It’s only been a week since Cordell nearly died and Luna died in Cassie’s arms, so their people are hard at work being there for them. Like the start of season 3, Cordell wants everything back to the way it was and overcompensates by being extra, but his family simply want him to be in the present with them, and then take one step at the time.
Stella tells her dad that there is no version of life where he’s being gone is better, it will just be a different kind of pain. She gives him the letters he wrote while he was undercover in case he doesn’t make it out alive. She and August didn’t read the letters because it came from a different version of their father and they don’t need that now. However, perhaps Cordell do, and figures it out from there.
Despite Cordell’s assurance to Geri that the Jackal case was an “exception of exceptions”, Geri wisely tells him that there’s always going to be “the next big case” and when it happens, she wants Cordell to go to her for support. This makes me super happy that Geri doesn’t demand that he cuts back on his work or give up his job altogether but wants to be there for him when his job inevitably gets messy again.
Cassie has to reach back to the past to galvanize herself into thinking about a different future than the one she planned with Luna and goes to the lieutenant job interview. Trey appears to give a stronger interview, but he’s only been a ranger a short time and the job goes to Cassie. Of course it does because they changed Cassie’s personality from Cordell-lite in season 2&3 to James-lite in season 4, so she got the lieutenant job as the newly minted female version of Larry James, who was also Cordell’s previous partner. Anybody remember when she and Cordell tamper with evidence just to satisfy their curiosity? (X) It was actually one of my favorite scenes.
The job promotion further propels Cassie to “leap forward” into a new future. It also means Cassie will no longer be Cordell’s partner, which is for the best because emotionally she blames him for Luna’s death even when she's concerned about Cordell and asked Geri how he is doing. Two things can be true. I predicted a while back (looking for the specific post) that Cordell and Trey would eventually become partners and now that it’s confirmed, we are robbed of that dynamic in season 5.
August graduation party is crowded and loud and its cathartic for the audience to see everybody happy and celebrating. We even see Cassie smiling at Cordell’s toast to his son, August Edward Walker, and the rest of the family. Here I was expecting a Shakespearean middle name for August but it’s from Emily who was a Twilight fan. Liam and Ben declared themselves team Jacob and just like that they’re moving in together.
The party grows raucous, and Bonham and Abilene hide out in their house. Abilene apologizes to Bonham for abandoning him while she was launching her wedding venue business and assures him that she wants to oversee and “meddle”, not deal with the bride of the week. Nope she’s leaving bride handling to the gay guy. Bonham compromise by keeping the boat and uses it for her events as a tax write off. Win win!
Cordell takes a leave of absence for the summer to take August, Stella, and Geri (and a secret ring box) on a much-needed vacation, which Cassie grants on the first day of the lieutenant job because “they both need this”. A time apart from each other and away from the daily reminders will do them both good.
While the finale is a 'happy ending', there are underlying sadness that's been there since the pilot episode, starting with Cordell, then Micki, and now Cassie. Each of them has lost romantic partners to death and Cordell said time doesn't heal everything. What is unspoken is work and more work will get them through the pain of grief.
As Bonham and Abeline enjoys a boat ride and Cordell and his children and Geri head out of town, an unexpected double cliffhanger happens: Liam gets recruited by the governor for a secret job and he’s whisked away by men in black in front of the impressed Ben; the Davidson lands is sub-leased by a hippie version of SPN Lucifer, due to his all-white outfit, who is none other than Dawson Leery, played of course by a grinning James Van Der Beek!
Final score: 9.7. Point 1 deduction for each arcs we won't see in season 5: Cordell and Trey's new partnership , Liam's new job from the governor, and new neighbor cult leader Dawson Leery
This week's episode was lighter in the fact that there was technically less going on but it was intense nonetheless. "We've Been Here Before" was certainly an apt name and I'm curious about the implications for future episodes. But, we need to talk about this one first.
Let's cover the main plot first: Cordell and Kelly trying to help James help himself.
