The Walker prequel brings us back to a Wild West Texas.
Warning: This is an overview of the Premiere Episode of Walker: Independence, so there will be scads of spoilers here. We strongly recommend that you not read this if you have not yet watched the episode.
The title character is widowed before she even makes it to the town of the title. A rowdy sometime-outlaw and an Apache tracker might be useful allies. And an undercover agent could be the key to uncovering secrets. What are we to make of this? Here are our five takeaways from Episode 101 of Walker: Independence.
Takeaway No. 1
This new series, of course, is a prequel spinoff of Walker, the popular Walker: Texas Ranger reboot starring CW network mainstay (and studly heartthrob) Jared Padalecki, who previously spent, oh, I dunno, 50 or 60 years on CW’s Supernatural. We’re sure faithful viewers of Walker will be happy to see Matt Barr’s Hoyt Rollins, a popular character who was killed during the mothership show’s first season, back in action here as the guy’s same-named ancestor. And there are a few other sly allusions to Padalecki’s series that likely will please fans. But here’s the thing: You don’t need to know anything about Walker — you don’t even need to know it exists — to appreciate Independence, the first period Western to air on broadcast TV in over two decades, on its own considerable merits.
Takeaway No. 2
OK, we admit: We smiled a big smile when newly widowed Abigail “Abby” Collins (Katherine McNamara) improvised “Walker” as her alias, establishing that she, and not any of the menfolk who show up, will be the title character in this spinoff. (Of course, this raises the question of how she was able to pass that name on to Padalecki’s modern-day Cordell Walker, but never mind.) McNamara has already demonstrated her tough grrl bona fides in such series as Arrow and Shadowhunters, so she should have no trouble being believable when the going gets tough in Independence. Indeed, she credibly conveyed her character’s resilience during the first 15 minutes of the premiere episode when, just a few days after having her husband shot to death before her very eyes near the end of their journey to the Wild West town of Independence, and getting more than a little banged up herself, she managed, with a little help from sympathetic Apache tribesmen, she recovered sufficiently to make it to the town where her spouse was set to assume the job of sheriff.
Takeaway No. 3
It didn’t much time for Abby to discover that the shifty-eyed Tom Davidson (Greg Hovanessian) had installed himself as the town’s sheriff — the job that her late husband was on his way to claim — and even less time for her to connect the dots and recognize him as her husband’s killer. This efficiently sets up revenge as Abby’s prime motivation — in the first few episodes, at least — and is a damn good reason why she’s not using her real name as she accustoms herself to her unfamiliar surroundings. (Before hitting the trail with hubby, she was an affluent and proper Bostonian.) Hoyt Rollins, the rowdy cowboy (and occasional outlaw) who reluctantly becomes her unofficial advisor in Independence, wisely stays her hand, and probably prevents her death, when she tries to shoot Davidson during a reception for the new lawman in town. But what will happen if and when Davidson realizes that Abby is the sole witness to his violent crime? And by the way: Just why was Davidson so eager to become the town’s sheriff — eager enough to commit murder — in the first place? To grab land and cattle? Or... lay claim to something even more valuable?
Takeaway No. 4
Like many other recent period Western dramas, Walker: Independence strives for an inclusivity that the unenlightened will jeer as “woke” — as opposed to, what, asleep? — but comes across here as authentically attuned to a story about life in a Wild West town that owes more to the history books than to Saturday matinee shoot-‘em-ups. Already, we have Calian (Justin Johnson Cortez), an Apache tracker who escorts Abby to the outskirts of Independence, and sticks around the area despite the strong disapproval of his own people; Gus (Philemon Chambers), Davidson’s Black deputy, who keeps his feelings about his boss to himself; Kai (Lawrence Kao), a former railroad worker who has settled into a new life while running the local laundry, and offers Abby his friendship; Lucia Montero (Gabriela Quezada), the daughter of a Mexican rancher, who is, ahem, attached to Hoyt; and Kate Carver (Katie Findlay), an Asian undercover Pinkerton operative who’s keeping tabs on Davidson while posing, quite persuasively, as a flirty burlesque dancer. Yes, there are other white folks besides Abby, Hoyt and Davidson in the vicinity. But I got the impression from the premiere episode that the aforementioned supporting characters — especially Calian — will be a lot more than window dressing. In fact, you can already sense that Calian will eventually have some sort of romantic triangle thing going on with Hoyt and Abby. Granted, Abby will need some sort of mourning period because, well, she is a recent widow. But who knows what the future will bring?
Takeaway No. 5
No, we’re not wild about the outbursts of anachronistic music either. But, then again, this is the CW, right?