Season 3

With a title like “World On A String”, I really should’ve known Walker's season 3 premiere episode was going to put me through an emotional ringer.

I’m going to be doing a scene-by-scene recap of this episode since there was pretty much just the one plot rather than an A and B plot.

Let’s dive on in, shall we?

Following a quick recap of 2.19 and 2.20, we catch up with Cordell as he’s dragged into the back of a van and driven away. We then cut to the end of the race back at the ranch house. After a few spare moments of joy, Stella realizes that Cordell is missing. Trey and Liam initially try to quell her worries. Cordell could just be hiding somewhere, trying to mess with them. Stella doesn’t buy it, but they brush off her concerns and go jogging back down the path to look for him.

Stella goes into the house with the hat she grabbed from the hitching post and tries to tell Abby about Cordell. But her grandmother is too busy setting up the party to listen and Stella doesn’t have the heart to interrupt her.  So, she turns to August instead and tells him what she knows so far.

Back on the jogging trail, Liam and Trey are discussing the possible reasons for Cordell’s disappearance. Neither of them really thinks that it’s a prank. Quite the opposite. Liam is immediately drawing connections to the shoot-out in Miles’ trailer, how close they came to killing Cordell that day. Trey argues that it might not be that direct of a connection but trails off when he sees a watch on the ground. Liam picks it up for a closer look and reveals that this watch was a gift from Bonham when Cordell first joined the service; he’s never taken it off. Trey decides it's time to call in Captain James.

Back at the house, Bonham comes in from a conversation with Dan Miller and asks Abby if they made the right choice giving him a portion of the land back. Abby insists that it was a good idea, a peace offering to smooth over the bad blood between their families. Bonham seems less sure about the idea but he’s not willing to argue it now. Then he asks Abby if she needs him to move the table out onto the porch. She says no, that she’s waiting for Cordell to come back to move it. Bonham does try to argue about this, but Abby shuts him down. She then speaks cryptically about how Liam and Cordell would often be afraid to leave the family behind for summer camps when they were kids but would never admit it. She glances at Stella and August, who are still talking at the piano, and we get the sense that she knows something is wrong.

We return to Cordell, who has been moved from the back of the van into a building. He’s limp in his captors’ hold as he’s dragged through the empty building, looking to all the world like he’s unconscious. But, once he’s in the cage, we see the slivers under his blindfold through his eyes. He listens in on the conversation between his captors. The one securing his ankle, who we later know as “Neo”, is concerned about how much time they have before they’re found out. His boss, Sean (the man who reconned Cassie on a date in 2.20), tells him it’ll be about 36 hours, maybe more if things go according to plan. He’s not too concerned on time though; he seems sure they’ll have enough of it to break in their new inside man. Neo is a little more nervous and says he needs to go get someone named Jenny, but Sean ignores him. They then leave Cordell in the cage and lock the door behind them.

Side note: Cordell is a war hero? I sense flashbacks coming.

Once they’re gone, Cordell starts trying to find out where he is. Based on the natural light, he figures he’s somewhere above ground. The concrete floors tell him he’s somewhere industrial. That’s as far as his exploration goes before Neo returns and finds him awake.

Neo asks if Cordell knows why he’s still alive. Cordell recognizes his military boots and gives an army formal response: “Sir, yes, sir. Because you allow it, sir.” Once Neo realizes he can see under the blindfold, he starts trying to fix it. Cordell gets a bit snarky and points out the other senses he can use besides sight, like hearing to find a leaky pipe and smell of the antiseptic on Neo’s arm. Cordell asks if it was an accident or a warning. This earns him a few punches and the removal of his blindfold, not that he’s conscious enough to appreciate it.

Back at the ranch, Cassie and James arrive for the graduation party. However, they don’t walk in on the happy affair they were expecting. Everyone convenes in the kitchen and Stella finally voices what’s been going on: Cordell Walker is missing.

Immediately, Cassie makes the connection to the cabal that drove Miles into hiding before. She starts rambling off evidence and theories and James tries to take her into another room to talk privately. Stella won’t let them though. She says if they go, then everyone else will just start thinking the worst. It’s better to be honest and clue them in on what’s actually going on rather than letting their imaginations run wild. James is hesitant but he can’t argue with that.

Back in captivity, Cordell wakes up to the sound of a rather loud drop of water. He closes his eyes and tries to clear his head, only for memories to flood his mind. When he opens his eyes again, he sees Emily in the cage with him.

Immediately, Cordell starts apologizing for not being there for Stella’s graduation party. He promised her before that he would be there for his family and now, he’s let them down. But Emily isn’t listening and just tells him to look up. He eventually does and sees the origami swan being lowered through the vent in the ceiling. It drops right where he can grab it and he puzzles over what it could be. Emily offers a few ideas until he notices the knot pattern on the string, a code. 7500 is an Air Force code for a plane hijacking. He suspects there may be another prisoner being held in this building.

Side note: Did anyone else’s heart break a little when he started apologizing for being kidnapped? Because mine did. A lot.

Back at the ranch, Cassie and James start arranging for a ranger squad to look for Cordell. Then James gets the idea that they should have a team at the ranch as well and asks Trey to be the head of it. He can’t be a ranger just yet, but he can coordinate things on ground zero. Trey proudly accepts the role, and everyone splits off into their respective duties.

Liam goes to talk to the kids. Stella is on the phone leaving a message for someone while August sits by the piano. August explains that Stella is leaving a message for Colton about what happened. Apparently, he and Geri are off on a trip to the mountains and it’s impossible to contact them directly. We also learn that Colton and Stella haven’t seen each other since the graduation ceremony at the school. It would appear that Colton has a few things he wants to work through on his own.

Behind them, James is assuring Cassie that they will find Cordell and that he understands this is hard for her after everything with Miles. Cassie admits to the similarities between both of her partners’ disappearances but that only steels her resolve to find Cordell as quickly as possible.

After they leave, August starts playing “When The Saints Come Marching In” on the piano. Liam joins him on the keys and Stella watches in the background. Unlike the last time Cordell was away, the piano doesn’t draw an outburst. I wonder what changed….

Back in the cage, Cordell is trying to speak to his fellow captive through the vent while Emily tells him to be quiet because if the person through the vent can hear them, the captors can too. Cordell understands that but he has no other way of communicating with this person and he has a lot of questions, mostly about why they were placed on separate floors like this. Then he asks why they’re even arguing about this and Emily reminds him that she’s just saying what’s going on in his head. Then we hear from the fellow prisoner as she tells Cordell to keep quiet. Before he can respond, Neo returns with two goons.

The goons put Cordell on a hook hanging from the top of the cage. Cordell brings up the antiseptic smell again and asks about the wound on Neo’s arm. “Bullet graze you?”/ “Like you don’t know.” Cordell smirks as he realizes that he got a shot off on the guy and he apologizes for missing, only to be rewarded with a cold water bucket to the face. Then the cattle prod comes out and it’s quite shocking for our dear Walker.

Emily makes herself known again and tells Cordell to ask about Jenny; she’s clearly important to Neo and it may distract him enough to stop. Cordell goes for it and, based on Neo’s reaction, quickly deduces that Jenny is his daughter. Cordell tries to connect with him through fatherhood but it’s not very successful as Neo just tells him to shut up. Then Sean joins them and he isn’t too happy to see the lack of torture. He takes the prod from Neo and turns it on him, forcing his sidekick to the ground. Sean will be taking over.

As Neo is dragged away, Sean tells Cordell not to worry, that he can make a new friend soon if he plays nice. That’s not happening anytime soon, so it’s waterboarding time for Walker. At least he won’t get dehydrated.

Back at the ranch, Liam has gotten changed out of his running clothes and is waiting pensively on the front porch. Soon, Ben arrives and Liam hugs him before he can even explain why he’s there.

In the next shot, they’re out on the running trail. Ben tries to get Liam to drink water while Liam is just concerned with finding clues. Ben rambles for a bit about how Cassie is a survivalist and they’d almost joined one of those challenge game shows together. But, when everything with Luke came up, things fell apart. Liam clearly isn’t listening to any of this and Ben apologizes; his rambling isn’t helping.

Liam then mentions how when he and Cordell were younger and Abby left Cordell in charge, his older brother would often play pranks on Liam. He’d pretend to be seriously hurt or missing to try and scare Liam. He always knew Cordell was just messing with him but he always took it seriously. After all, you never know.

Then Ben asks what time it is and Liam start to check on Cordell’s watch, only to find that the watch was stopped. His mind jumps to this being a clue, something intentionally done by Cordell that could fix the case. Then he starts to doubt himself; it could’ve been an accident or a mistake. But Ben tells him to trust his gut and call it in anyway. After all, you never know.

At Ranger HQ, James adds the watch time to the evidence board. Behind him, Cassie is going through pictures on Sean’s profile page, convinced that he’s connected to all this. Even if it’s flimsy, James is willing to take any lead he can get. After a failed phone call and a few minutes of swiping, Cassie finds a photo of Sean at his “workplace” and says she recognizes the mural in the background and the location. She also tells James that Sean said he sold sheet metal for work, likely the same kind of shady work that Miles had been investigating before he had to go missing. James takes that as a lead and they arrange to move out with a team. But, just as they’re leaving, they see Abby sitting in the atrium and James goes to talk to her.

When he sits next to her, Abby asks him what he thought it would take for Cordell to take a desk job. They both seem to know he never would, but they can dream. Abby knows he doesn’t have an answer because she’s asked him this before. She then reveals that she blamed him for Cordell going on the Rodeo Kings job after Emily died. James apologizes but that’s not what she came here to tell him. She says that she appreciates everything he’s done for their family and she knows he would move Heaven and Earth for them. But, for now, she doesn’t want to see him in her home again unless he has Cordell with him. He has more to say to her but Cassie pokes in to ask if he’s coming. Abby lets him go before breaking down in tears and starting to pray.

Side note: Is anyone else wondering what’s in Bonham’s Secret Sunday Sauce? And why even Abby doesn’t have the recipe?

Back at the ranch, it’s nighttime and a search party has been formed by rangers, troopers, local police, and members of the general public who want to help. Trey and Bonham seem impressed by the turnout as they walk up to the coordination tents.

Bonham mentions that he heard they found bullet casings near where Cordell disappeared. Trey confirms this and says they likely came from Cordell’s gun. At the very least, he got a shot off at them. But that doesn’t tell them where he is. Bonham asks if they really think they’ll find Cordell out here and Trey says it’s unlikely, but finding any clue at all would be helpful. He does want to bring up the morale of the team and suggests a pancake breakfast. Bonham thinks that’s a great idea and offers to help; it’ll help keep the family’s spirits up too.

Side note: How on earth did Trey and Liam not hear that gunshot?

Back in the cage, Cordell is looking more like a drowned rat than a ranger. His fellow prisoner speaks through the vent again and is more talkative than before. She tells him that they’re trying to break him and use him to replace Fenton as an inside man. Cordell asks her how she knows all that and she says that she’s a journalist; it’s likely that she uncovered the operation and had to face consequences. When Cordell wonders why they’re able to talk like this now, the woman claims that this is part of the breaking process. They want Cordell to have hope and then they’ll crush it by taking her away. When that happens, their captors will be there to pick up the pieces. Cordell doesn’t quite buy that but he doesn’t have time to question it because Sean is back.

Sean seems impatient for Cordell to break and join their ranks, and is irritated that it hasn’t happened yet. But he seems confident that Cordell will, eventually.

While the goons set up new methods of torture, the rangers get ready to break into where they think Cordell is being held. We go back and forth between shots of Cordell being hurt and the rangers moving through the building. But, just as we have hope that the cavalry will save the day, it turns out the rangers are in the wrong spot.

All is not lost, however, as Cassie spots a bag of peanuts. She thinks this may be a hint, a clue tying all this back to Sean because of a story she told on their date. James thinks she’s a little insane but she’s not backing down and insists it could be evidence. This eventually convinces him to get it run for prints.

Back at the ranch, Stella and August are playing a board game, but neither of them seems terribly invested in it. Stella asks the question they’re both thinking: What if this is the case that kills him? August doesn’t argue with her and brings up how back when Cordell was undercover, August would get nervous whenever Liam would leave the house in case it was to ID their father’s body. No one told them what was going on most of the time so they had to guess based on everyone’s demeanor if there was any bad news or good news or news at all. And now it’s happening all over again.

Stella is tired of being babied and says she wants to do something. She can make calls or drive around; she can be helpful. August agrees and says he can too but she’s not having that. August is her little brother and it’s her job to protect him; he can’t be involved. August isn’t happy to hear that; she’s not any more qualified than he is to help, after all. When Stella argues, he says that she’s acting just like their dad and not in a good way. She’s playing the role of the selfish hero, sacrificing herself and forbidding anyone from helping. And who’s going to have to clean up her mess later? August is, just like Liam did for Cordell.

There’s more to say but they don’t have time for that because Geri and Colton have returned from their trip early. Apparently, they found a bit of signal so Colton could get Stella’s message and they immediately turned around.

The next day, Cassie is sitting and talking to an unknown figure about a recurring dream she’s had about being late for and missing a class because she couldn’t find it. In her dreams she wanders aimlessly, rushing to get to class but nothing she does works because she’s missing something vital. She draws an analogy between the dream and her current situation since the peanuts that she’d been so excited about turned out to be a bust. She feels stupid for being so stubborn about it now. Then we get a change in camera angle and see she’s talking to Abby. Abby tells her she’s not stupid for wanting to turn over every rock. There’s no shame in just "Knowing", especially not about something like this.

Just then, Liam pokes his head in with an update. One of the neighbors has a trail cam near where Cordell was abducted and there may be useful footage on the SD card. This gets Cassie excited again and she gets up to take it back to HQ.

Back in the cage, Cordell is still not doing well, though he is a bit drier, when he hears his journalist friend screaming a hospital code. Code Silver 10-32: gun in a hospital. This is how we learn that Cordell knows the location of several abandoned hospitals where he might be being held. The journalist also shouts that her name is Julia Johnson and she works for McMillan’s. As the last reverberations over her voice fade away, Sean’s replaces it and he informs Cordell that he’ll have a new friend very soon. The camera switches to a wide angle and we see that not even Emily is there and then the lights go out. Cordell is truly alone.

Back at the ranch, August and Geri are making cookies. August tells Geri that he appreciates what she’s trying to do but he wishes that she and the other adults wouldn’t baby him and Stella so much with what’s going on. It was one thing when they were kids but they’re bordering on adulthood now and they can handle it. Geri says she and the others understand that they’re older and they’ve definitely seen enough horrors, but no one wants to test the limits of what he and Stella can handle. She also points out that part of the distractions, like making cookies, is coping for the adults too. But she understands that August needs to find his own special way of coping.

Stella and Colton come in from outside and she recognizes the cookies they made as “Sad Cookies”. Geri asks Colton if he wants her to drive him home and he says that it’s okay; he wants to stay here at the Walkers. With Stella. If that’s okay. Geri doesn’t object and the two of them head upstairs, holding hands. Geri wonders aloud if what they’re doing is okay; they are technically adults, after all. Then we get a sweet August and Geri hug.

Side note: That whole interaction just makes me wonder what Colton and Stella were doing outside. Alone.

We’re now in Trey’s apartment. He’s mapping out the events and routes at the ranch when Cassie barges in. He knows he’s not technically a ranger yet but he’s trying to figure all this out. The way he sees it, it’s not as simple as the connection to Miles and Fenton; they could’ve taken him or James or even Cassie for that. These captors acted in a way specific to attacking Cordell, even picking a day where there would be a lot of vehicles in and out as the family moved back into their house so that they could enter the property undetected. Cassie agrees with him, even if it sounds a little crazy, and hands him a container of food so they can work and eat.

Side note: “You don’t even lock your door.” “Yes, but you still have a key.” I love them your honor. If I can’t have roommates, I’ll take this.

Back at the ranch, Abby is taking down the party decorations, much to Bonham’s surprise. She just thinks the moment has passed. Then Abby asks if this is it for their eldest son. Bonham is taken aback; he can’t believe she would even suggest that. He never imagined he’d have to worry about her thinking that way. She never has before. Oh, but she has. She’s always wondered. She’s just never spoken up about it before. But, there’s only so long that she can hold it in. This leads to a tender moment between the couple as Bonham realizes how much pain she’s shouldered alone for the sake of the family. Without another word, he starts helping her take down the decorations.

Side note: Did anyone else see ominous significance in them panning to the “Good Luck” banner?

Back in the cage, Cordell is sitting with Emily. He says that he’s not broken, but he’s thinking about the 36 hour time limit. Emily tries to keep his spirits up but it’s been a long and hard two days. Then he hears doors opening in the distance and Cordell starts to freak out. When Sean and his men return, Emily will go away. She can’t go away right now. He needs her. But she has to go. She reminds him that he’s not broken before she vanishes.

Side note: Cordell’s “Don’t leave me” wasn’t scripted! Just a little Supernatural Easter egg from Jared to us 😉

The door in front of him opens and two goons bring in Liam, bloody and bruised and blindfolded.

And on that delightful note, the episode comes to a close.

There are honestly so many things I could say right here but I’m still reeling a bit from this episode. It’s clear that Cordell’s captors are well organized and well versed in torture. They know all the right buttons to push and I have to wonder if they might succeed. I also have so many questions about Julia Johnson and what her role in all this is, not to mention what kind of trouble Stella is going to get herself into with her newfound vigilante attitude. Then, of course, there’s the matter of Cassie’s current mental state regarding Cordell’s disappearance and how that’s going to affect her job performance. And what of Cordell’s military history? What role does that have to play in all this?

All questions for next week, I suppose.

Cordell and Liam weren’t quite “Sittin’ On A Rainbow” in this second episode of Walker's third season, but sitting in front of a mural of one is close enough I think.  

We were given another action-packed episode this week. I’m going to be giving this one a scene-by-scene recap just like last week’s since this was essentially part 2. Let’s begin, shall we?

We open up on Cordell and Liam in the cage. Liam is demanding that Cordell promise him that he won’t go “Walker, Lone Ranger” and put himself at risk just for Liam’s sake. Cordell seems hesitant but agrees when he sees how frantic Liam is.  They engage in a brotherly handhold-to-hug and then we cut to the title card.

After that heavy start, we’re sent to the Walker ranch. Trey comes into the kitchen and sees Geri and Abeline poring over some old family photos. They’re looking for a recent picture of Cordell; his official ranger portrait is a bit too serious for their tastes. While they’re looking, Abby comes across a photo of Cordell on his first tour with the Marines. She remarks that he wasn’t even 21 at the time and that that was the first time she worried he wouldn’t come home.

Then Bonham comes storming into the kitchen and digs around in the drawers looking for something. Abeline asks what he’s looking for and he says that he needs to fix one of the cattle collars. She asks if that’s really something he needs to do right now and he says that it is because there’s absolutely nothing else he can do in that moment. The weight of how long Cordell has been gone is starting to affect all of them.

We then cut to the next morning in Ranger HQ. Cassie is handing out orders when she gets a call from Ben. He wants to know if she’s heard anything from Liam. They were supposed to meet up that morning but now Liam isn’t even answering his texts. Even though they haven’t been together long, the thought of losing Liam is terrifying for him. Cassie quickly assures her brother that she’s on the case and goes to alert James.

Captain James doesn’t want to believe it at first but when his calls go straight to voicemail, it’s hard to ignore the truth. James quickly alerts the team that they now have two missing persons and that this whole mission just got a lot more serious. Now he just has to tell the rest of the Walker family what’s happened, which I’m sure will be a delightful conversation.

A bit later, we see Cassie poring over their current evidence. James comes into the conference room with plate numbers they got from the neighbor’s trail cam. Unfortunately, they’re fake numbers that can’t be tied down. However, Cassie remembers that the chop shop Miles had been investigating, the one that led him to the cabal in the first place, made fake plates like that. She compares the plate from the cam to the list of plates from Miles’ file and finds a match. This makes her think Miles might know something and she wants to speak with him right away. James is very much against this idea. Miles is going into WITSEC for a reason and, more importantly, he’s out of their jurisdiction. He’d need to get permission from several people, a fact that annoys Cassie because she knows they don’t have that kind of time. But James reminds her that they don’t need to go making enemies with the fed and they have protocols in place for a reason. As much as she wants to find Cordell, she needs to follow the rules. Cassie is annoyed and resistant but eventually gives in. For now…

But James doesn’t have any more time to worry about that because Stella has just walked into Ranger HQ.