After an opening montage of our team working the Jackal case, we get a short conference room scene of them going over what they know- or rather what they don't know. They know who the Jackal has killed and how he did it, but they have know information on how he picks his victims, or if he even has a pattern.
With them hitting a wall, James tells them all to go home while he gets some more work done. Cordell also tells the team to go home and says he'll stay back in case James needs him, keeping the promise he made to Kelly earlier in the episode to stop James from drowning.
While Cordell watches James, we get a flashback to five years ago. James had been assaulted by someone, but he's refusing to press charges. Cordell is irate on his behalf and Kelly is there trying to bring him home again. James refuses; he owes this to the victims and their families. He needs to bring the Jackal in. As Kelly leaves, she makes a knock at Cordell for not watching his back better.
As Cordell comes out of the memory, he sees James getting ready to go and meet someone. Alone. Worried, Cordell takes one of the undercover cars and follows James to a restaurant, where he meets a younger man.
This man is Henry Moore, the son of one of the victims. We learn that he's the one that assaulted James all those years ago, something James is still very forgiving of. We also learn that he and others that were related to Jackal victims are a part of a network that have been doing their own vigilante investigation. He claims to know who the Jackal is- one of his customers. While James is willing to follow up on this lead, he cautions Henry on jumping into a case like this. The evidence he has is circumstantial at best and it needs to be checked before they can act on it. Henry starts getting angry and storms out of the meeting, just in time for Cordell to make himself known- much to James' anger.
Side note: I love (and hate) that James has been careful to call Cordell "Ranger" this entire episode.
Cordell tries to confront James in the moment on him keeping him and Kelly at arms length when all they were trying to do was help but James isn't hearing it. Whatever good intentions they had, they lied to him. That's not something he can get over easy.
Later, we see Henry Moore setting his trap for the man he thinks is the Jackal. Luckily, James and Walker show up before he can do any serious damage. While Cordell gets Henry in cuffs, James finds his investigative journal and they decide he might not be completely grasping at straws.
Later, back at HQ, we find out that the man Henry suspected was not, in fact, the Jackal. But that doesn't mean the investigative work he and the others in the Jackal Survivor's Network wasn't good. James sends Cordell home with the promise that they'll pick this up in the morning. Then Kelly arrives.
Kelly tries to have a serious talk with him about this. She feels like he's slipping back into old habits and she doesn't think he can do this all over again. James assures her that this time it will be different. Their relationship is much stronger this time and he's not drinking this time. It won't be easy, but it won't be as bad as last time, he promises. Kelly seems to accept this answer and let's him do "one last thing" before they leave.
Unfortunately, James' "one last thing" is grabbing the mini-bottles of alcohol from Maybelline's gift basket, downing one before leaving the office.
Side note: Love love love (and hate) the visual of a literal wall between James and Kelly as they leave HQ.
Next, let's look at our favorite investigators' day off.
After being rather unceremoniously pushed out of the office, Cassie and Trey invite Luna out to the Side Step to relax a bit before he makes the long drive back to Corpus.
While they're relaxing, they talk abotut he case for a bit and try to piece together why Dylan Hollis' death was so different from the others. Cassie posits that the Jackal has some kind of ritualistic checklist he goes through with each of his victims and, since he'd already gone through most of it will Hollis, he could skip right to the end when he came back. Trey and Luna agree that makes sense and Luna offers to buy drinks to celebrate their win.
The main theme during this part of the episode is taking pleasure in the little things to chase away the darkness of an intense case. For Luna, that's sleeping with a weighted blanket on his feet. For Cassie, it's finding that perfect blend for her coffee. And, for Trey, it's trying to set Cassie up with Luna.
Side note: After the matching "He has swagger for days" lines I'm shipping Trey/Luna more than Luna/Cassie but to each their own.
After a night of celebrating, the three decide to head home. After learning Luna plans to grab a hotel, Cassie insists on him staying at her and Geri's place, an offer he accepts. Once he gets settled in, Cassie looks like she plans to take things to the next level and fixes herself up for seduction, but changes her mind and just leaves the weighted blanket outside his door, a gesture Luna appreciates.
