After the epic events of last week’s episode of “The Boys,” this has been another week of anticipation while enjoying periodic teasers from the official accounts and lots of delicious back and forth between the Vought Intl. in-world social media and “The Boys” intrepid social media manager, who is hitting it just right with the fans. This episode’s title is a real mouthful with, ‘The Last Time To Look On This World of Lies.”
Whenever you see fans tweeting that they’d like to be friends with the person running a show’s twitter, you know someone has got their finger on the pulse of the fandom. But I would have expected no less! In one of my first chats with “The Boys” showrunner Eric Kripke, back in his “Supernatural” days, we talked about finding that elusive balance of keeping track of what fans want and also staying true to the vision of the work you’re putting out there. It goes wrong as often as it goes right, but, so far, “The Boys” is finding that balance – and I am here for it!
We left off episode 4 at a pivotal time, with Soldier Boy freed from his cryogenic chamber and on the loose somewhere, Kimiko bleeding and badly injured, and Hughie still staring in awe at his magically (Temp V) healed arm and basking in the way he helped save the day.
So, as I sat down to watch the screener for episode 5, I was practically bouncing waiting to see what happens next. To say I was on the edge of my seat for most of this episode is not an exaggeration. The title alone gave me chills – any title in this show that has the word “last” in it is guaranteed to put me on edge. Who can blame me?!
This is the non-spoilery preview of Episode 5 (Last Time To Look On This World Of Lies), so no major spoilers – you can read and still be assured of experiencing the full breakneck speed roller coaster of emotions that a new episode of “The Boys” is guaranteed to bring. We already know from the official account (so it’s not a spoiler) that this episode includes at least one musical sequence, which only Kripke can pull off integrating into a show as dark as this one. It is PRICELESS.
We also know from the official account that ‘The Legend’ appears for the first time, a character from the comics played in the series by Paul Reiser. Without spoiling anything about who he is or who he interacts with, let me just say that he is A CHARACTER – and that I thoroughly enjoyed everything about him.
In many ways, the fifth episode of the eight-episode season ramps everything up into high gear. Almost everyone is at a turning point, back up against the wall, certain that they know best how to get what they want or what they think others want – and most of them willing to do just about anything to accomplish that.
To say there are unlikely alliances as a result is also not an exaggeration – even if we did suspect some of them were coming. Mother’s Milk, as he often does, has the dialogue that sums up where they are right now, quoting his father who is so much the guiding light in his life even as he tries to live his own differently in terms of his daughter. If you don’t draw the line somewhere, how the hell are you gonna know where you stand?
There are lots of lines drawn in this episode, and there are also times when someone decides there is no line – which means there’s nothing to cross. This has essentially been the question the show has asked since the beginning, for all its characters. Where’s your line?
The fact that not every character has one at this point is, frankly, terrifying. That’s becoming a risk to more characters than we might have expected, which threatens to blur the other line – the one between supes and the boys – into nothing. It’s interesting to see which characters have managed to hang onto keeping a line and which haven’t, with all the moral and ethical questions that brings with it. Is it okay to lie? Kill? Betray? If there’s no line, what will ever be off the table?
The other underlying theme of this episode is what it means to be human, and what we really mean by “humanity”. Is it determined by what’s inside you, literally or figuratively? Genetics, biology, what’s running through your veins? Is it the decisions you make and whether you retain a capacity for empathy, to care for other humans? And is it antithetical to power, the ultimate corrupter? So many good questions that are achingly relevant, not just on the screen, but in our real world right now.
I love that “The Boys” has slowly humanized its supe characters, with even Butcher pointing out that they’re all just people. And yet, knowing what they can do, he still fundamentally believes they’ve all “gotta go”. The exploration of what power is and what it does to people continues – we’ve seen reluctant supes wish they could go back to being just people, and we’ve seen what a taste of power does even to someone who has the best of intentions.
At the end of last week’s episode, we left the ethical heart of the boys, Hughie, staring at his miraculously Temp V-healed arm with something like awe and wonder – while Kimiko lies gravely wounded in the same van. If that’s not a chilling case of power corrupting, I don’t know what is!
And then, of course, there are the people who have the worst of intentions.
At some points in this episode, the real-life parallels are overt, echoing the ways in which those in power have marginalized and stigmatized those who are not. Sometimes Kripke and company really do seem prescient. I have sometimes heard the same words being spoken onscreen in the real world, from people trying to keep that power structure in place, gaslighting along the way to ensure there’s no change to it. From cancel culture to ‘bad apples’, from All Lives Matter, to ‘I don’t see color’, the talking points are all the more jarring because we’ve actually heard them. We even delve into the standard “this is no threat whatsoever, America is safe, go out there and go to your restaurants and movie theaters and live your lives” message – I might have jumped up and started cheering at that point, honestly.
I love when The Boys does that – it feels validating, cathartic. It’s fictional media but it’s reflective of so many of the things that are wrong in real life, and it feels like a relief to know others see it too. A Train’s arc at this point in the season is particularly interesting, and true to The Boys, takes some unexpected twists and turns.
Without giving anything away about his backstory and his journey, I have also been knocked on my ass by Jensen Ackles’ performance as Soldier Boy. I know how good he is from watching him bring Dean Winchester to life for fifteen years, but I didn’t know if he could make me feel anything for a new character who is only a parody of a hero, not a real one. I didn’t know if Kripke and the writers would bring as much nuance to this character as they have to the others so that my emotions are all over the place and my empathy is pulled to the forefront again and again, only to be stomped back down. It’s exhausting, and exhilarating – it’s why I watch fictional media! And this show does it so damn well.
Of course, it’s all magnified with Soldier Boy. Ackles, if given even a crumb to work with, will pull you in and make you feel whatever the hell that character is feeling, whether you want to or not. I found myself cursing at the screen multiple times, overwhelmed with too many emotions, some that should definitely be mutually exclusive.
Courtesy lemondropsonice
And, of course, they gave him a ton to sink his talented teeth into. You would think I would have been more prepared! (Not complaining, not even a little). Seeing our world through the eyes of a man who’s from another time – not to mention one who’s been through the unprecedented experiences that Soldier Boy has – is fascinating. Riveting. Ackles can show Soldier Boy’s suffering, derision, amusement or mystification with just a look, so we get to see it all. I’m trying not to be hyperbolic, but he’s amazing in this role.
That there are a couple of “Supernatural” Easter eggs in this episode that no one but a “Supernatural” fan would notice only amped up the emotionality for me. I think I might have yelled “Damn you, Kripke!” at least once. Sorry, Eric. Don’t ever stop.
There’s a lot of evolution in many of the characters in this episode, some of it the predictable slippery slope of trying to make nice with a homicidal narcissist, some of it an unflinching exploration of what happens when you get a taste of power and you’ve felt powerless all your life. That’s compelling for anyone, and the show doesn’t shy away from making that clear. Surprising, perhaps, what a taste of real power does to people – all people.
Homelander continues to consolidate his power base, his ruthlessness now knocking out even my little traces of empathy for him – that’s what narcissists do when cornered. Tell a narcissist that no one loves them and set the fuse on the powder keg is a theme we see played out in this episode more than once. And with my psychologist hat on, they got that one right.
Courtesy of Amazon Prime
There’s an interesting little theme running throughout this season that is very clear in this episode too about the cost of not being genuine – of pretending you’re okay with things you’re not. For some of the female characters, that has meant pretending to be into a man who was actually hated and feared, not loved. When there’s nothing left to lose, the truth comes out. I think most of us can relate to feeling the pressure to pretend you’re okay with things you’re not, and it seems like a strikingly relevant message when we look around at all the things that many people keep pretending are okay in the real world when they are clearly not.
This wouldn’t be “The Boys” if there wasn’t also an insane sequence that takes the emotions in a completely different direction for a few minutes, and also one that involves some sort of sex that’s vividly depicted, so don’t worry, this episode has those too! Also, if you’re not shipping a couple of twosomes after watching this episode, I’m surprised. Especially if you’re a Supernatural fan.
Don’t miss the new episode of “The Boys” dropping on Friday – or, as Kripke teased, tonight if Jensen’s ass doesn’t break Amazon again!
And stay tuned for my spoilery wrap-up of episode 5 right here on the weekend! You know how deep FangasmSPN likes to go so be ready for a nice sit down with a good friend talking you through the episode.
Last week’s “Walker” was titled ‘Search and Rescue’ and it was appropriate for multiple story lines. Directed by Austin Nichols (who was on the show in the last season), it was a fast-paced episode that didn’t have any down time. As Jared Padalecki recovered from a serious car accident, Cordell’s role was light, but there were plenty of powerful performances by the ensemble cast.
The main rescue is of Stella and Colton, after their first date hiking in the state park goes south. The two have a teasing competitive dynamic that works to make the relationship believable, but it sends Colton scrambling up a cliff side to try to get to some flowers after Stella sets it up as a race. He hits his head on a rock on the way down and is disoriented and bleeding – and for most of the rest of the episode it’s a race of a different kind to keep him conscious and get them some help.
Stella manages to call Liam and leave a seven-second message before her phone battery dies (poor planning for a hike, Stella, and I feel like your hike-loving mom taught you better than that!). So everyone knows they’re in trouble and the feuding families temporarily put aside their differences to try to find them.
Earlier in the day the feud was going full force – Liam went to the Davidson ranch to confront Denise and Dan, accusing them of cutting Cordell’s saddle strap. Bonham’s leather detailing knife went missing about that time, and they’ve finally caught up to what viewers have assumed for a long time. I’m still not sure why it wouldn’t be obvious that the saddle strap was cut immediately when they examined it, but at least they finally got there. Dan is furious at being accused, insisting he didn’t do it, but Liam storms out.
Dan and Bonham had been working well together, but the accusation ends that relationship, Dan saying “It means a lot, what you’ve done for the ranch, Bonham.” He holds out his hand to shake and Bonham doesn’t take it.
Bonham: Mr. Walker’s fine.
He angrily embeds the ax in a block of wood and walks away.
Dan rarely gets a break even when he’s trying, honestly.
Now that the kids’ lives are at stake, however, the feuding families manage to work together to find them.
Abilene: Whatever’s going on with our families, those are our kids out there. Divide and conquer?
They agree, but Liam reminds Dan – ALL the kids, Dan.
Dan: Yes Liam, all the kids. I’m not drawing lines with our families!
Augie abandons his own hot hiking date to look for his sister like a good brother, then falls into a rushing river and is washed over a waterfall just as Dan and Denise find him in their search for Stella and Colton. Dan doesn’t hesitate, leaping into the water himself and pulling August to safety. Denise is also concerned for his safety and I’m happy the show is still able to show the human side of the Davidsons even if they are going to be painted as villains. Keep it gray, show!
Eventually, Liam and Dan find Stella and Colton, but they’re at the top of the cliff and the kids are at the bottom. Liam impulsively starts trying to climb down, but Dan pulls him back to safety. The two come up with a plan to rescue Colton.
Props to director Austin for some beautiful shots; both of the rushing river and the Cliffside, showcasing Austin’s diverse landscapes, and for the tension in the scene of August in the water – I was genuinely afraid for him. (It might also be remembering that time I went over a little waterfall while tubing on the Delaware and got stuck underneath the rushing water in some kind of eddy, unable to get out. NOT fun!)
Meanwhile, Cassie and Trey play darts and she introduces him to her friend Angela, who’s part of the actual Search and Rescue team that flies a helicopter for the local hospital. And is good at darts. Trey and Cassie are both needing to start over in a way, including finding a new place to live. Trey’s not sure he’s ready for another relationship, even if Angela seems like she might be.
Cassie gets a call from Liam to come help, and she says she can do one better – Trey, Cassie and Angela all suit up and take the Search and Rescue helicopter to the state park. It’s inexplicably suddenly dark and takes a very long time to get to another part of Austin that can’t be far away, and it’s also inexplicably got some very dramatic music playing which I could do without – I am not a fan of the loud music montage feel of scenes like this.
Or the odd little homage of a guy on his lounge chair playing his boom box, hat blown off by the helicopter taking off. Just let me feel the tension of the moment, I don’t need it underscored!
Cassie picks this moment to confess that she’s afraid of heights, but she goes anyway. When they find Stella and Colton, it’s Trey who descends the rope to help. Stella, who has spent hours keeping Colton awake and conscious, runs to Trey, overcome with relief. (Again, I wish this scene had allowed that emotion to happen organically, instead of with the dramatic music).
They harness poor Colton up and into the helicopter, which I was skeptical about. He was barely able to stand – is he going to be able to hang onto that rope and stay upright while they pull him into a helicopter?? Luckily he makes it, and he’s put into an ambulance.
Denise rides with Colton in the ambulance – he gives Stella a weak thumbs up. Her family embraces Stella, and Angela compliments her on doing a great job taking care of Colton and tells her that she can ride with the Search and Rescue volunteers any time – and so can Trey. (I think Angela would definitely be up for that, and who can blame her?)
Trey and Cassie talk again about their moving on, and Trey says he’s found a new place. He suggests Cassie check it out too, and she immediately echoes half of the fandom who have wanted these two to be roommates for a while now. He shuts it down, but she teases him that it’s happening as she leaves. He looks around the house he shared with Micki, coming to an acceptance of the end of that relationship, then signs the lease.
One of my two favorite scenes of the entire episode is in the aftermath of the ambulance taking Colton to the hospital, as Liam stalks over to Dan, huddled under a blanket and attempts some kind of awkward reconciliation.
Liam: Listen, Dan…
Dan: We were never meant to be friends, were we?
They lament about the hands they were dealt, joking a little about it. Liam says he threw that first punch, that it could’ve been different.
Liam: Thank you, really, for today.
He goes to walk away and Dan answers.
Dan: You know, I might’ve goaded you into that first punch…
Liam: Oh, now he admits it…
They both laugh, and it made me smile. Keegan and Dave have a lot of chemistry and I find myself rooting for their awkward friendship. Both actors are so good that I want to see more of them interacting, and I love that there’s a part of them that grudgingly respects the other even as they end up arguing most of the time. Hey, it’s a trope, what can I say?
My other favorite scene was Liam and Ben, also somewhat awkwardly trying to figure out if either of them are ready for another relationship, and finally concluding that they are both a mess. They also have a lot of chemistry, but in a romantic way, and when they finally kissed I think I might have said yay out loud. It’s great that the show has a character who’s gay, but I’ve said for a while that he needs to have the same romantic scenes that the other characters do – that’s when representation really makes a difference.
I’m rooting for Liam and Ben so hard, and the music works in this scene, echoing what’s happening between them. Keegan Allen is excellent here too, ambivalent and anxious about being hurt again, but clearly attracted to Ben. Matt Pascua is equally good, investing Ben with both flirtatiousness that’s never over the top and thus realistic, and also the ability to show Ben’s sensitivity and serious side.
Bonham and Abilene interrupt them and that’s also awkward but kind of cute too.
Bonham: Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt… you want privacy, you might wanna pick somewhere more intimate than your brother’s bar!
He teases Liam about being a better boyfriend, and it’s kinda heartwarming – and entirely normalizing, and I am here for it.
They’ve come by to say that Dan wants to talk to all of them, and he joins them a few minutes later.
Dan: Denise threw the race. She cut the saddle. You were right. I’m just here to help you guys get your home back. I’m starting to think we’re the bad guys here.
We’ve seen Dan confront Denise about what he knows, and her beg him to stay – so we know what this is costing him. He wanted his marriage and his family badly, and she offered it to him, though knowing why would surely have made it meaningless I suppose.
Bonham holds out his hand to shake Dan’s, the thing he wouldn’t do before.
Bonham: Let’s have a drink.
The story wraps with Cordell and Captain James, who have been investigating a tip from Rita, Miles’ wife. They arrive at the field where the seemingly abandoned Airstream trailer that we saw the shadowy (bowlegged) figure in before is standing. James keeps watch while Cordell knocks, then opens the door and goes inside. A minute later, he tells James that he’d better come in too – and then some mysterious men show up and start shooting at the trailer, blowing the windows out.
The scene cuts at that and we don’t go back to it, which was weird – instead, the episode ends back at the station, Cassie joining James and Walker there after the captain called her. Cordell shows her his white hat, with a bullet hole through it.
Whoa. Close call. Which hit a little hard knowing that Padalecki had just had a close call in real life.
Walker: You might wanna take a seat.
A voice says “Hey Cassie” and she turns.
Cassie: Miles…
This episode probably had to be revised a bit to shoot around Jared Padalecki’s recovery, hence the unexplained inability of anyone to get through to Cordell on the phone so he could join the search and rescue for Stella and Colton. Keegan Allen really stepped up and anchored this episode, his scenes with Dave Annable and Matt Pascua were the most compelling ones for me.
I’m in the minority, I know, but I’m kinda dreading the fallout of finding out Denise really is the bad guy here. What will that do to Colton and to Geri and to Gail maybe even? I hope at least they make it messy and nuanced a more in the grey than the black and white. Fingers crossed!
New episode Thursday night on the CW with “Walker” 2.19 A Matter Of Miles!
It has been an intense 48 hours in “The Boys” fandom. For those of us who were “Supernatural” fans before discovering the wonder that is “The Boys” (back in the first season for me), this season is extra special – because it has “Supernatural’s” Jensen Ackles joining in the fun as Soldier Boy. The first three episodes of the eight-episode season had flashbacks of Soldier Boy, but as far as the boys knew, the original supe was killed back in the 1980s by some mysterious weapon. If it’s a weapon powerful enough to kill Soldier Boy, the boys figure it might be powerful enough to kill Homelander – and by the fourth episode, they set out to find it.
Of course, all of us know that Soldier Boy is more or less alive, thanks to Jensen’s casting and the teaser trailers that show him awakening in some kind of chamber and ripping off a mask and breaking his shackles. All sans clothing. If you’ve ever met an Ackles fan, you know that amped up the anticipation for this episode exponentially.
Ackles made the rounds of talk shows leading up to his character’s memorable entrance this week, chatting with Good Morning America, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and Late Night with Seth Myers. There was so much buzz about Soldier Boy that he even got his own hashtag emoji – with Ackles own face!
Prime Video, The Boys TV and showrunner Eric Kripke made it worse (better?) by teasing the reveal of Ackles’ bare ass, showing off their fandom savvy by using the popular peach emoji and even a photo from the actor’s own Instagram of his backside in a revealing wet bathing suit. Well played, everyone.
The fandom didn’t really need any assistance getting worked up over Episode 4, however. So, by Thursday evening, anyone who was able to had logged into their Prime account and was breathlessly awaiting the drop of the new episode. And waiting. And waiting. The hours ticked by and no Episode 4! Some lucky fans found the episode on their Fire sticks, but others had to wait a while – which caused a lot of teeth gnashing, understandably. And a lot of memes.
Kripke and company were using the hashtag #TheHuntForSoldierBoy and suddenly it was literally that! The hunt was on, and lots of people were frustrated with the not finding. Eric also quipped that Jensen Ackles’ ass had broken the internet, which I guess we all should have seen coming.