Stella is continuing her crusade to help the investigation in any way she can. James initially tells her to go home and let the professionals handle it but she’s not giving up that easy. If he won’t let her help in the office, she’ll go search the whole city on her own until she finds her dad. James sees (and admires) Cordell’s fighting spirit in her and decides to let her help in a much safer way by manning the tipline. He has every available hand out on the street so having someone to manage the phones will help. She doesn’t like the idea but there’s nothing else for her to do. So, she sits at her father’s desk and waits for the phone to ring.

Back in the cage, Cordell has caught Liam up on what he’s learned while he’s been away, including his vent friend, Julia Johnson. Liam asks how he can be so sure that Julia isn’t broken or some kind of mind game. Cordell says that if Julia is a mind game, then Liam could be too. Then he says that in a situation like this, the only thing you can really trust is your gut, and his gut tells him that Julia Johnson is their ally.

Just then, a few goons arrive and open up the cage door. They toss an MRE pack at Liam’s feet and tell Cordell he’s got “other dinner plans”. They haul him up to his feet and put a sack over his head before taking him to his new dining location.

Now, in front of him is Sean, a healthy-looking dinner, and an energy drink that sparks a memory from his days in the military. Sean tells him to eat up, but Cordell isn’t taking the bait and he puts the silver dome back on the plate before asking Sean what he wants. Sean says he wants Cordell to be their new “ally” within the Texas Rangers and that he’s sure he’ll be better and stronger than the disappointment that was Fenton because Cordell is a good guy, a man of action, the Edge of the Coin, someone who can make the hard decisions. Sean lists off the corrupt members of the DPS that Cordell has had a hand in taking out over the past few seasons and there are likely more names in that file from previous years. Cordell argues that, yes, the system does have flaws but there are good people within it that are fighting against them the right way. In response, Sean goes for the jugular and reminds Cordell that Emily’s death and subsequent cover up came at the hands of that system. No matter how many corrupt people he takes out, he’ll never get her back.

Cordell concedes that he’s right but argues that Sean isn’t much better; he’s just as willing to kill people to get his way and Cordell won’t get Emily back if he works with them either. What makes him better? Sean says that it’s all a necessary sacrifice to make a change. He claims that he and his group are anarchists. They intend to create a power vacuum and fill in the gap.

Side Note: That is absolutely not anarchist ideology, and it irritates me that the writers made this misstep. Cordell is right to call them terrorists. I might go as far as to call them dictators or militarists, minarchists at best. Anarchy is not “We’ll destroy the current system and replace it with our own regime”. Anarchy is “Government should not exist in any form because no one person should be able to hold power over anyone else”. If the writers did more than ten seconds of research on the subject, they would know that. I might be okay with it if they made it clear that Sean and his followers misunderstood anarchy or were just flying that banner to gain allies but, given that they are called “anarchists” in the season synopsis, I highly doubt that’s the case. It’s irritating and it really threw me out of an otherwise excellent episode.

Sean then informs Cordell that he will be given time to think it over and that, if he decides not to join them, “other tactics will be applied.” He buzzes his cattle prod and Cordell flinches, knowing that it will be used on Liam. He glances at the energy drink again and we’re treated to a flashback.

This flashback takes place in Afghanistan in the year 2004. There’s a wrestling match going on between soldiers and Walker is getting his ass soundly beat. One of the soldiers alerts their sergeant and asks him to help; he’s got good money riding on this. The sergeant walks over and breaks up the fight before asking Walker what the hell he’s trying to do. Cordell starts listing off moves from the combat manual they were given and gets a well-deserved scoff. The sergeant tells him he can’t operate by the books all the time; he’s just giving himself away to his opponent if he spends so much time mapping out his moves. He needs to operate in the moment and improvise. After those wise words, the sergeant calls for a round two and the boys are at it again. This time, Walker kicks ass.

Side note: COLIN FORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (That’s it. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk)

Side side note: Anyone else desperately marking down any years we get to figure out a timeline of Cordell’s life milestones? Just me? Cool.

We return to the present in time for Cordell to be returned to the cage. We’re greeted to the sight of Liam struggling to breathe and crawling to the corner of the cage. The floor, and Liam, are newly wet. Cordell rushes to help him to his feet but Liam very much does not want to be touched right then. Cordell does manage to get his shirt up and he sees new wounds and bruises. It would appear that “other tactics” are already being applied and this is only the beginning.

Back at Ranger HQ, Stella is diligently watching the phone, though it’s clear that she wishes she could be doing more. Just then, the phone rings and there’s a woman on the other end who claims she has information on where Ranger Walker was taken. Stella tries to keep calm and ask the routine questions but the thought of having information on her dad has her flustered. The woman gives her a name, Shannon, and some very vague information. Then she asks if there’s a reward instead of answering Stella’s other questions. Stella is hesitant to answer and looks for James, only to see that the rangers who had previously filled the office all simultaneously disappeared. Desperate for information but without time to get approval, she tells the woman that there is a reward and gives her a number, which we later learn is $10,000. This can only end well.

Next, we see Cassie and Ben about to go on a mission of their own. Ben thanks Cassie for letting him be involved and just being there in general for him. Cassie reminds him that she promised she wouldn’t let him go through something like this alone again. She’s making up for her past mistakes.

Back at the Walker ranch, Stella is going through every nook and cranny and pocket in her room looking for money. August sees her and asks what’s going on. She doesn’t answer and asks him if he has any money to give her. He asks her what for and she still doesn’t answer. Then he says that he should probably tell Mawline about this and she breaks, telling him that she needs the money to pay someone who has information on their dad. This gets August’s attention, and he insists on going with her. She tells him not to come but he’s not backing down; this is exactly what they were talking about in the last episode. Telling the adults about this does not cross either of their minds, but I’m sure that won’t cause any problems down the line.

Back with Cassie and Ben, Cassie enters the facility where Miles is being held and asks to speak with him. The receptionist looks for her clearance and sees nothing. Then he gets a call from “Captain Kennedy”, Ben’s secret alter ego, telling him that Cassie is to be allowed in to speak with Miles. While Ben and the receptionist argue over protocol and interdepartmental cooperation, Cassie sneaks away to speak with Miles.

She finds him in the gym and explains the current situation. She asks him if he can give her any more information, anything that might not have been in his statement to the rangers. Miles thinks and then remembers that Rita got a call from a journalist who was asking a lot of invasive questions.

Just as Cassie thinks she’s found a lead, she’s being put under arrest for crossing the federal government. While she’s being cuffed, she begs Miles to remember the name of the journalist. After a bit of sputtering, Miles remembers the name Julia Johnson. Mission accomplished.

Up next, we have a small, quiet scene at the Walker ranch. Abeline is sitting on her bed, rosary in hand and tears shining in her eyes. Bonham asks her if she’s okay from the doorway. But how could she be okay, with both of her sons missing? She then expresses frustration that Bonham seems capable of doing literally anything but admit that he’s just as worried as she is. Bonham admits that he actually isn’t as worried as her because he knows that for both of his boys to disappear so close to each other, they have to be held by the same people. It can’t’ be a coincidence. He knows in his gut that Liam and Cordell are together. He also knows that they were raised by a mother who taught them not only how to love each other, but how to stick together and fight together. That’s why he’s not as worried as she is. That’s enough to draw a smile out of her, if only for a little while.

Side note: Abeline and Bonham are literally the cutest couple in this show and I will not hear arguments to the contrary.

Back at ranger HQ, Cassie is in trouble with a capital T. James is extremely pissed at her for breaking protocol and his trust to talk to Miles. He had to burn through a lot of favors to keep her out of jail and he’s not hearing any of her martyr talk. He just needs to hear that she got some valuable information out of this.

Cassie informs him that she did; Rita was contacted by a journalist named Julia Johnson while he was under cover. She already checked up on the journalist. Her work believes that she’s on a leave of absence while her family was told that she’s on assignment. James is still upset but concedes that she got a good potential lead and starts to get a warrant for Julia’s house. Before he does, he reminds Cassie that she’s very much still in hot water over this.

Side note: Anyone else happy to see James disciplining someone that isn’t named Cordell Walker?

Back in the cage, Cordell is trying to keep Liam comfortable with all his injuries. He tells Liam that they need to start making plans to get out of there. Liam asks why they can’t wait for the cavalry. Cordell tries to avoid answering the question but Liam presses. He explains that their captors are going to hurt Liam to try and break Cordell into being their inside man. Liam insists that he can handle it but Cordell isn’t done. Cordell will not break, and when Sean figures that out, he’s going to kill Liam. That’s why they can’t wait. Liam understands the gravity of their situation now and he agrees.

The next morning, Stella and August arrive in a parking garage, alone, to meet with the woman who says she has information on their dad. Shannon steps out and asks for the money. Stella asks for the information first, but Shannon isn’t budging. Then August lets it slip that Ranger Walker is their dad and that was the second stupidest thing he’s done since he got up this morning (the first being that he came here in the first place).

Then, a couple of her buddies step out and ask for the money again. It’s clear the kids are in over their heads on this one. August tries to stand up to them and gets a couple good punches in but is quickly subdued. Stella hands Shannon a wad of cash to stop them but it’s hardly the promised $10,000. Then one of Shannon’s buddies draws a knife and, in her desperation, Stella hands over the keys to the Mustang. Shannon and her crew race off in the car, leaving the kids without transportation or any information on their dad and all they have to show for it is August’s bloody nose.

We cut to Cassie and the rangers breaking into Julia Johnson’s house. The place is empty of people but full of information. It would appear that Julia had been tracking these people for longer than even Miles was involved with them. Between the red string board and information on Julia’s laptop, Cassie and James learn that Sean was involved and that they’re dealing with a terrorist group. Then Cassie sees a brochure for West Vale psychiatric hospital, which shut down about 30 years ago. James deduces that this could be where Cordell and Liam are being held and he sends out a team to investigate.

Back with the Walker brothers, Cordell and Liam are trying their variation on the “Get Help” plan, with Cordell shouting for help from the goons  who guard them. He tells them that Liam is suffering from internal bleeding and that if he dies like this, Sean will never get what he wants from Cordell. The goons have the brothers outnumbered but a surprise attack from Liam catches them off guard enough for a fair fight. Cordell gets one of the goons to reveal where Julia was moved to while Liam breaks their restraints. Then they grab the keys and lock the cage behind them.

They get to the basement cell where Julia is being held and unlock her door. Cordell enters first and Julia tries to fight him initially but then recognizes his voice. He tells her that they’re there to break her out. She gladly follows them through the hallways of a not-very-well guarded facility until they reach the garage bay. They hide behind some crates when the doors open up. While they wait for a chance to escape, Cordell sees a familiar symbol on one of the containers near him.

We get another Marines flashback to a mission regarding some dangerous airborne poison. Just a small amount of the stuff is enough to kill off a community. Before his squad heads out on the mission, his sergeant stops him to tell him he did well today. He also tells Cordell that if he’s ever stuck between following orders and doing the right thing, that he needs to trust himself.

The flashback ends and Cordell leads Liam and Julia to safety. He says he’ll join them soon, but Liam isn’t letting him go that easily, reminding Cordell of his promise at the beginning of the episode. Cordell remembers, but he needs to do this. He fills Liam in on the poison issue and promises his brother he’ll be out soon. After one last brotherly hand clasp, they split up.

Next, we see one of the goons getting ready to load the poison into a truck, only to find that the whole pallet is missing.

On the road, Cassie and James get word that the West Vale location is teeming with activity. James orders all units be sent that way and they speed off.

Cordell is wheeling the poison somewhere safe when the alarm is raised. Sean just so happens to find him in the hallway and aims his gun. Cordell turns around and wrenches the gun from his hands and it turns into a wrestling match. Sean has a knife but Cordell is quick enough to avoid it. Employing his old military skills, he goes with his gut and pulls a move that dislocates Sean’s arm. After a few more hits, Sean is down. Cordell picks up the gun from earlier and aims it, but doesn’t shoot him, choosing to stick it in his shorts for later while he heads for the radiology wing.

Outside, Liam and Julia are making a break for it but soon find themselves surrounded by goons. When all the escape routes are blocked and all hope seems lost, one of the goons gets shot and goes down. Then James and Cassie step out of the bushes and tell the others to get down. Other law enforcement officers follow, just in the nick of time.

Side note: Did anyone else notice how Liam immediately checked himself for bullet wounds after the gun went off? I love those little details. Thank you, Keegan, for trauma consistency.

Back in the radiology wing, Sean has caught up with Cordell. Cordell tells him to give up, the fight is over. But Sean won’t; he doesn’t think he’s lost just yet. Then he pulls out a hand grenade and pulls the pin. Cordell acts quick and wheels his pallet of poison into an x-ray room and shuts the thick steel door.

Outside, James is asking Liam where Cordell is. Then, the explosion happens. For a brief (perhaps too brief) moment, we’re left wondering if Cordell can keep his promise as Liam runs toward the destruction.

Then, one of the garage doors opens and Cordell steps out of the smoke. Liam hugs him first and everyone gathers in a small grassy area to decompress. Cordell tells James there’s a present waiting in radiology and gives Cassie her hug too. He hugs Liam again and there’s a brief forehead touch while they appreciate that they’re alive. Then Cassie asks what Cordell needs. His answer: “I need to hug my kids.”

Thus ends a very action packed and emotionally charged two-part season opener.

I was very satisfied with this episode. My biggest concern with Cordell being kidnapped was that he was just going to be rescued and we wouldn’t get a chance to see him show off his skills. I was very happy to be proven wrong. Though the rangers did help in the end, he was able to get himself, Liam, and Julia out of the building and prevent a major poisoning on his own. I hope we see more action like this from him in the future.

I was also very happy to see James directing some criticism at Cassie. I doubt we’ll get to see any further disciplinary action but I’m happy to see him direct that energy at someone besides Walker.

My only complaints with this episode are that, somehow, no one figured up what the kids were up to and tried to stop them (Wasn’t Colton supposed to be staying there? And in Stella’s room no less?), and that the Walker writers don’t know what anarchy is. Otherwise, a very solid episode and a happy ending for all. I give it a 9/10.

This week’s episode of Walker missed its chance to give us a “Rubber Meets The Road” moment but it was still pretty enjoyable.

We start off with Cordell and Liam at Ranger HQ after they’ve been granted a medical checkup and a change of clothes. Liam sits alone in the atrium, reliving his time in captivity and fussing over his wounds. Cordell enters and tells him they’re free to go home and there’s a welcome dinner waiting for them. Liam isn’t exactly jazzed for it. He thinks they should go to the hospital, even if the ETMs cleared them. It couldn’t hurt to run a few tests and make sure there’s really nothing wrong with them that could cause long term damage. Cordell doesn’t think that’s necessary, though, and encourages him to get up and come home.

But Liam still isn’t ready. He wants to talk to Cordell about what happened to them. He starts to tell Cordell that he can’t sleep because of the torture he went through but Cordell cuts him off. He says there’s no need to “compare notes” on what happened. They were both in there, they know what happened. But none of that matters now. They’re both alive, they’re both safe, and that’s all that really counts. Liam will get over it in time; they both will. Liam seems unsure of that, but Cordell isn’t giving him room to argue.

Cassie drives them back to the ranch. Geri is waiting for them outside of the smaller house and she greets them both with tight hugs. She tells them that Abeline is likely never going to let them leave the house again and Liam responds with “Yeah, because this place is so safe”.

Side note: Liam, we’re five minutes in and I already want to wrap you in a blanket burrito. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

Geri tells them that the rest of the family is waiting for them at the main house and Cassie says they’ll start heading that way. But Cordell hangs back to ask Geri what he’s walking into. She informs him that there are plenty of weary eyes and Sad Cookies waiting for him, both of which he expected. She then asks how Liam is handling everything. Cordell glosses over it and says they’ll both be okay. Geri doesn’t seem terribly convinced but she lets him go up to his Welcome Home dinner.

At the main ranch house, everyone is waiting for the Walker brothers’ return, but Cordell is momentarily distracted by the old military photo we saw in last week’s episode. As Sean’s derisive “So this is the war hero, huh?” plays in his head, he’s approached by his mother for a big Welcome Home hug and the rest of the family follows. He plasters on a smile because he has a reason to celebrate.

He insists that he’s fine all the way to the dinner table but, before we can all settle in to enjoy Abeline’s roast, Cordell wants to give Stella the speech he’d practiced for her graduation. She doesn’t really want to hear it but she cannot stop the Dad Energy and he steamrolls forward. He gives this (admittedly sweet) speech about how proud he is of Stella, how he’s looked forward to this moment, and how he knew their mother would’ve loved to have been here for it. Unfortunately, he gets interrupted when Stella notices his hand bleeding. The thin trickle of blood running out from under the protective bandana is an excellent metaphor for how the rest of this episode is going to go.

Now that we’ve reached the title card, I’m going to split this recap up into a few different storylines that cover how our cast of characters are handling the aftermath of Cordell and Liam’s captivity.

Let’s start off with Liam because someone needs to put him first.

After the time skip, Liam is working on the ranch along with his father and tossing out the idea of bringing back Walker Beef. Bonham doesn’t agree with the idea, but Liam has bigger issues on his mind, namely, his trauma hasn’t just gone away like Cordell promised it would.

Side Note: How big did the Walker family business used to be?

He’s trying to keep things light, like the rest of the family, but the cracks are starting to show. When Cordell mentions that August won’t like the “Stella’s Greatest Hits” playlist he set up for the road trip, Liam comments that little siblings are “used to getting the short end of the stick.” Cordell takes this as a bit of a slight and counters that siblings just have different ways of dealing with things. For example: August can’t seem to shut up about Stella going away to Oregon and how that’s going to impact him, meanwhile Stella hasn’t said a word about it. (Sounds familiar….) Liam agrees and then tries to start a conversation with Cordell about their time in captivity. His trauma hasn’t gotten any better and he would really like to talk about it. Cordell brushes him off and assures him that it will, in fact, get better, he just needs more time. Liam tries to object but Cassie rolls up at just the right-wrong time and accidentally steals the moment away.

Later, Liam finds Abeline finishing Stella’s college road trip cake and calls “dibs” on the leftovers for his fellow road trip buddies. His mother tells him there will be no calling dibs; he’s not a child arguing over a toy anymore. But then the conversation turns more serious. She knows that Liam has his heart set on going on the road trip with Cordell and the kids but when was the last time his brother mentioned taking him? Liam says he’ll ask Cordell about it later but she cautions against it. They’ve reached a shaky equilibrium on the ranch and she doesn’t want to pop the bubble. Liam doesn’t take this too well. Cordell has shut him down one-too-many times and he’s tired of his own trauma being ignored just so Cordell feels better about it. He storms off to his room and ignores Abeline’s protests that she didn’t mean it that way.

Later that night, Bonham finds Liam slamming his way through the toolbox in the workshop. Abeline sent him to talk to their wayward son after the incident that happened that afternoon. Liam says he’ll apologize to her in the morning but that’s not what Bonham came to talk about. He sits his son down and starts telling him about his time coming back from the Vietnam War. 1973-74 was a rough time for him. He may have been back on American soil but sometimes, it was like he could still smell the napalm. He thought it would be enough to just swap stories with the boys down at the VFW, but it never really cut it. Turns out, he found an equine therapist that helped him properly manage and process his trauma. Liam is surprised to hear this; Bonham never really struck him as the therapist type.

Bonham understands that Liam keeps wanting to talk to Cordell because their traumatic captivity was a shared experience. Cordell would 'Get it' like no one else ever could. But, he reminds Liam, Cordell may not be ready to talk about it with him because looking at Liam reminds him of what happened for that exact same reason. Liam doesn’t need to rely on Cordell’s trauma time line to map out his own though; he may not be able to talk to his brother but he can talk to someone else. Liam takes that advice to heart and it looks like we’ll be seeing him tackle the same therapy in next week’s episode.

Next, let’s talk about Cassie.

Cassie read Julia Johnson’s article on her experience being held by Sean’s Band of Sadistic Men and she was nearly traumatized just reading about Cordell’s trauma. She’s concerned about her partner. Will he be able to bounce back from this? Sure, he’s going through the required therapy and physical training but is that enough? Her concern is only bolstered when Trey admits to her that he can’t bring himself to read the article himself. But she’s also worried about looking selfish. How dare she turn her partner’s trauma into something about her?

