Yahoo Movies Odette Annable previews Geri's 'complicated' return to Walker
It's time for some answers.
This week's Walker sees the return of Geri (Odette Annable) when Walker (Jared Padalecki) and Captain James (Coby Bell) stake out a poker game because they believe Emily's (Genevieve Padalecki) killer is in attendance ... and then Geri shows up.
EW spoke with Odette Annable about the episode, Geri's involvement, and how audiences are going to feel once we know who killed Emily.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What originally drew you to Geri as a character?
ODETTE ANNABLE: Originally Geri wasn't a part of the pilot script and because of quarantine and the pandemic, and because the writers had time to do a little more digging and see how they could round the script out even more, they brewed up this character. It was such divine timing because it was right when I moved to Texas. They caught wind and I spoke with our showrunner, Anna Fricke, and she explained how it all came about and what Geri would be in relation to the show and she's so wonderful and so intelligent and the way that Geri is interwoven with all of the characters, which you'll see unfold, is so beautiful and it's something I was immediately attracted to. She's got layers; she's not just the bartender behind the bar.
That was one of my questions, actually, about how much you needed to know of her arc, but it sounds like Anna laid it out for you?
She didn't unfold everything but she told me enough. Geri is part of the OG crew of friends. It was always Geri and Hoyt and Walker and Emily, and Geri's one of Walker's oldest friends, so it's interesting to see a character that doesn't take any s--t from Walker. She loves him deeply, she wants the best for him, but she also can hold her own with him. I think their dynamic is really great in the way that I am a good sounding board for Walker but I also can call him out when he needs to be called out.
I love that Geri is such a link to the before times. We're very much so living after Emily's death on the show in terms of the Walker we know, but whenever he's in a scene with Geri, or of course a flashback, it feels like we get a glimpse of how he was before he lost Emily.
Right. I think it's brilliant when they show flashbacks of who we were together and who Walker was when he was still with Emily. Geri and Walker in this episode specifically, they're such old friends and they've got so much history, and you'll see in this episode how things can start to get a little complicated, especially after Hoyt is released from prison. There's a lot going on and you'll see it all start to come out during the episode but also you gotta wait until the very end of the episode. Major things happen.
Rebecca Brenneman/The CW
Because they're such old friends, it also complicates any sort of major twist or turn, because there's so much emotion there.
Absolutely, and in this next episode you find out who killed Emily and exactly how Geri is involved and it's a really great way that it's played out. You see Walker and Captain James staking out a poker game where they believe Emily's killer is and then Geri shows up. That confrontation is pretty layered when Walker confronts Geri.
We haven't seen Geri in a couple of episodes, so when she shows up here, has she changed? Are we going to see a new side to Geri?
I think Geri really came back to tie up loose ends. You'll find out what that means when you watch the episode, but I think that Geri was there the night Emily was killed and she'll do everything in her power to make her death right. When she's confronted, she knows she has to make it right with Walker. She'll do it for her best friend and to prove to Walker how much she cares and how much she loves him and the family.
As an actor, what goes through your head when you're playing Geri in flashback versus present day? How has Emily's death changed her?
It's changed her significantly. There's a part of her that understands that she needs to move on. She's also dealing with a lot of her own but then she also has to be a rock for Walker, she's toeing a fine line constantly where she has to be there as a friend but then there is a moment where she has to give him the hard truth like it's time to move on. I think she's a different person. Her jovial carefree side is a little more guarded now.
How is this episode going to change how we think about Geri?
There are going to be so many mixed emotions, especially if you wait until the very end. I'm so interested to see what the audience thinks because I even have mixed emotions about what happens. Things are not black or white. When you have a friendship like Walker and Geri's, there's so much history there and so many emotions that they've shared together, I think things happen and it's going to be interesting to see what the audience thinks about what does happen.
Walker airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
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