Friday morning Prime had fixed the glitch, so I spent the day grinning as my social media feeds posted screencaps and gifs in appreciation of Soldier Boy’s various assets (and argued about them too because…fandom.) There was also, to our credit, a lot of gushing about Ackles’ acting, because even in his first scene, he shows us so much about Soldier Boy and who he is, – and he is so obviously NOT Dean Winchester or any other character that Jensen has played. Ackles manages to convey a formidable sense of power and at the same time clear twinges of vulnerability, confusion and hurt. As soon as this episode ended, I wanted to know MORE.
Before you read on, make sure you’ve watched Episode 4, Glorious Five Year Plan, because there be spoilers ahead. Not all the spoilers, because just in case I’m keeping some things unspoiled for now, but some of them.
Prime Video has a nifty feature that allows you to see (and hear) longer versions of some of the musical numbers peppered throughout this season, many of them by the brilliant Chris Lennertz, whose musical talents also enriched “Supernatural.”
This episode starts out with Mother’s Milk watching old video footage of Soldier Boy on the classic 80s TV show ‘Solid Gold.’ remembering happier times with his family before it was violently torn apart. As someone who has been a big Blondie fan since back in the day (and remembers Solid Gold and the Solid Gold dancers with some nostalgic fondness), it was an absolute treat to see Soldier Boy destroy Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ – and I do mean destroy. Ackles (who I’ve seen sing live many times and impromptu rap to some Ice Ice Baby so I know how musically talented he is) managed to make it hilariously bad, while letting Soldier Boy be his cocky ridiculous self and eat up the adoration of the scantily clad dancers fawning over him. If you haven’t watched the extended version yet, do it!
It may have been an… unusual…version of ‘Rapture’, but it did get the official seal of approval on twitter from Blondie’s Debbie Harry herself, so pat yourself on the back, Jensen!
Even that little scene shows us quite a bit about the character and his addiction to the celebrity that becoming Soldier Boy has brought him. It also hints at his isolation and insulation from any genuine feedback, about his musical talent or likeability, as young Grace hinted at in a previous flashback. He eats up the worship of the paid dancers and clearly thinks he’s doing a bang-up job with the rapping. Ackles sells all of that, ending the segment with a wink to the camera that is not at all self-aware.
Other than that kind of little interlude, this is a dark dark episode, written by “Supernatural” alum Meredith Glynn. As I’ve written before, the title itself seems like a shout-out to Eric Kripke’s former show, which he originally had a “glorious five-year plan” for wrapping up in five years. The fact that it ran for a decade more has probably taught Kripke never to make those kind of predictions!
This is an incredible episode, in which Season 3 really finds its stride – and it’s not about insane sexual act depictions or lots of blood and gore. It’s about character. Every single character has an evolution that plays out in this episode, and none of them are going in a positive direction. The sense of hopelessness is pervasive, broken only by some dark humor and some moments of mirroring things that are dark in the real world, which always feels therapeutic to me.
Butcher’s evolution from trying to be a father figure to Ryan and stay on the straight and narrow, to being sucked right back into revenge as all that matters and willing to make himself a monster to achieve it, was heartbreaking to watch. The parallels between Homelander and Butcher get more glaring all the time, and it’s terrifying.
It’s not just taking the Temp V either – it’s Butcher’s willingness to muscle everyone and anyone into doing what he believes needs to be done, no matter the cost to them. It’s wielding power without concern for who gets squashed in the process. He sends Kimiko on a murderous mission as pay for Little Nina’s help, even though she does not want to go and Frenchie tries to stand up for her.
Kimiko: I’m not your fucking gun!
Butcher: That’s exactly what you are. In case you two forgot, I tell you what to do and you fucking do it.
Hughie following the same path into prioritizing revenge over everything else was even more heartbreaking. Completely demoralized from finding out that the year he spent working with Neuman was just him being manipulated by one more dangerous homicidal supe, all he cares about now is bringing them down. And doing whatever it takes to make that happen, even if it means putting Annie’s mental health on the line by asking her to play along with Homelander. I felt sick to my stomach when she had to kiss him for the cameras, hand clenched into a fist behind her back just like she had to do at those long ago pageants her mother forced her to fake some love for. Hughie, who had managed to hang onto his moral compass, letting so much of it go – that hurt.
I figured it was coming, but when Hughie finds out Butcher is shooting up Temp V (purposely looking exactly like he’s shooting up heroin), he is far enough down the road of revenge-at-all-costs that he wants some too.
Butcher: It’s poison. I have to do this, you don’t.
Hughie wants the power it seems V can provide for a different reason – for who he hopes it can make him as a man. He wants it in part because Homelander humiliated him in front of Starlight. He felt weak and helpless, flashing back to being a kid at school, bullied unmercifully and just taking it. The fact that Starlight had to save him is intolerable to him – and we’re right back to themes of toxic masculinity. Hughie says he’s so angry that he can’t even breathe, and doesn’t that sound frighteningly familiar?
Butcher: Oh Hughie. This shit, it’s not power – it’s punishment. You don’t deserve it.
That’s a recurring question on this season of “The Boys.” Is Compound V something that makes you powerful and potentially keeps you safe, or is it a curse that turns you into a weapon to be controlled and wielded by others to keep their own power? Multiple characters struggle with that question by the mid-point of this season.
Frenchie and Kimiko, by this episode, are tired of being wielded as weapons. Frenchie is increasingly fed up with being treated like a dog by everyone – as Little Nina points out, starting with his father, continuing with her, and now playing out with Butcher. There’s a pointed moment when Butcher literally pets him like a dog to calm him down and to insist that he go along with what Butcher wants him to do – you can see him bristle at it. Such good, subtle acting by both Tomer and Karl.
Kimiko is fed up too, obeying Butcher reluctantly when he orders her on that mission – which gives her the chance to take out the bad guy in an epic fight scene with The Seven-themed dildos as her weapon of choice – but realizing that to the prostitutes she just saved, she’s more terrifying than the bad guy was. She and Frenchie grow even closer as they share their frustration and disillusionment.
Kimiko: I can’t do this. Those girls, they were bought and sold, same as me. Butcher sold me. He doesn’t treat any of us as people. We only have each other. It’s you and me.
Cap courtesy of luahiddleston
“Supernatural” fans recognize that line as a Kripke-ism, one of the main themes of that show. There’s a reason I love all of Kripke’s shows – the themes he tackles are universal ones, and I invariably relate. It’s always a compelling story when it’s you and me against the world.
Mother’s Milk hangs onto some sense of morality for a little longer, Butcher’s treatment of Kimiko and Ryan prompting him to say what we’re thinking – what an asshole Butcher is. We get more of Marvin’s backstory as a result, Butcher confiding that the reason they picked “some gruff Marine stuck in the brig” for the team was because every single person he went through basic training with said he was the one who held their platoon together. Butcher pulls MM back in, telling him he’s the one that is here to look after the boys. Butcher’s manipulation may sometimes be more subtle than Homelander’s, but they are both damn good at it.
There is just as much chaotic evolution on the supes side.
Homelander continues his downward slide, buoyed by the realization that he really can do whatever he fucking wants – including being his powerful, violent, vengeful self – and his followers will eat it up. He’s the enactment of their own rage and racism and misogyny. He’s also a master at manipulation, constantly using the “lighten up, I’m just kidding” excuse after overt threats. He has a key to Starlight’s apartment, insinuates that he’s been watching her sleep, signs his name on Hughie’s cast like he owns it, knowing it’s unwanted. It’s chilling. Antony Starr is brilliant in his ability to make all of us profoundly uncomfortable.
A Train’s desperation to be relevant again leads him to try to co-opt the Black Lives Matter movement and claiming he wants to explore his background. His motivation is mostly selfish, but his brother convinces him that there is a very real problem in their neighborhood (that reflects a real life one) and A Train actually tries to convince Ashley to do something about it.
A Train: He’s brutalizing black people in Trenton, and Vought has a responsibility here.
Ashley: (laughing) Oh, wait, you’re serious? Oh, of course, social justice is so important around here. Black Lives Matter is my favorite hashtag. My Insta? Nothing but black screens.
Priceless exchange skewering every disingenuous social media post ever. (Also we get more priceless Ashley content in this episode, including Homelander demanding to know “is your idiot brain getting fucked by stupid?” and Ashley turning that around on Cameron Coleman, who seems happy to say yes if it will get him fucked for real by Ashley’s impressive Homelander themed strap on. The big corporation literally in bed with the network…)
Vought’s response is an ad for A Train’s Turbo Rush energy drink in which he joins a march and gives a can to an officer confronting the protestors – and suddenly everyone is smiling and dancing. It’s a deliberate reflection of the infamous Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad, and it was one of those dark humor moments that I so appreciate.
A Train even gets up the guts to talk to Homelander about the racist supe Bluehawk and the over patrolling of black neighborhoods, which is quickly foiled by The Deep parroting Cassandra’s message of “don’t we need more supes, not less?” which Homelander is much more receptive to. A Train is furious at the sabotage, and he and the Deep end up in a fistfight in the hallway, trading threats and then punches. Homelander breaks it up and gives the Deep a hand, leaving A Train on the ground and telling him to “rest those useless fucking legs.”
Ouch.
Queen Maeve, after giving Butcher the lead on Soldier Boy and the weapon that supposedly killed him, has also been on the straight and narrow – constantly training instead of sex and drink and drugs – hoping to at least buy the boys a second or two to get in a good shot at Homelander. Starlight confronts her about her hopelessness and willingness to sacrifice her own life for that shot at revenge.
Starlight: You really care that little about yourself?
“Supernatural” fans recognize that as another Kripke-ism, an iconic line from “Supernatural” in similar words when Bobby confronts Dean about his determination to sacrifice himself to save Sam.
Starlight pulls an informal team together against Homelander, with Maeve and her own supe ex-boyfriend Supersonic and even A Train seeming like they’re on board with the take down. I won’t spoil exactly how that goes, because it packs a gut punch and needs to be seen and experienced.
Meanwhile, no one can be trusted not to betray anyone else, and I don’t think anyone saw it coming that Homelander would ally with Neuman and she would turn on her father figure/mentor Stan Edgar. It’s a recurring theme that when you manipulate people and use them as a weapon, they will eventually turn on you – Edgar learns that the hard way. Homelander echoes the same theme that Kimiko and Frenchie recognized.
Homelander: You’re not his daughter, you’re his weapon. That’s what they do, all of them.
He leaves Neuman with some original recipe V, saying he’s glad she chose “your own kind.” What do you suppose she wants that for? I won’t spoil it, because it made me gasp.
Edgar is defiant even if he’s no longer in charge, forgiving Neuman since he’s the one who taught her to “play all sides”. When Homelander tries to gloat, Stan retorts that if he gave Homelander respect it would just go into that “bottomless pit of insecurity you call a soul” and calls him out for looking for Edgar’s approval “like I’m your daddy.”
Edgar: You’re not a god, you are simply bad product.
And that constant dehumanizing has taken a toll, that’s for sure. Also, this show is all about the daddy issues, just saying.
And then there were the scenes many of us were waiting for with so much anticipation. Soldier Boy’s dramatic entrance scene did not disappoint – and could not have been more powerful. The boys break into the lab to hopefully find the weapon that killed Soldier Boy.
Instead they find a harmless looking hamster in a cage. Frenchie makes the mistake of talking to cute little Jamie, who turns out to be a supe hamster who goes suddenly crazy, bouncing off the walls and breaking the glass of his enclosure to escape. That brings guards and an epic fight scene ensues. Jamie helps out by flying through the air like the Monty Python rabbit in The Holy Grail and eating a guard’s face, but the boys run out of ammo and the guards are still coming.
The scene gets even more epic then, as the rest of the boys find out about Butcher’s temporary powers in a dramatic way. In a scene reminiscent of Castiel’s dramatic entrance in Supernatural, Butcher walks through the lab as the guards fire at him repeatedly, bullets shattering glass all over, flashes of light from the shots illuminating the room, rock music playing, laser eyes glowing green. We also get unexpected naked Hughie in this scene, for reasons I won’t spoil but that also result in him punching one of the guards so hard it has a….dramatic result. They take out all the guards, and then Butcher turns to a large container.
He pulls the door off with brute strength.
The boys all gather around as steam pours from the opened container with a hissing noise, and slowly we see there’s a person inside, oxygen mask on and tubes keeping him alive. Naked. He wakes slowly, raising his head, looking confused, disoriented, gradually figuring it out.
He takes off the mask, rips off the tubes and sensors, snaps the restraints that are holding him down like they’re butter.
Butcher stares, whispers “Soldier Boy.”
Much of the fandom also stares and whispers, more like “omfg those shoulders holy shit”…
The others gape, Mother’s Milk looking horrified and Laz Alonso making his expression memorable.
Soldier Boy staggers out, holding onto the sides of the container, then turns toward the boys. We get a full shot of Ackles in his birthday suit, most of us shocked into silence by that point just like the boys who are staring too. This is one of the steamier moments – no, not steamy as in hot, but steamy as in preserving a little modesty type steamy. There are lots of clearer ones out there, believe me.
He stumbles, and energy starts to gather, the room humming with it. Soldier Boy clutches his midsection and Kimiko realizes what’s about to happen, throwing herself in front of Frenchie just as a ball of energy explodes out of Soldier Boy, sending Kimiko flying backwards with such force that she breaks through multiple concrete walls.
“Supernatural” fans gasped a little extra at the exposed rebar protruding from the concrete, remembering all too vividly how Dean Winchester died.
Soldier Boy staggers out of the building, and the boys put a badly injured Kimiko in the van, Frenchie exclaiming over and over again that she’s not healing, Mother’s Milk trying desperately to save her.
Mother’s Milk turns to Butcher as he drives, Butcher and Hughie still frighteningly focused on their revenge mission instead of the gravely injured Kimiko.
Mother’s Milk: It’s over, Butcher. Ain’t no team for me to hold together anymore. You made sure of that.
If that scene doesn’t pack enough gut punch for you, the final one that I won’t spoil most certainly will.
The fandom has been busy doing what fandoms do best ever since the episode aired – giffing and screencapping the Soldier Boy scene from every conceivable angle and discussing the relative merits of Jensen Ackles’ ass. It’s not an unfamiliar discussion for “Supernatural” fans – way back in Season 1 of the show, this shot of Dean Winchester’s backside resulted in what the fandom called the Ackles Ass Equation. It popped up on my timeline again today, 16 years later – some things never change!
All the fuss about his ass notwithstanding, even without any dialogue, Jensen Ackles made Soldier Boy a compelling character right from the start. He has always been able to convey more with a facial expression than many can with a page of dialogue, and we could see his confusion and vulnerability as he wakes up from what looks like it must have been a pretty horrific captivity. Shades of Dean Winchester thrown into hell for 30 years!
The scene was also beautifully filmed and directed, the steam everywhere making everything surreal, and if possible, making Ackles look even more beautiful. He has talked about how intimidating it was to have your very first day on set involve you in a robe and then the director saying okay, take off your robe now, and then the only thing between you and your new coworkers is a sock! (Karl Urban posted this bts photo from that day with a robe-clad Jensen and some scary looking rebar)
I can’t even imagine how intimidating that is, but you’d never know that by looking at the expression on his character’s face – he is in the moment, and embarrassment is the last thing he’s feeling. I guess that’s the mark of a good actor!
Let me just say that if you were fascinated by Ackles’ performance and by Soldier Boy in this episode, you won’t be disappointed by next week’s episode of The Boys, which drops once again at some point between Thursday night and Friday for where I am in the US. Just another reason to look forward to Fridays!
Courtesy Deadline
And here’s some more good news that dropped today just to make the day even better – not that we were doubting it, but “The Boys” is renewed for Season 4 – congrats all!
This is a slightly shorter review thanks to being at a “Supernatural” convention when last week’s episode aired and then flying back in the nick of time to dive into summer teaching, but I wanted to take a little time to process last week’s episode of “Walker.” ‘Torn’ was aptly named, since just about everyone in it has to make some difficult choices.
Stella is torn between her current boyfriend Todd and rapidly-becoming-her-new-love Colton, procrastinating telling Todd the truth even though she knows it’s inevitable. There’s a focus on sibling relationships in this episode too, including Augie telling it like it is to Stella, urging her to tell Todd because it’s not fair to either of them not to.
She finally does, but not before Todd figures it out on his own. He at first responds by lobbing a basketball at Colton and then getting into a fistfight. Trey intervenes, getting popped in the jaw himself for his troubles, and he reminds Todd that who Stella is with is her choice.
Trey: Both people have to want a relationship. The one who wants it the least has the power. It does get easier after high school though.
Todd: Seriously?
Trey: No, not at all. But you do get a better understanding of things.
Trey’s pretty wise, gotta say.
Todd eventually takes the news a lot more maturely than most would, hugging Stella and saying they can hopefully be friends in the future. I am impressed, Todd! There’s a tender Stella and Colton kiss before the end of the episode – the actors have a lot of chemistry, and Stella and Colton are kind of shy and sweet together. I’m sure their relationship is as doomed as Romeo and Juliet’s thanks to similarly feuding families, but I hope I’m wrong.
Geri is still torn between the Walkers and the Davidsons emotionally, but for now she’s made her choice. She and Cordell are not together (though they’re awkwardly trying to at least remain friends) and Geri is equally awkwardly trying to connect with her now family the Davidsons. Denise is initially reluctant, still blaming Geri’s adoptive dad for her father Marv’s death. That’s not rational, but it struck me as realistic. They all had some unprecedented revelations dropped on them a short while ago, and it’s no wonder Denise is having trouble just accepting Geri as her sister.
Geri is determined though, longing for a mother and a sister she never had, and eventually Denise agrees to give their relationship a chance.
Geri: We were both victimized by these men, our dads. Now that we know the truth, don’t we owe it to each other to make peace?
Smoothed over by more than a couple drinks, the two women begin to bond as sisters – so much so that Geri takes down Denise the Deer from the Sidestep to make her sister more comfortable there. I personally loathe that taxidermied thing so good riddance, but it’s undoubtedly going to be hurtful to Cordell since it’s a gift from Emily.
Trey has choices to make too, now that Captain James has offered him a full-time therapist job at Ranger HQ. He feels an obligation to stay with the school until graduation but agrees to come on board after that. James has a badge (and presumably a hat) all ready for him though – to make him a Ranger. I’ve figured that was coming ever since Lindsey Morgan left the show, leaving Trey without a solid connection to the other characters. It still strikes me as manufactured, and I’m not sure how he can so quickly become either a therapist or a Ranger just like that, but I’m happy to have Jeff Pierre stay with the show, so I guess I’ll roll with it.
And then there’s Walker. He volunteers to take Twyla to look at apartments – we get more sibling concern, with Liam cautioning Cordi that he doesn’t do casual when it comes to dating, and that neither Geri nor his kids are likely to approve. Cordell says it’s no big deal, and Liam calls him on it.
Liam: Cordi, you don’t do casual. You’re a serial monogamist.