Side note: Do you think Cordell read Julia’s article because she needed his approval before it would print? Or was he just morbidly curious?

Trey reminds her that what happened to Cordell could’ve happened to any ranger and worrying about it alone won’t do her any good. The only way she can really handle this for herself is to go check on him.

She decides to drop by the ranch later that day and quickly gets roped into road trip prep duty before she can talk. Cordell brings her down to a storage basement and tells her that he and Emily bought a lot of camping supplies when the kids were younger, and he intends to use all of it on the trip. Cassie questions his judgement but helps him look anyway. While looking through boxes, she gets stuck on one that holds his old military gear. Cordell notices and tells her that there won’t be any supplies in that box and she takes the opportunity to ask him for a serious conversation. She wants to talk about the article and her worries. He gives her the floor.

She says that the things she read about, the waterboarding and electrocution among other things, have her worried about him. A lot of what happened to him was made illegal over a decade ago and she’s wondering how she’s going to bounce back from that. On top of everything, she’s still very much a rookie when it comes to being a ranger and this is just one more item on top of a stack of things that she never had to deal with as a Trooper. Working this job has her worried enough as it is that she won’t come home safe and alive. She’s worried that his experience is going to impact his ability to be her partner and she’s, admittedly, scared to get back in the truck with him.

Cordell tries to assure her that he’s fine, even as a leaky pipe gives him terrible flashbacks. He assures her that he’s not rushing back into things like he did after the Rodeo Kings job. He’s taking his time, he’s doing the therapy, and he’ll be back in the saddle before she knows it. Cassie tries to argue that a long undercover stint versus being kidnapped and tortured are two very different things but Cordell brushes off her concerns and she, reluctantly, goes back to looking for camping equipment. She finds his box shortly after that.

Side note: I like that this episode took the time to not only address how trauma affects the traumatized but also the people around them. I’m so used to shows either focusing on one or the other or just not acknowledging it at all, so I like that we got a balance of it in this episode.

Next, let’s talk about Stella and August.

The kids are, obviously, very happy to have their dad home. Stella is ready for him to drive her to college and August is happy to have a workout buddy on his journey to get ripped over the summer time skip. But they know he’s not okay. So, they lie to him about what happened to the Mustang and claim it’s just in the shop for repairs. The main problem with that is that Cordell is insistent on driving Stella to Sauber in it like Emily always wanted. When Stella makes up another “problem” that the mechanic found with the car, he tells her to call Deon and let him know that “Come hell or high water, that car is in the driveway at 9 A.M. tomorrow.”

Side note: I love that Cordell and August are finally getting some bonding time and I think hitting the home gym was a great way to do that.

With a new deadline in place, Stella and August are running out of options. They’re also running out of money to pay Deon to keep up the lie. Colton, not wanting to ruin his last day with Stella, offers to keep paying Deon out of his own money until it’s too late for Cordell to protest. August isn’t happy with that idea since the most likely outcome is him taking most of the heat for it while Stella is chilling in her new dorm room. Stella doesn’t like that idea either; she doesn’t want August to have to deal with it alone, so they need to come up with a more permanent solution. August suggests renting a look-a-like, which Colton shoots down since their dad would likely be able to tell the difference.

Luckily, Stella has another idea. She’s been checking social media for photos and hashtags and she managed to find Shannon and the car; she’s been using it for drag races and it’s gotten quite a bit of attention from car enthusiasts. Stella thinks they can go to the racetrack and steal the car back. Luckily, her Uncle Hoyt taught her a thing or two about hot-wiring cars.

Colton is wary about the idea but he doesn’t want to leave them alone on this, so off they go.

They get to the racetrack and everything is fine until Trey calls to see if Stella is available to receive a going away present. Stella vaguely tells him she’s not home yet, but the loudspeakers choose to announce her location at that exact moment. She asks him not to say anything to Cordell and quickly hangs up to watch Shannon’s next race. The last thing she needs is for her dad to worry about her.

Shannon has made more than a few modifications to the Mustang, which does not sit well with either of the siblings, but they have bigger issues to worry about. Mostly that they’re in a place where crowbars and fists appear to be the main way of settling disputes and they are very much out of their depth. August and Colton think that now would be a good time to let Cordell in on what’s happening but Stella shuts that down. Their dad has enough to handle with his captivity fresh on his mind; he doesn’t need car drama on top of it. They’ll get that car back, no matter what.

After the racing, Stella formulates a plan. August will distract Shannon’s cronies with conversation while she gets into the car and hotwires it. Then, the three of them will ride off into the sunset and Dad will be none the wiser. August isn’t too happy with the plan since he’ll be directly in the line of fire (again) but they don’t have a lot of other options.

While they wait for the right opportunity to strike, Colton gripes that this wasn’t exactly the perfect last date he had in mind, but it should still be fun. Stella asks what he’s talking about and Colton explains that she’s been sending him mixed signals all summer. She acts excited about going to Sauber but she still hasn’t registered for any classes and she hasn’t really been giving him a lot of time. Stella realizes that her worries over her father and her future have affected other areas of her life and she apologizes to him for that. She says she doesn’t want to break up, unless he does. Which, of course, he doesn’t. But the happy couple can’t celebrate for too long because they’re running out of time to steal the car.

August dons a disguise and manages to get “remembered” under a mistaken identity. Meanwhile, Colton and Stella sneak around to the car and try to get in. Stella’s keys don’t work but she knows how to get the door open and instructs Colton on how to break in. After checking their surroundings, they slide into the car and start hotwiring. Luckily for her, Colton learned a thing or two about “vehicular relocation” from his family too. In between their banter and quick love confessions, they do manage to get the car started, but not before Shannon notices something is up. They speed out of the car lineup and August rushes go join them, nearly getting run over in the process. For a short moment, it seems like they’re home free.

But apparently one of Shannon’s mods included a kill switch to prevent theft and they’re stopped mere moments before the finish line.

The kids get out of the car and are subject to a very pissed off Shannon and other car enthusiasts. Shannon recognizes Stella as the Ranger’s Daughter and snarkily asks if her Daddy’s going to come arrest her and her friends.

Stella isn’t deterred by the intimidation though and decides to go for the emotional approach in front of the whole crowd. She says that her family has been through a lot recently, especially her father, which is why she won’t be calling him to clean up this mess. But she’s not leaving without this car. Because after everything her dad has been through, the loss of Emily, Hoyt, and some of his own sanity, the one thing he’s been holding onto this summer is being able to drive her to college in this Mustang. This Mustang, that means so much to her, so much to her family, is going to be in her driveway tonight, no matter the cost. Because it doesn’t matter that no one ever bothered to ask her if she really wanted to go to college; she wants to give her dad one good thing and this is damn well going to be it.

This moving and emotional moment touches the heart of the car thieves and Shannon decides to hand over the keys (no charge for the mods) if Stella doesn’t get them arrested.

And, with that anticlimactic end, we’re returned to the ranch.

Side note: I really, really wanted to see Stella race and earn her mother’s car back. I really wanted that. I thought we were getting that. It was such an obvious play. I would’ve preferred that over the sappy love stuff. But this is fine too. I guess.

Before we go into the final scenes of the episode, I want to touch on how Cordell has been handling his own trauma this episode:

Not very well.

Cordell’s typical method of dealing with his emotions is repression and deflection. He buries himself in work or dealing with other peoples’ problems to avoid dealing with his own. While this has either led him to find closure (with solving Emily’s murder) or avoid reopening old wounds (dealing with several concurrent crises to “forget” about the barn fire), it doesn’t work as well here. He has no work to lose himself in because he’s taking the recommended time off and everyone is currently dealing with the same crisis: his captivity. He can’t go to his mother; she’s read the article and she’s worried about him. He can’t go to his brother; Liam is dealing with his own trauma. He doesn’t want to unload on his kids; they’re not his therapists and Stella’s about to go off to college. He can’t talk to his partner; she’s worried that he’s off his rocker already. So he buries everything deep, plasters on a smile, and pretends like everything’s fine, a classic Fake It Until You Make It approach. Which is a fine and valid way of coping, except it requires everyone else to follow the same tactic or else it falls apart. This leads to other people either not revealing their true feelings and struggles (like Stella and August) or to getting their own feelings invalidated (like Cassie and Liam). It hurts everyone and helps no one.

Cordell learns this lesson the hard way when he confronts Stella and August about what happened to the Mustang. He tears into them for lying to him for months about where Emily’s car has been and he sits them down like toddlers in time out and tells them to stay there until he’s arrested “that woman” and her friends. Stella tries to stop him by telling him it’s fine. She and August are safe and they have the car back. No one got hurt and everything is fine. Do those lines sound familiar to anyone?

Side note: Is anyone else happy the kids are facing some measure of consequence for this? Because I am.

Cordell isn’t having it. He just can’t understand why they lied to him. He thought they were past the points of keeping secrets. Then the kids point out that he's keeping his own secrets. They know that he’s not doing as fine as he pretends to be and even quote his own catchphrase back to him. They didn’t tell him the truth because they didn’t want to be the ones to pop the bubble and send him spiraling. They didn’t want him to get hurt again. The kidnappers already took a piece of him when he was in captivity; they didn’t want to lose the rest of him too.

Cordell is heartbroken by this reality check; he never wanted to make them feel this way. He always wants to be the person they can come to, no matter what. Stella then says she has something else to tell him and asks August for a little privacy. He does, but not before hugging his dad and telling him he loves him.

Father and daughter are left alone and he sits next to her. Before she can say anything, he guesses that this is about her not wanting to go to college. When she asks how he knew, he says he just got a general feeling from how she’s been acting recently. She asks if he’s mad and he says that he’s not; he just wants her to be happy. Going to college may have been a part of his and Emily’s goals for her but it’s her future to plan, not theirs. She admits that she’s not really sure what she wants to do if not college, but he doesn’t pressure her for an answer. Instead, he hugs her and allows himself a Single Manly Tear.

Later, he sits on the front porch of his house with the keys to the Mustang in his hands. Cassie drops by with leftovers from the celebration-that-wasn’t and he apologizes to her. She came to him with a serious concern earlier that day and he invalidated her feelings. He promises her that he’s going to take this seriously and, while he may not be okay right now, he’s going to keep working on it and he’ll be ready to be her partner again soon. She’s a lot more satisfied with that answer and tells him she’ll see him on Monday.

All seems well but, later that night, a figment of his Marine self appears in the mirror behind him, echoing Sean’s words, leaving him shaken.

There were some smaller plots that I want to touch on before I get to the commentary section:

Seeing Dan and Colton on screen together made me happy. I was a little surprised to see Dan behind the bar but it’s nice to see them treating Geri like part of the family. These two have such a good relationship and seeing Dan get excited about Colton’s date plans and about his first ‘I love you’ was a nice break in all the angst. It was also good to see Denise the Boar returned to her rightful place on the wall of the Side Step.

We didn’t get much of Trey in this episode but it’s nice to see that he’s still making time for his friends among his Hell Week training. Although I would’ve loved to see the Obstacle Course where much bragging and mistakes were made, I was happier to see him offering advice to Cassie and trying to offer advice to Stella. It was a nice touch having him be the one to let Cordell know what was going on with the kids. Cordell’s confidence in August’s terrible lying may be loud but Desert Speed Wars loudspeakers are louder.

Overall, I was very happy with this episode. I was a little nervous going in because of how Cordell’s trauma and suffering has been handled by the show and the Walker family before. I was surprised to see how gentle everyone was. It was a far cry from them shaming him for his (admittedly poor) coping mechanisms back in season 1. While the walking-on-eggshells approach caused its own problems, it did provide a chance to showcase how trauma affects not only the traumatized but those around them. I was impressed with how the writers handled this one and I can only hope this continues as the series goes on. I’m also glad this doesn’t seem to be relegated to one episode. I look forward to more healing.

I also liked Stella’s plotline this episode. As someone who graduated from high school just a few years ago myself, I remember the push to get into college from my parents, my teachers, and honestly the whole world at times. It’s ridiculous how much the dream of going to college, getting a degree, and getting a “good job” is pushed onto kids even before they get to high school. I’m proud of Stella for sticking up for herself and saying that’s not the path for her, at least not right now. It may have come a bit late but I can understand why she kept quiet about it.

My only real issue with this episode was the anticlimactic end to the Mustang plot. I was expecting a drag race and I’m a little annoyed that the car was just…handed over. I understand there was only so much time but still. I feel a little misled.

I think it was a very solid episode overall. It told the story it wanted to tell and also provided plenty of threads for future episodes. How will Cordell and Liam cope with their trauma? Will they ever be able to talk to each other about what happened? How will Trey settle into becoming a ranger? What are Stella’s plans for the future? Will August be buff enough for the first day of school? All questions for the future.

A new episode of Walker is here and “Wild Horses Couldn’t Drag Me Away” from it.

This episode was an unexpectedly light one in comparison to last week’s angst fest. Based on episode descriptions for future episodes, I doubt it’s going to stay that way, but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

Before we get into the meat of the episode, I want to cover the two side plots that brought a lot of the levity.

Let’s start with Liam’s equine therapy.

Last week, Bonham advised Liam to seek therapy to help deal with his issues rather than wait around for Cordell to heal with him. Liam’s taken part of that advice and sought out an equine therapist named Chelsea who was willing to meet him on his home turf (or, at least, next door to it). However, he still hasn’t let go of having Cordell with him. He invites Cordell to join him on his session over breakfast and is quickly turned down, much to Bonham’s displeasure. Liam is disappointed by being rejected by Cordell once again.

But Liam’s not going to let that stop him from having a good time. He meets Chelsea and her equine helper, Ol’ Kenny, for his first session and he feels ready. He’s very experienced with horses, having grown up around them and now working with them daily, and feels confident going into this. He ignores Chelsea’s advice to take some deep, calming breaths to clear away his “negative energy” and tries to approach Kenny, who is having none of it.

Liam falls on his ass to avoid Kenny’s hooves and asks Chelsea what went wrong. She tells him that Kenny can sense his negative energy and doesn’t like it any more than Liam does. He needs to clear his mind and let that negative energy out. Liam's seems skeptical but there’s only one way he’s getting on that horse.

The next day comes and Liam still hasn’t managed to even get close to Kenny. Chelsea doesn’t offer any other words of wisdom except that Kenny can be quite stubborn. Liam says that this is just one more thing he wished he could talk to Cordell about. He recalls how after Cordell came back from the Rodeo Kings job, he needed to get recertified as a ranger but he had trouble clearing the equine portion of the exam. It was like he had this emotional block and the horse wouldn’t let him near it. Liam wishes he could talk to Cordell and get some advice. Chelsea gently reminds him that the whole reason he even called her was because Cordell doesn’t want to talk to him, not about horses and not about captivity. Liam may not like it but it’s something he needs to accept. Liam takes a moment to consider this and then asks if Chelsea has any sugar cubes for him. She hands some over with a smile and Liam finally manages to get close to Kenny.

When we see Liam again, he’s riding Kenny and he seems to be feeling much better. He’s smiling and bonding with his new friend and bribing Kenny with the occasional snack. Chelsea is proud of how far he’s come, but there’s something else on her mind and Liam can pick up on it. He asks if there’s anything she wants to talk about. She admits that her partner has received an amazing job opportunity…in Michigan. It’s a great opportunity for her and Chelsea couldn’t be happier for her, but it means moving herself and her therapy helpers with her. Meaning, this is going to be their last session. Liam is thrown by this; he’s finally starting to feel better and now it’s just going to be over? Chelsea tries to reassure him by promising to give him the numbers for some other equine therapists and encourages him to continue on this path. This does very little to actually assure Liam, but there’s not much either of them can do about it. That’s just the way life goes sometimes.

Side note: I have to wonder why Chelsea took on a new client if she knew she was going to be leaving soon. I feel like that’s just asking for trouble.

Later in the episode, Cordell brings some new horses to the ranch for Liam. He knows that Liam has been doing better with his equine therapy and he thought having some new horses to work with would help. Liam is speechless; this means more to him than Cordell realizes. The timing is perfect. His therapist is leaving but he can keep the practice going with these horses and start his own thing. It’s a big job but he’s excited to do it and he has all the help he’ll need right there on the ranch, once he gets Colton’s permission of course. Bonham seems unsure; it’ll be a lot of work. But Liam is convinced that Walker Rescues could be a success and Stella reminds them that Gale had allegedly planned to put a horse rescue on that property. Why not make good on that promise?

Before they go back to the house for family BBQ, Cordell holds Liam back and apologizes for not being there for him. He knows Liam has been struggling and he wants to help. He can’t help in the way that Liam wants (by talking about what happened) but he can try to help in other ways. Liam accepts the apology. He knows now that he can’t just rely on Cordell to deal with this anymore; he needs to find his own path to healing. Things aren’t quite perfect between the brothers but it’s a big step in the right direction.

Next, let’s talk about Stella.

In the last episode, Stella decided that she didn’t want to go to college after all. She doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life or if Sauber is even the right school for her. But, that leaves her with the question of what she’s supposed to do now. This is a question she’s confronted with at the breakfast table. After August expresses his frustration over not getting the bigger room he thought he would be getting when Stella moved out, Bonham asks what she plans on doing now that she’s not going to school.

With everyone’s eyes on her, Stella gets flustered and says that she wants to “help people” like her mother did. Cordell says that that sounds very good and noble but it’s not actually a plan. Luckily for her, he’s already made some plans for her. Geri has agreed to let her work at the Side Step part-time. Stella is not happy with this plan. She argues that he promised they were going to work on a plan together; he counters that this is the plan and her shift starts at 10. Besides, she needs to earn some money to undo all of Shannon’s mods on the mustang.

Side note: In Stella’s defense, she’s never really had to face the consequences of her actions before. I’m not surprised she thought she’d be getting away with this one. Happy to have Cordell prove her wrong though.

She takes August to school afterward and neither teen is in a good mood. Stella congratulates August on managing to go a whole car ride without saying a word and asks what his problem is. He says that her not going to college has thrown a wrench in his plans for this year. It was finally going to be his chance to shine. He was going to get the bigger room and get a chance to be his own person, have some of the spotlight. But she’s still here and he is, once again, left with nothing. A bit melodramatic but that’s hardly new with these two.

Stella feels bad about that and says that her not going to college hasn’t exactly worked out for her either. It was an impulsive decision and now she really doesn’t know what she’s supposed to be doing with her life. One could argue that that’s all the more reason for her not to be in college, but August has to go to homeroom so there’s no time to talk about that.

Side note: It’s okay August. We all wanted your sister to go off to college already. We feel your pain.

Later, at the Side Step, we tune in just in time to see Stella doing a whole lot of Not Working while she gazes forlornly at a group of college students working on their laptops. Geri notices her spacing out and calls her over to the bar to talk about her schedule. Cordell said she needed to have at least one weekend shift so she’s going to have to cut some of August’s hours. Stella voices her frustration that her dad is still treating her like a kid. Geri defends Cordell’s actions; they all know that bussing tables isn’t exactly Stella’s dream job but she needs to do something. Stella says that she’s only 18 and fresh out of high school; how is she supposed to know what her dream job is at this stage in her life? Her dad didn’t know what he wanted to do fresh out of high school. Then there’s Liam, who always knew he wanted to be a lawyer but has since abandoned that path to become a rancher. She wishes that she had some Walker footsteps to follow in, some sort of guide to show her what to do next. Geri reminds her of another, very important Walker who she could follow: her mother. Stella is a little confused. She knew her mother did social work but not much about her path to get there. Geri lets her in on a little secret: Emily didn’t start off knowing what she wanted to do.

Later, Geri fills in some of the blanks for Stella over a plate of Disco Fries. When she, Geri, Cordell and Hoyt were all in high school, the four of them would often ditch class to get a plate of this snack from the local diner. Stella knew her dad and honorary Uncle got up to a lot of trouble, but she had no idea her mother did anything like that. Geri says that Emily did her fair share of wild stuff; she was just smarter about it and avoided getting caught. She was good at it; she was good at a lot of things, actually. Emily’s talents and intelligence meant that there was a lot of pressure put on her, especially from her family. Her father wanted her to be a lawyer, so she also thought that was what she wanted. But tragedy struck with 9/11. It made her think about her life and what she really wanted out of it, and she decided corporate law wasn’t it. But, even after that, she didn’t just know she wanted to enter social work. It took her a few years to figure all that out as a matter of fact. Geri assured Stella that she didn’t need to have everything figured out right away; she still had time to figure things out.