Side note: I don't care how frosted those windows are, I would never be able to sleep in a bedroom with doors like that.
The next morning, Cassie finds specially roasted coffee beans in the oven and Luna returns to the kitchen with a proper good morning kiss.
Next, let's talk about the kids' investigation journey.
We learn that the kids have been focusing on finding the necklace on their own while Sadie is in the wind and Witt is in hiding. Unfortunately, visiting random estate sales and pawn shops hasn't given them much luck. It doesn't help that Stella is trying to keep everything a secret by constantly breaking her promises to help Liam with the horse rescue.
Side note: I love that they thought to call the Davidsons about an issue with someone wanting them dead over a stolen item. So on-brand.
When Liam gets hurt by ATV-ing and calling Ben to complain about Stella bailing on him again, Mawline pulls her weight and gets Stella and August to help out. She has a talk with Stella about fulfilling her obligations and helping the people she cares about, regardless of her own problems. Stella does feel guilty about bailing but, as she stated earlier, it can be hard to focus on family obligations when "a ghost is holding a gun to your head".
While they're at the barn, Stella asks Bonham and Abby for help tracking down lost family heirlooms. When she shows them a picture, Bonham comments on how old the necklace is given the style of the craftsman ship and suggests a few other places for her to look for it.
Later, we find out August has been doing some digging on his own- much to Stella's continued annoyance- and he actually found a record of that necklace. Specifically, a piece in a museum that once belonged to an Ophelia Rawlins. Naturually, their minds head to everyone's favorite thief: Hoyt Rawlins.
Side note: Looks like mine and @theladywyn's theory that this is about something Hoyt stole was right. Y'all are welcome.
Side side note: Anyone else think we would've gotten a glimpse of Ophelia if we'd had more Windy? *sigh*
Ending on a light note, let's talk about Geri and Liam's plans for the future.
We learn that Geri's received an investment offer from a decently sized influencer who wants to help her open up a new location- with some strings attached of course. Geri is excited as she's apparently had plans to expand the Side Step for a while and even picked out a location: Oklahoma City.
But our new influencer "friend" isn't as excited about that location considering her reach only goes so far. That's already dampening Geri's excitement for this deal but when Liam looks over the contract and sees some questionable clauses regarding how much the influencer and her team are getting out of the deal, Geri decides to turn it down. Her spirits are down for a bit but with some advice and help from Liam, she decides she can make those expansion dreams happen on her own terms.
Later, Liam is still resting his leg while doing some research for Geri when Bonham brings him some pain medication. Bonham scolds him again for taking on too much work but Liam explains that he feels good about doing this. He misses being in the court room, pointing out injustice and helping those who need it.
Side note: Did anyone else peep Bonham mentioning the pain meds are supposed to be temporary right after we heard about Henry's dad's addiction? Because I did. And I'm spinning over it.
Bonham seems happy for him but reminds him Abby is going to have some harsher words for him, which Liam accepts.
Walker continues to deliver great episodes and, as usual, I'm left with more questions for next week. How long will James be able to keep his drinking under wraps? How much blame will Cordell put on himself when that does come to light? Is addiction really the tie between all the victims? Where is that necklace Hoyt stole and why is this woman only coming after it now? How many more times are they going to bring up pregnancy before we actually get one? And will Maybelline be sending any more gift baskets for her favorite ranger?
Witt took care of that other guy a little too handily, like he's had some experience covering up crimes...
LMAO! The air quotes!
Aaahhh!!! Detective Luna!
I'm here for all of the hair jokes!
Poor Cap thinking Kelly is pregnant.
Uh, Stella, talking to your dad about a criminal is not rash. When did Sadie become the responsible one?
Ooh, an old-fashioned stand-off!
Awe, Augie was so sweet there! But also, that's an alarming amount of trauma for two teenagers.
Poor Cap (continued). His rangers and his wife have been lying to him, and the Jackal is back.
Love the callback to Stella and Augie chatting while lying down. Especially loved Augie's "August Walker." A few more years and he can add "Texas Ranger" to that introduction!