Cordell: Well, you have coffee with a guy and get engaged!
Liam: Bret and I dated 6 months!
Liam goes on a date with Ben, but we don’t get to come along. Boo.
Cordell seems to be reeling after the loss of the ranch in the race and the news about Geri (and the breakup with Geri), and he sees Twyla as that oh-so-easy falling back into it with an ex that many of us have done in an ill-advised moment. He says things are simple with Twyla, almost like he can take refuge in being someone else again, like he did when he was Duke. That’s who Twyla knows him as, and he seems to want to fall back into that to escape all the losses he’s faced recently. I feel for him, even if everyone around him is telling him it’s a mistake and we know they’re probably right.
Twyla is required to help the DA’s office when requested, and Denise sends her and Walker and Cassie to a horse auction to catch a bad guy who’s laundering money. Cordell is protective of Twyla, bristling when she’s in the line of danger, and that’s not lost on her.
Cordell: If there’s even a whisper of danger, I’m gonna call it and we send in a tag team.
At the auction, we get to see Cordi as almost back to his Duke person, in a baseball cap and a flannel shirt, which was appreciated. He sees a man fall off a horse and has a flashback to the race when the saddle strap broke. It’s about time you started thinking about that, Cordell! Why has nobody gone over that saddle with a fine-tooth comb??
The bad guys get wise to them and Twyla ends up being held at gunpoint. Walker tries to come to the rescue and Twyla helps by kneeing the guy and getting free, and together they toss him right through a glass door to the tune of some rock music.
Twyla grins triumphantly.
Twyla: Duke and Twyla, together again.
Walker: Cordell.
Despite his reminder, they are both apparently feeling nostalgic, and a frantic makeout session ensues. Nobody is complaining because she pulls his shirt off and he hikes her up and carries her to a bed with her legs wrapped around him and when his phone rings she tosses it right over her shoulder. So there’s that.
Later we get shirtless Cordell in bed, and Twyla says what we’ve all thought for months – that it’s 100% absurd that Dan beat Walker in that race. As Twyla says, “not square anyhow.”
She asks him if “here, now, the moment” is good enough for him, and Cordell says yes. We don’t entirely believe him and neither does Twyla.
And in fact, Walker knocks on Twyla’s door the next day with flowers, and clear intentions to be more than casual, saying he wants to know what being together actually feels like. She agrees, but clearly has more doubts.
And true to both Geri’s and Liam’s warnings, when Cordell introduces his son to Twyla, Augie immediately expresses relief that they are NOT dating. Cordell is about to correct him when Twyla makes a decision – and agrees with Augie.
I found that scene pretty sad – Twyla does care for Cordell, I think, even if it’s the part of him that was Duke mostly. And she really is trying, her apology to August sincere. It hurts her to walk away, but I also think she’s probably right that it’s the right thing to do for both of them.
Twyla: I like your dad a lot, but I think we can all agree that there’s just too much history.
The framing here makes it clear that Twyla is well-aware that she’d be coming between Cordell and his son, and she’s not willing to do that. Karissa Lee Staples did an incredible job in this episode showing the evolution of Twyla – I felt for her character, the sadness underneath coming through in subtle expressions. She’s gotten to the point where she can make the hard decisions, even when they involved loss and sacrifice.
She asks for a transfer and tries to leave without even telling Walker.
Cordell: Were you really gonna leave without saying goodbye?
Shades of Dean Winchester and the Ma’lak box (“Supernatural” fans will understand that reference).
Cordell agrees with her reluctantly that them being together wasn’t in the cards.
Cordell: My brother was right. He said I don’t know how to do casual… Duke was your person. Cordell is someone else’s.
He kisses the top of her head as they hug goodbye, his eyes shining with tears.
This episode had a lot to say about how difficult choices are for us as humans, especially when they involve hurting someone we care about or losing something or someone who is important to us. It seems unfair that to make a choice that’s the right one might still involve a lot of pain, to yourself or to someone else.
Liam and Cordi share how their respective dates went, and Cordell says that Liam was right about him – that with Twyla, he was able to forget about everything and literally pretend to be someone else.
Walker: But that’s another life, one without responsibilities. Not mine.
He also shares that he can’t stop thinking about what Twyla said about him losing the race.
Walker: Daddy has been working with leather his whole life – how many of his straps have snapped?
Liam: None
Walker: What are the odds?
Liam: Cordell, what are you saying?
Caps courtesy of spndeangirl
Everyone: For godsakes, what we’ve all been saying!
Walker: The Davidsons, what if they cheated…
We did not need the dramatic music, just saying. They are finally catching up to the rest of us!
As we get closer to the end of the season, it seems like the stakes are going to ramp up and we’ll be back to some of the sense of mystery that this show does well. I’m ready for more of that!
The title of this episode (Glorious Five Year Plan) refers to something Mr. Edgar said about Vought’s long term planning, but I can’t help but think it also could refer to what “The Boys “showrunner Eric Kripke’s former show “Supernatural” originally was – Kripke’s Glorious Five Year Plan for the show that ended up running for a decade more and changing many people’s lives in the process. Mine included. The episode was written by Meredith Glynn, who also was a writer for “Supernatural.” It seems fitting to make the title into a “Supernatural” reference because we get to see more of Soldier Boy.
Like, a lot more of him.
That was not a spoiler or a surprise to anyone following what Jensen Ackles and Eric Kripke and everyone else has said about that scene, but still, it’s maybe a bit eye opening. Okay, more than a bit. Let me just grab a cold drink here before I go on.
No significant spoilers here, by the way, so you can enjoy the full impact of the episode that is about to be released, which is AMAZING. I’ll be back with a more detailed recap in a few days once everyone has had a chance to watch and enjoy. This episode is a pivotal one, and not just for Soldier Boy. Most of the episode watches Homelander consolidate his power; he knows even more than we think he does about the people currently in power and is not afraid to use every single method he can think of to flip that power balance to his favor. He makes some surprising alliances to do it – but that is so often what this show is about.
The one you think holds all the power sometimes suddenly doesn’t, and the people you think are allies may just have been temporarily pretending to be. Virtually anyone is capable of stabbing anyone else in the back at any time, which keeps the suspense factor going every episode. The Deep, parroting his ambitious scheming wife, ingratiates himself with Homelander and gets into a physical fight with A Train, which leaves A Train roaring with rage. For a while it looks like Starlight has Queen Maeve, Supersonic and maybe even A Train (after that altercation) more or less united against Homelander, but underestimating him is never a good idea. Some people find that out the hard way.
I have to say that Antony Starr is brilliant as this unhinged-and-owning-it version of Homelander. He’s constantly manipulating everyone around him, keeping them off guard with provocative comments and overt threats that he then keeps insisting was “just kidding, lighten up you guys!” It’s like Gaslighting 101 and he is an absolute master. There’s a priceless scene with Ashley (always a favorite of mine) where he asks her in disgust, “Is your idiot brain getting fucked by stupid?” She says no, obviously flustered, but Ashley learns fast.
Later she asks Cameron Coleman the same question, threatening/promising to punish him if he says yes, and did I mention there’s maybe an impressive strap-on somewhere in this scene? I can’t help it, I kinda love Ashley.
While the supes continue to smile for the cameras and engage in brutal infighting, the boys are in search of the weapon that was powerful enough to reputedly kill Soldier Boy – and thus maybe powerful enough to kill Homelander. Butcher is perfectly willing to send Kimiko on a mission of murder even when she protests that she’s “not your fucking gun”. In fact, that’s exactly what he says she is – he tells them what to do and they fucking do it. Frenchie bristles, especially after Butcher keeps treating him like a dog exactly as Little Nina taunted him about, but he also backs down.
The parallels between Butcher, who is perfectly happy to use people as weapons instead of treating them like people, and the people in power at Vought who do exactly the same, are striking.
Kimiko doesn’t like it, but she does the job – decked out in silver stilettos and a skin-tight sequined dress and looking like fire. This is not a spoiler since Karen Fukuhara has described this scene and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of fighting with dildos, but there’s nothing like actually seeing it. There’s the Star-Spangled Banger for Homelander, the Deep’s Flounder Pounder, Black Noir’s Silent Screamer. It’s pretty epic.
I’ve never really thought about a fight with dildos as the weapons of choice, but Kimiko makes it work – in a bloody, disgusting and entirely lethal way. As soon as I saw the cabinet, I started to snicker, after hearing Karen talk about enjoying the insane scene. She’s a brown belt in real life and it shows when Kimiko gets to do a fight scene. Sometimes the over-the-top scenes include an unexpected emotional impact too, which is something I value in this show – this is one of them.
Kimiko’s innovative murder of the bad guy saves the prostitutes he hired or trafficked, but they’re more terrified of her than they were of him, and that isn’t lost on her.
And then there’s Soldier Boy. Eric Kripke tweeted some behind-the-scenes fun times with Soldier Boy back in the day, so you can look forward to more of that. Such as it is.
Eric Kripke Twitter
Everyone in the “Supernatural” fandom who has found their way over to “The Boys” is eagerly awaiting more of Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy. Without spoiling anything that isn’t already known, this episode includes a scene that is both insane (including a supe hamster that flies through the air like the Monty Python rabbit in The Holy Grail to eat a guard’s face) and dramatically epic (recall those temporary laser-eyed powers we all know Butcher becomes desperate enough to take on) before Soldier Boy makes his memorable debut.
There’s a subtle “Supernatural” homage in there that reminds me of Castiel’s epic entrance complete with shattering glass and flashing lights, and then there’s a reveal that no one is going to soon forget. We’ve already seen in teasers and trailers what the boys see, so this is not a spoiler – steam pouring from an opened door, the shadowy figure of a person inside, oxygen mask on and tubes keeping him alive. He wakes slowly, raising his head, snapping his restraints and pulling out all his tubes and mask. He stands, staggers to the door, hands gripping the sides, looking disoriented, and then stumbles out.
I confess that I gasped. And maybe watched that scene more than once. Maybe.
Jensen Ackles has told the story of his very first day on set being naked in front of the coworkers he didn’t even know yet, “nothing between me and them but a sock”, so that’s no spoiler either. There’s a whole lot of steam going on, but let’s just say that all that working out he put himself through did not go to waste in my humble opinion. The Boys is all about showing its male cast with fewer clothes than its female cast, and I am here for it.
I won’t say what happens next so you can watch it for yourself, but I am looking forward to some gifs and screencaps from this episode. Like, a lot of them. ALL of them. Don’t let me down, fandom!
Halfway through the season and I don’t want it to end! Next episode drops in one week – stay tuned for a proper recap of this episode and for more on “The Boys” Season 3!
I’ve used these words to describe Amazon Prime Videos “The Boys” before, but it remains the most accurate description for the show as it moves into its third season – it is a WILD ride!
From the start, “The Boys” has packed so many ups and downs and twists and turns into its eight-episode seasons that I invariably end up feeling dizzy afterward – in a good way. (If you love rollercoasters like I do, you know what I mean.) Once the adrenaline rush has subsided, the best thing about “The Boys” is that it makes me think.
My brain was working overtime the night after watching the first three episodes of Season 3 so instead of sleeping, I was mulling over all the things that happened. Trying to make sense of each character’s evolution, trying to suss out the real-life parallels this show makes unapologetically. Where is the story going? What’s it setting up for the rest of this season?
I love getting to the end of an episode and having questions like these rolling around my brain, keeping me awake. But if it just made me think, I probably wouldn’t have been bouncing in anticipation for this season.
I think for a living as a psychologist, and then try to make other people think as a professor – so sometimes I just want to sit back and be entertained. One of the teaser trailers for this season of “The Boys” was set to Imagine Dragons and asked repeatedly, “is this entertaining?” Well, the answer is a resounding YES. I laughed, I was sad, I was horrified. I had to turn away a few times when it was too much. I scratched my head with a hypothesis slowly forming, and then sometimes did a triumphant fist bump being right – and sometimes gasped out loud being wrong. This is one of the few times when I’m happy to be fooled. Surprise me, Show, and I am here for it!
For those of you who haven’t been reading my reviews of “The Boys” here for the past two seasons, I came to the show via “Supernatural.” Eric Kripke, the showrunner behind “The Boys,” was the creator and first five years showrunner of “Supernatural” also.
He changed my life with that show, and I will basically watch anything he puts his creative touch to and at least give it a chance. Was I ever glad I did that with “The Boys! From the very first episode, I was intrigued. And then I was hooked. When “Supernatural’s” own Jensen Ackles joined the cast for Season 3, I was beyond overjoyed.
So, let’s just say I could not wait for this season to drop!
Without giving away any of the truly gobsmacking events of the first three episodes, because you need to experience those yourself (so NO BIG SPOILERS), here’s a synopsis of where we find the characters as Season 3 begins and as they progress through these first few episodes.
A lot of time has passed in real life since we’ve been in this universe, and the show includes a time jump as well. It’s a year later – a year that, unlike the constant turmoil that we’ve experienced in real life – has been relatively calm for the boys. It’s heartbreaking that the calm, as is inevitable for this series, is mostly on the surface and about to be shattered. Somehow that makes it all the more devastating when that happens.
In the first episode, ‘Payback’, on the surface at least, things are going well for most of the boys. Mother’s Milk has a warm relationship with his daughter again, which is what he wanted most. His exploits with Butcher and company haven’t left him unscathed, though, when it comes to his marriage or his OCD. He still feels compelled to line up the forks at his daughter’s (painfully supe-themed) birthday party. And it turns out obsessions with revenge aren’t all that easy to walk away from either – MM has got an entire walk-in closet papered with old newspaper articles about a supe who died decades ago – Soldier Boy. It looks a lot like John Winchester’s hotel room walls, yellowed newspaper clippings proclaiming Soldier Boy cleared of various – and yes, we already doubt that.
Frenchie and Kimiko have been together for the past year. They can communicate seamlessly now, Frenchie fluent in her unique sign language and Kimiko also using her phone to text messages to him and express herself. They seem closer than ever, but we get a clearer look at how much the trauma of Kimiko’s past has affected her. She might not have words, but Kimiko can be eloquent, whether it’s carving FUCK into the furniture or playing an increasingly discordant melody on a laptop keyboard piano as other members of the team argue. There’s a poignant scene at an amusement park where Kimiko glimpses a brother and sister sharing cotton candy, smiling sadly knowing that she and Kenji never got to live that life and longing for it still. Sometimes this show is brutal with the “we don’t get to have nice things” and you just know this is gonna be one of those times.
Hughie and Annie have also been living a relatively quiet life. They’re spending most nights together, having a lot of sex (with the euphemism of don’t forget the AquaFresh), and getting along fine. Hughie finally feels like he’s getting some respect too, working alongside Victoria Neuman at the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs. His coworkers are a little bit in awe of him, giving him accolades for helping bring down supes, and he looks dapper in his well-fitting suit. He has a collegial relationship with Neuman, the two of them eating lunch together, joking, and supporting each other. United in their mission.
Even Butcher reluctantly plays by the Bureau’s rules, deferring to Hughie though it clearly grates on him. When you think of how far Hughie’s come, how shattered he was after his girlfriend’s death, and how helpless he felt, it’s easy to imagine just how heady his new life must be. He doesn’t have to get his hands bloody and he genuinely feels like he’s doing some good in the world.
Unfortunately, he’s on the wrong show. Of course, we all know that Neuman is the one who’s responsible for all the exploding heads of the past season, so watching how close she and Hughie have become was immediately ominous. Poor Hughie. Like I said, on this show, you really can’t have nice things.
Even Butcher has been living a relatively calm life, following the Bureau’s rules as far as who the boys can go after and how (no murder or dismemberment) and visiting Ryan at Grace Mallory’s heavily guarded and hidden away house. Though it’s a painfully awkward fit on Butcher, there’s a clear affection between Butcher and Ryan that makes even Mallory acknowledge that maybe Butcher isn’t a total asshole after all.
Or is he? As we move through the first few episodes, the line between Butcher and Homelander is more and more blurry as the differences between them narrow. They are both rage-filled, on a hair-trigger, and capable of brutality. Neither puts a scorched earth policy off the table. Is there a line that Butcher won’t cross to get his revenge on Homelander? Is he willing to sacrifice anyone and everyone to do it, including in a very real sense, himself and who he is?
Time will tell.
Once again, because this is “The Boys.” Things fall apart dramatically and all of the boys are drawn back together, reluctantly understanding that in order to effectively fight a system that is much more vast and integrated than they suspected, they can’t keep playing by the rules. We’ve all seen Butcher’s laser eyes in the trailers, so it’s no spoiler when I say things go south in a dramatic way.
For all of them, but for Hughie especially, I found that evolution heartbreaking – because it requires him to turn off his natural empathy and sacrifice some of his humanity to do it. From the beginning, Hughie has been the one hanging onto that humanity, being the canary in the coal mine, willing to speak up even if he got punched in the face for it to try to find the elusive balance between morality and power. Can he keep hanging onto it this season?
That’s painful to contemplate. However, that’s one of the things I like best about “The Boys” – it makes me feel.
Things are changing rapidly on the other side of the fence too. Most of those things I won’t spoil but suffice it to say some of them are jaw-dropping. It’s no secret, since it’s been in the trailers, that Homelander is becoming even more unhinged than he was before – which is really saying something considering what we’ve seen him do. The more alone he is, the more unloved he feels, the more desperate he becomes, the thin thread keeping him from just doing what he wants – whatever the hell he wants – fraying with every loss.
Like any narcissist, he magnifies and tantrums over every perceived slight, no matter how small. He threatens and snaps and lashes out – verbally with the perfect words to go straight to a rival’s self-esteem – and physically if they don’t back down quickly enough with their tail between their legs. The brutality with which Homelander abuses his supe colleagues is one of the most sickening things about him. He torments A Train and The Deep ruthlessly with targeted comments about their appearance, with words like ‘disgusting’. (The gender roles continue to be flipped alot this season – we don’t often see men ridiculed for their weight or subject to control over their appearance.
Except, of course, celebrities, which all these actors are, which makes the whole thing really meta and even more disturbing). Homelander excels at putting supes in the position where they have to do something they very much do not want to do, with others watching so they’re forced to go along with it. He knows each of their vulnerabilities and exploits them with precision. For Annie, it’s a familiar trauma, being forced to “go out there and smile” when you want to cry or scream or say no. Those well-done moments are when the show makes me sick to my stomach, not the blood and guts everywhere.
The hate that boils inside Homelander is more and more obvious, and more and more terrifying. He’s a loose cannon who doesn’t believe he has anything left to lose, and there is nothing more dangerous than that. The other supes are afraid of him, stumbling all over themselves not to offend him and to put themselves in a one-down position that might keep them alive, but they are also increasingly resentful of his abuse and control. (Ironically, Homelander is also sick of being controlled, not wanting to tow the company line anymore).
Mirroring what has been happening with the boys, as this show often does, the other supes have also been living relatively quietly. A Train reconnects with his brother, the voice of reason in his life. The Deep is maybe-supported-maybe-controlled by his cult-arranged wife Cassandra, who quite literally puts words in his mouth to try to get him in Homelander’s good graces.
