Wrangling Walker: Season Four Episode Ten “End This Way”

This week’s Walker episode, “End This Way”, was an exciting ride, and while I’m not on board with all the characters’ ‘logic’, it made for an interesting episode. We also got at least one plot thread wrapped up, which was satisfying. We got a scene with definite ‘Sam Winchester’ vibes as well.

I’m curious to see how the show leaves the characters and plot at the end of the season. Did they wrap things up ‘just in case’ of cancellation, or will we have a permanent cliffhanger? I hope they give us some closure, with a finale that could have worked to move forward or wrap up. Time will tell.

I’ll briefly recap the episode then give my thoughts about what we saw.

Stella, Sadie, and Joanna

Why didn’t Stella activate a tracker of some sort before going to meet Joanna, just in case? Teenagers can be overconfident, but Stella takes it to an extreme.

Liam, Bonham, Abeline, and Geri all know that Stella has taken off, and Geri calls Cordell (who is using himself as bait for a serial killer) to let him know. (Cordell also needs a tracker.)

Stella offers a trade—Hoyt’s letter with directions to find the necklace in exchange for Sadie and their freedom. Stella burns the letter when Joanna refuses, making herself indispensable until the piece is found. Gutsy, but not foolproof. Fortunately, Joanna isn’t smart enough to think of how to call Stella’s bluff.

James and Trey show up at the ranch. Cordell is noticeably absent, and no one can reach him after Geri’s first call. Geri and Liam talk about moving away from blame, and Geri says that judging is ‘a Walker thing’ but so is ‘surviving against all odds’. Guess there are a few more things Walkers have in common with Winchesters!

Joanna tells Stella and Sadie that she’s been looking for the necklace for years, that the cops ‘stole it’ back from her after she took it from an evidence locker. She learns it’s worth nearly a million dollars. Stella leads them to Hoyt’s old house, but turns up nothing when they search the fireplace.

Meanwhile, back at the Walker ranch, Abeline talks about how much it hurt Hoyt to not have a supportive mother, and how angry she was at Joanna for that. When Geri figures out Stella’s car is near Hoyt’s old house, Abeline says she’s going to kill Joanna and leaves.

Walkers certainly come by ‘running off’ naturally!

When the henchman realizes he won’t get paid, he turns his gun on Joanna. Stella gives Sadie the ‘signal’ to fight back by yelling ‘signal, signal’ and they attack and get the upper hand with the henchman. Joanna tries to run only to find Abeline in the doorway with a shotgun. Game over.

Abeline has harsh words for Joanna about being a poor mother to Hoyt, but Joanna says she always knew it would ‘end this way’. While I admire Abeline for taking in Hoyt as best she could and mothering him as much as circumstances allowed, there’s unacknowledged privilege underlying the tragedy as well.

Abeline was free and well-to-do. Joanna was poor, in and out of prison, where she was told incarcerated women couldn’t be good mothers. That doesn’t let Joanna off the hook, but it also suggests the deck was stacked against her and Hoyt and that she had fewer options than a woman like Abeline.

Stella reveals that she found the necklace before meeting up with Joanna and tries to give it to Sadie—Hoyt left a note saying it was for her–but Sadie says it should be in a museum.

The cops show up, along with Liam. After been admonished by Geri to quit yelling, Liam actually manages to stop shouting when talking to Stella.  Stella apologizes to Liam and Geri, and swears she has learned a lesson about calling for help. We can hope.

Cordell and the Jackal

Only after the bust is over at Hoyt’s house do people finally realize that Cordell never showed up. The family’s inability to forgive Cordell for his ‘Duke’ years in their low expectations is disappointing, and in this case, heightens Cordell’s danger by giving the killer a head start.

We saw Cordell answer his phone and find out about Stella and the necklace, and say he would check the gazebo. Then he doesn’t show up at the bust. No one worries about his absence, assuming that he’s putting work over family—a dangerous assumption.

In true Sam Winchester style, Cordell is tied to a chair and drugged, a captive of the serial killer (we know it’s the Jackal because of the mashed fruit). Cordell hallucinates being at home with Stella and Auggie and sees someone unexpected—”Emily?”

Cassie and Luna

Luna wants Cassie to meet his best friend who is in town, so they head to the Side Step. The friend is rude to Cassie and makes it clear he doesn’t like her being around. When she steps away, Luna calls the friend on his attitude and asks him to try to get along because he loves Cassie.

Cassie overhears, and seems very surprised. She doesn’t say it back to him. What did she think was going on? After all, Luna engineered a transfer to be closer to her. That’s not the kind of thing someone does if they aren’t serious. I’m going to be disappointed if she doesn’t handle the situation well.

My Thoughts

This was a more solid episode than last week’s. Stella is reckless, but this time things worked out—although without Abeline and her shotgun it could have gone very differently. At least Stella seems to have finally realized she needs backup. Liam also learned not to yell. Progress was made.

I don’t understand why Abeline and Bonham’s retirement plans have to be either/or. Abeline gets to do her ‘soul feeding’ charitable work, and Bonham gets to play on his new boat. Then they can go on vacation together using the boat. It’s not that hard to find a logical compromise unless both people expect the other to follow their lead 100% of the time. Talk it out!

I’m disappointed that his family and colleagues didn’t notice Cordell’s absence for so long. First Captain James begs him to take point on the Jackal case, then James reprimands him for getting too involved and sends him home. Trey and Cassie were willing to follow his lead, and then they also wanted him to back off in the middle of a hot case.

No wonder he didn’t tell them that he was going to be the ‘bait’ to lure the killer—whose M.O. is to go after ‘bad parents’. Does Cordell really see himself as a bad father? Everyone seemed to think that in Season One, based on putting his job ahead of his family. Has he internalized that criticism, even after trying so hard to do better? (Interesting that Joanna is also held up as a bad parent who was told she couldn’t hope to be good.) Is it realistic to treat being a Texas Ranger as a regular 9-to-5 and is that what we want from our emergency responders?

I appreciate the show wanting to show a flawed hero grappling with his past, making mistakes at home and on the job, and learning to do better. Except that Cordell never seems to get credit for making amends and trying to make progress.

I wish that we viewers were clued in to what gold standard of parenting Cordell’s family, friends, and colleagues expect of someone who is in a high-stress, dangerous, crisis-driven job. Maybe the commentary is that we all want 24-hour emergency responders to take care of us when bad things happen, but those same people are held to an unreasonable standard in their personal lives. I’m not sure whether the writers meant to raise that contradiction for examination or whether I’m reading too much into drama for drama’s sake.

These next, last few episodes are going to have to do some heavy lifting to save Cordell, wrap up the Jackal case, and resolve the interpersonal problems of Cordell’s family and friends. I’m hoping they don’t leave us dangling.

What did you think of “End This Way”? Please share your thought below!

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

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