Feeling a lot better about herself and her life choices, Stella goes to pick up August from school. He asks how his day went and he gives a very angsty “It was school” and makes it clear he doesn’t want to hang around any longer than necessary. But Stella has a surprise for him. She brings out the Lucky Bobblehead and tells August she’s not going to drive him home. In a Walker family tradition, she’s going to let him drive while the bobblehead looks on. August is excited to finally get behind the wheel and revs the engine to get the attention of some of his classmates. Unfortunately, his attempt to look cool backfires when he can only get the car to inch forward. Should’ve been easier on the clutch….

And now, the part we’ve all been waiting for: The Main Plot.

The episode opens up on a federal horse corral. It’s late at night and the horses are a bit anxious. A mysterious truck pulls up and the people inside look on. The woman sitting in the passenger seat comments that the horses look a bit scared. The man in the driver’s seat, the leader, tells her that they are scared. They’ve been taken from their homes and separated from their families, all to make room for more cattle ranchers. It’s not right for them to be here. They deserve to be free.

Our horse thieves get to work, unlocking the corral and herding the horses into the trailer. Once the corral is empty, they drive off into the night. A barn hand jumps out onto the dirt road to try and stop them but they are not deterred and they hit him hard in the shoulder.

Finally, they reach an empty field and let the horses run free. With their good deed done for the day, they escape into the night.

The next day, it’s Cordell’s first day back in the office. At breakfast, he’s still pretending everything is fine and that he has no troubles and accidentally hurts Liam again. Bonham is tired of his attitude and follows him outside to have A Word with him.

He feels the need to remind Cordell that while he was trained to withstand torture in the Marines, Liam was not. He didn’t have the physical or mental fortitude for that and Cordell can’t keep pretending like he does. Cordell says he understands and clearly wants to leave this conversation but Bonham isn’t done. He gets what Cordell is trying to do, tamping everything down and ignoring it. He understands a little bit of what Cordell went through in the military, the things he saw, things he did…. Bonham gets it, he does. But Liam doesn’t and he never will. He just wants Cordell to be more mindful of that going forward. Cordell agrees and gets ready to start his day right.

Pulling into the office parking lot, Cordell seems happy to be there after all his time off. However, the sight of the Texas flag sets off a flashback and leaves him rattled. He tries to shrug it off and heads into the office for his big welcome and Trey’s big day.

Before the big meeting, Cassie goes into James’ office at his request. He wants to talk to her about Walker. He’s not in trouble, but James wants to avoid any. After everything that happened with Emily and the Rodeo Kings job, James is worried about putting him back in the field too soon. He wants Cassie to keep an eye out and let him know what she thinks about it. She agrees just in time for the big announcement of Cordell’s return.

Trey is entering his last week of Ranger training. Because of his unorthodox entry, skipping over the seven-year Trooper requirement, he’s had a slightly different training than normal. To round it off, he’s being given a case of his own to lead. Serial horse thieves have been taking and releasing horses from federal pens. Since there isn’t enough evidence to arrest the perpetrators on Just Cause, they need to catch the thieves in the act. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, there’s another hurdle: because federal facilities have been targeted, the rangers will be sharing jurisdiction over the case with various federal agencies. It’s a good opportunity for Trey to learn how to navigate casework with the feds. He will have Walker, Perez, and James as backup, but this is mostly his show. Also, if he messes this up, both he and James will be out of a job. But, you know, no pressure.

They arrive at the scene of the crime and it’s already crawling with feds under various acronyms. Trey is nervous and looks to his friends for guidance but they’re not giving him an inch. This is his show and he needs to run it.

First question: who is he going to talk to first?

Trey thinks he’ll talk to someone from the FBI first. James, Walker, and Perez express neutral uncertainty and he explains himself by pointing out that the FBI got there first so they would have the most information. After a few seconds, he realizes that they’re just messing with him and heads off into the field to talk to some feds.

James, Walker, and Perez hang back and admit he made the right choice. Cordell doubts he’ll be able to get much out of any of the feds regardless, but Cassie points out that Trey has a lot of natural charm. He may very well be the most charming man on the planet. Then, Cordell recognizes the FBI agent that Trey has chosen to talk to as a stonewalling killjoy that he and James had the displeasure of working with many years ago. It takes James a second, but he recognizes the agent too and they tell Cassie the story.

After some time, Trey returns to the group with no more information than when he started. When Cordell and James fail to hide their amusement at the failure of his charm, he accuses them of setting him up for failure, but they rush to assure him that it was all a coincidence. James also points out that he didn’t walk away with nothing. He learned an important lesson: the Feds don’t always play by the rules. A good ranger needs to be able to adapt.

So, what’s the new plan?

Trey thinks for a minute then points out that there are still four facilities that haven’t been hit yet. Between the rangers and the various federal agencies, they would have enough manpower to cover all of them for a stakeout. James gives him the green light and Trey gets started on working his magic.

That night, the stakeout is not going well. There’s been no activity at the corral that the rangers are watching, nor any reports from the others.

While they wait in the darkness, Cassie points out that they’re doing all this to catch some criminals that aren’t, in her opinion, doing anything criminal. Trey points out that they’re breaking into a federal facility, which is very much a crime, and James agrees. Cassie counters that the act itself isn’t that bad. The alternative for those horses is to potentially get sent off to slaughter. They deserve to run free. James argues that these criminals could go through legitimate channels to get the result they want and they’ve chosen not to. That’s where the problem lies.

Cordell speaks up then, a far-off look on his face, and says that “Well, sometimes people ignore legitimate channels when conditions on the ground suggest that a different approach might be needed.” Cassie and James share a Look and she asks Cordell if he’s agreeing with her. Cordell snaps out of his minor trance and says that he’s just tired.

James takes his lead and makes the call that since it’s nearly sunup and there’s been no action anywhere, that they throw in the towel and come up with a new plan.

The next day, Cassie goes to James’ office to talk about the night before. They’re both concerned about what Cordell said and the way he said it. It was unnatural and very off. But, before they can discuss the matter further, Trey has an announcement about the case.

They follow Trey into the conference room, and he tells them that he managed to convince the other agencies to share the evidence they’d gathered so far with him. How? He’ll never tell. He wasn’t able to get much new evidence but there were two receipts for a coffee truck that was only a few miles from two of the previously hit federal corrals. He checked around and found that there was another one of these coffee trucks a few miles from another facility. He knows it’s a stretch, but he thinks there might be a better chance of finding their perps at the coffee truck rather than staking out every federal corral in the state for nights on end. James decides to trust Trey’s gut and they head out.

Next, we see Trey and Cassie on opposite ends of the parking area for the coffee truck. Over the comms, Cordell reminds them that they’re looking for a silver, late model truck with a stock trailer attached to it. So far, they haven’t seen anything but there are plenty of trucks and trailers to look at.

Then, Trey notices something. He sees a silver truck, late model, with a trailer that’s just the right size and style to hold plenty of horses. Cordell asks for more details. They need to be sure that this is the truck. Trey notices that the side mirror is broken. He recalls that the horse thieves ran into the barn hand with the truck and that lines up. This must be their truck. It’s time for the rangers to intervene.

The problem comes in when the owners of the truck suddenly show up. As a ranger trainee, there’s very little Trey can do on his own; he’s supposed to wait for the actual rangers. But everyone is so far away, and the perpetrators are getting ready to drive off. He urges them to hurry up but there’s only so fast they can move. The thieves are getting ready to drive off and Trey, against James’ orders, hops into the back of the trailer so as not to lose them. The thieves drive off with an unexpected passenger and the cavalry arrives just a few minutes too late.

At the newest target, Trey manages to slip out of the trailer and avoid detection by the thieves. He waits behind a fence for further orders. James isn’t happy that Trey’s done this but he listens when Cordell and Cassie say they think he can handle the thieves on his own. James gives him the green light to do what he think he needs to do.

Trey smirks and jumps into action. He shouts at the thieves to freeze and uses his gun as a threat. He shoots the tires to prevent the thieves from driving off and herds two of the thieves into the back of the trailer and locks it while the leader runs away on an ATV. Once he’s sure the others are secure, he gets on one of the horses and chases after the leader.

What follows is an exciting chase scene. Trey manages to keep up with the leader on the ATV, but there’s only so fast he can go. He signals to the rangers on the road to speed ahead and cut off the ATV while he keeps up the chase from behind. After some chasing, Cordell manages to steer the truck to block off the ATV and the rangers get out to make the arrest.

While Cordell and Cassie subdue the leader, James starts giving Trey a lecture. He tells Trey that what he did was insubordination. It’s unacceptable. Ranger trainees have been denied for far less. And he knows for a fact that Cassie and Cordell….would’ve done the exact same thing. Welcome to the team, Ranger Barnett!

Side note: “Insubordination is a cardinal sin.” *snorts* Sure Jan.

Later, at Ranger HQ, Cordell is waiting for Cassie at their shared desk. She asks him what’s up and he tells her that she was right. She asks what she was right about (there are so very many things she’s right about) and he tells her that he saw the Look she and James exchanged the other night. He wanted to be upfront with her and acknowledge that he’s struggling with his mental health, but he’s not letting his problems consume him, so she doesn’t really have anything to worry about.

He decides to share something else with her. He opens a duffle bag with a folded Texas flag in it and tells her it once belonged to a Sergeant Cooper. Cooper was a good man, his mentor, and his best friend. Cooper died in battle and that was the reason Cordell decided to trade in his uniform for a badge. He confesses that he’s never told anyone about this, not even his family. It’s something that he just tamped down and tried to forget about. Being in captivity brought it all back to the surface, so that’s part of what he’s been dealing with. Cassie appreciates what it took for him to tell her that, but also suggests that he take the flag to Cooper’s family. If the flag meant that much to him, it would mean a lot to them too. Cordell tries to get out of it, saying that it’s too complicated, but Cassie insists. It’s the right thing to do and she has his back.

Later, he knocks on the door to Cooper’s mother’s house and introduces himself to the woman who answers the door, mistaking her for Mrs. Cooper. The woman is actually a nurse who takes care of her. She says that Mrs. Cooper hasn’t been feeling that well but she would see if she was up for guests, and invites Cordell in.

Cordell slowly enters the home and looks around. He sees several photos and little mementos. It’s a side of Cooper he never got to see. Then he sees a photo of Cooper in what looks like the army tent we saw in the flashback, the Texas flag hanging behind him. Cordell walks closer and stares at the photo for a long time. Then, he sets the flag on the counter near the photo and quietly leaves the house.

Side note: Anyone else getting the sense that Cordell blames himself for Cooper’s death?

He gets back in his truck and Cassie asks how it went. Cordell stutters and says that everything went great. It was great talking to Mrs. Cooper. He no longer has weird feelings about any of this. Then, to distract Cassie from his lies, he says that he’s hungry and asks if she’s up for grabbing something to eat.

And thus, another episode comes to a close.

This was another great episode. The writers have really stepped up their game this season!

I’m happy to see Liam taking steps toward handling his mental health without waiting for Cordell to catch up with him. They will need to talk about things eventually, but he can’t wait for Cordell forever. Cordell bringing Liam those horses was probably my favorite part of the episode and it brought us the sweetest broment of the show so far.

I’m glad they finally gave Stella a job. She may not know what she wants to do with her life just yet but she won’t figure it out by sitting in her room all day. She needs goals to work toward and some real-life experience. I also liked the moments between her and Geri. We’ve barely seen Geri this season and having them bond over memories of Emily was really sweet. I hope we get more of that.

Cordell is clearly still not doing okay. I’m hoping we get to see more military flashbacks soon, especially in relation to Sergeant Cooper. I also hope we get to see him being more honest with his friends and family about what’s going on in his head. Lying to Cassie right after promising he would always be upfront with her is not a step in the right direction.

All in all, another banger of an episode and I can’t wait to see where the next one takes us.

With all the revelations we had in this episode, “Mum’s The Word” doesn’t really seem like an appropriate title. When we got promotional stills for this week’s Walker, all the smiling faces assured me that this one would be an emotional wringer. And it was, just not in the way I thought.

I initially wanted to try to split this review into a discussion of the different plots in order of length but, to be perfectly honest, there were so many little plot bunnies running around in this episode that everything felt a little too balanced for that. So, I’ll be covering this episode scene-by-scene.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

We start off at the Side Step where Geri, Cordell, Stella, and August are prepping sandwiches for the homecoming game at Sacred Heart High. While carrying some boxes, Stella comments that she didn’t remember the Sandwich Station being such an involved process and Geri reminds her that she was usually only involved in the eating part.

While the family makes sandwiches, August decides to speak up. He reminds everyone that, now that Stella has left school, he’s been trying to make a name for himself as August Walker and not just Stella’s little brother. Stella teases him about having big shoes to fill but he has no time for her. He turns to Cordell instead and tells him that the homecoming game this year will be against Holy Word, which brings back old memories for Cordell. He enchants everyone (or at least August) with a story of a magical throw he made to Hoyt that really clinched the game for them. Then Geri reminds him that if it wasn’t for a play that Hoyt made later in that game, they may not have won. But that’s enough negativity, because August has a favor to ask. He tells Cordell about a Juniors vs Seniors flag football game where the students get to bring Alum to play on their team. Cordell remembers that the winners of the game get to have a skip day and August asks if his dad could come play for the Junior team. It could help them win and it would really help him gain a little clout with his classmates. Cordell says that since James has an assignment for him tomorrow he can’t make any promises but that he’ll do his best to be there.

While August is getting excited about some more father son bonding, Cassie it telling Ben that she might not be able to make it to a commitment in their family either. Ben reminds Cassie that “she” will be really disappointed if Cassie doesn’t show but Cassie argues that her work assignment might have to trump family time.

Liam asks them who they might be disappointing, and Ben fills him in. Their grandmother owns a restaurant in Waco that’s celebrating it’s 100-year anniversary tomorrow and it’s expected that they all be there. Then, Cassie suggests that Ben bring Liam and introduce him to the family, just in case she can’t make it. Ben seems a little thrown by the suggestion, but Liam is happy for the opportunity to meet everyone. Then Cassie mentions that it might be a bit soon for Ben; after all, it took about a year for him to introduce Lucas to everyone. This gets her a Look from Ben and Liam grows worried that he might not be welcome. Cassie assures him it’s not that big of a deal, that Ben was just nervous about bringing home his first boyfriend.

Before the conversation can go much further, Trey’s mother arrives in the room and asks why they’re in Trey’s apartment. Doesn’t Cassie have one just down the hall? Cassie helpfully supplies that her apartment is actually across the hall and Liam explains that they brought food here to the apartment because they wouldn’t get to eat at the ceremony.

Then, Trey slides into the room with his socks on and his shirt unbuttoned, unaware that his mother is standing right behind him. Once he’s made aware, he awkwardly closes his shirt and they all have a good laugh.

We cut to Ranger HQ, where Cordell is running hard on the treadmill. Cassie comes in with James and asks Cordell if it’s finally gotten too hot outside for his runs. This surprises Cordell and he nearly trips getting off of the machine. He then quickly hides the gun in his bag and waves off her comment.

Then, James tells them about their assignment for tomorrow. After the disaster with Serranos’ evidence truck, the DPS is taking evidence transport more seriously. As a result, some evidence transports between Ranger headquarters are being handled by Rangers. In this case, Cassie and Cordell got the short stick and will be responsible for getting an evidence case from Dallas and bringing it back to Austin. They need to keep the case on them at all times and bring it back to HQ by midnight but they’re free to take breaks.

Neither of our rangers are happy about this news. It looks like they might be missing their family time. But now’s not the time to worry about that because Cordell needs to shower for the ceremony!

In the office, James starts with a speech telling everyone what a good man Trey is and how proud he is to bring him into the force. Then, without further ado, Trey is brought out to get his star. Everyone is clapping and happy for him. Once he has his star, Trey looks out into the crowd, beaming with pride…. Until he sees his mother’s face. She’s not happy and that dims his mood.

Following the title card, we see Cordell and Cassie on the road. They’ve picked up the evidence box and are sailing through traffic. After some staring out the window, Cassie picks up her phone and dismisses Cordell’s attempts at conversation. After six long hours in the car with him in relative silence, it’s time for DJ Cassie to take the reins. Cordell is fine with that, so long as she puts her phone on silent because her ringtone is annoying. Cassie says that she thought that beeping was from his phone (and she wasn’t planning on saying anything either). Which leaves the question: where’s the beeping coming from? Cordell starts checking his truck instruments and Cassie looks in the backseat, freezing when her eyes land on the box. It’s coming from there and neither of them seem to know what to do about it.

We then cut to Sacred Heart High, where the homecoming celebrations are in full swing. Stella is helping Geri in the sandwich truck while August hypes up his hero QB dad to his fellow classmates.

While Stella and Geri talk in the truck, another alum appears and Geri recognizes her as Becca Ferguson. Becca recognizes Stella as well and asks in a rather patronizing tone if she’s back from college so soon. Then she says that she was nearly Stella’s mom before telling Geri that she thinks it’s just “so great” that Geri still comes and helps out year after year…. Geri and Stella then watch her and her daughter walk away in stunned silence.

Side note: Anyone else get the sense that Becca never mentally left high school?

Back at Trey’s apartment, he’s cooking something in a pot when his mother enters with a meat bouquet that had been delivered to him. The card says it’s from Micki. She asks Trey what Micki’s up to now and he says that she’s off to New Orleans with her moms. He then tells her to try what he was just cooking and that he thinks he finally got the recipe right. She does a quick taste test and tells him it’s perfect; it tastes just like her grandmother used to make. Then she asks if they’re wearing hats indoors now and he sheepishly removes his white Stenson. He’s just so excited about it. But he can tell Keesha isn’t. He asks her what’s going on and she shuts him down fast, telling him not to “therapize” her. Trey wants to try some more but he gets a call from James and steps away to answer it. The captain wants them to drop by ranger HQ before they go to an event for the Mayor. Keesha, still bothered by something, says that she better get dressed then, and walks away.

Back with Cassie and Cordell, they have the box sitting on the ground far away from the truck. The box is still beeping and neither of them are sure of what it is. Cassie doesn’t think it could be anything that dangerous. After all, it went through screening processes and was officially handled by law enforcement. Cordell insists that there could be a danger still. They don’t even know what case it’s related to; it could be a bomb for all they know!

Unfortunately, they can’t call James or any form of backup because there’s zero cell service on the road they parked on. Cordell can’t even shoot off a text to wish August luck before his flag football game. So, they’re on their own. They have a mysterious box that’s beeping. Beeping indicates a timer, which lends credence to the bomb theory. But there’s no way of knowing for sure unless they open it, which runs the risk of compromising the evidence. Not exactly ideal.

As the ranking officer, Cordell makes the decision to unlock the box and make sure it’s nothing dangerous. He takes the key from Cassie, tells her to stay back, and gingerly unlocks it, revealing…. A bag of smartwatches with alarms going off.

Despite Cordell’s frustration over a waste of time, he notices that the watches were set to go off at 14:00. He then recalls that while he was in captivity, the mercenaries would come to collect them at the same time every day. He doesn’t say what for but he does mention that Julia figured out their schedule way before he did.

Side note: Is it just me or is he implying that he was held captive for longer than those two days?

Cassie mentions that it wasn’t a total waste since they got a name for the group of mercenaries, “Gray Flag”. As she’s putting the watches back in the box, she notices a picture hanging out of the file in there and pulls it out to see its Cordell. This, naturally, raises a big question.

But there’s no time to ask it now because we need to talk about Stella. Geri notices her moping at one of the picnic tables and leaves the truck to talk to her. They talk a little bit about how weird Becca was earlier, then Stella voices more concerns over her future. Just a few months ago, this school was her stomping grounds. Now, she feels weird even being there. Everyone else in her class is off doing things and she’s afraid of turning into that weird alumnus who's always around.

Geri gives her a Look and Stella rushes to assure her that she meant no offense. Geri lets it slide and then tells Stella a little about her own past. Once upon a time, she’d planned on going to business school but she couldn’t because Life happened to her. Her father died and the Side Step became her responsibility. It wasn’t a part of her grand plan but it was the hand that life had dealt her and she did her best to play it.

