Wrangling Walker Season Three Episode Fourteen “False Flag Part 1”

Another solid episode—Walker is on a roll! Here’s hoping they keep it up and finish season 3 strong.

I’m going to go light on the recap to comment on the action—and the really big Supernatural shout-out we got this week!

Trey

Trey meets with Kevin and assures him he’s totally onboard with whatever it takes. Trey goes looking for the notebook he dropped, and breaks into the headquarters office, finds his phone locked in a desk, and gets a message to Captain James that there’s going to be a bomb at the medal ceremony.

He goes along on the ride to hide the explosives at the ceremony. The location’s security guards don’t take his hint to back off and get shot. During the firefight, Trey switches sides and helps stop the Gray Flag operatives. It turns out that the explosives were dummies, but at least his warning got the FBI to take the threat seriously. Kudos to Trey for playing such a dangerous role so well!

Cooper was at the medal ceremony, and seemed to have Kevin in his sights. Since the bomb didn’t go off there, I’m wondering what’s going to happen when Cooper catches up to Kevin.

Cordell, Cassie, and Captain James

Cordell has passed out or fallen asleep still cuffed in the cabin. Emily’s ghost prods him to get loose. Cordell says he’s questioning everything, given what Cooper told him, and what Cordell believed about Cooper and tried to emulate.

Captain James briefs the FBI, but the Feds just want to monitor for now, they’re afraid of another Waco. Cassie argues and is shut down, so she goes searching for Walker. She’s got good instincts. It’s clear that James is impatient as well, but he knows how to play by the rules.

Cordell figures out how to blast the lock on his cuffs without sending a bullet ricocheting around the cabin (I was worried there for a minute). Cassie tracks him and arrives shortly after he gets loose. I loved the line “please tell me you didn’t read from a book bound in human flesh and inked in blood’. Nice shout-out for the Book of the Damned in Supernatural!

He apologizes for taking off without her. She tells him that they’ve confirmed Kevin is the leader of Gray Flag. Cordell hasn’t been able to reach Julia.

Julia calls Cordell and wants to meet with him. She is being sent on assignment to Europe and won’t be back for months, effectively letting him know that there’s not going to be a relationship between them (and making me wonder why she’s being reassigned when the subject of her investigation hasn’t been fully wrapped up). Then she goes off on Cordell doubting whether he’s with Gray Flag. Cordell tells her about Kevin. Julia’s reaction—suddenly accusing Cordell and then just as quickly being reassured—struck me as odd. I’ve had doubts about her all this time, and I wonder if we’ll find out that she was actually not what she seemed.

Cordell gets a call that the bomb was fake just as a car at the safe house blows up. He’s hurt, and it looks like Julia might be dead. (If so, there goes the Sam Winchester curse again!)

How did someone (presumably Gray Flag) know to have a bomb at the safe house? They couldn’t count on anyone being there—until Julia asked Cordell to meet her there. Did Julia set Cordell up? Was she then betrayed by her people who detonated the bomb to get rid of both of them? Blowing up a safe house wouldn’t accomplish anything, so my bet it on the double-cross. If that’s the case, then who was Julia working for?

The Family

On one hand, there was less family drama than usual—and on the other, the family was at the heart of the danger.

Kevin has insinuated himself into the Walker family. He’s helping in the kitchen at the ranch, encouraging Auggie to give the speech at the medal ceremony, and acting fully invested in the event. Liam and the kids seem to buy in. I’m not so sure Abeline and Bonham do, but it might be a case of ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’

Kevin is all smiles, hoping that there’s not ‘weirdness’ with Cassie. Cordell is picking up very different vibes, getting a threatening subtext to Kevin’s interaction with Auggie. Kevin mentions that Julia refused his medal.

Auggie and Stella are angry about Cordell not taking the event seriously. I do wonder if they comprehend the nature of his job. but compared to times past, this is pretty mild. Auggie is trying to do a good job on his speech, and Stella is being a good big sister.

Cordell asks Liam and the kids not to attend the ceremony and make sure Abeline and Bonham are safe. For once, no one digs in their heels. A true miracle!

I’m still not sure why Cordell’s family still doesn’t seem to understand that he doesn’t have a nine-to-five job. Maybe it’s the push-pull of knowing what the job demands and still wishing it didn’t ask so much. I can understand resenting how much it takes from someone in Cordell’s role, but at the end of the day, the family has to decide whether they want him in or out and be supportive.

Trey’s cover has been blown, so I’m guessing he’ll be back with the Rangers. Cooper is the wild card, especially if Julia really is dead. Kevin also has to realize that his role is now known to the Feds if not to the public because Trey was part of the firefight in the parking garage. It’s going to be interesting to see what he does next, because he’s cornered.

I want to find out Cooper’s part in all this, and what radicalized Kevin. Is Kevin the head honcho, or does he have a bigger boss? I also think there’s more we don’t know about Julia. It should be a wild ride to the end of the season!

As always, Jared and the cast did a great job!

What do you think?

Find more of Gail’s commentaries on her Writer’s Page.

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Images courtesy of The CW. Illustrated by Nightsky.