Walker Roundup: Season Four Episode Three “Lessons from the Gift Shop”

The third episode of Walker titled “Lessons from the Gift Shop” is all about the need for communication with a nod to the art of Kintsugi “Embracing the broken and rolling that history into the future,” with gift-shop gifts brilliantly sprinkled into all the storylines. Because communication is the theme, the episode dealt more with pairs than individuals, starting with …

Cordell and Geri

Even at the beginning of the episode, Cordell is explaining to Liam and Trey how he is having issues with communicating his feelings for Geri to her. They rib him for not saying “I love you” by telling each other that. Trey has the brilliant idea to start small, like with a drawer.

It’s too bad Trey had to go be Drill Sergeant Barnett to high schoolers, because Cordell could definitely use more training. His version of giving her a drawer is taking a drawer, dumping it on his bed and going “ta-da!”

He IS trying, but it’s reminiscent of the boyfriend level of “Unpacking,” a game that tells a story through unpacking a person’s belongings throughout their life. When she moves in with her boyfriend, everything is so set in and to his taste, that it’s hard to fit her stuff in. So hard, in fact, that the hard-earned diploma can only be placed under the bed, or above the toilet.

For her part, Geri is thrilled at the gift and even reassures him that it’s not a stupid one. But things get even worse when Cordell gets mad and storms off when he finds out Geri accidentally got rid of moth-eaten shirt, that he had forgotten existed, because it had sentimental value, a gift shop gift that Emily gifted him, that he feels Geri should have known about because she was on the same trip. Before he leaves, he mutters about how he thought she was just “making space.” 

The thing is, he should have made space for her. In another level of “Unpacking,” later the girlfriend moves in, and the protagonist has moved everything to make actual space, even their diplomas hang side by side. People are always more important than things, so Cordell’s rant that he can’t trust Geri anymore because of this one accident with one item is irksome. (In fairness, other fans feel differently, and felt his anger was justified.)

Fortunately, Abeline is able to help Cordell see he is being unfair. “You can experience things together and still not have the same experience,” she sagely advises. She reminds him that his life with Emily exists in how he remembers her, not one thing. She reiterates what she said at her 40th anniversary party, that relationships are about choosing each other every day. She also stresses to him the importance of communication and tells him to clear this up with Geri. This leads to an amazing scene that Jared and Odette knock out of the park as they portray two people choosing each other. They both apologize, even though Geri tells Cordell he doesn’t have to, making him much better than the game boyfriend. When Cordell asks if Geri had a gift shop gift that Hoyt gave her that holds special sentimental value, he discovers that it’s the coffee mug he broke. He feels bad, but she reassures him. She just wants him to know everything, because they are together now. This prompts him to want to tell her how he feels, but he is still scared. One of the brilliant things Jared does to show Cordell’s nervousness is the very real change in speech pattern to staccato rambling, that Geri is able to calm by holding his hands.

It’s a beautiful bond these two share which makes their then exchanged “I love you” all the sweeter. Their relationship is built on love, understanding, support, mutual attraction, and gentle teasing. This scene showcased all of that and was much better than what the Season 4 trailer teased.

Later, Geri finds that Cordell has glued back together the coffee mug, that interestingly enough is from the bank chain that Hoyt and Cordell robbed in Season 1, which is almost like Kintsugi that was brought up earlier by …

Liam and Cassie

It was wonderful seeing these two together, because they rarely have scenes together. These two exemplify how to communicate and the audience is able to discover so much about them by just listening. Liam always wants to help people and puts their needs first, sometimes to his detriment. An example is that he wanted a personalized keychain from a gift shop, and though “William” would be easy enough to find, “Cordell” isn’t.

So, he never got one because he didn’t want his brother to be left out. What a sweetheart. But Cassie reminds him that he needs to put himself first sometimes, after, of course, he finishes helping her. For her part, Cassie has never slowed down enough to do want she really wants, and also has a hard time letting go. Though she is absolutely correct that physical media is important, she needs help to also choose herself starting with getting rid of what was weighing her down, which Liam helps her do by keeping her on track. Ashley and Keegan are delightful, and their sibling energy is a joy to watch.

So, when Cassie comes out of HQ proudly holding a “Liam” keychain to give Liam, and he, in turn, has bought her bot fight tickets, it’s very heartwarming. A stark contrast to the scenes with …

Stella and Sadie

Through a flashback to the night of the break in, it is revealed that it was Sadie that started the lie about not knowing Witt. Many viewers are suspicious of Sadie, but it could just be she doesn’t trust the police. Even Stella, whose father is a Ranger, has seen the dark side of the police force.  Communication becomes key between the two because as Stella says, she can’t read Sadie’s mind. With Stella now taking control, she  realizes Sadie lives in a world where normal people aren’t the target of a secret cabal, as the Walkers often are.

Which Stella has to inform Sadie of because she’s not used to it. Now Sadie is a part of this crazy family, she needs to adjust her thinking. All of Sadie’s doubts vanish when they find Stella Red doused in gasoline with special matches, that may or may not be from a gift shop, and a picture of Witt.

 

Stella and Sadie still aren’t communicating with the adults, however, even though several offer and they definitely should. This leads to an intense cliffhanger where seemingly Witt has come back from the dead and, pointing a gun at Stella’s head, tells her to drive.

On the opposite spectrum, someone who listens to adults is …

August and Trey

August is trying hard to prove he’s gotten better from last year. He has a little bit of a hiccup when he shows up late to boot camp, and messes up again by calling Drill Sergeant Barnett, “dude.”

He does have the wherewithal to ask Drill Sergeant Barnett if he is upset with him. This gives Trey the opportunity to give great advice about how the military is about teamwork, but he uses a brilliant musical analogy that speaks directly to August’s past. Auggie then becomes his own gift shop by donating all his music equipment to the “Rangers 4 Paws” charity drive. Luckily, Trey knows the key to good communication is to check for understanding and he talks to August again before Auggie can give everything away.

“Being an adult isn’t about all or nothing. It’s about managing everything so that you’re not left with nothing.” August listens, keeping his records, showing he understands.

At the end of the episode, Cordell, Cassie, and Trey tee up for the coming episodes by Cordell and Trey finally bringing Cassie in on The Jackal case and explaining that they’re keeping this from Captain James. Since the episode is about communication, the fact that they aren’t communicating with Captain James will definitely have negative consequences.

Overall, this is a great episode that gives many life lessons. The ending Cordell and Geri scene was so wonderful to watch, it was one of the first gif-ed by the amazing gif makers in fandom. However, it does seem like the last lighter episode for at least a bit according to the chilling promo for next episode.

4.89 stars out of 5.

Photos Courtesy of The CW. Screencaps by Raloria on LJ.

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