Stella admits that deciding not to go to college was a huge thing and it’s brought her a lot more, harder choices to make. She just thought she would have a handle on things faster. Geri then reminds her that she has a big support network right now and she’s very lucky to have that safety net while she figures things out. A lot of people don’t get that. She also advises Stella to try to focus on the big picture rather than the little details.

We then cut to the Perez family restaurant in Waco. Everyone’s setting up for the big party and Liam was stuck on stirring duty. He asks Ben how he’ll know when it’s done. Ben starts to launch into this big chemistry explanation only to reveal that he failed chemistry in school. So, they’re just winging it.

Then Grandma makes herself known. She tells Ben that she’s happy to see him but he didn’t have to come so early. Ben says that he wouldn’t miss it and that he heard they needed more sauce. Then he introduces her to his boyfri- I mean Liam!

Liam takes the bumpy introduction in stride and compliments Grandma Perez on her cooking and her appearance on television. He’s just so happy to meet her. She asks if this means Liam will get Ben to visit more often. Ben tells her that he’s just been really busy lately and Liam jumps in to gush about Ben’s new business deal. Grandma is very happy to hear this but then notices the sauce and tells Liam- I mean Lucas, that he needs to keep stirring. And thus, it gets even more awkward.

Next, we see Cassie and Cordell back in the truck going through the files that were in the box. Cassie is really annoyed at how much information the Gray Flags had on Fenton and Cordell versus how much they had on her. With Fenton, his files goes back about halfway through his ranger career. Then there’s Cordell, who they have files on extending from his days in the military to his dental records to his kids birth certificates. And then there’s Cassie, who they have so little information on that it’s barely worth the second page. Cordell tries to explain it away and tell her it’s not that big of a deal. After all, the Gray Flags have all been arrested and they were all “Looney Toons” anyways.

Besides, he has an idea that’s more worth their time: heading to Perez’s Prime Ribs.

Cassie asks if he’s sure and he says that James told them they just needed to be back by midnight. No reason they couldn’t take a little detour. It’s brisket time!

By the time they arrive, the party is in full swing. Cassie immediately goes over to surprise and hug her Grandma while Cordell trails behind her with the case. Grandma then asks who the “handsome young man” is and Cassie must inform her that he is a work partner, not a romantic one. She recognizes his name from the news and Cordell gladly informs her that he would rather not be in the news so often. Anyway, it’s time for food.

Except…. Is that a headshot of Cassie?! It looks like the Walker Brothers have stumbled onto a gold mine of Perez Siblings lore!

Side note: I felt Cordell’s offense that Cassie hadn’t told her that her family was BBQ royalty in my soul.

Back at Sacred Heart, Geri is on the phone in the truck. August comes back from the flag football game, which they lost, and he’s very annoyed. Not only did he get all of the contact, Cordell failed to show up for him.

While he sulks, Geri quickly informs Stella that she needs to leave. She’s going to send someone to help Stella pack up and then she can take the night off. Stella is a little confused but Geri doesn’t have time to explain.

Side note: Did Cordell not tell August that he wouldn’t be available for the game? Or was August just bragging for clout? I’m very confused….

With that weirdness out of the way, Stella turns her attention back to August. She says that she’s sorry Dad bailed on him today, but tries to defend him. She says that Cordell has been trying really hard to be there and present for them lately. August scoffs and retorts that Dad has mostly been present for Stella, which leaves her confused. But she tries to cheer August up anyway and offers to let him come along on a date she had planned with Colton. August is in disbelief that she really doesn’t get it and tells her to forget about it. He’s got his own plans.

Side note: Stella, I don’t know who told you that every little siblings’ dream activity is being a third wheel but they lied to you.

We then cut to Ranger HQ, where James meets Trey and Keesha in his office. He starts telling the story of a ranger named Willy. He was cool, old school kind of guy and one of the only black rangers when James was making his way up. He was stationed elsewhere but drove all night just to see James get his star. And, he gave James a present, one he’s now passing on to Trey.

James hands Trey a box and he carefully opens it to find a set of suspenders with three initials etched into it, for Trey, Willy, and James. James says he gave that to him to remind Trey that this job isn’t just about what’s happening in the here and now. It’s also about legacy and history. Trey understands and accepts the gift, while Keesha gets lost in thought.

And, on that touching note, we cut to a shot of August turning on the lights in the Side Step. He looks around for a second before turning and declaring that the coast is clear and opening the door for what looks like the entire junior class. August looks on with excitement as everyone files in and starts to party. It looks like he’s making his way in the school after all, but is he going about it the right way?

The party goes on and everyone is having fun (maybe a little too much fun). One of the kids informs August that the kegs going to the bar are dry and August heads into the keg closet with a kid named Scoot to sort it out. He changes the kegs and gets the alcohol flowing again with ease, which Scoot compliments him on. August says that’s just a perk of owning your own bar (technically true). He then tries to open the closet door, only to find it stuck.

This can only go well.

Back at HQ, Keesha is sitting in the atrium and is joined by James. He tells her the story of how Trey saved his life the year before and how James is proud of him for coming so far. Keesha then asks him if he has any children. He does, DJ, up at Boise State. And, yes, he does worry about his son a lot, but he knows it’s not the same worry that Keesha is dealing with. He knows that look and that feeling she has; it’s the same one his mother got when he joined. But, whether Keesha likes it or not, this was Trey’s decision and hopefully, she’ll be able to accept that one day.

Then they’re joined by Trey, who notices something’s up but can’t figure out what. Keesha thanks James for their talk and he tells her to call him “Larry”, a privilege Trey does not get. Then, mother and son are left alone for a little chat.

The truth is, Keesha is proud of Trey and will always have his back. But she’s worried about him. She remembers how hard it was to raise him when his father went career law enforcement. Trey understands her worry but that’s not going to change his mind. He knows he has a support network here and hopes she’ll be a part of that. She says she is, she just needs time to accept this choice. Mother and son hug it out, leaving this plotline on a sweet note.

We return to the Side Step to catch the tail end of August venting to Scoot about the troubles he’s been having lately. He’s honestly just trying to make it out of high school alive and he’d like to do it in a way that’s not just as Stella’s weird little brother.

Then Scoot reveals that that’s not at all how he’s seen by his fellow juniors. In their eyes, he’s a badass. He and Stella were a power duo and he was the cool kid who always got to hang out with the upperclassmen. He was in a band with seniors and he even did surgery on his uncle once. Everyone thinks he’s cool. Scoot had actually been worried that he and his friend wouldn’t have a chance of talking to August. He’s glad that August wasn’t actually on his own high horse all this time. But, he is pretty crazy. He did break into his ranger dad’s bar, after all.

August basks in the glory of these compliments for about two seconds before loud crashes from outside make him worried. Scoot tells him it’s probably not that bad, that their friends will see their texts soon and let them out, but August is less sure. Just in case, he gets out his phone and texts Stella for help.

Side note: I actually really liked this scene. Seeing August talk to someone outside of his family about his issues was odd but a good moment for him. And it’s good to know that he’s not just “Arlo” anymore.

Side side note: I felt the “I just want to make it out of high school alive” in my soul.

Meanwhile, Cordell is still at the restaurant, blissfully unaware of what his son is up to. He’s staring at his phone, where we see a text that he sent to August that hasn’t been read yet. He’s clearly worried but Cassie jumps in to distract him. She’s still thinking about the files they found. She knows they don’t mean anything now but she’s realized that the lack of information about her bothers her because she’s dedicated so much of her life to the job. If her whole career can be boiled down to a double sided piece of paper, what’s the point? She feels like she could be doing more with her time. Cordell reminds her that finding a work-life balance isn’t easy but sometimes, all you need is family. Cassie then asks if that’s why Cordell has been avoiding Liam all night. Then, by pure coincidence, Liam happens to walk by. Cassie leaves and gives Cordell an opening to talk to his brother.

Cordell calls for Liam and gets him to sit down at the table and they have a talk. He asks how things are going with the family and Liam admits he feels weird. It doesn’t seem like Ben really wants him there and people (mostly Grandma) keep confusing him for Lucas. He’s having a nice time otherwise. Cordell then offers him some sage advice; as easy as it is to go with the flow in a new relationship, he shouldn’t let the little things fester until they become big things. He should talk to Ben about how he feels.

Liam says that it sounds like Cordell is doing better on his trauma recovery and he admits to feeling better. He asks how Liam is doing, who says he’s doing okay but he knows he has a long way to go. Having the horses to work with helps but there’s a lot more to it than that. So, in short, neither of them are really doing good.

Then, in a stroke of good humor, Cordell offers Liam the chance to talk about it. What happened in captivity isn’t going away anytime soon and avoiding the issue isn’t helping. Liam is surprised but accepts the offer.

Their conversation is interrupted by Ben and Cassie on the microphone. They talk a bit about the history of the restaurant, which was started with just one smoker and two Puerto Rican immigrants. They compliment their grandmother, who made sure they learned about their heritage and culture, even if they weren’t always the best students. But they showed her that they cared by starting their own traditions. For example, Ben says, on Saturdays, they would do performances in the restaurant for tips. Cassie seems surprised he mentioned that, and tries to refuse to relive that childhood memory. But the music starts and Ben cannot be stopped. Eventually, Cassie gives in and the two dance to the choreography of their childhood. It’s not long before they’re joined by grandma and everyone is having a good time, especially Liam and Cordell.

Side note: I love this moment so much. 10/10 sibling dances are the best.

Back in Austin, things are less happy as Stella arrives to help August clean up his mess. She flicks the power to the bar and tells everyone to start clearing out. Then, she heads to the keg closet to let August out. As everyone starts leaving, she starts tearing into August, asking what the hell he was thinking pulling a stunt like this.

And then, as if on cue, the cops arrive. With no one else in the bar, Stella and August are left to take the heat.

We return to Cassie and Cordell, who are completing their delivery. Cordell can tell that Cassie is worried so he tries to soothe her concerns. No one has to know what they did. They didn’t tamper with any evidence and nothing is missing from the files. They followed the rules by keeping the case with them at all times and returning it by the deadline. There’s no reason for them opening the case to interfere with their careers. This can just stay between them.

Cordell then starts to open up a bit about his trauma and admits that seeing all that information in the case brought back what he went through in captivity. But, he’s done letting his trauma rule his life. He may not be able to control how he feels but he can control how he acts. He’s done looking over his shoulder.

Cassie seems proud of him and says that she’d like to join his “boys club” runs in the Texas heat.

This gets a laugh out of him but not for long as he gets a call from an unknown number. It’s the Austin Police Department holding cells; looks like August got his one phone call. And Cordell is not happy about it.

We return to the restaurant to see Ben and Liam sharing an awkward cup of coffee. They both feel a little weird about what happened today. Ben steers the conversation, saying how weird he felt about not technically inviting Liam to come along and about how people kept bringing up Lucas. Liam feels awkward about this as well; things were going so well between them and now they’ve hit a roadblock.

Ben also says that this relationship with Liam has felt so easy. They jumped into things headfirst, even with all their issues, and then Liam disappeared, which they still haven’t talked about. There’s just a lot of weirdness going around. Liam takes this to mean that Ben wants a break from their relationship, which isn’t true. Ben likes what they have, the easy parts and the awkward parts. He just thinks they need to talk about their relationship, what it is and what they want out of it. Liam agrees.

With the final happy plotline over with, we finish off on our angst.

In the holding cell, Stella asks August if this whole thing was worth it for the clout he got. August comments on this being why he wanted Stella to leave and then she snaps at him for bringing up the “so-called favoritism” again.

Side note: There is no "so-called" about it, ma’am. Cordell lets you get away with much more than August. But whatever.

Then, Cordell steps into the room and he is not happy. August immediately tries to apologize for what happened  but Cordell shuts him down and tells him to go wait in the truck. August doesn’t fight it, and father and daughter are left alone.

Cordell shuts the door and then asks Stella what the hell she was thinking. Stella is confused. What did she do wrong? He says that he’s tried to be patient with her after all the stunts she’s pulled. Lying to him about Emily’s car for months, dropping the bombshell about not wanting to go to college, all of it. He’s tried to be the cool, progressive dad that could just let things slide. But breaking into his bar to throw a party and roping her little brother into it? That’s just a step too far.

Stella tries to defend herself and says that she was only there to help August. He can ask August about it himself if he wants. He just has to believe her though. Please? But Cordell has no sympathy. He doesn’t think he can believe a word she has to say after all the lying she’s done. He then says that she’s an adult now and that means she needs to face the consequences of her actions. So, he’s going to let her sit in that cell for the night so she can think about what she’s done. Then, he leaves the room and Stella is left alone to pay for a crime she didn’t commit.

And with that, the episode comes to a close.

And, boy oh boy, what an episode that was.

To be perfectly honest, the episode was mostly tame. Trey getting his ranger badge was great to see and I liked the drama with his mother that was foreshadowed last season. I also loved seeing Liam and Ben together. They’re so delightfully awkward and I love seeing the natural progression of their relationship. The big surprise for me was seeing Cordell be so open about his trauma and be willing to talk about everything with Liam. I’m happy to see it but I didn’t think it would be happening this soon.

And then, there’s the ending….

Now, I’m happy to see Stella being disciplined by Cordell for once. She’s definitely done a few things that are worthy of a night in a jail cell. But the joy is soured by the knowledge that she’s being punished for something she didn’t even do. I predict a lot of discord on the horizon for the Walker family, especially between the siblings. I wonder if August is going to take the “Get out of jail free” card Cordell unknowingly handed him. And will Cordell ever learn what really happened or will he stay firm in his assumptions? I have a feeling this is going to land him some more guilt-tripping….

I think “Something There That Wasn’t There Before” breaks the record for the longest title of an episode of Walker! We’ve had mostly long ones this season. I wonder if that’s going to be a trend going forward.

This episode was interesting for me. I had to think a bit about how I wanted to format this recap. I’m going to split this one up less into plots and more into character interactions since most of them were pretty isolated. And, because this is my review and I do what I want, I’m going to start off with the more lighthearted stories and work my way up the angst ladder.

I’m going to start off with the shortest (and the sweetest) first: Geri and Colton.

While he was helping clean up the Side Step after the big party, Colton called Geri to give her a briefing on the situation at the bar. Nothing was damaged, thank goodness, but there was a big mess to clean up. He just wanted to give her a heads up before she came in and saw it.

Geri was grateful for the warning but she won’t actually be going to the Side Step later. She has some Broussard family business to attend to, but she’d love it if her nephew could take over at the Side Step for her. And, actually, could he house sit for her too? She’d feel better if he was able to crash there instead of having to drive all the way back to the ranch. Colton gladly accepts the offer, even if it is a bit sudden.

After they hang up, Geri returns to packing and we get a glimpse of a folder labeled “HOYT RAWLINS”.

Side note: I wanna know the secrets of that folder but something tells me we won’t be getting answers until 2023. Maybe we’ll get some flashbacks (and a familiar face? Please?)

Next, lets talk about the dynamic trio of the evening: Trey, Cassie, and newcomer Kevin Golden!

We start off in the atrium of Ranger HQ where Cassie and Trey are enjoying a quick snack. Cassie is quite pleased with herself, having been selected by Abeline Walker to play Puppet Master to get Cordell to take the day off. She then wonders when Keesha will be calling on her to do the same to Trey. Trey scoffs and insists that won’t be happening, but Cassie informs him that Keesha already reached out to ask about his Lady Friends situation. It’s a real shame that she had to inform his mother that his Lady Friend Count is zero. Why’s he having such a hard time getting out there anyway?

Trey pulls out his phone and shows her a dating profile, which she accuses him of making just now. He laughs it off and then asks her what her aversion to dating is. Cassie denies his claim. She doesn’t need a boyfriend to hold her hand and watch Hawk’s Shadow with her. She’s doing just fine on her own. Trey then suggests that her aversion to dating could be connected to the disaster with Sean. You know, the date where she got catfished by a terrorist organization that kidnapped her partner the next day. Perhaps she has some trust issues that are getting in the way? Cassie scoffs at the mere idea. She trusts people all the time. She doesn’t have any trust issues at all.

Then, when she sees an unfamiliar face knocking on Captain James’ door, she immediately gets out of her seat to confront the stranger that she does not trust.

Side note: JAKE ABEL!!!!!!!!!! That’s all. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

Trey follows Cassie and recognizes the new face as Kevin Golden, the mayor’s Chief of Staff. Cassie is a little offput by how friendly they are and asks for clarification on their relationship. Trey explains that they met at the event held by the Mayor recently. It turns out Kevin is here to get the final okay on getting some rangers available for a security detail at a charity fundraising event being held that day. Cassie is again confused, and Trey explains that they thought it would be a good idea to get some rangers in and rubbing elbows with the policy makers so that they can pass on some of the issues they’re dealing with on the ground.

Kevin is happy to announce that Ranger-Doctor-Coach Barnett is officially on the staff for the event. While Kevin briefs Trey on the details, Cassie tells them to have fun at the party, but she has other things to do. But before she can walk away, Kevin stops her and tells her that she, too, is invited to join the security detail, and she will look just as baller in a dress as Trey will in a nice suit. Kevin leaves to go sort out some other details and, as he leaves, Cassie comments that a dress probably wouldn’t be the most practical garment for security work. But she would look good in it.

We pick up later with Cassie and Trey at the event being given a rundown by Kevin and Layla, the head of security for the event. The Mayor is not to be fed crabs and there are some concerns over an uptick in threatening letters coming in recently. Trey will be on the Mayor’s security detail, because he’s the best of the best. Cassie will be in charge of Kevin’s safety. Cassie has her concerns about this but there’s no changing Kevin’s mind. But he does need to go right now because that banner isn’t hung in the right place.

Side note: Cassie and Trey are looking absolutely baller in their classy dress and I’m here for more fancy events with the Rangers.

Later, we see Kevin personally greeting attendees of the gala while Cassie stands behind him looking bored. Trey comes over to see how things are going and Cassie complains about him being a typical politician schmoozer, saying pretty little lies to get people on his good side. Trey defends Kevin, saying that he is a genuinely good guy even if he is a politician. Cassie should be nice to him. She’s not buying it but she did notice that Layla and Trey were having a good time looking after the mayor. Trey laughs her off and goes back to doing his job, leaving her alone with Kevin again.

Some time later, Trey finds her at the bar enjoying a surprisingly yummy non-alcoholic drink. He asks her where Kevin is because the mayor has a question for him. Cassie starts to point him out, then notices that he’s not where she left him. She starts to panic a bit and goes looking for him while trying not to draw to much attention to herself. After a few moments, she notices his shoes peeking out from under a tablecloth. She walks closer and catches the tail end of a conversation he’s having with two brothers. Kevin is telling them that, while they will fight, ultimately their brother is one of the only people in the world they’ll be able to turn to for the rest of their lives. Your brother always has your back, no matter what.

While Cassie listens to this, she can’t help but become a little endeared to him. Politician or not, he’s speaking the truth. After he gets the brothers to hug it out and leave the shelter of the table, Cassie lifts the tablecloth for him to come out as well. She then asks if those kids belonged to a large donor. He says he’s not sure but he didn’t think so; he just wanted to help them out. This catches her by surprise, enough that she accepts his hand to stand up from her crouch. But the moment is broken when she remembers that the mayor had a question for him.

Some time later, Cassie and Kevin are walking through the event hall when he starts to feel a bit nauseous. He asks Cassie to get him a drink just before collapsing onto the floor. Cassie kneels next to him, asking what’s wrong, and Trey comes over to assist. He quickly tells Cassie to call 911 while he takes care of getting Kevin comfortable.

Later, the event has been cleared out, leaving Cassie, Trey, and Layla to watch over Kevin. He’s not doing too well and Trey’s not sure what’s wrong with him. When the EMTs arrive, Trey gives them some instructions but confesses to Cassie that he’s not sure what to do. The last time he saw symptoms like what Kevin is experiencing is when he was treating soldiers in Afghanistan that were exposed to a nerve agent. But that couldn’t possibly happen here, could it? Cassie’s not so sure they should discount the thought. It would explain why Kevin is the only one being affected if there was a delayed reaction and the men who took Walker were planning to distribute a similar biohazard material. Trey still isn’t sure. They arrested all the terrorists, didn’t they? Cassie thinks it’s possible some may have been missed and she calls Cordell to ask for more info.