And then there’s Soldier Boy. It’s Queen Maeve who finds the yellowed file with the description of his demise and kicks off the search for answers – and hopefully for the weapon that was powerful enough to kill him (and thus Homelander). I admit to gasping out loud when that report and photo appeared on screen, even though we had already seen it in a teaser. Still – this is it, Jensen Ackles has arrived on “The Boys!” I think I was entitled to my scream. You can check out my interview with him here.
You’ll have to watch the investigation with its unexpected twists and turns and revelations for yourself, but by the end of the third episode, Barbary Coast, the boys have enough clues to know where to look for those answers. We also get some flashbacks of Soldier Boy and his team Payback that are absolutely priceless. I mean, horrifying. Ahem. But priceless. Ackles’ Soldier Boy is a misogynistic asshole who apparently treated his sidekick like shit, but he’s a charming one. And I cannot wait to see more of him!
Courtesy of Amazon Prime
There’s a lot more going on in these first three episodes – in fact, so much happens in one episode of “The Boys” that it leaves my head spinning. The American Hero search for the next supe is going on, with Starlight’s old boyfriend Supersonic competing, which means a little bit of the song and dance that we’re apparently getting a lot of this season (also cannot wait because Chris Lennertz never disappoints – I mean, the second episode has a ballad called ‘Chimps Don’t Cry’…)
There’s plenty of humor too. Kripke excels in the unlikely combination of horror and emotion and humor, which is one of the things that made me fall in love with “Supernatural” too. That combination works well here. The character of Ashley carries much of the humor that delights me, and Colby Minifie is brilliant in portraying her. It’s often Ashley’s reaction that is the audience’s reaction, and Minifie makes it so obvious with her priceless facial expressions that I laugh every time. Ashley gets an assistant this season. Also named Ashley. You cannot make this up. Oh, and there’s a Payback supe named Swatto. Who flies, with comically small wings. Again, you cannot make this up. But Kripke and company can.
And this would not be “The Boys” if we didn’t have some graphic violence and some explicit scenes of various flavors of sexual depravity. I tend to be in the ‘hey to each his own’ camp, but there were times I laughed out loud at the poking fun at the lengths people will go to in order to get off. No judgment though!
I could probably write a whole psychoanalytic article about the sexual acts the show likes to depict and the consequences of those acts and what that says about the people who came up with those ideas, but I’ll spare everyone that. Some of the sexual humor doesn’t work for me, but I admit to laughing at times. You’ll know those when you see them.
Kripke kept saying he pushed the envelope this season with the most out there scene ever on television in the first episode, and I can confirm that yes, that envelope was pushed so far it fell right off the desk. That’s not really why I watch the show, but I appreciate their guts in going wherever the hell they want to go.
It works best for me when it’s a scathing parallel for the things that are happening in the real world that are upsetting every single day, from the old adage ‘power corrupts’ to the outcomes of racism and homophobia and misogyny. From mass media manipulation to political corruption to the NRA – I mean, the Vought Rifle Association – I frequently find myself nodding in response to something going on in the show. It feels cathartic to see that reflection, validating.
So, three episodes in, and I am not disappointed. AT ALL. There are plenty of surprises that I didn’t see coming, and some subtle dropped hints that have me intrigued. In fact, I cannot wait to see what the rest of Season 3 brings us!
Check out the first three episodes now, and hold on tight. New episodes drop each Friday on Prime Video.
I had a lovely chat with “The Boys” Soldier Boy himself this afternoon, aka Jensen Ackles. Mostly I wanted to delve deep into understanding his new character on “The Boys” for its third season, and that part of the interview will have to wait until it’s not so spoilery, but we also had time to reminisce a little about his last show (and my favorite show of all time),” Supernatural,” and how working on “The Boys” was both different and similar.
When you watch a show for 15 years like I did “Supernatural,” you get pretty familiar with your favorite character (that would be Dean Winchester) and the way in which an actor portrays him (that would be Jensen). I used to play a game where I’d try to figure out what lines were ad-libbed, since that happened a fair amount on “Supernatural”. They were inevitably some of my favorite lines. According to Ackles, my track record was pretty good. Soldier Boy, on the other hand, is a brand new character. I don’t really “know” him that well, so it’s harder to pick out those improvised moments. I asked Jensen if he could think of any examples off the top of his head.
Courtesy of Jensen Ackles
Jensen Ackles: There were some, I’m trying to think – I just watched the whole season through this weekend.
Me too, Jensen. It was a bloody wild ride!
Jensen: There wasn’t a whole lot of room for that though, given the character and given the type of scenes we were filming. I know like all of the stuff that we did, like the PSA that got ‘leaked’, that was just me and Phil (Sgriccia) messing around.
Sgriccia has directed on many of Eric Kripke’s shows, including being a long-time director on “Supernatural.” I once had the great privilege of being on set when he was directing and sitting behind him to watch. (Jensen introduced him as “the man, the myth, the legend” and believe me, I didn’t need to be reminded to be in awe! In fact, I guess I was more or less frozen in silence so as not to interfere with filming, because eventually Phil turned around in his chair and exclaimed, “you are the quietest person I’ve ever met!” Which, I am NOT – but it was Phil Sgriccia!)
Courtesy Claudia Doumit
That PSA has Ackles ad-lib written all over it. No wonder I love it so much.
I also asked him what it was like being “the new guy” on set after having experienced the Supernatural set for fifteen seasons, with a cast and crew who were essentially family after all that time.
Me: It was a special set.
Jensen: Yeah, it was. And you know, this was fun for me. It wasn’t basically being the co-leader of a set for fifteen years, and it was kinda interesting – almost refreshing – to be the guest on somebody else’s set. Being the guest at the dinner table. And it was nice to kinda sit back and watch somebody else lead and set the tone for that set. I think Karl does an amazing job, Ant does an amazing job, they are all really great – not just at portraying their characters, but also providing a really healthy fun and creative space to make the show. So it was nice to kinda plug myself in.
Courtesy Jensen Ackles
Me: You can tell that you all got along well. Even the interaction in the press interviews and the way everyone can tease each other. It seems like it worked out really well.
Jensen: It’s great and I had a lot of fun and again, like everybody who I was working with, they just brought it. It’s a different level. I felt like it was the same great energy level that I was so used to on “Supernatural,” but on a much bigger stage.
He is definitely right about both the energy level and the size of the stage – don’t miss Season 3 of “The Boys,” premiering June 3 on Prime Video. Stay tuned for more about “The Boys” and more from Jensen!
Last week’s episode of “Walker” once again opens with bacon, which is always a good thing. And right away it’s a bit of a metaphor for the real subject of this episode – relationships. Their ups and downs, their challenges and triumphs, the way they bring joy and pain. Abby and Bonham’s kids and grandkids show their love by knowing how to cook the bacon just like they like it – and planning a big 40th-anniversary bash.
The kids and grandkids are determined to make Bonham and Mawline’s anniversary special, right down to trespassing on the Davidson’s ranch to pick her favorite flowers and herbs, finding the perfect bottle of champagne, and cooking the bacon just right. It’s also complicated from the start, though, with Bonham asking Cordell to try to convince Geri to come to the party and give Abeline another chance, while Twyla Jean keeps texting him asking for help.
Talk about stuck in the middle! He kinda wants to please everyone, and that is never easy, often putting a strain on all those relationships you’re trying to salvage.
Geri comes back from her girl’s weekend and tells Gale that in spite of how complicated that particular relationship is, she’s glad they’re trying.
Gale: Me too.
Apparently, Denise is struggling also, an only child for her entire life who now has a grown-up sister who wasn’t her favorite person before she found out they were related. Nobody is ever entirely immune from sibling rivalry either, so having to watch how obviously thrilled Gale is about having her other daughter back must be a bit painful for Denise.
Geri holds out her arms for a hug, and Gale looks overjoyed to give her one, and I know most people are not a fan of any of this, but I feel for both of these women right now.
Gale says that they haven’t really had any one-on-one mother-daughter time, and you can see how much just that term means to Geri – mother-daughter time is something she thought she would never ever have, and now it’s being offered. It must be incredibly powerful and also incredibly confusing. Being taken into confidence for the old family recipes – a family she never knew was hers – would be a big deal, I imagine. Family traditions, being part of mothers handing down recipes to their daughters – it’s hard to see things like this all around you and not have them.
The episode revolves around all the Walkers trying to pull together the big bash, while nothing goes entirely smoothly. Cassie goes with Liam to get the rare champagne that’s special to Abeline and Bonham. I like Cassie, so I’m not gonna complain, but if my new work partner wanted to be part of literally every family event ever, I would probably be a bit alarmed. I guess she’s new in town and doesn’t know many people other than Cordell though – and we soon find out that Geri isn’t the only one craving family acceptance.
I love that Cassie is a bit of a fangirl, waxing poetic about wine by quoting a movie and then appalled that the clerk doesn’t recognize it. It’s such a fandom thing to know all the dialogue. Not that I can quote entire scenes of Supernatural or anything. Ahem.
Meanwhile, Liam gets flirty with the other wine store guy, who flirts right back. I was rooting for Liam and Bret to get back together, but I have to admit that Liam and Ben (Matt Pascua) have more chemistry – sparks flew from just about the first minute of their conversation. Maybe because we didn’t get to see Liam and Bret at the start of their relationship and they seemed settled into an almost friendship by the time we met them – for whatever reason, LiamBJamin (as I saw the ship called in a few tweets) kicked up sparks.
Different kinds of emotions fly when Cassie sees him because it turns out Ben is her estranged brother. Talk about a small world – but this is a family drama, so soap rules sometimes apply. Of course, your estranged brother is working at a wine shop in the same city you’ve ended up in!
Liam: Oh, you two know each other!
A few exchanges later…
Liam: Oh. You two know each other in a not great way…
Keegan Allen’s acting in this whole episode is awesome, but he delivered that line so flawlessly that it made me laugh out loud. Ben, who Cassie laments is “everyone’s favorite Perez”, takes an early lunch break, and damn, all that flirting may have been for nothing!
Augie and Stella have some quality time that genuinely felt like sibling moments, which was nice to see. “Supernatural” was so good at portraying siblings, and I love when “Walker” succeeds with that too – that unique mix of I’ve got your back support and busting each other. (Augie laments that Stella’s love triangle might lose him all his guy friends – which seemed like a very adolescent guy perspective indeed – then says ‘not to make it all about me…’).
Stella recognizes that she’s at a real fork in the road as she considers college and interprets their grandparents’ serendipitous meeting as being ‘fate’ deciding what she’d do. Stella says she’s going to wait for a sign to guide her too.
Augie makes a face.
Stella: What?
Augie: Oh nothing, I was gonna burp, but it felt like you were gonna say something important, so I refrained.
Siblings for sure.
Cassie and Liam return empty-handed and she explains that they had a little run-in with her big brother. Liam and Cordi have an entire conversation without saying a word, also a thing siblings can do. Liam pulls him aside and advises Cordell to be a little more gentle after seeing what happened with Cassie and Ben, which was mystifying because he wasn’t being overbearing at all. Sometimes people really are hard on poor Cordell, who always seems to be trying his best.
Cordell: That sounds like a jab.
Me: Yep, it was definitely a jab.
Liam: It’s not a jab.
Me: Mmmm, pretty sure it was…
Anyway.
Cordell says he invited Geri, and Liam offers to hold down the (very decorated) fort so he can follow up with her.
Cordell: Don’t touch the banner!
Cassie admires an old photo of Bonham and makes me laugh out loud again.
Cassie: He should really bring the porn stache back. Rawr.
I would like to have drinks with Cassie, just saying. I bet she was a “Supernatural” fan.
Liam and Cassie have a chat about brothers.
Liam: I don’t know what happened, but I do know about brothers and trauma.
Cassie says she and Ben were always close. Like matching sweaters at Christmas by choice close. And then…things happened…
I hate when shows are super vague for the sake of spinning out drama, and that was one of those times. Liam shares how scared he was to lose Cordell when he was undercover, afraid he would never come home. Cassie listens.
Walker and Geri meet up at their old high school football field for some reason, I guess because Cordell wants to remind her of their longstanding friendship.
Geri: So are we ditchin’ homeroom?
Cordi: No, I just wanted to copy you and Em’s homework under the bleachers before biology.
He apologizes for what happened at the Kansas concert, saying he didn’t mean to come between her and Gale. Meanwhile, his phone keeps ringing and he ignores it. Cordell is so sincere here, saying he needs to own up to his messing up even as she’s trying to say it’s okay, and promising to show her that he’s committed to their friendship. He reiterates that they’re not “together,” but it seems pretty clear that he wants to be. He invites her to the big 40th-anniversary party, saying he hates putting her in that position, but that there will be a dark cloud over Abeline all night if she’s not there, and saying he wants to make things right.
But Geri says it’s not that simple – and that really is an understatement if you’re talking about her situation. (It’s a little simpler if you’re just talking about their relationship, but still…)
Geri: Can you square the fact that the father I loved killed the man who brought me into this world and then threw me out like trash? Or go back in time so that your mom didn’t sit on that secret?
She says she understands, but she can’t undo how it makes her feel, and he assures her that he gets it. Cordell really does try so hard, and I love how sensitive and empathic he can be. Geri reaches out for him, and they share a hug and both close their eyes briefly before Geri leaves and Cordell finally answers his phone.
It’s Twyla, and he says he’s on his way. Walker runs down the field in one direction while Geri walks off in another. I like when the show uses those kinds of symbolic shots, even when they’re not subtle.
Twyla is being accused of skimming money on her first day on a new job. It turns out the boss man is jumping to conclusions assuming that if there’s money missing, the ex-con must have done it. I will grant you that’s a weird coincidence that it happened on her first day, but the show is trying to make a point that there’s no way to get back on your feet if no one will give you a chance to get back on your feet and leave that stigma behind for a fresh start.
Liam texts an SOS in the middle of all this and poor Cordell has to excuse himself from one emergency to deal with another – except that’s mostly Liam tasting too much of the blackberry bourbon cocktail that he’s making and not knowing how to fix a clog. Liam warns Cordell that being with Twyla is not a good way to make peace with Geri. Cordell protests that he and Geri “aren’t even” but Liam says that though he knows that Twyla had nothing to do with Hoyt’s death, Geri might not see it that way. This episode really could have been called “Cordi In The Middle” honestly.
Gale and Geri make a brisket in what used to be the Walker kitchen, which is awkwardly obvious when Geri goes to get the spices where they used to be. Gale, to her credit, senses that Geri is thrown by that and asks if she’s okay, and seems to have empathy for how hard it is that everything is different. Geri tells her that she’s invited to the anniversary party and Gale responds in a way that probably nobody was expecting her to, including Geri. She says she understands that Geri has a history with Abby and Bonham.
Gale: And after all the losses they’ve been through, I expect they need you there tonight. You should go, you’ve got my blessing, not that you need it of course.
She says that Marv saddled Abeline with an impossible choice way back then.
Gale: Don’t let him do the same thing to you.
It’s hard to trust Gale to give some good advice (or to be genuinely empathic) given what we’ve seen of her so far, but in this case, she does seem to be. She seems to want what’s best for Geri, at least for now, and to even be empathizing with Abeline’s losses, having experienced big ones of her own – we’ll see what happens in the future, of course.
Walker and the Rangers track down the missing $800 as a clerical error, and the boss man protests that nobody can blame him for suspecting Twyla with her record.
Walker: Oh I can, and I am. Your oversight could have upended her life. Twyla trusted the wrong guy and it backfired, but she’s paid for it already. She doesn’t need to pay for the rest of her life.
Well said, Cordell. And not lost on Twyla.
Cassie goes back to visit Ben after her chat with Liam. She says she’s sorry for not being there for Ben when his boyfriend Lucas died, but Ben is still angry and hurt. Lucas had Huntington’s Disease and Ben says that he asked for her near the end, and luckily was too far gone to know the truth – that she’d abandoned them. Cassie is devastated by that information, fleeing and sitting in her truck and trying to hold back sobs.
All the kudos to Ashley Reyes for this scene – I imagine it’s not easy to make breaking down look so real as an actor, but it felt achingly real here, as did her frustration with herself as she tries to pull herself together, banging on the steering wheel. It makes sense that despair and anger are all tangled up for Cassie, including at herself.
Abby and Bonham get ready for the party, and I love that the show gives us these kinds of shots of Abeline, not just of the younger women in the show. Molly Hagan is gorgeous, and these shots are equally gorgeous.
Bonham reassures Abby that everything will be all right in time, and they’re flirty and romantic and damn but Abeline is beautiful, Bonham is right. Augie and Stella drive their grandparents, trying to pull off the ruse of oh no it’s not a party. Abby and Bonham totally know they’re being taken to a surprise party, but they let Stella and Augie keep covering again and again, giggling knowingly in the backseat and it’s totally adorable.
They feign shock anyway as everyone yells out ‘Surprise!’
Big family hug!
Ben shows up with the rare champagne and he and Liam resume their flirting. Liam asks him to taste the cocktail he created.
Ben: This is a revelation! This bourbon blackberry cocktail changed my life.
Liam: I can’t tell if you’re messing with me…
Oh Liam, you’re so cute.
Cordi makes a beautiful toast to his parents, saying with all the losses and uprooting, he wanted to do something special.
Abeline: Uprooting? Our family, our marriage, it’s not a ranch, son.
She gives a toast of her own.
Abby: Marriage is something we grow, through the dark and murky and through the daybreak. It’s us. It’s always us. And it’s all of us. It was fate we met, but we choose each other every day.
Abby sees Geri there, saying their promise grew with everyone they welcomed into their family and loved along the way.
Abby: When I look around, I do not see a family uprooted, I see a family thriving.
Stella realizes that it’s not just fate – that the universe gave her options, but she has to choose. Todd or Colton, school here or across the country. That she just hopes one day to have what their grandparents have.
Augie: I think you will.
Stella: I think you will too.
Ben leaves the party when Cassie gets there and she almost lets him go, but once again, Liam encourages her to talk to him. She does, going after him and this time explaining – and apologizing.
Cassie: I screwed up, I couldn’t reach out. Something stopped me – pride, guilt….
She says she wasn’t expecting Huntington’s, or hospice, that she wasn’t prepared. That she loved him too and she couldn’t accept it, and then Miles disappeared and she lost herself in it, because it felt like something maybe she could fix since she couldn’t fix Lucas.
Cassie: I told myself I was helping by giving you space, but I was really avoiding his Huntington’s. Lucas died. I thought if I could find Miles, I could protect myself from more loss. It’s ridiculous, I know. And he’s gone too and I hurt you, and I am so sorry, Benny.
Ben pulls her into a hug and they cling to each other, Cassie sobbing.
I wonder if she’s the only one who calls him that.
Back inside, Liam pulls out the very special champagne from their wedding, cutting the cork off with aplomb with a big knife and proposing a toast.
