie calls him out saying that he plenty of opportunities to get away but didn't because deep down, he's lonely and that his world never got started since he was always preparing for the end of the world. Not wanting to hear anymore, Joe walks away from Evie and they go their separate ways.

Joe manages to track down USHLDBSCRD's location. He finds a security camera and yells for her to let him in. She opens the bunker doors and he jumps in, but accidentally hurts his leg. Joe limps down the hallway and goes downstairs where he sees USHLDBSCRD waiting for him. The two ecstatically greet each other, with her revealing her name to be Sandra. Sandra aids Joe in walking through the bunker and to the living room. She feeds him a brownie which he takes a bite out of. He talks about his experiences, including Gilligan's death. Sandra tells Joe she's going to go freshen up. However, it's revealed that the brownie she had given him is drugged. Joe's vision starts to go and he becomes delirious. Sandra puts on clown makeup and says she wishes she had met Joe before the outbreak when he was still a good person. She ties his hands up and cuts Joe's throat with a cleaver. Though Joe states that he's here for Sandra, Sandra believes that Joe wants to take the bunker for himself.

Sandra explains what had happened to her since the outbreak. She often had people knocking on her door, but ignored. However, one day a man broke in and was going to take the bunker and kill her. Sandra was forced to kill him which caused her descent into madness. Sandra goes to kill Joe, but her knife hits the necklace Evie had given him. Joe fights back but Sandra subdues him. Right before she can finish him off, the alarms go off. Sandra looks and sees Evie at the entrance. Sandra accuses Joe of wanting to take the place for him and Evie before tying him up to a pole. She wipes the makeup off her face to give herself a presentable appearance.

Joe overhears Evie and Sandra's conversation. Evie figures out that Sandra is not to be trusted and knocks her down. Evie finds Joe and unties him. Just then, Sandra charges at them yelling maniacally. Joe throws the cleaver at Sandra, which hits her in the chest, killing her. Joe, Evie, and Skipper exit the bunker, with Evie trying to push them out. A now reanimated Sandra walks over to them. They almost make it out but Sandra grabs Evie's foot. Joe closes the door on Sandra's hand, causing her to lose her grip on Evie. Joe is still high from the brownie and starts bursting out laughing for no reason.

The next day, Evie wakes up all alone and thinks Joe left her. However, he walks over to her and Evie sighs of relief. Joe thanks Evie for coming back to save him and the two hug. Joe admits that Evie is right and that he wasted his life preparing for the end. Evie encourages Joe, telling him his life isn't over and he can start fresh with her. Now with a new outlook on life, Joe, Evie, and Skipper happily walk down the road on foot.

Killed Victims[]

This list shows the victims Joe has killed:

• Sandra (Alive)
• Numerous counts of zombies

Relationships[]

For a more in-depth look at Joe's relationships, read here; Joe (Tales)/Relationships

Appearances[]

Tales of the Walking Dead[]

Season 1[]

• "Evie / Joe"

Trivia[]

• AMC was interested in casting Jake Johnson for this role, before landing on Terry Crews.^[1]
• Joe is one of fifteen characters in the TV universe to have dropped an uncensored f-bomb.
  • The others are Nick Clark, Madison Clark, Hope Bennett, Rosita Espinosa, Daryl Dixon, Jason Riley, Winokur, Alvarez, Evie, Sandra, Erika, Negan Smith, Juanita Sanchez, and Michael Mercer.
• Joe is the first Tales character to kill a walker on-screen.
  • He's also the first character in the series to kill another survivor (Sandra) on-screen.

References[]