Cordell agrees with Cassie that it’s a possibility and asks if Kevin had come into contact with anything that may have contained a liquid or air distributor. Cassie explains that Kevin handles pretty much everything for the Mayor, including his letters. Then she remembers that there had been an uptick in threats recently so she asks Kevin if they’d gotten any today. Kevin confirms that they had and he’s the one who opened it. The letter only said: “Your time is up and you don’t even know it.” Cordell hears this and thinks that sounds like a taunt.

Layla, who was on the phone with the APD to figure out where the threatening letter came from, informs everyone that it came from Eastvale, which is near the Westvale Psychiatric hospital where the brothers were held. Cassie remembers reading about Eastvale, how it had become a ghost town after the coal mining production went down. It sounds like the perfect place to hide biohazard material and extra terrorists!

Later, after the bad guy is handled, Cassie informs Trey of the Walker brother’s success while Kevin is tended to by the EMTs. Now that Cassie and Trey are reasonably assured that all the terrorists have been caught, Kevin is "Beckoning" Cassie to his side in the ambulance.

She walks over and asks him how he’s feeling. He’s certainly looking a lot better. Kevin happily informs her that his soul is returning to his body. Shame that politicians don’t have souls.

Kevin then thanks her for being there for him, even if this gala wasn’t how she normally spends her days. There were probably serial killers and gang members she could’ve been chasing down. Cassie tells him that her job is really mostly paperwork but she takes the thanks with grace. Regardless, she saved his life today and it may not be the last time she does so. When Cassie makes to leave, Kevin informs her that she’s still technically a part of his security detail and gestures for her to get in the ambulance with him. She’s surprised but agrees and helps the EMTs load up his stretcher.

On the next rung of this angst ladder, let’s discuss Liam and Cordell.

This one starts off at the breakfast table. Cordell is making himself some coffee after his sleepless night while Liam is practically bouncing with energy. He’s curious about why the kitchen is empty but he doesn’t mind too much because this is a great time for them to talk about "It". He starts talking about some advice he got from his new therapist, Donna, about revisiting and facing your trauma head on and how that can help. Cordell has to interrupt him before he gets too far though. As bad as he feels about it, he’s going to need Liam to wait. He hasn’t slept at all and he has a mess to sort out since both of his kids got arrested last night and there’s some bad optics with that. Liam is disappointed but understanding and leaves the kitchen so he can deal with All That.

When Cassie calls and offers him the day off, Cordell decides to take it and, after a rough interaction with Abeline and Stella, he decides to spend that day with his brother instead of listening to Stella’s lies. Because, respectfully, there’s only one person in this family that he really needs to hear out.

Later, we see them arriving in the room that holds their old cage. As much as Liam is leading the charge on revisiting this nightmarish place, he’s a little hesitant to full step back into the memories. But Cordell has his back and they push onward together.

As soon as they step in, Liam is assaulted with memories of the physical torture he went through. He wasn’t prepared for this at all. Cordell isn’t doing much better but he’s got Liam’s back on this. This is an important step in the healing process and Liam should be proud of himself for making it this far. The memories of the pain that they endured are terrible but it’s okay. They’ll get through this.

Side note: I love that they both have bad flashbacks. Just a reminder that Cordell is Not Over This.

Liam then tells him that it’s not the physical pain that’s getting to him, as bad as all that is. It’s remembering the mind games they played on him.

Cordell is confused by this. What mind games? When did they do that to him?

Liam explains that they made him bury Cordell. He says that after Cordell was taken to his dinner with Sean, three men wearing masks and reeking of sulfur took him out of the cage and to somewhere outside. They showed him a body covered in a cloth and said it was Cordell, that Sean had killed him, and that Liam needed to bury him. He was forced to dig a grave for his brother. Except…it wasn’t for Cordell. When he was allowed to look under the sheet, he saw that it was Neo, not Cordell.

Side note: How did he know about Neo? Wasn’t Neo dead before he got there?

Even now, after all this time, after all the work he's done in therapy, even after knowing that Cordell was never dead, the pain of having lost his brother like that and having to bury him is with Liam. And it’s been so hard because he’s had to keep it inside, because he wasn’t even able to tell Cordell about it, and it just hurts so damn much.

Side note: I honestly feel like Keegan is at his best when Liam is in pain. I hate thinking that but it’s kind of true.

Cordell is horrified by this story and gives Liam the biggest bro hug of their lives. He’s so sorry that Liam had to deal with that, especially alone.

Later, after Cordell gets off the phone with Cassie, Liam asks him if it’s possible that any of the men who hurt him are still alive. Cordell doesn’t have an answer but they do have a job to do.

The Walker brothers head for Eastvale to check out the situation. Liam says that there are no signs of life, not even a car or a truck, but Cordell is ever cautious. He reaches into the back to grab a bullet proof vest, a gas mask, and a gun. Liam is very much not on board with this idea and reminds Cordell that Cassie was sending backup. Cordell replies that with a nerve gas on the line, he doesn’t think they can afford to wait at all. He gets out and heads inside, putting on his gear as he goes, while Liam watches nervously from the truck.

Cordell stealthy moves through the facility, watching and listening for any signs of life. He hears a noise off to the side and goes to investigate, only to find a group of crows. But they knock over a barrel and crack a window, which gets Liam worried.

As Cordell moves about, an unknown man watches and sets off the steam valves to give Walker yet another obstacle. In the truck, Liam is trying to call for help but is getting no answer. Not wanting to risk losing his brother for real, he reaches into the back and pulls out the spare gear.

Cordell finally finds the man behind all this and tells him to back away and get on his knees. Not receiving an answer, Cordell moves closer and continues telling the man to put his hands behind his back and get down. Eventually, he reaches out to manhandle the guy into submission. This seems to work….right until the mystery man has some leverage and he goes on the attack. Cordell and the man struggle for a bit until the man grabs a syringe and jabs it in Cordell’s leg. Cordell goes down, but not without a fight. Unfortunately, there’s only so much he can do. But, just as it seems the bad guy has won, Liam shoots him and sends him sprawling. As a bonus, Liam recognizes the mystery man as one of the men that forced him to dig a grave.

But he has other things to worry about at the moment, such as Cordell laying a little too still on the floor. He tries to wake Cordell up, then he sees the syringe in the corner. He gets up and starts looking for a solution, when he sees a first aid kit on the wall. Luckily, it’s fully stocked and has exactly what he needs! He puts the adrenaline shot right into Cordell’s heart and saves his life, much to all our relief.

Liam and Cordell leave the abandoned building and rip off their masks, basking in the fresh air. Cordell assures Liam that he’s okay, then double checks that Liam is okay. Everyone is A-Okay.

Later, after the backup has arrived, Cordell and Liam sit on some old boxes while the professionals handle the site. Cordell confesses that he’s still in pain from the poison shot he was given and Liam tells him the EMTs said he was lucky to have made it. Cordell thanks Liam for saving his life. Liam says that it’s nothing, but it’s not nothing. Far from it.

Cordell then starts apologizing for making Liam shoulder all his pain alone for so long. He admits that he feels ashamed of himself. He then launches into a further explanation, how when he first heard Emily was pregnant with Stella, he quit the Marines so that he wouldn’t miss any more milestones. But, after Emily died, he ran away and missed so much of their lives while Liam held everything together. And he feels that, even now that he’s back, he’s missed out on so much.

Liam rushes to assure him that he hasn’t missed anything, that he’s back and present for them. Cordell retorts that when he was kidnapped, he missed Stella’s graduation and threw her whole life off course, not to mention Liam’s kidnapping. He says that he feels “It’s always my family that suffers because of me.” Liam tells him that that’s not true. He’s not responsible for Stella’s decision not to go to college or even for Sean kidnapping him. The only thing he’s responsible for his how he acts and reacts to situations.

Liam then thanks him for taking the leap and doing this with him. He knows they both still have a long way to go but this was a big help. He was able to face his worst trauma and move forward from it. He also feels a lot better walking down this road now that he knows Cordell will be there with him and listen to him. Cordell promises that he will and Liam reiterates, saying that sometimes all people need is to be heard. The sooner the better, really.

Side note: Anyone else get the sense that Liam was low-key telling Cordell to listen to Stella? There’s no way he didn’t overhear that whole conversation in the kitchen.

Before I dive into the big angst for this episode, I want to talk about what happened between Abeline and Cordell.

Just as Cordell is about to get ready for a day of dealing with his kids on zero sleep and too much coffee, Abeline comes bursting into the kitchen with Stella in tow and berating him for leaving her there overnight. Before she can get too far, he asks her why she bailed Stella out. Is she aware of how this looks? Stella would’ve been let out in 24 hours regardless. Abeline insists that he shouldn’t have left her at all because she’s his daughter, regardless of if she’s 18 or not. Cordell proceeds to talk about Stella as if she isn’t there and says that she needs a wakeup call. She can’t keep going on like this and expecting Cordell to clean up after her. Abeline insists that he should at least listen to her side of the story, but Cordell isn’t in the mood to listen to her lies, not anymore.

Side note: I know Stella didn’t technically do anything wrong this time, but this reaction from Cordell was a long time coming and I’m glad to see Cordell standing up for himself.

Cordell is also pissed because Abeline getting Stella out early has probably caused more issues for him to deal with at work. And, speaking of, Cassie is calling to tell him that since it’s a slow day, he can take time off to handle family issues. Cordell accepts her offer but is angry at his mother for calling into work for him about this. Is she aware of how this makes him look? What gave her the right to do that? Before she can berate him any further for not treating Stella like a 12 year-old, he tells her he has someone else he needs to hear out today, and goes to have a trauma-reliving day with Liam.

Now, for the final rung on our angst ladder: Stella, August, and Cordell.

Following the confrontation in the kitchen, Stella is furious to find a list of chores from her father. It’s bad enough that she had to face adult consequences for something she didn’t even do; now she’s being punished like a child at home for it too? Abeline tries to justify it, since Stella did do something wrong, but Stella takes the chance to finally tell someone that she wasn’t even the one to throw the party, it was all August and she only showed up at the end because he got locked in a supply closet.

Abby understands Stella’s frustration but admits that Cordell is having a rough time too; he’s not sure what to do with an 18 year-old.

Stella feels confused and neglected by Cordell. She says she wishes that her dad would just listen to her and hear her out like he used to. She feels like Cordell doesn’t know what to do with her anymore now that she’s gone off the path that he and Mom planned for her. Abeline listens to her and says that they can sort that out later, but for now, she and August need to get down to the Side Step and get to work on that list. Stella agrees, but says that she can’t guarantee her rap sheet won’t get longer if she’s left alone with August. Abby agrees to go with them and yells for August to come downstairs.

August tells her to use her inside voice and stumbles down the stairs in his pajamas, earning a Look from both Walker women. Abby tells him that he needs to get dressed and get moving right now because they have to clean up the mess from the Side Step. August says he can’t go do that today because he has dance set up. He is on the Homecoming Committee and he can’t go back on his word. Abby is taken aback but recovers and tells him to tell his ride to just pick him up there.

Following the title card, we get a shot of August recording a video of the damage done to the Side Step and looking awfully proud of himself. Abby comes up and tells him to stop recording and get to work, which he does, briefly.

Stella is not impressed with how he’s been acting. She says that she can’t believe he threw this party, got both of them arrested, and didn’t even bother telling Dad the truth. August counters that Dad never even gave him the chance to tell the truth. If anything, she should be mad at him. Stella is mad at Cordell, but she thinks August needs to apologize for his actions too. When August doesn’t offer one, she says that she doesn’t know “who you’re turning into but it’s not a good person and I don’t like it.”

August says that he thinks he’s just becoming his own person, stepping out of her shadow, and she’s mad that she doesn’t have a sidekick anymore. Stella has no idea where his attitude is coming from so August elaborates while Abby listens from the sidelines. Simply put, Stella was supposed to go to college this year. But she didn’t and now everyone is hyperfocused on her and what she wants to do. She is, as he puts it “holding everyone hostage with [her] indecision.” Stella argues that that’s not what she’s doing at all, or at least, not what she’s trying to do.

But that doesn’t matter to August. Whether she means to or not, she’s hogging the limelight. If she’s going to keep doing so, he may as well just keep doing whatever he wants. Who knows, he may even start to shine? He then starts leaving because his friend is here to pick him up, ignoring Stella’s cries that she’s not stopping him from shining.

Side note: If August can throw a rager for his entire class at school and get away with it by virtue of being The Ignorable Child, it’s only natural he’d keep acting out like this until he gets the attention he craves. It’s not smart or the right thing to do, but it’s the natural course of action. I’m here for Augie’s asshole arc.

Colton arrives, just in time to comfort Stella in her angst. Seeing Abeline and Stella hard at work on the messy bar, he asks either of them if they’ve eaten. They say they haven’t since the kitchen was a bit “hostile” during breakfast time and he offers to make them some Happy Curry, a little recipe he’s been working on. They take him up on the offer and he heads to the kitchen.

Side note: Happy Curry is a good substitute for Sad Cookies

Later, Stella and Abby nom on the fresh Happy Curry. Abby compliments his cooking and asks if he’s considered culinary school. Colton thinks this is just a hobby for now and they’re happy to benefit from it.

When Colton steps away, Abeline notices that Stella’s mood hasn’t been improved by the food. Stella admits that she feels a bit adrift. Even though she made the choice to stay in Austin, the ranch doesn’t feel like home anymore. Cordell doesn’t know what to do with her, August doesn’t want anything to do with her, and Colton is the only thing that makes her happy here (besides Mawline and Gramps of course).

Abby contemplates this and then tells Stella the story of her and her brother Will. When they were younger, they would fight constantly. She couldn’t say about what now, but she remembers feeling misunderstood and she decided to move out and stay with a friend for a bit. After a few months, she started to miss her brother. Stella asks if the space is what helped them appreciate each other, and Abeline amends that they both had a little bit of growing up to do on top of that. There’s nothing wrong with taking some time apart from your family, but don’t stay gone so long that you can’t come back.

Stella takes this as the blessing it is and later, we see her helping Colton set up residence in Geri’s house while she’s away. Colton feels strange, almost like he’s in a museum and shouldn’t touch anything. Then Stella reminds him that he belongs here and Geri wants him to be there.

Later, back at the ranch house, Cordell walks up to Stella’s room and knocks on the door. Bolstered by his experience with Liam, he starts apologizing to Stella for how he was acting earlier. He apologizes for leaving her behind in the holding tank, for not listening to her side of the story, for all of it. He says that he’s ready to listen to whatever she has to say now, and he waits. When he doesn’t get a response, he cautiously opens the door and sees his mother sitting on Stella’s bed. He’s confused, then he notices that her drawers are empty. Abeline then hands him back the chores list with everything marked off and tells her that Stella is gone.

And with that, our recap comes to a close.

I predicted that the fallout from the end of last week’s episode would be huge, and boy was I right.

I’m not surprised that August took the “Get out of Jail Free” card Cordell accidentally handed him. I’m a little disappointed but not surprised. If he really did try to confess but Cordell wouldn’t let him talk, he wouldn’t see a reason to keep trying. I am a little concerned about his “I’ll just do whatever I want” mentality. It’s natural for a teenager in his position, especially after watching Stella run amok with no consequences for the last two years. But I am worried that he’s going to end up doing something that he can’t come back from. I also do find it a little irritating that the show is framing it like a bad thing that August is getting away with this while continuously not giving Stella any consequences and treating that like it’s fine.

I was very irritated with how Abeline handled things in this episode. I understand her frustration with Cordell but she’s not in a position to be making parenting decisions for him and she was way out of line when she called Cassie to Puppet Master him into taking a day off. Even though Cordell was technically in the wrong with how he was handling things with Stella, she had no right to interfere with his professional life and she made a real mess for him to clean up.

Stella leaving wasn’t surprising and, as sad as it is for Cordell to have come around too late, I think it will end up being a good choice for all of them. I think it will give Stella a little room to grow up and having a break from her drama will hopefully give August a little perspective. I just hope she, August, and Cordell can reconcile after this. I think some apologies are due on both sides.

The best part of this episode was Liam and Cordell for me. Seeing them finally start moving forward on their trauma recovery together was surprisingly heartwarming. And now Liam’s saved Cordell’s life a second time! I hope we get more bonding moments between them.

I also hope that, now that Liam’s feeling better, we can get some time between him and August in the future. I think getting to talk to another overshadowed younger sibling will help August out.

After looking at the episode description and promo for next week’s episode, I fear that this week was the calm before the storm. The fact that there’s an emergency hospital trip AND a hunting trip in the same episode does not give me a lot of confidence.

This week’s episode of Walker brought a few characters their “Just Desserts”.

Since “Just Desserts” was so focused on the central event of the Walker Family Thanksgiving, I’m going to be covering all the hard-hitting action scene-by-scene. Also, I’m going to be doing things a little differently with this review and tone down on the detail a smidge to keep things manageable.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

We start with Abeline bringing firewood up to the ranch house. She’s leaving a voicemail message for her brother, Will, as she walks. She’s inviting him to the family dinner, but there’s an understanding that he likely won’t be coming.

After she sets the firewood down, she hears Cordell and Liam arguing outside and goes to investigate. On the back porch, she finds her sons preparing for a turkey hunt, a new Thanksgiving tradition Cordell cooked up in an attempt to give Stella a little FOMO and have her running back to the ranch. Bonham and Abby can see what he’s trying to do a mile away, no matter how much he tries to spin it, and Abby can’t help but comment that he’s going through a lot of trouble to avoid actually addressing the issue. But her comments and suggestions are shut down as part of another, more established Walker Thanksgiving tradition: Abeline may not have any say or part in the preparations for the big dinner.

Side note: The “Bonham” impressions from Cordell and Liam were so damn cute. Liam’s was better though

A quick ATV race across the ranch later and the Walker men have found a flock of turkeys. Cordell takes the lead on shooting them, but misses and scares them off. He starts panicking a bit, since they’re running out of hunting time if they want to have everything ready for the big dinner. Luckily, Liam is there to distract him with a little request. See, he’s invited Ben to their family event and he wants to include him in the Circle of Thanks, even though it goes against tradition. Cordell earns a few Good Brother points by allowing him an exception. But that doesn’t solve their turkey problem. Bonham then earns a few Smart Dad points by informing the boys that he bought a frozen turkey last week since he knew this whole endeavor was a pipe dream. Cordell accepts that but reminds them that they need to keep up the façade of having caught a wild turkey for Operation Guilt Stella Back To The Ranch.

A while later, we see Ben and Cassie arriving at the ranch. They’re getting ready for their own Thanksgiving tradition: Black Friday Shopping. Their last attempt wasn’t a huge success after a mealtime screw up on Cassie’s end, but this year will be different. They’re going to be lined up and ready for the doorbusting deals and get all those sweet, sweet discounts!

As they approach the house, Liam comes out to welcome them and gives them a rundown of the Thanksgiving schedule (dinner at 7-9pm and relaxing conversations until then), which clashes very hard with their shopping schedule. Ben was under the impression that this was going to be over a lot quicker. How are they supposed to be lined up at the mall at 7pm if dinner won’t start until after? Not wanting to be rude, the brother-sister duo says nothing to Liam’s face but secretly plot an escape plan once he heads back up the walk.

Meanwhile, at the Side Step, Stella and Colton are preparing a Thanksgiving buffet for a local women’s shelter. Colton is happy to have his girlfriend over for the holidays since the rest of his family is gone but Stella’s reasons for being there, however, are less than happy. She’s not impressed with her father’s attempts to lure her back to the ranch and she still can’t believe that August hasn’t come clean about the party. Colton thinks her going back wouldn’t be the worst idea, at least for the holiday, but he wisely backs down when prompted.

Side note: “Whose side are you on?” “Whichever one you tell me to be on?” “Good answer.” I probably should be concerned about this (especially considering that Colton allegedly fell for Stella when she was accusing him of keying her car) but it made me chuckle.

Colton gets a call from his parents and Stella takes the opportunity to get the trucks loaded up for the food delivery. But when she opens the door, she sees a closure notice from the city. August’s rager got their liquor license revoked because of all the underage drinking. Happy Thanksgiving!