Bonham interrupts, saying there’s a little something he wants to do and then grabbing a guitar and singing ‘The Cowboy In Me.’ Fandom all knew we’d be getting Mitch Pileggi singing in this episode, so it wasn’t a surprise, but it was really lovely. Who knew way back in “X-Files” days that Mitch would play a cowboy so believably – or could sing?
Geri says ‘you show up for the people who mean something to you’ when Cordell expresses surprise at seeing her there. She says she’s been so worried about what being a Davidson means, but she wants ‘all you crazy Walkers’ in her life too.
Cordi: Well, you can have that. And I’m all in, I promise.
Geri: I like that. A new chapter.
Abby has teared up a little, and Bonham sweeps her into a passionate kiss and I’m grateful once again that this show breaks so many unwritten rules by letting the grandparents have the same rich and real romance that the younger generations get to have.
Abeline then finds Geri in the crowd, and the two women reconcile.
Geri: I may be a Davidson now, but I am still a Walker through and through.
Abby and Geri hug, and it feels like healing.
The guests send Bonham and Abby off with sparklers in a car with Stella driving. Ben and Liam and Cassie go back to Ben’s, and Cas thanks Liam for helping her reconnect with her brother. Liam asks her permission to ask her brother out and she smiles.
We get a TX Whiskey product placement, and then Liam does manage to ask Ben out, saying he had a good man with him for a while, but didn’t know what he wanted…
Liam: And I’m done waiting…. Are you okay, this is a lot, I can be a lot sometimes…
Ben: I’m here for it.
The last scene is more ominous than all the feel-good scenes that came before it.
Twyla finds Cordi at the Side Step later that night, thanking him and saying that even when he was undercover as Duke, he really was getting to know her. She puts one of ‘their’ songs on the jukebox and wants to dance, the lyrics “you were never mine, only in secret” seeming pretty relevant.
Cordell: This song has too many memories for me.
He’s game for sharing some beers if not a dance, and Twyla joins him at the bar. He shares that it was a good day, and she calls him the bright spot in her crappy day.
And then Geri walks in with churros to share, sees Twyla put an affectionate hand on Cordell’s shoulder.
Caps courtesy of spndeangirl
Distressed, she walks out.
Back in the middle again, Cordi!
I’m in the odd position of liking both Geri and Twyla, and not really shipping any of them, but I’m gonna feel bad for any of them who end up hurt, that’s for sure.
Walker takes a few weeks of hiatus now, but Jared Padalecki and the Walker family have a lot of celebrating to do in the meantime – the prequel “Walker: Independence” was picked up to go to series yesterday by The CW. It looks like it’s going to be excellent, and I’m excited that Walker alum Matt Barr will be returning to the franchise.
“Walker: Independence” is set in the late 1800s. It follows Abby Walker (Katherine McNamara), an affluent Bostonian whose husband is murdered before her eyes while on their journey out West. On her quest for revenge, Abby crosses paths with Hoyt Rawlins (Matt Barr), a lovable rogue in search of purpose. Abby and Hoyt’s journey takes them to Independence, Texas, where they encounter diverse, eclectic residents running from their own troubled pasts and chasing their dreams.
Last week’s “Walker” episode wasn’t the big event that the week before was (since it was directed by Jared Padalecki’s “Supernatural” costar Jensen Ackles,) but it was a solid episode that I thoroughly enjoyed. This is an unusual way of judging an episode, I’m sure, but for me, one of the best things about this episode was its positive commentary on fandom, something I’m always happy to see in media. The episode starts out with Cassie and Walker on a stake out – as she watches a fictional show (within a fictional show) called Hawk’s Shadow. It’s got a shout out to other CW shows, including “Supernatural” and “Kung Fu…”
“Who knew Satan’s greatest weakness was kung fu??”
And it’s got an awesome tagline: Whenever crimes come a-knockin’, I’ll be there to answer the… CAW CAW!
Walker isn’t into it, but Cassie definitely is, pointing out that there’s a lot of real life drama going on and an escape with a 90’s fandom classic seems like a good idea. I can get behind that, totally. Also, Cordell’s face is gold. I like that Cassie is thoroughly unapologetic about loving the perhaps a bit cheesy 90s show and it turns out that lots of other people like it too as the episode goes on.
The partners check in with each other, Cassie struggling with being so wrong about Captain Cole (or is she??) and Cordell struggling with Geri being on a “girls’ trip” with Gale and Denise.
Walker says he feels betrayed, especially because Geri is his best friend; that it feels like she chose them and the Davidson family over him and his family.
Cassie doesn’t try to disabuse him of that, agreeing that “if you can’t trust your best friend to stick by ya…” and saying he can trust her as his partner.
The episode has a theme of trust running through it, starting off with this very first scene.
Cordell’s feelings are entirely understandable, but I can’t help but think that Geri’s are too. She has just found out that she has a sister and a mother, when she thought she didn’t. When she thought she was given up and maybe not loved by her own mother. When she thought she had no living relatives. How could she turn down an invitation from them to get to know them better? She must have so many questions, and they are the only ones that can fill in the blanks.
I have no doubt Gale is going to turn out to be scheming and manipulating this somehow, but I also can’t help but think that of course she wants to get to know her own daughter, who she’s been grieving for literally decades. Denise too – the sister she thought she lost is right here.
I might have tried to help Cordell understand all that a little more if I were Cassie – but I am not. I like Cassie a lot, including that she’s not always what I expect. That’s rather fascinating, so I’m glad, but I also had to bite my tongue when she just agreed with and amplified Walker’s feeling of betrayal instead of maybe helping him put himself in her shoes a little more (while also empathizing with his feelings).
Their conversation is cut short by the suspect exiting – Cassie figures out that this particular string of nightclubs always has a secret back exit so you’d never seen people leaving. Walker doesn’t understand, yelling that the guy is gonna get away, but Cassie once again asks ‘Do you trust me?’ He does, and so they’re right there when the guy comes out the exit and they take him down.
Cassie: Caw Caw!
Two bystanders: Caw Caw!
Walker (longsuffering): That’s not even the sound a hawk makes…
Me: Fandom is awesome.
The Return of Twyla Jean
Walker is late to meeting with Captain James and he’s annoyed.
James: It is… 9:47
Walker: Uh, yes sir.
James: 9:48.
Walker: Uh, let’s go with 9:47.
(Apparently an ad lib – this cast can be subtly funny and I enjoy it a lot)
James says he was catching Cassie up on the perp they nabbed the night before. Cassie rightly demands credit.
Cassie: I nabbed. I am the nabber.
The cryptocurrency middleman, it turns out, is someone named Eric Davies. It’s a name that Cordell instantly recognizes.
Cordell: Er-Eric Davies??
Cassie (looking from James to Walker): Okay the loop is over there and I’m right here!
I do love Cassie.
Turns out Eric was married to Twyla Jean, who (as you recall) Walker put in jail and who gave them intel on Clint West when he escaped from prison.
Walker is reluctant to question Twyla, feeling guilty because he promised her he’d visit her in prison and then didn’t. Trust again. Too late – Twyla is already at the station.
She meets with Walker and Cassie, who greets Cordell as Duke.
Cassie (stifling a laugh): Sorry, I forgot your undercover name was Duke Culpepper. Like what, was Archibald Fakename already taken by another Ranger?
Twyla: I like your new partner already.
Me: I’m with Twyla.
She’s reluctant to help though, saying Eric up and left her with a mountain of debt and divorce papers, and that she’ll need an offer of something concrete since Cordell didn’t keep his promise to visit last time. James offers moving up her parole eligibility, and Twyla agrees, saying Eric will probably be at Maple Ridge Country Club. Twyla cautions that Eric can read people and he’ll see right through Walker’s “charade.”
Walker: MY charade?
Cassie: We had this play back in Dallas called the Magician’s Assistant. You send in some eye candy as a distraction….
Twyla: Like that episode of Hawk’s Shadow with the art thieves?
Cassie: OMG yes, I was totally lying about Dallas, that’s what I was talking about!
Gotta admit, I loved Cassie and Twyla fangirling out together.
Cordell is hesitant, since he got burned by Twyla last time, but she is agreeable if Walker can “let bygones be bygones”.
Walker: Just don’t forget, when we’re together, I’m gonna be watching you like a haw…
Cassie and Twyla: Like a what? Sorry, you trailed off there…I believe you were gonna say an animal…maybe of the avian variety…
Me: Priceless.
Walker and Twyla go undercover. He tells her to hurry up.
Twyla: You ever tried to put on a cocktail dress in the back of a van?
The van pulls away and there’s Twyla, looking amazing – and making Cordell instantly nervous. Which is pretty adorable. Twyla flusters him even more than Geri, I think, and Padalecki makes that very attractive indeed. Also, a moment to appreciate not just Twyla’s amazing dress but Cordell’s amazing perfectly fitted suit. We don’t get to see him dressed like that very often, unfortunately, so let’s appreciate it while we can.
Twyla assertively removes his tie, shushing him, and then his belt, in a much-giffed scene that fandom appreciated very very much.
Twyla: Now you look less like a narc.
He gives her some advice that helped him when he was undercover: Keep the circle small and the lies honest.
Twyla: As per usual, Duke, the only one lying about who they are today is you.
Cassie on the comm: Oh damn, she got you…
Cordell: I am putting my belt back on…
Twyla grabs some food, because all the women on television who wear skin tight little black dresses claim to eat constantly but look like they eat next to never.
Then they put the sting on Eric, who proves to be a tough sell. Cordell nearly blows it not knowing much about cryptocurrency (“The bit coin” lol) Eric perceptively wonders if Twyla and Walker are a thing and they both stammer and deny it, so he backs out, saying if they can’t be honest with themselves, they aren’t gonna be honest with him.
Twyla takes off after Eric, leaving the mic behind in her purse. Walker is furious, convinced she’s double-crossing him again. But Twyla comes back with the news that Eric is in, and will text her details of a meet up with the guy in charge of the operation. Walker is still suspicious, accusing Twyla of outing them as Rangers.
As they continue to argue, finally Cassie intervenes, ordering “Walker – hallway, now!”
Cordell reminds her that Twyla flipped on him before (so honestly his mistrust does make sense) but Cassie questions whether this is also about Geri – that he feels betrayed by her, and those feelings are clouding his judgment about Twyla.
Cassie once again asks if he trust her – for real this time, not in a showboaty way.
He says he does, and they continue to go along with the plan Twyla set up with Eric, waiting for him on the dock. Cordell and Twyla have a frank discussion, Cordell telling her that she double-crossed him before, why wouldn’t she do it again? (Again, I think that makes total sense).
Twyla: Why do you always think the worst of me?
She asks why he didn’t visit her in prison, and he says the last year was difficult – then answers honestly.
Cordell: And frankly, seeing you in there the first time was hard enough, knowing that I put you there.
Twyla: Do you ever wonder what it could’ve been like if we’d met under different circumstances?
Eric and his men arrive on a speedboat before he can answer. He questions who the new girl is, and Cassie answers.
Cassie: Name’s Archibald.
Me: lol
Eric, however, grabs Twyla and takes Walker and Cassie’s guns, saying he’s bending them over a barrel. It soon becomes clear that Twyla has double crossed Walker again. (Or does it?)
Twyla: Told you he’d fall for it. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to steal 300 grand from you, Walker.
Eric reveals that he’s actually the counterfeiter, not the middleman. Twyla points the gun at Cordell.
Twyla: You should’ve visited me in prison.
And then she turns on Eric.
Twyla: And you shouldn’t have left me in debt five years ago!
There’s a fight, Walker stripping off the belt he put back on to escape from a bad guy’s hold, and the fandom once again appreciating the gifs.
Once it’s all over, Twyla admits she was wrong about the belt.
Cordell: I was wrong too.
Cassie and Twyla, triumphantly: Caw! Caw!
Walker: I’m not doing that…
Me: Yep, those are the faces of fangirl glee right there!
The Family Feud
Meanwhile, the Walker-Davidson feud evolves in some unexpected ways. The Walker family is looking at other ranches, but pickings are slim and costly. Bonham laments that maybe it’s time to ‘put this cowboy out to pasture,’ sounding discouraged and maybe a bit depressed too. Understandably, though it was partly his pride and hard-headedness that lost them the ranch in the first place. Maybe he’s realized that by now.
Cordell asks Stella if she’s heard from her first choice school in Oregon yet, and she says not yet but there’s still time. The family reassures her that she’ll get in, and invites her to go look at ranches with them, but Stella says she’ll be with Todd – and then tells Todd she’ll be with her family looking at ranches. Oh Stella, always with the lies. More of that trust theme.
095
Stella hangs out with Colton instead, confiding in him that she did get into Sauber but that the out of state tuition is too high with everything going on. Colton empathizes, saying that his dad has been pushing him towards real estate.
Dan is a better realtor than rancher, Colton notes, saying that he’s trying to do things himself and spent two whole days tearing down a fence between the pastures.
Stella and Colton have a moment, him saying he kinda spilled his guts to her and she didn’t seem like she hated it, and Stella admitting that she didn’t, but everything feels unstable right now.
Then she notices a cluster of hemlock growing, poisonous enough to kill a horse. It was something Stella and Bonham cut down every spring. They realize with alarm that Dan just took down the fence, so the horses are in danger. Stella and Colton return to the house after calling Bonham, and Dan is surprised when Bonham pulls up in his truck. He accuses Dan of taking the fences down without walking the land for hazards – that his family kept the ranch running for over a century and within a month it’s already gone to hell.
Dan is at first angry and wants Bonham gone, but Colton and Stella explain, and then he’s sheepish, saying he didn’t think about the hemlock.
Bonham: Well I guess we found out what that big “D” out front stands for – dumb ass!
Stella and Colton are the voice of reason, asking if they can put the family stuff aside for the sake of the horses, and eventually they do.
Dan: I’m sorry about taking down that fence, I was just trying to impress Denise.
He asks Bonham about his treatments, saying that both his parents fought cancer – his mom made it through but it took his dad before they had a chance to work through their differences.
Bonham is surprised and responds with empathy – which surprises Dan, who admits he’s clearly in over his head and asks for Bonham’s help. It seems pretty unlikely, but Bonham agrees to work the ranch for Dan since he’s “an idiot and clearly needs the help”. I was happy to see it anyway – I’m tired of the feud and have a little more empathy for the Davidsons than most fans, I think. It will probably all go to hell, but for the moment, I thought it was a nice twist.
Bonham figures it out by the end of the episode that Stella did get into Sauber, and advises her to tell her father.
Bonham: You spread the joy and whatnot. We need a little bit right now.
That was good to hear, and it applied to the fandom theme that the episode had going too. We all need a little bit of joy to spread around recently, that’s for sure.
Communication 101
The theme of trust also plays out between Captain James and his estranged wife Kelly in Austin’s own ‘Easy Tiger’, which isn’t really a Supernatural shout out because that’s what the place is actually called, but nevertheless is because that’s a well known line from the show.
James and Kelly are reconnecting but run into a snag when she floats the idea of a family vacation and he unenthusiastically says “That sounds like fun…depends on work but…” She reminds him that he has to be more present with her. When she leaves a kid who overheard their conversation wryly notes, “You suck at girls.”
James confides in Trey, as everyone on this show seems to do, admitting that he’s struggling to communicate with Kelly about everyday little things. Augie chimes in, saying if they want to talk about girl problems, Faye broke up with him when she thought his Gramps was a murderer, and now that he’s innocent she still won’t talk to him. Ouch.
Trey: Both of you need to chill out, all right? Expressing feelings is tough for a lot of people, especially men… we tend to bottle things up.
A glass shatters nearby and Trey has an idea that he thinks will help all of them. They head to the Rage Room that apparently really is in Austin, Trey explaining that it will help them unlock the deeper emotions they’ve been bottling up. The research on catharsis isn’t very accurate, actually, but it’s a pretty amusing scene, Capt James attempting to yell about his day and ending up yelling about having strawberry yogurt for breakfast. He eventually gets to being pissed because Walker was late, and says he feels like because they were partners, maybe Walker doesn’t respect him…
Trey: Kelly wants to hear all those deeper feelings from you.
James: Augie, sorry about all the ‘your dad is annoying’ stuff.
Augie (being the teenager he is): No, it’s fine. I’m the captain of that ship.
He takes his turn, and James thanks Trey for the idea of going to the Rage Room.
Trey: Oh no man, you don’t need to thank me. I mean, dropping knowledge is my thing.
I like Trey, and I loved him with Micki, but I have mixed feelings about him being set up as the all knowing wise man “dropping knowledge”. Is he trained as a therapist at all? I’m not sure he is. Maybe I’m being extra touchy because those six years of grad school to be a psychologist weren’t a picnic and there are so many people out there saying they’re coaches or whatever without any real training…. Anyway, James now wants to hire Trey to give the Rangers “some of your magic therapy sauce.”
There is no magic therapy sauce in reality, unfortunately – it’s a lot of hard work. But they needed to find a way to keep Trey integral to the story so I guess this is it. Don’t mind my grumbling.
Trey: Yeah man, I’d love to. Will I get the hat?
He would look pretty damn good in the hat.
Later, James improves his communication skills with Kelly substantially, saying that law enforcement isn’t just a job for him, it’s who he is – and that by trying to keep work separate from home, he kept himself separate from her too. He says that the vacation idea “made me feel whole again. So what do you say, you still in?”
Kelly: (deadpan) Sounds like fun.
The episode ends with Twyla’s parole hearing, and her thanking Cassie for speaking for her, saying it felt good to have someone in her corner.
Cassie: When I came to Austin, I had been out of the Ranger game for a minute. Walker gave me a fresh start. Felt like you deserved one too. He can be a big ol’ dummy sometimes, but he means well.
Walker and Twyla sit on a bench and talk, and he apologizes to her, saying he should have trusted her more. (Though honestly, she should have apologized to him too – he’s not delusional, she didn’t give him much reason to trust her.)
Walker: I’ve been going through something that’s left me a little raw, and insecurities got the best of me.
Twyla: I’ve been saying bygones a lot, so I’m just gonna say I forgive you.
They agree that there has always been a badge – or lies – between them, and then Cordell stands up and holds out his hands.
Cordell: Hi. Cordell.
Twyla: Twyla. Twyla Jean.
Caps courtesy of spndeangirl
It’s a fresh start. The fandom is divided as to whether they’re rooting for Cordri or – what is this ship name anyway? Cordla? Twydell? Anyway, I don’t have a dog in this race, but both pairings have a lot of chemistry. Geri’s is the comfortable affection you have with someone who’s also an old friend; Twyla Jean and Cordell have a lot of sparks. I guess time will tell!
Another new “Walker” airs this week, as Jared Padalecki recuperates from a serious car accident several weeks ago (he wasn’t driving, but it was by all accounts a very bad accident). Thankfully everyone made it through!
Last Thursday was a big day for “Supernatural” fans who miss seeing “Sam and Dean Winchester” on their screens. It marked the first time “Walker” series star and Executive Producer Jared Padalecki was reunited with his “Supernatural” brother and costar Jensen Ackles – this time as Director of an episode of his new show, Walker. To say that I was bouncing with anticipation for this episode would be an understatement!