That final shot of the all the rangers at the crime scene... beautiful and heartbreaking.
I really loved it!! Would I have loved it as much without Jared? I don't know?
The cast is amazing, I am really fussy about families looking similar, and they do. The dynamic between Walker and Micki is so good!!! Respect! All the supporting cast are perfect. Liam, Trey, Parents Walker! I was expecting to roll my eyes over the teenage kids, they were what I was least looking forward to but they surprised me the most. Genuine emotion there without being annoying. They didn't seem like 20yr olds or act like babies.
Of course, Walker rises and falls with Jared, and he reminded us why he has been employed ever since he started acting. If he is on screen you look at him. He is able to convey devastation, humour, snark, stubbornness, belligerence, charm and look freaking hot af while doing it. They really know how to dress him yaaas. He must be seven feet tall with that hat yiissss.
The action part was only a background to this ep. I am looking forward to some serious butt kicking in the future (I liked how walker stood back and let micki handle the arrest when she didn't need him to help) Clever to have the main season arc resonate directly with walker, and the loss of his wife.
I loved the Texas setting! Yeehaw! This is what sets the series apart. The accents, cowboy hats, food trucks, horses. Blue skies and open spaces. Yes.
There was a lot of characters and information in this ep but it was handled well. We want to know more. My only negative would be the music was too loud in parts, and drowned out the dialogue.
I'm sorry not to be a thirsty bitch, when Walker says 'I'm still a cowboy' I'm pretty sure I suddenly like cowboys now?
Anyway, Walker still can't find a happy medium between his work life and personal life. I believe he needs to be recertified and smashes everything through until he needs to ride. The flash backs are heart breaking and I'm pretty certain Emily was truly the best wife. You can just understand on a really strange deep level how great she was. I wonder if we'll continue to see her? I hope so!
Stella, in true teenage rebellion continues to fire shots at Walker and good god, I can sympathise with her. She lost her mum a year ago, her father went MIA and she's suppose to pretend it's all OK? She's suppose to move back into her old home where her last memory there was with a nice, perfect family? I understand why she's so mad and Walker continues not to get it... but its raw and real and the writing team are doing a good job with drawing this angst out. Stella should be firing shots at Walker, I think that should at least carry on for 8 or so episodes.
August and all the scenes he is in really crush me. We now know why he likes cameras and what his passions are. He's a photographer and I would like to see that journey grow. I love the flash backs with Emily and August, just seeing how truly special that connection is with his mum is so nice. I also like where they're heading with his character. He seems to be keeping the family together and can't really act out because Stella is. I'm calling in now, I actually think he'll go off the rails in a few episodes. He's had to keep it together for far too long.
Now, Walkers brother? Mike? Are you kidding. He is the best!!!! I liked the sass, i liked the frankness, I like that he didn't pussy foot around and told Walker straight. Get your shit together you've got to move the hell on, you have kids here that need you. I liked how he knew exactly where Stella as, I liked that he called Walker out on his bullshit and reminded him. I hate that he got stood up but I also love that we were introduced to his partner so I'm looking forward to that blossoming. Also, are we thinking he'll move to NYC too?
I really like Micki, however, I just don't think her and Trey are going to work and I want them to. I really want them to work, but I think she has to or will have to at a later stage in the series put herself first and I think it'll be really sad and really hard because I like Trey but I'm feeling like that's going to be so angsty further in the series.
I also really love the dynamic between Micki and Walker? It's actually really good? Great platonic chemistry? I'm here for it????
I'm with you. Geri and Cordell just don't make a good romantic couple. They're great as friends but IMO they just don't have any romantic chemistry. It's an aspect of the show that I find disappointing.
Yeah, I want Twyla Jean to come back, or someone else that lights a fire under Cordell. I appreciate that in the real world, comfortable companions is a valid relationship goal, but as a viewer, I want to see passion, from either of them, and I just don't see it.
Here's hoping the blurb in today's article about something sidelining Geri and Cordell's relationship is more than just a tossed-out t-shirt.