Back at the ranch, Cordell, Liam, and August are working in the kitchen to get Thanksgiving dinner ready. Cordell and Liam are working in sync but August would clearly rather be doing something else. He’s not taking the art of Baked Alaska very seriously and he’s rude and snarky with Liam when called out on it. Liam is taken aback by this behavior but there’s not much time to dwell on it as Ben has just come onto the scene.

Ben is very happy that Liam invited him here but he’s decided to voice his concerns about the time conflict with his and Cassie’s plans. He wants to leave early, but Liam wants him to be there for the Circle of Thanks. Cordell comes up with the compromise of moving the Circle of Thanks up on the schedule to be during the dinner. Ben accepts that, just as long as they eat quickly so he and Cassie have time to line up for the good deals.

Side note: I love how awkward Liam and Ben are around each other. Liam was especially adorkable in this episode and it was a nice break in the angst

Back at the Side Step, Colton is unable to get a hold of Geri and Stella is freaking out. Colton thinks that they need to tell Cordell what’s happened and Stella is very much against that idea. She’s not about to get more blame heaped on her. Colton assures her it won’t be like that. They should have August tell him; this whole thing is his fault and he should be held accountable. They could just pop in, drop the bombshell on the dinner, and then leave and let August handle the fallout “for once”. Stella is hesitant but eventually agrees. She wants to see August get knocked down a peg or two.

Side note: The “for once” thing really bothered me. The past two seasons have shown Stella get away with one crazy antic after another with barely any consequence while August handled his own problems. Is Colton not aware of this? Getting away with one thing (no matter how big) and enjoying it is hardly a “deal with your own consequences for once” situation. Although I will say it is nice to see Colton do something besides be the Perfect Boyfriend this season. He was starting to get annoyingly Nice and Perfect.

Back at the ranch, Bonham is getting irritated with the Dallas Cowboys’ playing. Trey tries to defend them but, as that’s getting him nowhere with the Walker patriarch, he looks around for Cassie and finds her sitting in the other room on her phone. He assumes she’s prepping for Black Friday shopping but she’s actually texting Kevin. Turns out Mr. Golden isn’t the terrible politician stereotype she assumed he was. And she might even like him a little bit too.

Trey then gets an idea: she should invite Kevin to the dinner. He’s got a shift later tonight and he probably won’t be able to stick around for the meal anyway. Sure, it’s a little weird but that would be very on-brand for Cassie. She’s hesitant but agrees and sends him an invite before they head over to the kitchen to confirm with the Walker brothers. She’s a little thrown when Kevin accepts the invite but Cordell and Liam assure her that he’s welcome to join them.

Just then, Larry James arrives. He’s late but he has wine so it’s acceptable. He’s also a little overdressed for the occasion; the barrage of calls he’s been getting from the DA’s office prevented him from getting into his more traditional holiday garb. It’s a little sad that James misses having Liam in the DA’s office given his track record, but Liam is happy to hear that the people who kidnapped him and Cordell are getting what’s coming to them. Cassie then makes a joke about Grey Flag having a plan for his wardrobe, which causes Cordell to fumble the bottle he was holding. Cassie tries to spin it into a statement about being glad that they’re all together but it’s too late.

In the next scene, Cordell pulls Cassie away from the party to set up the table decorations (for Abby’s sake) and scolds her for mentioning The Name They Don’t Know while a thunderstorm rolls in the background. Cassie argues that James likely didn’t know that any of that information was in the evidence they delivered but Cordell counters that they don’t know what James knows with any certainty. If there’s any suspicion at all that they tampered with the evidence, it could spell big trouble. Cassie again assures him that as far as anyone else knows, they didn’t mess with what was in the box. It’s just a whole lot of fuss over nothing. Cordell accepts this answer, for now.

But there’s no time to think about that because Trey has just left the building and Stella has come to fill the void. The whole family is happy to see her, even if they don’t know what to do about Colton, but no one is happier than Cordell. His plan worked! His baby girl is back home, and things can get back to normal! He has Baked Alaska and everything!

But Stella’s not here for dinner. She’s here to talk to August. Cordell says that he’s up in his room (or, rather, Stella’s old room) and she wanders off without another word, leaving a very confused Cordell behind.

Side note: My heart broke a little for Cordell when Stella didn’t return his hug

Side side note: I found it funny that no one knew how to handle Colton being there. Like he was the stray puppy Stella found on her way home from school and no one knew how to tell her they couldn’t keep him.

We cut to Cordell moping in Bonham’s workshop. His father enters the room and pours a little liquid courage for this conversation. Normally he wouldn’t meddle in Cordell’s business (he leaves that up to Abby) but he’s been cutting August far too much slack lately; he’s got a blindspot. Cordell doesn’t know what he’s talking about. August wasn’t the one that lied to him for months. August wasn’t the one that randomly decided to quit college to throw ragers at a bar. August is the responsible and steady one and it’s always been that way. Bonham says that kind of thinking is the problem; August had a hand to play in every incident Cordell just listed. Cordell thinks that’s just Stella’s bad influence though. He knows August wouldn’t do anything crazy like that.

Before the conversation can go any further, the power goes out. Then, the storm knocks a tree branch through the kitchen window. Everyone jumps into action to clean up the mess and save what they can of the food but will it be enough to save Thanksgiving?

Side note: Love the ominous placement of the “This is our Happy Place” serving tray.

Stella finds August chowing down on candy in his room while everyone handles the mess downstairs. She’s not impressed with his behavior but he’s not exactly listening to her at the moment. She then hands August the closure notice and tells him it’s time to fess up. August refuses to. He tries to turn this “attack” into some twisted, sad guilt trip fueled by her insecurities; she’s floundering and doesn’t know what to do with her life, meanwhile he’s finally starting to thrive outside of her shadow. Stella isn’t taking his crap this time and asks him how he can be so proud of single-handedly getting the family business shut down.

Abeline comes in just then and finds out what’s going on. August starts to apologize to her but that’s not going to cut it. She tells August it’s time for him to fess up. Then, she tells both of them to figure out whatever it is that’s going on between them before it creates a rift they can’t fix and leaves.

Side note: Loving the parallels between Stella and August and Abeline and Will. Let’s hope the kids can learn from the mistakes of the past.

Downstairs, things are not improving. James’ flight is grounded so he won’t be seeing his family and Bonham can’t figure out why the generator hasn’t turned on. Liam thinks that it might be time to call off the dinner. They have no power and no food. What’s the point? Cordell isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. After all, everyone is stuck here at the ranch anyway with the storm going on. Why not just make the best of what they’ve got? That little speech is enough to convince Liam and off they go to cook some turkey.

In another area of the house, Abby is attempting to fix one of the bowls that got broken during the tree incident. James interrupts her by accident and messes up her progress but it’s not like she was going to be able to fix it anyway.

James then asks about the whole “Abby Walker Doesn’t Cook On Thanksgiving” tradition. It sounds like the most un-Abbylike thing in the world. She then decides to tell the story behind that little tradition. You see, 20 years ago, her mother died on Thanksgiving. It’s set the mood for the whole holiday ever since. They just dropped everything and rushed to the hospital. She remembers thinking that they needed to keep her feet warm because they seemed so cold, then her brother Will reminded her of why their mother’s feet were so cold. She also remembers having a huge fight with Will. What about, she couldn’t say, but she remembers the fury behind it all. And their relationship was never the same after that. So, her dear sons decided that after that very stressful day, their mother should never be stressed on Thanksgiving again and took over everything. It’s a welcome distraction.

On that heavy note, there’s a knock on the door. Cassie answers it to see Kevin, drenched and shivering. She’s surprised to see him there and so ill dressed for the weather. Once he’s inside in the (relative) warmth of the house, he tells her that the roads are closed out this way and he wanted to give them a warning. Cassie doesn’t think that’s the only reason and he eventually admits that he also wanted to have a second chance to make a good impression on her.

As if by magic, the power comes back on and the dinner is ready. Perhaps things are looking up?

The Walker Family (and guests) gather round the table to a great spread of food. Everyone is enjoying themselves…. Except Abeline has noticed that the bird is frozen in some places, which is odd since they allegedly killed it this morning. There are also some issues with the other dishes, including the “gravy”, which Liam and Cordell are falling all over themselves to apologize for. Also, August is being a bit rude to Kevin.

Stella takes advantage of the displeasure going around the table to point out that August hasn’t been eating much of anything. Almost like he was snacking before dinner. Abby tells them to can it and Cordell doesn’t appreciate her telling him how to parent. Cordell tries to keep things calm and offers to get the Baked Alaska ready to shake things up and move on to the Circle of Thanks. As the tension between the Walkers grows, Abby finally tells Stella to just show her father the closure notice.

Side note: It was a good idea to get the flamethrower out of Cordell’s hands at that point. But it may have come in handy later….

Cordell sees it and, while he does his best to stay calm, he’s not happy. Kevin says that he could probably help with getting their liquor license back but Cordell tells him not to worry about it. After all, Stella is an adult and she needs to start facing consequences for her actions. Stella is pissed, August is relieved, and Abeline can’t watch this go on any longer.

She tells Cordell in plain English that it was August who threw the party, got Stella arrested, and caused the Side Step to lose their liquor license. She’s not going to let him skate by on his privilege anymore because he’s so damn proud of himself for getting away with this and she can’t stand the person it’s turning him into.

August then quietly, but clearly, says that Abby doesn’t “have to be such a b*tch about it”, leaving everyone (the family, the guest, the audience, and even himself) shocked.

Side note: August is incredibly lucky that Bonham was willing to let Cordell sort him out or he might’ve been the one going to the hospital.

Side side note: Did anyone else hear the collective Walker Fandom gasp?

Needless to say, dinner is ruined.

We then cut to Liam and Ben outside. Liam says that he didn’t understand the whole Black Friday thing before but now he sees why some people escape into their phones on this day. He then apologizes to Ben for how awkward he’s been all day. He really just wanted Ben to be there for the Circle of Thanks so he could properly tell Ben how grateful he is for him. Ben appreciates that and apologizes for his own awkwardness. It’s just that Black Friday was a big tradition for him and Cassie and he wanted to do things right, now that they were on good terms again. However, his reluctance to say “No” to Liam’s invitation left him worried that he was putting his new relationship over his family. Liam had the same worries, which was part of the awkwardness. Luckily for him, Ben thought it was cute. Ben then suggests that Liam come join him for Black Friday shopping now that the roads are open and Liam is more than happy to leave this awkwardness behind.

Side note: Do Liam and Ben have a “Family places only” policy for kissing? This is the third time in a row….

Inside the house, Kevin is cleaning up the remains of the dinner. Cassie walks in and apologizes for the weird and awkward dinner. But Kevin actually enjoyed it; he didn’t have a big family and he’d always wondered what a big, chaotic family meal would be like. A bit weird for a first date, but entertaining. Cassie feels better about that and then admits that she feels really out of her depth when it comes to dating. Kevin says he’d be much more concerned if she was actually good at dating. She then says that the roads are open now and her current ride just ditched her. The unspoken invitation hangs in the air as she covers his hand with hers on the counter. Maybe she’s better at this than she thought…..

Meanwhile, Stella and Colton are taking their leave. Before they get too far, Cordell tells Stella to wait. She keeps Colton by her side, which makes Cordell uncomfortable but he needs to say this. He apologizes to Stella for how he handled this whole mess. He jumped to conclusions when she should’ve listened to her and he gave August far too much slack for the same reasons. He just hopes he’s not too late.

s much as Stella appreciates this, it’s a bit late (literally and figuratively) and the gap between them is a little too big to bridge right now. She’s going back with Colton.

Side note: I’m glad Stella didn’t forgive Cordell right away. As much fault as she has in this situation (Cordell didn’t jump to blaming her without precedent of wild behavior), he also made a lot of missteps and he’s only apologizing because he got smacked in the face with the truth. They’re going to need a lot of time to heal.

As he watches his daughter walk away, James steps out of the house. It’s time for him to go home too. But he, Cordell, and Cassie need to have a Talk sometime soon. That doesn’t bode well.

But that’s a problem for another day. Cordell has a Talk of his own to have right now with August.

Cordell isn’t sure how to handle this situation because, frankly, he doesn’t recognize August right now. And August doesn’t seem to either. He’s freaking out; he didn’t mean what he said, it just came out, he couldn’t stop himself. He doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do. Cordell tries to sooth August. This is a little bit his fault too.

He can recognize that this has been building up for some time and that he turned a blind eye to it for too long. He admits that, with everything going on with Stella, he forgot that August needed him too. He’s just used to August being able to take care of himself. He was August the Noble; what more could Cordell possibly have to offer him?

August doesn’t think that  version of himself was ever real; he’s just always been this terrible person deep down. Cordell doesn’t believe that for a second. He knows that August can be good, that he is good and he’s going to help August figure this out. He doesn’t need to be an adult to be a man, and that starts with how they treat and act around women. But first, August needs to apologize to his Mawline.

Side note: I’m glad they didn’t go the “August the Brat” route with this storyline but I do think Cordell could’ve yelled at August here. Just a little bit. for Mawline’s sake.

Side side note: Kale Culley did such an amazing job in this scene. He did a great job of showing August’s distress in realizing the kind of person he was turning into on his journey of Coolness. (This is what happens when you don’t hire 25-year-olds to play 16-year-olds.) Excellent job.

Speaking of Mawline, she steps outside of the house into a light snowfall. She starts walking on the grass and stumbles a bit. She recovers quickly and takes a few more steps before collapsing entirely and falling unconscious onto the grass.

Side note: Is it just me or is the spot she landed roundabouts where Hoyt died???

And with that, our recap comes to a close.

This episode was….A lot. But it was done really well.

I have to say, it’s impressive how fast Stella and August’s relationship devolved from going to the ends of the earth for each other to tearing each other apart, and Cordell was oblivious to the whole thing due to a mix of dealing with his own problems and willful ignorance. I’m not happy with Abeline’s insistence on interfering but, in this case, I’ll admit she might have had a point.

Liam and Ben and Cassie and Kevin were adorable, awkward, and just what the episode needed to give us small breaks in the tension this episode brought. Let’s just hope they can all go on less stressful dates in the future.

Speaking of the future, I can’t believe we have to wait until 2023 to find out what happens next! Why did Abby collapse? Is it the same thing that killed her mother? Will her brother finally come around? Will Stella, August, and Cordell be able to sort out the mess their relationship has become? Will the Side Step remain open? Will Cassie and Cordell be able to keep their badges? How will Geri react to all this? And what’s she up to anyway? I have so many questions!

Another outstanding episode. 9/10 (loses a point for coming right before a hiatus).

This week’s episode of Walker, “Cry Uncle”, didn’t involve nearly as much crying as I thought it would. But after the rollercoaster that was “Just Desserts” and the nail-biting nerves over whether the Walkerverse will be renewed or not, I think we deserved a small break from the angst.

This week’s plotlines were mostly isolated so I’m going to cover each plot individually.

Let’s start with Cassie and Trey and the Mystery of the Missing Detective.

We start of with Trey finishing his morning workout at the Ranger HQ gym. James approaches him with an update on Abeline and Walker. She will be out of the hospital that day and Cordell is taking a few days off to handle family matters. In the meantime, Trey will need to serve with Cassie on their newest case. But Trey won't be going to her for the details; he'll be filling her in. Trey seems unsettled by this development but James continues regardless.

A famous detective personality Victor Ziff has gone missing. With no warning he turned his phone off and dropped off into the void. Meanwhile, several bank accounts have been drained of billions of dollars and Ziff's wife is surrounded by a wall of lawyers. Troopers suspect fowl play and Madison Ziff is suspect number 1. Trey is ready to take on the challenge but, before he leaves, James gives Trey specific instructions. Things have been a little lax around HQ lately so, from now on, Trey is to keep him informed on everything happening in the field and run all his moves by HQ before acting. Trey agrees to this and, again, seems a little unsettled by James' words.

Cassie joins them shortly after and James curtly greets her before walking away. Confused, Cassie asks Trey what's going on and he says he'll fill her in on the way.

Cassie and Trey head to Madison’s workplace at a college campus to speak with her directly. While they wait, they discuss each other’s respective love lives (or lack thereof) with a lot of ribbing on both sides. But their banter is cut short as Madison arrives with one of her lawyers.

Side note: I would also like to know how things went with Cassie and Kevin on Thanksgiving.

Madison explains to them that she has no idea what happened to her husband. She hasn’t seen him in a while and they’re actually in the process of getting divorced. She doesn't know what he’s been up to or what’s going on with the accounts. Her lawyer steps in before she can say much more, but she leaves them with a parting message: her husband wasn’t the man they think he was. 

Trey latches onto the past tense and thinks Madison may be covering up Victor’s death. He also texts James to update him on the situation, which Cassie finds odd as he never asked her to do that.

Continuing with their casework, they go to Victor’s office to get a look at his financial situation. $7 billion dollars going missing is nothing to sneeze at and it’s definitely related to his disappearance. His assistant is happy to open Victor’s desk computer for them and seems especially worried for her boss.

Side note: Anyone else want that touchscreen desk?

Cassie goes through Victor’s finances and finds out he owns a lot of property around the city, mostly million-dollar properties. He could host his own house-flipping show with how much buying and selling he does. But there’s one property that sticks out: an old warehouse that he bought cheap and can’t sell because of structural damage. Trey, still stuck on Madison’s words, thinks it would make a good place to hide a body. Cassie seems to disagree but gets distracted by a call from Cordell.

Cassie steps aside to take the call and asks him what’s going on with James. She’s noticed him being really cold lately. Maybe he suspects them lying about peeking in the evidence case? Cordell knows James wanted to talk to him about something at Thanksgiving but they haven’t spoken much beyond that. They don’t get to talk much more since Cassie has a case to solve and Cordell has kids to wrangle.

On their way out of Victor’s office, Cassie suggests they drive by and check out the warehouse. Trey is skeptical and thinks they should tell James first in case they need a warrant. Cassie dismisses his concern, saying that there’s nothing wrong with driving by. Besides, she’s the superior officer; if anything goes wrong, she’ll take the blame. Trey doesn’t seem all that reassured but follows her lead anyway.

When they arrive at the warehouse, Cassie receives more financial information. It turns out that Victor had some tax debt and that he’s recently been making a series of payments that end up in the country of Moldova. Trey still thinks Madison is responsible, that she was trying to get her cut of Victor’s money before good ol’ Uncle Sam got his hands on it. But his line of thought is interrupted by the sound of gunshots coming from the warehouse. Cassie is out in a flash and Trey has to follow her before he can send word to James. He does put out a call for backup, though.

They follow the sound of gunshots into the back of the warehouse, only to find that it’s Victor playing a video game.

They arrest Victor, because even though faking your death isn’t a crime, tax evasion is. Victor tries to appeal to their romantic side with the story of his love for his Moldovan girlfriend, but it fails pretty spectacularly and he’s led away in cuffs.

Back at the office, Trey and Cassie are discussing their case-well-solved when James comes in and very tersely asks Trey what the hell he was thinking, disobeying a direct order like that? Trey was supposed to keep him updated and run everything by him first, not run off on his own like a vigilante. Trey tries to defend himself and Cassie tries to take responsibility, but James shuts them both down. He then says that maybe making Trey a ranger was a mistake and walks out, leaving everyone in the office very uncomfortable.

Side Note: First of all- James, how dare you? Secondly, I don’t think we’ve seen him discipline even Cordell this hard, especially not with an audience. I wonder if he’s facing pressure from the upper brass, or is paranoid over not having control of his rangers in the field…. Not that that makes this behavior acceptable, but I would understand.

Up next, let’s talk about Abby and Bonham and the Horrors of Mortality.

The episode picks up right where 3.07 left off, with Abeline collapsed on the ground. Cordell and August spot her first as they approach the main ranch house for a major apology from August. Cordell sends August to get his grandfather while he checks on his mother, who is unresponsive. Bonham rushes to her side when he sees her and begs her to open her eyes while Cordell sends August to get the truck to take her to the hospital.

When they arrive, Cordell explains the situation to the doctor as Abby is carted away. Bonham stays by his wife's side for as long as he can but ultimately the doctor has to put him in the waiting room.

Stella and Liam join the sad trio a few moments later, both worried about Abeline. Hugs are shared between family members- except August, who sits awkwardly to the side until Cordell invites him to the party.

The doctor informs the family that Abby had a minor stroke but will most certainly recover. Bonham then visits Abby in her room and she starts reminiscing about the first time they went to the hospital together after Bonham made some undercooked spaghetti and meatballs. Bonham doesn't want to have that kind of conversation; he'd rather think about a future with her than dwell in the past like they don't have one.