Because this was a special episode, I’ve gathered together some of the behind-the-scenes interviews and photos, and posts here along with my review of the episode itself – I want to remember how much fun it was!
The SPNFamily will always think of this episode as “Don’t You Cry No More”, the title that we all saw on director Jensen Ackles’ working copy of the script – our first clue that this was going to be a very special episode for all of us who love “Supernatural” and now love “Walker.” (And a big hint that Kansas would play an integral part in this reunion episode)
Katherine Alyse, the writer of the episode who is a bona fide “Supernatural” fan, explained in a tweet after the episode aired:
Katherine: To atone for the heartbreak I’ve caused I offer to you a fun fact about why the episode title changed. Using song lyrics for an episode title is actually very expensive. Like eat up your whole music budget expensive. But we all know what the episode title in our heart is.
Yes we do, Katherine.
The episode marked the first time that Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki had been on set working together since “Supernatural” finished filming over a year and a half ago. While the two didn’t technically have time onscreen together (though both appear in the episode), it was a new kind of collaboration too, with Jared an Executive Producer and Jensen the director.
The anticipation leading up to the episode airing was like the old days of “Supernatural” fandom, everyone online and constant content coming in every single time I played a little hooky from work to check in on social media. We even got a “Walker” cast and crew TikTok thanks to Ashley Reyes:
There were multiple interviews with Ackles about directing on his friend’s show, which made it clear that he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He told TV Line that it gave the duo a whole new audience for their fifteen years of jokes.
Jensen: Jared and I kind of laughed about…all the jokes that we repeated for 15 years, they’re now landing on fresh ears – we have a whole new audience! This is amazing!
Ackles spent his birthday on set with Padalecki, which he said had happened so many times that he’s lost count and appreciated that Jared had told the cast and crew how much he’d learned from Jensen (and vice versa clearly).
Jensen: I was walking a little taller that day. It was very sweet and so typical of Jared to give some good shoutouts and some honor… He’s that guy.
On working with Padalecki again, he told EW: It was fun to get back into the shorthand with him with performance notes, with technical notes. I can even use a reference to a movie and he knows that I’m actually giving him a note. There’s nobody else I can do that with. He and I have that, and we’ll always have that. That’s not something that fades away.
There were a few photos leading up to the episode airing, which at one point made up about 99% of my social media feeds. Keegan Allen proved himself one of us with his post of the photo of Jared and Jensen from EW, saying that “It was a joy to see this in person – totally understand the fandom because I am a fan as well.”
Padalecki quipped that the horse didn’t get the memo – about matching outfits!
KsiteTV also posted some bts photos of Ackles directing, which whet our collective appetite even more.
And EW posted some behind-the-scenes shots of Jared and Jensen on stage with Kansas, looking like total fanboys themselves – and how could they not be? It’s Kansas!!
Jensen Ackles, whose social media posts are a rarity, posted his own excitement about the episode, his love for the “Walker” cast and crew, and the experience of working with Padalecki again.
Jared Padalecki was equally excited for everyone to see the episode, and grateful for everyone who made it so special.
Odette Annable posted some bts photos of her own and so did Violet Brinson, including at the Kansas show.
Odette also posted a little video of their private Kansas concert, so fandom got a preview too!
I AM SO EMOTIONAL RIGHT NOW MY HANDS ARE LITERALLY SHAKING!
— Walker & Walker:Independence GIFs and Infos (@WalkerGifNInfo) April 14, 2022
So, we were all over the top excited even before the show began airing. It felt like the ‘old days’ of “Supernatural” for me, as I grabbed my food and drink and settled in to watch. Both Padalecki and Ackles had told the fandom to expect plenty of “Supernatural” Easter eggs – which was perfect, since Easter was a few days after the episode aired – so I had my glasses clean and was ready as soon as it began. And I didn’t have to wait long! Some fans had made up bingo cards for the reunion occasion, and though pie and pudding were on there, this one should have been too – bacon! Dean Winchester’s favorite breakfast was front and center at the Walker family breakfast, with director Ackles making sure we got a nice close-up. Good thing I had some queso for the episode since a plate of bacon definitely makes me hungry!
Cordell tries to get Stella and Augie to weigh in on what they’d like their new house to be like, looking at it as an opportunity to design their dream house. The kids are less than enthusiastic, still reeling from the loss of, as Stella says, “our ancestral family home.” Cordell’s right, though, staying in a rental forever wouldn’t feel good either.
Geri joins them with a “hey team,” and shares some bacon while awkwardly finding out that Cordell told the kids she’s a Davidson. The episode begins with Geri very much on Team Walker, saying family is about more than where you came from, it’s who stands by you.
Cordell and Geri go out on the porch to talk, and Ackles frames them in an interesting way, encased in the narrow deck, bars on the front, and the two of them facing off. There’s a notable distance between them as they begin to talk, and while it’s clear there’s a tremendous amount of genuine affection there and a desire on both their parts to bridge the gap between them, nevertheless it’s there. Inevitably, it’s there.
Geri tells him that she had a visit with Gale and says that she cried when she saw her and was more interested in getting to know her daughter than rehashing the past. Cordell attempts to be understanding but still calls Gale an odd duck, while Geri already is expressing some empathy for Gale’s situation – finding out your husband gave away your baby is a Big Deal, no matter who you are.
They agree not to talk about it too much, and Cordell invites Geri to join the Walkers at the Rangers Fair – where Kansas is playing.
Geri: Kansas? Dust in the Wind Kansas??
Everyone watching: No Geri, Carry On Wayward Son Kansas!
Cordell after Geri walks away: Wait, that’s the song you go to?
Easter egg number two!
(And yes, they are Easter eggs even when they’re obvious – that’s the whole point, they’re obvious to us but not to anyone who didn’t know Kansas has a song that’s “Supernatural’s” theme song).
The camera lingers on Cordell’s face as Geri walks away – Padalecki (and director Ackles) do a great job of showing us the little bit of doubt that’s already creeping into Cordell’s mind.
Bonham, Abeline and Liam unpack the boxes of stuff they moved, Abby is upset because her go-to tote bag is missing. She’s such a mom and I am here for it. Bonham and Liam both encourage her to talk to Geri at the fair, reminding her that she couldn’t have known that the baby Marv gave up was Geri.
Liam appears with something to replace the tote bag for their sandwiches and drinks – and it’s none other than The Green Cooler! Easter egg number 3! Sam and Dean’s ubiquitous cooler was with them throughout the 15 seasons of Supernatural, so having it onscreen for Jared and Jensen’s reunion was priceless. “It was with Cordi’s stuff,” Liam says. They’re all happy to see it for a second (along with all of us), until they open it and it apparently does not smell too good and is not empty.
Bonham: Oh lord, what kinda heathens…
Us: Maybe it’s from the werepire severed head that was in it…
He pulls out a beer left behind, and it’s even the beer we see Sam and Dean drink, Larklair Tejas beer, immortalized in the “Supernatural” Season One episode ‘Hell House’, where Sam glues Dean’s hand to it in the middle of the brothers’ prank war. I was so happy to see it again!
Writer Katherine Alyse (a bona fide “Supernatural” fan) wanted A green cooler – Ackles offered up THE green cooler, which lives in his garage with the actual Impala. And he even had the beer from the “Supernatural” set to put in it!
According to EW, the Easter eggs were partly the writer and partly the director. When Katherine mentioned the cooler, Ackles wanted to do it one better.
Ackles: I was like, how about the actual green cooler? ‘I’ve got it, should we use it?’ And then the plate of bacon, that’s a no-brainer.
It was a blow to the “Supernatural” fandom when the Walkers sent the cooler away, but apparently, Ackles thought that would be amusing too. Mitch Pileggi’s “what kind of heathens…” line was an ad-lib, going right along with the SPNFamily fun as another “Supernatural” alum.
The Walkers head to the fair, which the crew did an amazing job setting up and Ackles did an amazing job filming. It felt like we were right there – the sights, the sounds, the chaos, the colors. I could almost smell the food-you-shouldn’t-eat-but-can’t-wait-to-anyway. There were some subtle little maybe shout-outs, like a sock monkey that recalls “Supernatural” castmate Misha Collins and a dinosaur that looked a bit like the one in the Scoobynatural episode.
We got a definite shout-out when Radio Company’s song “All My Livin’ Time” (the band that consists of Jensen Ackles and Steve Carlson) played in the background as Cassie and Captain James stroll along, pronouncing carnival games they can’t win “rigged”. They make an amusing duo. James spots Trey (winning a medal in a strong man bang the hammer and ring the bell game) and greets him.
When Trey says he wouldn’t miss out on a chance for deep-fried cookies, Cassie is skeptical.
Cassie: Like YOU eat fair food…
I really like Cassie. She is so very Dean Winchester.
There’s an inevitably awkward conversation as Trey finds out this is Walker’s new partner, and Cassie quickly picks up on it.
Cassie: Okay, what is with this eye convo, and can I get a quick translation?
I kinda love Cassie’s just-come-out-with-it manner. I wish I had more of that!
The awkwardness is interrupted by Cassie seeing someone from her past walking over.
Cassie: I just spotted trouble from Dallas.
(This part was actually offered to Jensen, which would have made that line even funnier since he’s from Richardson, Dallas-adjacent. He felt it would be too difficult to create a new character onscreen while also trying to direct, so suggested his friend Josh Hopkins for the role. The two had worked on the Rust movie and drove back to Austin together after that tragedy happened. There’s also another line of “hey if anybody from Dallas gives you crap today come find me” which would also amusingly apply)
Turns out it’s her old boss, Capt. Fenton Cole, the one who rushed into closing the investigation into the disappearance of her partner Miles and pronounced him dead. Cassie is even more bristly when it turns out that Fenton is now with Rita, Miles’ wife. She protests that he’s only been missing for 6 months, but Rita insists that Miles is not coming back.
Cassie walks off in a huff, looking for her new partner to ask for help.
The Walker family arrives at the fair, Ackles giving us some sweeping shots from the top of the Ferris wheel that almost give you that dizzying feeling of doing too many rides and eating too much bad food that fairs inevitably come with. All the kudos to Action Ackles for making us feel like we’re right there at the fair! Cordell warns his kids about the food part and sends them off with tickets. I love the framing of this shot, Cordell with his signature cowboy hat and broad shoulders.
Cordell and Geri share an affectionate hug, and Cordell shares one with Randall his Ranger friend too. Geri and Randall together talk him into doing a partner blindfold contest for a prize, Geri encouraging a reluctant Cordell with “c’mon, it’ll be fun to boss you around for a little while!”
One of Padalecki’s real-life MMA friends played the competition, and everyone – especially director Ackles – had way too much fun putting Jared through his paces. He told N&B that at first, he kept his eyes open to sort of see through the blindfold, but that made it too hard to act as though he couldn’t see, so he ended up just closing them. And tripping over the tires a time or two!
Jared live tweeted:YEAH!!! Definitely the only physical competition I could win against Frank Trigg
Ackles films it from multiple perspectives, which really gave us the feel of the course and added to the fun. The scene highlights what good partners they are, as opposed to the bickering other couple, who end up losing to them. Odette clearly enjoyed this scene!
Jensen told TV Insider that he could have watched Jared traverse a tough mudder type course all day.
Ackles: We didn’t have the time and obviously we needed to service some of the other actors. But I would’ve spent all day watching him go through a variety of obstacles that I had deviously created.
Andre Williams, who plays fan-favorite Randall, tweeted that the scene was “HILARIOUS.”
Andre: I mean, the creative improv that was going on, the chemistry we had, and just the fun. I wish the stuff that was edited out was in – the world will never know!
Damn.
Cordell wins Geri a giant sock monkey (in GISH colors). When she gets a call from Gale, Walker encourages her to take it. He really is trying. Geri steps away to talk, and Walker puts his arm around the life-size monkey.
Cordell: C’mere, big guy. How you doin?
Jared live-tweeted the episode and let us know that was a director Ackles suggestion – and one of my favorite little moments in the episode.
Padalecki: “How you doin?”… Tried to do my best Joey impression…I think it needs a little bit of work… (Our director’s idea)
Cassie interrupts Geri and Walker’s celebration of winning, asking him to be a ringer. She wants him to try to get the truth out of Fenton, since he hasn’t met Walker yet. Geri worries that it might get Cordi in trouble, but she doesn’t stand in the way. Cordell is hesitant too, but Cassie is determined. Cassie understandably feels like Cole closed the case too quickly with her gun never found and no blood on the scene. She can’t access the file to get any other evidence and she’s frustrated.
This was also, I think, the moment that Ackles played a prank on Padalecki. He has a real-life fear of bears, so Ackles had one of the ADs put on a bear suit and jump out at them. Ashley Reyes was in on it but jumped a mile, while Padalecki stood his ground.
Ackles: He didn’t run away like a scared child, I must say he stood his ground…. He’s growing up. They do that.
Big brother Jensen channeling a little Dean Winchester there.
Daniela Campos (who played the bear) posted a little video of the priceless moment:
Cordell has his doubts but agrees to have her back as he promised. She demands “how real was that promise?” and he won’t go back on it. I took issue a bit with Cassie in this scene – she really is putting Walker’s career at risk and she guilt trips him to do it, pushing hard and not giving him time to really think about it. In fact, she literally physically gives him a push toward Fenton. It turns out okay in this case, but it rubbed me the wrong way. That’s fine with me though, I like complex imperfect characters who sometimes do shitty things – like most of us.
Ackles does a great job directing Padalecki throughout the episode, which is not surprising considering he’s done it multiple times before, but I particularly liked the subtlety of this scene, as you can see Cordell work through it and come to a reluctant decision. He’s a loyal friend and partner – some of his defining characteristics. Ackles offers more close-ups than the show sometimes does, which make these deeper character moments where there’s a lot going on non-verbally come through loud and clear.
Cassie insists that if she can get her hands on the file, Rita will see that the case was closed too soon. So Cordell does as she asks, striking up a conversation with Fenton. Cordell pretends to be having ‘problems’ with his new partner, but Fenton has only praise for Cassie, saying she closed down more cases in a few months than most Rangers do in a year. He also easily sees through what Cordell is trying to do. When Cordell realizes, he asks about Rita.
Once again, Ackles shoots this with effective close-ups, so we can see the tension between the two handsome men in cowboy hats, cutting to Cassie looking on with apprehension from time to time. (Also, this would have been a great scene if it had turned out to be Ackles and Padalecki in it!)
Cordell confides that he understands how you can be friends with someone for a long time and “there’s always a little something between you”, talking about him and Geri, and Fenton agrees. Cordell is pretty brilliant here, using empathy to get Fenton to open up. He confides that Rita needed the insurance money for her mortgage and for her daughter.
Cassie, unable to wait, confronts Rita, accusing her of prioritizing money over her husband. Rita insists Miles is dead and that Cassie is too locked into her own version of the story to see the truth – a theme of this episode. Frustrated, Rita says that they found new evidence and asks Fenton to share it.
He tells them that they found Cassie’s stolen gun, along with Miles’ blood – not where the casings were found, but in a black van that Miles was forced into and then shot from outside. No prints, no leads. Rita asked Fenton to file the paperwork for the insurance, needing the help when she had no one. Fenton said he thought it would have made it easier for Cassie not to know, but now he’ll declassify the case and send the file over – that he hopes she finds peace.
Cassie is shocked, trying to apologize to Rita. Cordell gives her a supportive hand on the shoulder as Fenton and Rita walk away. There’s so much of that in this episode – walking away. Another theme that Ackles makes clear with the way he films those scenes.
Meanwhile, Abeline runs into Geri and asks to clear the air, which was a good impulse, but it quickly goes south. Interestingly, Abeline both reiterates that a man who gives up a baby wasn’t who she knew Marv to be, and also says that he told her that the baby (Geri) was happy and healthy – which wouldn’t have been the case since at the time she needed heart surgery.
Abeline also says that she thought Gale couldn’t handle the information even after Marv had died, and Geri questions whether that was her choice to make, which I do think she has a point. Abeline protests that Gale attacked her son (Cordell) at the time, which also is an understandable point, and Geri does say that she knows it was Marv who should have told Gale, not Abby. But she admits she also feels defensive.
Abeline: Trust me, Gale Davidson doesn’t need anyone to defend her. That woman can defend herself just fine.
She’s smiling as she says it, and it’s clearly a dig, and Geri does just what she said she would do – she gets defensive.
Geri: Well, maybe she’d lighten up if anyone else was ever on her side.
Ackles films Geri walking out, and we see Abeline look into the distance, distressed. It’s a positioning we see multiple times in this episode, which is full of relationships being pulled apart and people not understanding others who they are genuinely trying to relate to. It’s also the recurring theme of this episode playing out – Abby has her story of what happened between the Walkers and the Davidsons, and she can’t see that Geri’s story is now, inevitably, a different one.
And then we get a brief break from the angst with an actual freaking Kansas concert (in the Novak Auditorium, presumably a shout out to Castiel’s vessel Jimmy Novak in “Supernatural”)! I don’t think Jensen Ackles ever thought he’d be directing concert footage, but I love the way it’s done, cutting between the perspective of the audience watching the band, hands in the air and cheering and singing along, the camera sweeping back and forth, to the Walkers and Trey and Geri enjoying the hell out of it. Keegan Allen singing along was particularly believable – that would totally be me, Keegan.
Apparently, director Jensen walked through the concert at one point, but he still had his mask on from directing so it couldn’t be in the shot – hopefully it’s in the outtakes and we’ll get to see it someday. Ackles told TVInsider:
Jensen: There was a moment in the concert where I walk by, and he (Jared) and I look at each other – but it was more of a gag. I did it and nobody was expecting it. I just threw the headphones off at the last second and walked into the scene. I think I even still had my mask on.
I so hope we’ll get to see that moment!
Hearing Carry On again, in an episode of television that included both Jared and Jensen, was almost overwhelmingly emotional for me. I teared up with the first notes, just as I did when Kansas surprised us at the “Supernatural” panel in Hall H at Comic-Con a few years ago. That band, and that song, are inextricably tied up with “Supernatural” for me, forever. Also? Kansas rocks!
Gale texts Geri in the middle of it and Cordell tells her to tell Gale to leave her alone, she’s at a concert. He’s dismissive of the text, which is almost childish. Geri responds with ‘c’mon, don’t do that’, but he doesn’t get it this time, just wanting her to enjoy this moment with him.
Cordell: She’s being a little obvious, no?
Geri walks out, and Cordell follows, while Kansas plays on.
I loved the little touch that the text was not really developmentally appropriate for Geri, a grown woman in her thirties. That makes so much sense to me – Gale lost a baby, her baby girl – and although intellectually she knows that was 30 some years ago, she just got that baby back. She missed all those years, those decades, of being able to love that child, and now she wants to do that.
I’m guessing that Katherine’s writing, and it’s brilliant. My psychologist self might have gasped and then grinned. And then went back to being teary-eyed, because while it makes total sense, it’s also really tragic.
Geri is thrown by the text and Cordell’s reaction to it, and his well-intentioned suggestion that she dismisses her mother’s attempts to derail her fun evening (even if that wasn’t Gale’s intention, we don’t know yet – but it’s Gale, so it might have been!)
She throws out a ‘Dolly’ safe word, meaning they’re headed in the wrong direction. Cordell asks if this is about Gale, and Geri looks incredulous. Of course, this is about Gale!
Geri: Cordi, she’s my birth mom. Have you given yourself time to think about that?
He stammers that he hasn’t really had the time, and Padalecki and Annable are so good here. He’s clearly lost his footing, doesn’t really grasp why she’s so upset, and she’s hurt and frustrated that he doesn’t get it. They’re both scared too, wanting this relationship and terrified they won’t get back on the same page, back in sync.
Geri tries to explain that she’s different now – that she’s not who she always thought she was. She tells him she was angry at Abby earlier, and defensive of Gale, and that she’s scared that if she tries to be part of the Walker family now, things will be awkward – and it will hurt. I so feel for her, trying so hard to navigate what has become an incredibly complicated situation.
Cordell is trying so hard too, telling her that he understands, framing her face in his hands and trying to make her believe him. Again, this is beautifully directed; Ackles slows down and doesn’t rush it, letting the two actors really inhabit the moment, and they both show all the complicated emotions that the characters are feeling.
Cordell: Geri, I still feel the same way about you.
Geri: And I feel the same way about you. But I can’t do this together right now, I have to know where I stand.
And who she is.
Cordell: Here we are again, always at the end of the world together, right?
But this time it won’t be together, at least not right now.
She apologizes, kisses his hands tenderly, and walks away. Once again, the camera stays on the one left behind, the hurt and fear and love plain on Padalecki’s face.
All the kudos, Action Ackles. And Odette and Jared, who broke my heart.
The fair also changes things for Stella and Colton. Earlier, Stella and Todd peruse fair merch. Stella can’t stop thinking about all the loss they’ve just gone through with the house, while Todd tries to cheer her up. She agrees, but also points out that sometimes they need to talk about the serious stuff too – another recurring theme of this episode is the importance of communication, even when it’s hard (and in a drama series, it is ALWAYS hard). Not that it isn’t hard in real life too!
They play a water gun race game and Colton joins them, the two boys busy competing against each other as the admittedly competitive Stella actually wins. I noticed things like filming angles more because I was wondering how Jensen would direct something not “Supernatural,” and I liked that the race was shot from the perspective of the targets too, the spray splattering right in front of us on screen. Again, I could almost feel it!
Colton tries to apologize, saying he didn’t think his family was really going to go through with taking their ranch, that he’d thought they were just ego-tripping. It’s a sincere apology, I think, but Stella protests that it had a real-life impact and she and Todd walk away. Poor Colton.
He takes his frustration out by throwing balls at great velocity at another carnival game (with a similar perspective of the targets again), and Geri finds him there.
Geri: Kinda aggro for a family event.
Colton confides in her that he tried to apologize and feels like an idiot, and they walk together. Out of all the people trying to relate to each other, Colton and Geri actually do the best job of it. He openly expresses how weird it is that they’re suddenly related, that she’s now his aunt, and he’s also comfortable asking her how weird it is to meet her bio mom. They relate as two people who know what it’s like to be adopted and to feel like they don’t quite belong, and she answers him without any of the defensiveness that characterizes her communication with others. She tells Colton that his grandma Gale was so welcoming, even though that’s not usually the vibe she gives off, and he can just laugh with her about it comfortably.
She confides in him that she’s worried that the Walkers are set in the way that they see the Davidsons, even though now she is one – that they have their story and they can’t see alternate narratives that don’t line up with it. She also advises him to talk to Stella, and tell her that he understands what she lost. Poor Geri, she really is trying – in an impossible situation.
Colton finds Stella again as the fair closes, and says they don’t need to talk, but he found a necklace of hers and wanted to give it back – it’s her mother’s. He also says it hit him, everything she lost.
Colton: Stella, I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t mean much, but I am.
He finally tells her that the song that Todd sang, he wrote for her, but didn’t think he stood a chance against Todd. Stella thanks him, closes the distance between them, and looks like she wants to say more, then turns away.
She leaves with Todd but looks back over her shoulder at Colton. That was another nice shot, Ackles – full of meaning, and a contrast to all the other shots of people leaving without looking back, without that ambivalence.
Cassie finds a palm reader tent and goes inside, still drinking from her bottle of tequila. The music and the whole feel of everything changes suddenly, and for a moment I thought I was back watching an episode of “Supernatural,” actually expecting something scary to happen. It’s a beautiful scene, lit by candlelight, the lights reflecting off the crystal globe on the table.
I love Katherine Alyse’s writing so much. They tweeted about that line:
Katherine: Can’t even lie that was a fun thing Jensen and I spitballed on! It felt right for Cassie!
Cassie and Trey clear the air and she says she’s ready to go full Walter Mercado and give him a tarot card reading – though she has no idea what they mean. She lays out some cards, making it up as she goes, with Strength being his present, and then the last one being his future. Except it turns out to be Death.
Trey: I’m not claiming that one!
Cassie: That one’s definitely for me. Damn it, Miles.
Trey tells her about the silent conversation between him and James, that seeing Walker’s new partner threw him after he was so close to his last one.
Trey: Also, you’re very off-putting at first, so I had to let him know that too.
Cassie: I’ll drink to that.
They toast to different types of strength and then get routed by the fortune teller, rather hilariously.
The episode ends on a dark field at night, Fenton’s pickup truck driving out to a trailer in the middle of nowhere, lit by moonlight and a fire in an old oil barrel and the headlights of the truck. It’s an eerily beautiful scene – nice job, director Ackles.
Fenton grabs some drinks and heads toward the trailer, ominous music playing, when the door swings open.
I think just about everyone watching gasped in recognition of the silhouette of the man standing in the doorway – and his bowlegs.
Fenton: We gotta talk.
Beautiful caps courtesy of spndeangirl
Jensen Ackles confirmed in all the interviews that aired immediately after the episode that yes, that was him in the trailer. He told TV Insider:
Jensen: That’s me! Just look for the bowlegs and you’ll see ‘em. They hadn’t cast Miles yet – they’d actually pitched it to me. They said “We have this character and we want to tease him at the end of the episode but we haven’t cast him yet…unless it’s something you want to do”. But I couldn’t commit to what they needed [time-wise] for the character, so I said “Look, unfortunately I’m already committed to some other stuff. However, if you’re looking to get some ambiguous figure [now] and cast it later, we can shoot that and instead of hiring some random dude, I’ll step in. I’ll be the random dude.
The rest is history. Ackles joked that fans would recognize his bowlegs.
Ackles: That’s my M. Night Shyamalan. I said to our DP, is there light between my knees? Okay, we’re good, we can shoot. They were like, ‘no one’s going to recognize that is you’ and I’m like, the right ones will.
A smug fandom: Damn right we will.
To make a wonderful episode even better, both Jared and Jensen posted on social media during the day about how much fun they had working together again and that they hoped we enjoyed the episode.
Padalecki live tweeted the episode, as he often does, much to the fandom’s delight, ending with this tweet:
Jared: Alright WalkerFamily, thanks SO MUCH for joining #Walker tonight! Hope y’all enjoyed the show. And, the SHOW! Thanks Jensen Ackles for comin out and steering he ship, and watching Kansas together again. Hadn’t seen em live since Comic Con. Signing out.
Jared told N&B that having Jensen on the Walker set felt “seamless,” since he was already friends with Odette and Mitch, so a lot of the people he was working with he either already knew or had worked with before.
Jared: It felt awesome. It felt like I was proud to be showing off my brother, so it was fun. I think a lot of my crew got a sense of how I might have ended up the leader that I am on Walker because I’ve been learning from this guy as well. So it was nice to have that kind of come full circle.
Jensen posted a reply to one of Jared’s IG posts: And Jrod, good to be back on set, it’s like we never left
Jared also told N&B the crew ended up loving Jensen even more (if that was possible) after he faceplanted himself right into the birthday cake they got him.
Mitch Pileggi told Looper how great it was to have Jared and Jensen on set together again, with lots of shenanigans: To have those two knuckleheads together was… phew, you can only imagine!
We so can.
So, Kansas and Jensen are now officially a part of the Walker family. My heart.
In fact, Kansas did some tweeting too, replying after Odette Annable posted a photo of the cast at the concert.
Kansas: But in full disclosure, this was before we found out Geri is a Davidson…
Clearly they were already Walker fans!
Thanks to everyone on the cast and crew for a wonderful episode – I thoroughly enjoyed it! Looking forward to finding out more about mystery man Miles when “Walker” returns to conclude its second season with 2.15 Bygones.
Last week’s episode of “Walker” grabbed my attention from the start and didn’t let it go – in fact, this episode seemed more fast paced than the last, even though that one featured a breakneck pace horse race! I had expected that it would take a while for us to find out who the Davidsons’ lost baby had grown up to be, but this episode actually gave us that reveal. Spoiler alert – it’s Geri!
Most of us had predicted that it was Geri from the various hints given, though the fandom gave me a headache trying to figure out how to make the dates and the math work so that she could have gone to school and grown up with Cordell. I know it’s an unlikely situation, throwing one hell of a monkey wrench into Cordell and Geri’s newly romantic relationship, but I’m okay with unlikely in this show. It’s a trope worthy of fanfic, right up there with the “and there was only one bed” machination, and that’s always a compliment in my book.
The episode opens with a shot of the moving trucks and the ‘W’ coming down from the gates, ouch. And then Cordi and Geri waking up together, soft and affectionate with each other as they deal with the stress of Bonham’s upcoming bail hearing, packing up the ranch, and giving the ranch hands an explanation for why they’re about to be out of a job.
The fandom was definitely grateful for the double shot of a shirtless Cordell from both angles, thanks to the mirror that captured the very attractive slope of his back…. I mean, the bruising on his shoulder blade from the fall from the horse. Yes, that’s what I meant.
I’m not super invested in the Cordri ship, but Jared Padalecki and Odette Annable are entirely believable together, small touches of reassurance and a realistic banter that’s half old friend teasing and half romantic flirting. It’s a great combination, and one you don’t see all that often on television.
Cordell’s beating himself up about going back to help Dan and losing the race as a result, but Geri reminds him that to get through a painful time, what you need is a port in a storm – just “one good thing” to think about to get you through. Her father Frank used to do that for her, when they were constantly moving around for her heart treatments – something special would be waiting for her to make the hard days a little less hard. It’s a good coping strategy for when life is throwing way too much at you – something most of us can relate to recently.
The Walker family is understandably struggling, their patriarch facing accusations of murder and about to lose the house that’s been in their family for so long. Liam is still questioning why Bonham buried the lantern, while Cordell is facing the difficult task of trying to thank their ranch hands as they’re facing unemployment. I very much appreciate that the show doesn’t have the ranch hands replying to Cordell’s heartfelt “you’re family, and thank you” with a calmly delivered “you’re welcome” or “we’re behind you 100%”. Instead, we get to see their anger and anxiety too – they had no say in this and yet their lives are being upended. It wasn’t pleasant to watch, and I felt really bad for Cordell, but it seemed realistic.
Ranch hand: So what, 25 years and all we get is ‘I’m sorry, grab a handful of peppers outta the patch on your way out?’
Cordell says he hopes the Davidsons will keep them on, but they all know they can’t count on that.
Ranch hand: Maybe you should’ve asked before you raced.
Ouch.
They also accuse Cordell of getting them into this mess by going back for Dan, for “being the bigger man.”
Ranch hand: You feel like the bigger man now, Cordell?
He promises them they’ll help them all get squared away, but admits they don’t know where yet – or when.
Ranch hand: Well by all means, take your time.
Ouch again.
This show is at its best when it’s unflinching and tells it like it is – this was one of those times. The ranch hands came off as not very likable, but they’re faced with losing their livelihoods so I imagine there would be quite a bit of anger going on. I did feel bad for Cordell though. Nobody listened to me last week when I tried to scream at my screen that The Insane Race ™ was a very bad idea.
Meanwhile, Denise tries to convince the judge that Bonham murdered Marv, even though it seems like the most egregious conflict of interest ever. Liam argues that Bonham’s not a flight risk, while Denise counters that he was just out there destroying (burying) evidence last week.
Fun fact: Jared Padalecki’s real life parents were in the courtroom. Two of my favorite people!
Jared Padalecki’s parents sitting on the courthouse bench.
Luckily for the Walkers, the judge says that Denise isn’t going to prosecute her own father’s murder. Not so luckily, bail is denied – and off goes Bonham in handcuffs.
He’s characteristically stoic, trying to put his family at ease by insisting he’s okay and turning down a plea deal because he’s innocent. Cordell’s self-confidence is shaky after being so confident that he’d win the Insane Horse Race™ but he and Cassie are up for the fight, he says, of continuing to investigate Marv’s murder.
James offers Cassie the option to stay out of it, since she just got there, saying “this isn’t your fight”. But Cassie is undeterred.
Cassie: I believe Bonham is innocent, and I think you do too. So, if you don’t mind, I would like to go down with your ship, Captain.
James: All right but just so we’re clear, this wasn’t, like, a test or anything
Cassie: No. Of course not. But if it was…
James: It wasn’t.
Cassie: (winking) Yeah, but if it was…
James: Then you would’ve passed. Do me a favor, don’t ever wink again.
I actually laughed out loud. Coby Bell is so good at comedy and it turns out that Ashley Reyes is too.
Cassie: Cool, got it, now can we chat for real? Because I think I have the bead on Marv’s true killer.
James: Why didn’t you start with that?
Cassie: Cause you wanted to do the test thing.
Seriously, priceless.
The stress of their situation gets to Stella and Augie too, who argue about who’s to blame for the lantern that helped get their grandfather locked up. Stella snaps that Augie just had to impress Faye, saying that she only acts like she likes him half the time.
Augie: Faye doesn’t like me any of the time, all right? She broke up with me – it’s, it’s too much drama.
Poor Augie, worried that it’s his fault and dealing with a break-up too.
Liam tries to console Cordell and convince him that it’s not his fault because he went back for Dan, which gave us a touching brothers scene – something I always appreciate.
Liam: Of course, you had to go back, you’re a Ranger, you save lives for a living. And as much as I wanted Dan to suffer out there, you wouldn’t want that on your conscience, the guilt you’d feel.
Liam often makes more sense than some of the people around him. Listen to Liam, Cordell.
Abeline finally comes clean and tells her sons about the Davidson child who actually didn’t die after birth, and that Marv had come to her the night before the barn fire and told her, saying that Gale had no idea – and that she probably still doesn’t. When her sons are understandably shocked, she insists again that it was not her secret to tell.
Cordell and Cassie continue their investigation after Cassie finds out that Marv paid off one ranch hand a monthly stipend for a decade – Nate Smith. They think maybe Nate was blackmailing him and decide to pay the rancher a visit. Cassie is proving herself a very good Ranger indeed.
Cue guest star Ben Browder, who many of us enjoyed very much on Farscape many years ago. So nice to see him on my screen again!
Nate generously offers to give the Walker ranch hands a job, but Cordell is angry and jumps right into accusing him, guessing that the payments had to do with finding out about Marv’s second child. Nate insists it was just rent, and Cordell kinda loses it.
Cordell: Hey Nate? You know what, I’m gonna need you to wipe that smile off your face. Just rent?? I’m thinking that it was you who killed Marv Davidson and you’re figuring out that 25 years of lies is finally catching up with you.
Nate laughs, and Cordell gets scary mad.
Cordell (threatening): I told you to stop smiling. You blackmailed Marv over the existence of that child.
Nate is not cowed, saying he once turned down a job from Bonham, and that there’s something off about the Walkers, something two-faced.
Nate leaves, and Cordell acknowledges that he let his temper get the best of him.
Cassie: What was that? I can’t hear you over the sound of our blown lead.
She tells him to eat so he can think more clearly, shoving a bag of potato chips at him.
He does, which was pretty amusing, and as he calms down she tells him that they’re partners, and that when he’s off, she can be on – but she needs to know that.
Cassie: I don’t think you actually regret any of your choices on that (race) day. Just the outcome.
Words of wisdom, tbh.
Cordell goes back to the house as it’s being cleaned out and gets a surprise visit from Denise. I think she might feel just a wee bit guilty (though I know I’m in the minority of wanting to give her any grace at all). She urges Cordell to tell Bonham to take the plea deal, but he says they’ve retained counsel and doesn’t want to hear it, again stressing her conflict of interest. She claims she’s worried about him nuking someone else’s career – first Liam, now Cassie. He shuts her down, and she softens, sounding sad for the first time.
Denise: Cordi, how did we get here? I thought we were gonna be the ones to stop the feud.
Cordell: Yeah well, I guess we turned out to be the exact people our parents told us we’d be. Go figure.
That was such a sad conversation, honestly. They were close at one time, and I think both genuinely wanted to end the feud and are trying to do what seems like the “right thing”. They’re way too caught up in the so-called family feud, though, too many strong emotions fueled by loss and grief and old resentments.
Walker warns Cassie that maybe she shouldn’t “fly under the Walker banner,” since it might be a little toxic right now.
Cassie: Just right now?
She refuses to back down; in fact, she tailed Nate Smith as he withdrew money from the bank and packed up some luggage – and he’s now at the Side Step.
So is Augie, who confides in Geri that Stella thinks he’s responsible for the lantern being found (and buried).
Geri reassures him that there were 25 years that preceded the ripple that he caused. She shares the ‘one good thing’ coping strategy with him too.
Nate greets Geri at the Side Step, introducing himself as Nathaniel, a friend of her dad’s, and saying he hasn’t see her since she was a kid. Geri is understandably taken aback.
Cordell arrives and they clear the bar, as Nate says ominously that “this isn’t just about Marv – it’s about Bonham.”
Nate says he knows Bonham is a good man, and wants to talk to Geri in private, but she says that he can say whatever it is in front of Cordell too. Nate shares details about Geri’s childhood, a specific music box her father gave her to help her sleep when she was sick and seeing specialists. Nate was a friend of Frank’s and would go with him to the hospital – Geri begins to remember.
There came a time when Austin General had a new treatment, Nate says, but Frank couldn’t afford it, so he shared an idea with Nate – robbing Marv.
Geri is shocked, insisting that her father wouldn’t do that, but Nate says he was desperate.
Marv was apparently not that great a guy, living “high on the hog” but shorting his employees. When he wouldn’t give Frank his back pay to cover the surgery, Nate and Frank decided to steal it – from the barn. The barn caught fire that night, as we all know, and Nate passed out from the smoke. Bonham was there too.
Nate: But he was trying to save a life, not take one.
Nate continues the story. Frank came out with the money and said that Marv wouldn’t ever be a problem again – because he was dead. And those payments? Nate was the middle man between Marv and Frank for a long time – for child support.
Geri: Why would my father murder some random man?