Side note: Liam and Abby talking about Ben was really sweet. This show knows how to make my heart melt.

After Abby returns home, Bonham goes overboard on keeping her healthy. He gets rid of any and all foods in the house that contain salt and gives her compression socks to help with her blood pressure, among other things. Abby tries to discuss the topic of updating their will but Bonham won’t even hear it. He’d much rather think about keeping her alive than worry about her being dead.

This behavior continues, much to Abby’s annoyance. Bonham is worried about her stressing herself with the housework and not taking care of herself. He even goes as far as to research a holistic vitamin regimen. Abby appreciates that he cares but she’s not going to stop living her life just because of one little stroke. She understands that it’s a serious condition, but she can peel potatoes without having a doctor on standby.

She also points out that he’s being a little hypocritical given how he handled his cancer diagnosis. Between him not telling her about it in the first place and then refusing to get treatment afterward, it’s a little ridiculous that he would start playing Health Guru now. She again presses him about the will.

Bonham agrees to back off on the health stuff, but he won’t talk about the will. The fear of losing her is still fresh and he’s not ready to think about a life without her just yet.

Later, Bonham catches her folding laundry (one shirt at a time thank you very much) and tells her that he made a healthy alternative for dinner. Abby, tired of his nonsense, tells him that he’s stressing her out with all the health stuff and she’s tired of it. She loves him and she appreciates the concern but he’s pushing her patience. He walks out of the room sullenly and, feeling bad for blowing up on him, she follows him to apologize.

Abby makes it to the dining room to find a simple romantic dinner set up with Liam serving wine. Bonham tells her that he listened when she was talking earlier. He admits that he’s just afraid of losing her and has been ever since they got married. But he promised to stand by her sides in both good and bad times and pretending that bad times won’t come isn’t doing either of them any good. So, he’ll lay off on the health nut stuff, and maybe they can talk about the will tomorrow. But, for now, they have whole wheat pasta and low sodium marinara, with meatballs made by Liam.

Side note: Bonline is the only ship in this show that has any rights. I love them your honor.

Now it’s time to talk about the main event of the episode: The Sibling Reunion Extravaganza!

After Abby’s return home, August makes the time to apologize to her for how he's been acting lately, especially for what he said at Thanksgiving. He feels responsible for sending her to the hospital and Bonham's behavior around him has only compounded that. Abeline quickly assures him that what happened to her was not his fault. She knows he's a good person and that he's just been struggling lately. He'll find his way back to himself eventually; everyone says things they regret. They hug it out and August goes to put away their tea.

Next, Cordell and Abby have a talk. Cordell made sure that August apologized first and foremost and she can rest assured that that boy's punishment is far from over. Abby scoffs at the idea of further punishment and suggests that he take the kids on a road trip to Dallas instead, to visit dear old Uncle Willy. She wants to see him again and hopes that Cordell can convince him to come down for a visit. It's Cordell's turn to scoff now; Abby has made repeated attempts to connect with him over the years and he's refused contact. Maybe it's time William makes the effort. Abby just says that her brother is stubborn and insists that he goes and who is he to say no?

On the car ride to the bed and breakfast Cordell booked, Stella and August are ignoring each other in the backseat. Cordell tries to get some conversation going and tells August that his uncle Liam was named after their great-Uncle William, Abeline’s brother. August questions why Abby would do that if they’re on such bad terms that they haven’t spoken in two decades and relates to being the black sheep of the family. Cordell tries to insist that he’s not, but August has stopped listening by now.

What comes next can be best described as a train wreck. August tries to politely ask Stella for a charger for a phone, but Stella gets irritated by him taking her earbuds out to ask. He calls her a toad, which sets off a tangent of arguing over which of them sucks the worst: August for sending Mawline to the hospital or Stella for any of her various crimes.

After a few minutes, Cordell gets tired of their nonsense and pulls over, kicking them out of the truck. There’s three miles still to the B&B, which should give them plenty of time to get over themselves. With that, he drives away.

Stella and August arrive at the B&B sometime later and start looking for their Dad. Stella tries to ask the man at the front desk, who abrasively tells them to leave and that he’s booked full for the weekend before she can even get a word out. Stella matches his temper and August tries to calm them down without much luck.

Then, Cordell arrives, and Stella haughtily introduces him as their Texas Ranger father. Cordell then clears up all the confusion by introducing this man as their great-uncle William.

Side note: Fun fact- William is played by Jeff Kober, aka the chatty inmate from Supernatural episode 2.19 “Folsom Blues”!

William isn’t happy to see Cordell either and tells them, again, that the B&B is booked full. Cordell doesn’t give up and says that not only do they have a reservation, but they have a message from his estranged sister: Abby wants him to come visit. She had a mini-stroke recently and, while she is on the mend, she’d like to try and repair their relationship before it’s too late. William rejects the olive branch and says Abby can call him. When Cordell retorts that Abby has called him, every Thanksgiving since that fateful argument, William says that what’s between them has been going on for over two decades and that she’s caused him too much pain to even think about trying to repair their relationship. But he can’t turn away paying customers so they can stay. For now.

As Cordell and the kids leave to unload the truck, he compliments Will on what he’s done with Meemaw’s house.

Side note: “These are your kids? Figures.” I love Will already! I hope we see him again.

The next morning, Cordell, Stella, and August are having a very quiet breakfast and Cordell tries to broach the subject of healing their relationship. There’s been a lot of hurt and anger around recently but they’re family. So, let’s talk.

Stella starts things off by asking why August hates them and acts like he doesn’t want to be part of their family. August asks if she has anything else she’d like to say to make him feel worse than he already does, and the arguing starts up again. Cordell tries to stem it but appears to give up and leaves the table, telling them to do whatever they want.

The siblings sit across from each other in silence for a few seconds before Stella again broaches the subject of August’s recent behavior. August shuts her down and calls her a toad again, which causes Stella to realize something. She knows why August has been acting like this: he misses Mom.

August tries to deny it, but Stella pushes onward. She points out that, as much as August feels Cordell favors her, she always felt that way about his relationship with Emily. She reminds him that “toad” was Emily’s special nickname for August and that their relationship always seemed so easy. They were so close, and he feels lost without her. August calms down and sees Stella’s point. He says that their mom had a way of making things make sense and Stella agrees.

Side note: I need flashbacks of Emily and August now please.

Stella then makes him an offer. She knows she can’t be what Emily was for him, but if he needs anybody to yell at or vent to, she can be that person. After all, she’s a little less precious than Mawline and she can take it. This leads to a comparison between all the crap Stella’s pulled over the past couple of seasons and August sending Abby to the hospital. The camera pans out and we see Cordell standing just outside the room, smiling as his children reconcile.

Side note: Yes, Stella, you have done much worse. So very much worse. Glad to see you acknowledge it.

The next day, Stella and Cordell are waiting in the truck for August when Cordell commends her on how she handled things at breakfast with August. Stella admits that she really just didn’t want her relationship with August to get as bad as Abby and Will’s did. The idea of her own brother not caring that she was ill is scary.

Cordell then suggests that they start doing more family stuff like this, just the three of them. Maybe Sunday dinners to start with. Stella agrees…as long as Cordell doesn’t cook. We don’t need a repeat of the Noodle Incident.

August comes out with no sign of Uncle Will, which is a bummer for them and for Abby, but at least they tried. As they pull away from the building, Will comes running out to stop them. He tells Cordell that he thought a lot about their conversation of yesterday. He does miss Abby but he’s just not ready for a visit yet; there’s too much hurt. Cordell can respect that, but Will would do well to remember that they won’t always have time to mend things. Will comments that Cordell got his uncle’s wisdom and bids them farewell.

Back at the ranch, Cordell finds Abby prepping some jam jars to give away. He regretfully informs her that Will didn’t feel up to a visit but she’s just glad he tried. And it was nice for Will to get to meet the kids. Cordell then thanks her for pushing all of them to go on the trip to try and mend the break between Stella and August. Abby initially denies such an accusation of meddling, but Cordell can see right through her. Luckily for them, it worked.

Then, miracle of miracles, William calls her. Abby doesn’t know what to do or what to say and tries to get Cordell to answer for her but, unlike her, he’s not keen on meddling in her relationships. He assures her that she’ll figure out what to do and leaves her to it. He smiles seeing her answer the phone and talk to her brother for the first time in almost two decades.

We now come to the final scene of the episode, where Bonham visits Cordell with a serious topic in mind: he thinks it’s time for Cordell to move off the ranch. No, it’s got nothing to do with Abby’s health scare (and she’d be mad if he knew they were even talking about this). But Stella has already moved out and the farmhouse was only ever supposed to be temporary anyhow. It’s time for Cordell to get back on his own feet and have his own space again, just for his family. Cordell agrees, because what else can he say, but we get the sense that he’s not entirely onboard with the idea.

With that, our episode comes to a close.

This was a surprisingly light episode for season 3. We’ve had a lot of heavy angst and I think this was a nice break, but I suspect this was only the calm before the storm.

I liked seeing Stella and August repair their relationship. Stella realizing what the root of August’s problem was shows just how strong their bond is and I think that whole scene was acted beautifully.

I also liked that Will wasn’t 100% ready to fix things between him and Abby just yet. He’s ready to extend an olive branch but there’s too much hurt there to go much further than that. I hope we get to see him again in the future and that we see him and Abby fix things.

James’ attitude this episode was very off-putting. The way he told Cassie to shut up and how he “disciplined” Trey in front of the whole squad was unsettling and almost out of character. I suspect in future episodes we’ll find out that he’s in hot water because of something his more excitable rangers (*cough cough* Cordell and Cassie *cough cough*) did in the field but that behavior was inexcusable. Questioning if Trey should even be a ranger after letting him on because he was willing to make split-second decisions and go off book to get the job done is a crazy quick shift and I hope there’s a deeper layer to this and it’s not just bad writing.

Overall, this was a pretty good episode: 7/10. Mostly heartwarming with just enough angst to make it a drama.

But those are just my thoughts. What did y’all think? Was James being too harsh? Should Cassie have let Trey follow orders? Were you as happy as I was to see Cordell being treated as a competent parent? Are you ready to see Cordell and the kids move off the ranch? Have Stella and August completely healed or is there more work to do? And will Bonham ever be able to look at August the same way again? All questions to be answered in the future.

Walker is back this week and they came back with a bang. From family drama to assassination plots, our cast is dealing with a lot of twists and turns during “Past is Prologue”.

This week, the plotlines were fairly isolated so I’m going to do this recap on a plot-by-plot basis, starting with the simplest one: The return of Kelly James.

We start off at Ranger HQ, where James is assuring someone on the other end of the line that he does, in fact, have his rangers under control. Just then, his wife surprises him by coming in on an earlier flight. She also comes bearing good news, that she will share with him after some sushi.

Later, after they’ve had something to eat, Kelly tells him that she’s received a big offer at work. She would be scouting for talent from a satellite office instead of jetting around everywhere. And she’d be doing it all from Austin. When James doesn’t immediately respond positively, she gets worried, but he assures her he’s happy, just processing.

A little later, we see them working on their respective jobs side by side on the couch. James frets over Cordell not answering his calls and Kelly asks that’s wrong. James tells her some of what’s been going on at the office lately and Kelly offers comfort. James then mentions that he’s worried he hasn’t gotten better at being open with her about work. Kelly tells him that he’s made more improvement than he realizes. She doesn’t need a constant play-by-play of the work drama, but she doesn’t want him to hide it away. Just the two of them sitting here and doing their own things, together, is perfect.

Later, Kelly comes downstairs in a robe with a bottle of wine to see why her lover is late for their bath. James is visibly nervous when he hands her a key to his rental. She’s a little confused since she already has a key (and the security code) and he explains that it’s more of a symbolic thing. He’s so ready to move back in with her now that she’ll be here for work. It’s great timing since they’ve reached a spot in their lives where they can just focus on themselves. Kelly appreciates the gesture but suggests that they get their own place. His “mid-life-crisis” rental is very nice but maybe they can get a house with a yard and a pool for JD. James agrees and off they go to more romantic things.

Side note: “Oh he’s got pool money?”- I love it when the parents in this show act like parents.

Up next, we have the Walker Horse Rescue.

Bonham, Abeline, and August are sitting around the kitchen island for breakfast. August has been working his butt off at the Side Step to pay back for all the alcohol that was used at the party but it’s slow going. However, he’s still had time to notice that there’s a lot of construction activity going on at the ranch because of the horse rescue Liam and Stella are running. Bonham is still annoyed about the whole thing, especially because of all the decisions being made without his say so. He may as well not even be there.

Side note: Bonham, I get being angry but maybe don’t tell your grandson you may as well be dead? Especially so soon after everything with Abby?

Abby asks for a moment alone with her husband and tells him she noticed he’s changed his chore routine from the morning to the evening. It’s almost like he changed his routine just to avoid his son and granddaughter, a claim Bonham vehemently denies. He was just making a change, that all.

Meanwhile, at the Walker Horse Rescue, things are going swimmingly. There’s a million things Stella and Liam still need to do but they’re making progress. For example, they’ve already set up a website and gotten a logo designed. They’re about to start a photoshoot for the website when Abby and Bonham drop by. Abby seems impressed with what they’ve done while Bonham is more skeptical. He especially takes offense that they designed a new logo for their business to replace their traditional family brand. He storms off, leaving Abby to assure their son and granddaughter that he just needs a little time to cool off.

Later, Abby interrupts Bonham’s brooding to insist he speak to Liam about everything going on between them. She doesn’t want him to have any regrets going into the afterlife (which he will one day, even if he doesn’t want to think about it). Bonham tries to brush off her concerns but she insists, using her relationship with her brother as an example.

She goes on to say that he’s right: Liam and Stella should’ve talked to him first and he’s right to be upset that they didn’t. But they’re doing something great and he should acknowledge the work they’ve put in.

Side note: I like that they’re not making Bonham the bad guy here. I was worried there would be a lot of guilt-tripping with him.

Later, Bonham heads to the horse rescue and finds Liam mucking out the stalls. Liam apologizes to Bonham for going ahead with everything without his consent. Bonham then tells Liam a little more about why he was upset. In the beginning, he’d accepted that neither of his sons were going to be ranchers and that was fine so long as they were happy. Then Liam said he wanted to work on the property and that got Bonham thinking about what their future would look like. Then Liam found a new passion and he found it hard to let go of that vision. But, if it makes Liam happy, Bonham can accept it.

He's still not a fan of the new logo though.

Next, we need to talk about Trey.

Trey is bouncing back after being fired from the Rangers. He’s understandably annoyed about losing his job like this but he doesn’t blame Cassie or Cordell for what happened. Cassie is worried about their relationship but Trey assures her there’s no problems between them.

Later, he’s golfing with a man he met at the VA, Andrew. After a rousing game out on the court, Andrew has a job offer for him. He ignores Trey’s insistence that he’s not ready to get back out there and says they need a man with Trey’s talents. When Trey is still hesitant, Andrew offers him a binder with a test. It’s the schematics for an upcoming gala that his people will be doing security work for. Something about the setup seems odd. If Trey can figure out what it is, he’s got the job.

Later, Trey is going over the blueprints for the building and the surrounding area in his apartment. Suddenly, he sees what the problem is and calls the number Andrew gave him. He’s unable to speak with Andrew but he tells the person on the other end of the line about a tunnel connecting the event hall where the gala is being held to a nearby building. The tunnel is closed now but it still poses a security threat. After a beat of silence, the person on the other end congratulates Trey and tells him they’ll be in touch soon about the next step of the hiring process. Trey ends the call and celebrates.

Later, Trey and James meet up on a dirt road. After Trey confirms that no one followed him here, he asks James if everyone bought the story that he was fired. James says that everyone did buy it and they’re being very salty toward him about it. But the good news is, they were correct in their suspicions about Andrew, the guy at the VA, and Trey now has an in at the organization he was working for.

Side note: HA! I KNEW IT! TREY IS UNDERCOVER BABY!!!!

Now, let’s discuss the main (and heaviest) plot of the episode.

Cassie finds Cordell sitting at his desk at Ranger HQ. After confirming there’s been no headway on getting Trey his job back, Cassie asks if there’s been any further progress on his secret investigation with Julia into who’s hunting down his old Marines unit. Cordell confirms that there has been no progress on that and confesses that he’s not sure if there even is a hunt. When Cassie insists on helping him figure it out, he can’t say no, so off to the corkboard they go.

Side note: I kind of love Cassie’s little dig about Cordell not involving her in that investigation but, in Cordell’s defense, he did try to call her….

Cordell shows Cassie all the information he has so far. As it stands, two of the four remaining members of their unit (aside from the late Sergeant Cooper) are dead, leaving only Cordell and Tommy. Truth be told, Cordell isn’t sure there’s much to be suspicious of; sometimes people just die and faking a heart attack isn’t easy. Cassie insists they should take everything into account and starts reading through the police report on the car accident that killed Sam Turner.

When she reads that the car that had been following Turner honked and spooked him, Cordell is confused. He remembers that Turner lost his hearing during a land mine incident in Afghanistan and would’ve been deaf or near deaf by the time of the accident. A car horn wouldn’t have spooked him. Maybe that accident wasn’t an accident after all. This bolsters Cassie to continue looking into things and she looks up what happened to Robert Ortiz, who died of a heart attack. She suggests they speak to his widow. Cordell doesn’t think they should involve her in case they turn out to be wrong, but Cassie insists they go.

They meet with Ortiz’s wife at her home to talk about what happened when he passed. She said that things had been going very well for them until he got a new job as a military contractor. Something triggered his PTSD and he started changing his behavior, even getting into drugs. When she says he’d been strait-laced his whole life, Cordell has a flashback to their time in Afghanistan, when Ortiz had a drug problem.

When Ortiz’s wife asks if he was alright, Cordell snaps out of his trance and expresses his condolences for her loss. He then starts to ramble about how everyone in their unit, including Ortiz, had their vices and that he remembers Ortiz went to great lengths to hide his from her. She is offended at what Cordell is suggesting and tells them both to leave her house.

Outside, Cordell tells Cassie that he knew this was a bad idea and that he needs time to process everything. Cassie is worried about him but agrees to let him go for now.

As disastrous as the meeting with Ms. Ortiz was, Cassie and Cordell agree that it means there’s definitely something up with both Turner and Ortiz’s deaths. So, they head out to meet with Tommy and make a game plan on what to do next. However, when they arrive, Tommy’s security is down and there’s a bloody trail leading up to his house. Cordell storms into the house first, gun raised, and sees Tommy sitting tied to a chair. Someone had been there recently and beat him to near-death. Cordell immediately goes to his brother-in-arms and starts trying to bandage him up but Tommy tells him to leave it. Cassie agrees; whoever did this was just here.

Just then, someone runs out of the house. Cordell tells Cassie to go after them while he sits with Tommy in his final moments.

Side note: This part of the episode really broke my heart. I can only imagine what went through Cordell’s head while he watched his former brother die. I can only hope Tommy found some comfort in not dying alone.

Cassie runs to her truck and a car chase ensues. She catches up with the perpetrator rather quickly and demands he pulls over. When he rams into her car, she tries again to get him to pull over, only for him to hit her again. She slows down in an attempt to get him to run himself off the road and slow down, but he’s going too fast and his car rolls instead. She stops her truck and runs out to check on him, but the man who was driving the car (who we now recognize as Andrew) is dead. Near him, she sees a folder in the wreckage, and she pulls it out. On top of the folder is a paper with the logo for Grey Flag on it.

Cordell pulls up to the scene shortly after. Cassie confirms that she’s okay and that the man who killed Tommy is dead. She also shows Cordell the file she found. This all confirms their theory: Cordell’s former Marine unit is being hunted down, and he’s the last one on the list. Cordell decides it’s time to read James in on all this.

And with that, our recap comes to a close.

This was another banger of an episode from the Walker crew. I felt there was a good balance of family drama and casework in this episode and I was hooked on every second. And I have so many questions about next week. What is Trey up to and are Cassie and Cordell going to be looped in on it? What are they going to do about the target on Cordell’s back? Is the Walker family going to be let in on that little secret or is Cordell going to try to keep it from them? And is Geri ever going to come back with her Hoyt Rawlins folder???