Nate: He wasn’t random. Marv Davidson is…
Geri: What?
Nate: He’s your father, your birth father.
Cordell picks up the story, putting the pieces together from what Abeline told him. Geri is understandably rocked by this news, that her beloved dad is not her father – and that Marv Davidson is.
Geri’s whole world, everything she’s ever known – or thought she knew – about herself and her family, is falling down around her.
Cordell tries to console her, saying that Frank is still who raised her, still her port in a storm.
Geri: I know you’re trying to help me right now, but … maybe, don’t.
She says she feels stupid, that she spent all day trying to help his family. Cordell reiterates that his family is her family, that she’s still a Walker, that this doesn’t change anything.
Geri: Don’t kid yourself, it changes everything.
It does. I don’t think we know how yet, but of course, it does. Whether Geri decides to be a Walker or to let the Davidsons into her life, nothing is the same for her as it was half an hour before. Her whole identity, her entire sense of self, has been turned upside down. That is incredibly hard to deal with, especially when it happens so suddenly, coming out of the blue.
Poor Cordell, as blindsided as Geri and still with the same strong feelings for her.
Poor Geri, not knowing who she is and who she has been all this time, lied to and deceived and feeling like a fool even though none of this is her fault.
Abeline and Cordell stand in the empty house the next day, remembering silly little moments – Liam coloring on the walls when he was little.
Abeline: You prepare for the big memories. It’s the little ones that catch you off guard.
Abeline worries that Geri will blame her for keeping Marv’s secret all these years. She also finds something in cleaning out the house that she thought was lost – which no doubt will turn out to be significant in some way. Whatever happened to Marv’s ring that she gave Hoyt to give Geri? I can’t remember.
Liam picks up a released Bonham, and he thanks his son for believing in him. A father and son hug that I feel like Liam really needed ensues, and then they head to the Side Step for a Walker family reunion.
Augie shows up with breakfast tacos and coffee – and much like Sam and Dean knew on “Supernatural,” the Walkers realize that family is home, it doesn’t need a place.
Bonham: All of us together anywhere is just fine.
As the Walkers enjoy their reunion, Geri is having a different kind of reunion – with her mother, Gale. Of all the Davidsons, Gale is the one who seems the most shady, and I’m fairly sure she’s done some horrible things. But I still can’t get my head around how horrific it would be to have someone take your newborn baby away and tell you she’s dead – to have to live with that grief for decades – only to find that it was a lie. I think she’s genuinely overcome with emotion to find that her baby girl is alive – and is Geri.
Geri is standoffish, which is equally understandable – but Gale’s impulsive sweeping Geri into a hug seemed completely heartfelt.
Is she going to try to manipulate Geri away from the Walkers? No doubt about it. Gale’s life story, the way she writes her own narrative, is that the Walkers – and especially Abeline – took everything she loved and cared about away from her. She is sure to try to prevent that with Geri in any way she can, and I fear some of those ways will be pretty horrible. But I do feel for Gale in that moment with Geri, and for Denise who has just found out she has a sister and looks at Geri with a lot more warmth than she did when confronting her at the Side Step last episode. None of the women are responsible for what Marv did – at least as far as we know – and they were all hurt because of it.
Caps courtesy of spndeangirl
Geri asks if Gale knew that she was out there, and Gale says no, that Abby was the only one Marv told.
Gale: And why she would keep that a secret when I could have…could have been looking for you… I don’t know. But you’re here now and I’m just willing to make up for lost time, if you are.
Geri is ambivalent and still in shock, but she accepts the invitation to come in.
Talk about a cliffhanger!
I enjoyed this episode, although there were some things that required handwaving because they don’t quite make sense to me…
Marv gave away the baby because he couldn’t afford her medical treatment, but then paid child support to a ranch hand who had less money than he did? Nobody else saw Bonham at the barn that night – and he never told anyone what he saw? Why was he there? Where were Cordell and Denise at that point?
Maybe some of those questions will be answered in time, but for now I’m putting them aside and waiting to find out. And I cannot wait for tomorrow’s brand new Walker – directed by none other than Jared Padalecki’s “Supernatural” costar and real-life ‘brother,’ Jensen Ackles!
Last week’s episode of “Walker,” ‘Common Ground’, was an intense wild ride (literally) that left fans screaming at their screens and at one point exclaiming something along the lines of “oh shit.” That was me anyway!
I had a slightly different reaction to the episode than many people did, I think. “Walker” can sometimes be a little heavy-handed with its good guys v bad guys, or at least it can seem that way, but in this case, they’ve done an interesting job with the Davidsons in not being black and white. On the one hand, Gale is scary because she seems like she’s capable of just about anything, including manipulating her own family members. On the other hand, we’ve seen Denise through Cordell’s eyes as who she was as a teenager and someone he cared about a lot. She’s being manipulated by her mother away from the more reasonable courses of action that she seems drawn to herself again and again, and it’s working like a charm, but she lost her dad in a tragic way, her marriage is on the rocks, and I can’t help but feel bad for her. Same with Colton, who we were introduced to in a sympathetic light. He’s the new kid, longing to fit on, longing for a home and for a family who can stay together and give him a sense of stability. Yes, I know, cutting a saddle strap ain’t okay in any way, shape, or form if indeed Colton is the one who did that, but I still feel bad for him as he fears the little bit of stability he finally has is falling apart.
When Stella confronts Colton and demands to know why he outed Augie to Denise, Colton responds with “I’m sorry, what?”
He seems to eventually buy into the feud all the adults are insisting is “just the way things are”, but he reiterates again that all he wanted was a home. He knows his parents aren’t happy and he’s in danger of literally losing any semblance of home he might have had. He’s feeling hurt and angry that Stella has rejected him but still, at the eleventh hour, he tries to tell his dad that he doesn’t want to take the Walker’s home.
I even feel a bit bad for Dan – he’s a fuck up, has clearly had a history of being a fuck up – but he loves his son and is desperate to stay close to him by winning their family back the disputed land (and the Walker’s land too because…revenge, I guess?). There’s nothing more dangerous than someone with nothing left to lose, and that’s Dan. When his son said there was nothing left to fight for because he’d lose the home he wanted so badly, I knew Dan would do just about anything to make that not happen. Also, Dave Annable makes him confusingly appealing just because Dave is appealing!
The Davidsons are thus not your stereotypical bad guys. They are not the ones ‘in power’, despite Denise being the DA. They’re the ones that lost their family patriarch and their land – and one of their children, because then they didn’t have enough money to take care of her. That’s all pretty tragic – to them, the Walker family must look like a bunch of entitled winners. The show has hinted that maybe the Walker family wasn’t exactly fair to the Davidsons back then, so some of their resentment is certainly understandable. Loss pulled Cordell into a dark place for a while; it pulled the Davidsons there too, and they never got back out.
So, I felt a little out of sync with the rest of the fandom as the epic horse race started. I was rooting for Cordell, especially when he stopped to go back to be sure Dan was okay, but I kind of hated the whole idea of it. Would it really be okay to take ALL of the Davidsons’ land from them? Their home? Everything? Wouldn’t it compound what they already lost perhaps unfairly and the tragedy of the barn fire? Both Liam and Cordell have struggled with that ethical question, and I was still struggling when everyone got on board with the insane plan of deciding it all on a horse race.
Lots of emotional decision-making going on all over the place in this episode! Rational, what’s that? Everyone should listen to Liam a lot more, since he’s sometimes the only person hanging onto a thread of rationality in the face of very strong emotional reactions.
I felt really bad for Cordell in this episode too. He’s tried so hard to give the Davidsons the benefit of the doubt and not see this as a war, and I know some viewers were fed up with that and ready to just buy into the Davidsons-are-evil-take-their-home-away solution, but I appreciated Cordell’s reluctance to do that. He started out the episode finally watching the news report from back in 1995 when the barn burned, Gale insisting that it wasn’t an accident and blaming “the kid next door”.
She insists that Marv was the self-sacrificing type and that he ran into the burning building to save the kids (Cordell and Denise). She even says right out, “Cordell Walker murdered my husband”, which seems like something that should not have been broadcast since Cordell was a minor at the time. Where is this news report and why is it still accessible on the internet?
I wonder why there wasn’t more of an investigation at the time if she really thought that? (I also continue to wonder how they missed the lantern that was just lying around the burnt barn). Poor Cordell, having to see that, even as an adult. We know he still feels guilty about that night and doesn’t know for sure what happened, so that must have been excruciating to watch. Protect your mental health, dude! He also feels bad about “the last time the Davidsons had to move”, a reference to the fact that the Walkers might not have done right by the Davidsons back then. I can’t forget those sort of things, so I was glad it was acknowledged again at least initially.
At this point, it’s still on the table to make a deal that’s at least somewhat equitable with the Davidsons even if the race happens, though that seems to go by the wayside by the end of the episode. Also, Liam is the voice of reason repeatedly, noting how crazy it is to decide something like this with a horse race. Ya think??
Liam is the only one who wants to cut a deal BEFORE the race (trying to cut a deal with Dan for 20 acres of Walker land so they can find some common ground). Cordell doesn’t agree though, eventually buying into the macho bullshit I like to think he’s at least partly walked away from, saying he doesn’t want the Davidsons to think they’re afraid of a challenge. That’s a crappy reason to go ahead with this, Cordell, just saying. (Though he does, at this point, say the race is on but they don’t have to start a war. Though how either family can be expected to be ‘okay’ with losing ALL their land is pretty much beyond me. The stakes are too damn high here.)
I also felt bad for Cordell as he tries to practice riding on Chopper, a gorgeous horse who seems pretty high strung, with his dad as his “Coach”. (He gets way too into the part, even donning a hat that says ‘Coach’. Over the top, Bonham!).
Bonham is super hard on Cordell here, blaming him for the horse’s stubbornness and refusing to listen to Cordell when he (very rationally) tries to suggest they make a deal with the Davidsons instead of The Insane Race ™. Cordell wants to end the stupid family feud once and for all without more casualties and I am ALL FOR THIS. Bonham, alas, is not. That same macho bullshit rears its ugly head, with “shots have been fired, lines have been drawn” and that apparently means you have to keep right on firing. Boo. Cassie shows up and isn’t exactly supportive of him either. Boo.
Chopper the horse is skittish and Bonham blames Cordell for being indecisive, telling him to focus and to get his back straight.
Cordell: I know how to ride a horse.
Bonham: Well, it doesn’t look like it.
Ouch. No wonder Cordell has insecurities.
Cassie: If he does anything wrong, I hold him, you slap him.
Me: WHAT?
Sheesh. Poor Cordell. His phone rings, Bonham warns him not to answer it, Cordell tries anyway because it was Denise – and frankly, if he had answered it, things might not have escalated the way they did. Bonham insists that feeding Chopper some sugar cubes is going to change his mindset and make everything okay, which seems unlikely to me, but I get to see some close-up shots of Chopper, who is a gorgeous horse, so fine.
Cordell: Fine, it’s not Chopper, it’s me.
Me: Is it, though?
Eventually, Bonham and Cassie have a talk as Bonham works on a saddle and slices his finger accidentally (Bonham always seems to bond with Cordell’s partners). It seemed like we were shown that injury for a reason – maybe to cast doubt on who’s responsible for some knife slicing the saddle strap? Honestly, I don’t know. Bonham confesses to Cassie that there was a sense of relief when Marv died because then the whole land dispute thing could die with him.
He clearly feels guilty about that, but Cassie reminds him not to let that get in the way of his relationship with his son, and Bonham resolves to listen to Cordell more. He eventually talks to his son, not apologizing, but at least saying that he let the Davidsons have more power over him than he cares to admit. Bonham’s guilt makes sense to me and probably has impacted his impulsive (bad) decision-making around that lantern. Cordell points out that Bonham “raised me to walk alongside you, but you never really let us” and Bonham says that’s why he’s there. He’s ready to listen to Cordell about making a deal, finally. By this time, however, Cordell has changed his mind about attempting a more rational deal and the race is on, insane or not.
Bonham: Walk alongside me, Cordell.
Cordell: I’m gonna finish what you started.
I know I’m supposed to find that inspiring, but I found myself wanting to yell WHY??? It wasn’t a good idea in the first place, and it’s still not a good idea now!
I think I’m in the minority though.
Cordell and Cassie get a little more time together, her going through the kitchen cabinets and being impressed with the food and not agreeing with Cordell trying to be reasonable about cutting a deal with the Davidsons. She still reminds me a little bit of Dean Winchester, especially in the way Cordell gets a bit exasperated with her but they still click together.
Things are not good at the Davidsons either, per usual. Denise once again tells Dan to get out (after he throws up from all that alcohol he consumed in the last episode). He insists he has nowhere to go, but she’s not very sympathetic. Also, Dan apparently bought the wrong cleaner (in other words, they argue about ridiculous things too.) Gale is critical of the silly fight, but Denise points out that she and Marv “invented that fight”. Hmmm. I get the feeling that things between Marv and Gale were anything but perfect – and is there a specific fight about “cleaner” that kept happening? Was someone trying to “clean up” something? Hmmm.
Anyway, Gale tries to convince Denise that Dan is their best bet to ride in The Insane Race ™. She also keeps hinting that the lantern that night in the barn was somehow to blame for Marv’s death – and she knows that the Walker family has it because of course she does. Denise is at first defensive of Cordell, saying he was just a kid, but hearing that the Walkers found it and kept it a secret makes her more suspicious. Did Bonham really think he could bury it, both literally and figuratively?? Gale is a master manipulator here, once again.
Because she can’t reach Cordell on his cell phone (which got dropped and smashed by Chopper’s big hoof alas), Denise finds Augie at the Side Step and asks him about the lantern. When Geri tries to defend him, she brings Augie down to the Ranger station, not allowing Geri to come since she’s not officially a legal guardian. Geri’s line about the kids being “practically my blood” was a nice touch – I do think she feels very close to Stella and August. Denise suggests some neutral ground – Ranger HQ – and August says okay. Not sure that’s really okay though, to take a minor down to the station when he’s not even charged with anything? Gale’s manipulation is going swimmingly though.
Denise’s overstepping is the last straw for Cordell, who finally finds out about the lantern and gets a confession out of Bonham that he buried the damn thing. Cordell rightly points out that Bonham burying it was not his decision to make alone, and that all the damn secrets and lies end up hurting their family more than the Davidsons ever could. He and Geri confront Bonham and insist he dig up the damn lantern.
Furious and protective of Augie, Cordell brings Denise the unearthed lantern and says he’s done with trying to help her and her family. (Both Dan and Cordell are pushed over the line out of protectiveness of their sons, which makes the eventual race even more insane).
Cordell makes a 180 from his initial reluctance about turning this into a war when Denise questions Augie, now saying that they started a war and there “ain’t no going back from that.” Initially, both Cordell and Denise were on the side of being reasonable, but Denise too is pushed over the edge.
When Stella asks Cordell about the Davidsons thinking of them as “the bad guys” over a game of blackjack, Cordell says there are no bad guys – which is a sentiment I kind of like. I just feel like it eventually got reversed, unfortunately, as things got pretty black and white instead of remaining gray. Are the Walkers really the good guys in this entirely??
I got my Abeline fix with a short but poignant scene of her at Marv’s grave, leaving flowers and sharing nightmares of her being with him on top of the water tower, seeing a big fire, and not being able to stop it. Very Freudian. She confides to Marv that she and Bonham are keeping secrets, questioning why they do it, and for who – rightly noting that ‘there’s always something we lose.’
Molly Hagan is awesome per usual – I so want to know more about Abeline and Marv, especially after Gale comes by Marv’s grave later and complains that the woman he loved was just there (Abby) and now the woman he married is (her). Ouch. The resentments between the families are clearly rooted in the Bonham-Abeline-Marv-Gale tangled mess of long ago as much as the land disputes.
Gale and Dan manipulate Denise once again so that he can be the one to ride, telling her they’re starting later. Geri and Cordell reminisce a little about their childhood on the ranch. She smiles and says the reason she knows this land more than anybody is because of all the time the two of them spent trying to hide from their dads. Not exactly sure what that conversation was about, but Cordri remain sweet together.
Geri is the one to read the rules and say go because “I’m the only one who’s not blood-related Walker or Davidson” and everyone immediately goes okay it’s definite now, she’s the Davidson baby that was given up. Cordell says he loves this house, this land.
Cordell: I never realized how much it was home until yesterday – it’s a part of me, a part of all of us. So I’m gonna go out there and protect our own.
Again, I wasn’t as inspired as I think I was supposed to be. Is it really theirs?? What about that map? What about Marv’s desperation back in the day as he was about to endure the unspeakable pain of having to give up a child because he couldn’t afford to take care of her? That he needed money and came up with this ridiculous plan out of that kind of desperation?
Even the “go out there and kick his ass” didn’t land like it should have for me – it’s a close to “Supernatural” reference, but I was too conflicted to really appreciate it like I usually would. Colton feels bad, saying he doesn’t want to take the Walker’s home from them – he of all people understands the value of home – but Dan insists it’s what they deserve.
Dan taunts the Walkers, proving himself an asshole just before they start the race, so that helps me at least root for Cordell – though I would hope that if the Walkers won they would still offer up that 20 acres to be fair.
Cordell remembers to give Chopper that sugar cube.
And then they’re off!
We see the slice in the girth of Cordell’s saddle as the horses and riders gallop away.
Bonham gives his son the advice of taking the right fork of the path even though it’s longer because the left has dangerous branches – so we know that the ‘bad guy’ will probably try to take the shortcut and pay the price. He does, Dan is knocked off his horse by a branch. Cordell comes back to see if he’s okay – and honestly, I wouldn’t have thought very highly of him if he hadn’t – and they continue the race.
Dan: You didn’t have to come back.
Cordell: Well, I save people for a living, Dan. It’s who I am.
Dan does say thank you, and on they go.
That poor stunt guy though!
Little by little, we see the girth of Chopper’s saddle that was cut slowly coming closer and closer to breaking, as the horses and riders leap over creeks and fallen trees, circling past the burnt barn and heading for the finish line. Gorgeous cinematography and gorgeous horses – and all the kudos to Jared and Dave for some kickass riding!
When Cordell’s saddle finally breaks and he goes down, however, Dan does not come back to help – and so he wins the race.
(I’m not sure why the horse went down too – wouldn’t the saddle just have slid off the horse, and Cordell with it, and the horse would have carried on?)
That’s not the “oh shit” moment though. That happens just before the race ends when Denise shows up with the police and accuses Bonham of murder! Apparently, the lantern is a murder weapon, Marv’s blood all over it, so now we’re at a ‘who really killed Marv Davidson?’ mystery moment. Was it Bonham? That’s pretty much impossible to believe, though he doesn’t initially deny it. Was it Gale? Is that why she was so quick to put out some accusations when it happened? If it was, why didn’t she dispose of the lantern?? Or was it someone else altogether?
Caps courtesy of spndeangirl
Next week “Walker” will be interesting with 2.13 One Good Thing, that’s for sure! The proverbial plot thickens…
