Walker Gets Dark with ‘Insane B.S. and Bloodshed’

Walker is both a family drama and a crime fighting mystery drama. So far this season, we’ve had more of the family drama, which if you’ve been reading my reviews, you know I’ve enjoyed. I’m usually not quite as drawn into the case focused episodes, but this one was an exception – the show is getting as dark as it probably has so far with the Jackal, and it’s pretty compelling.

And disturbing.

There a lot of interesting team-ups in this episode, some new and some long-standing (but maybe soon-to-be-disrupted…)

Stella and Augie Team Up With Witt

I wonder if the situation with Witt will somehow wind into the Jackal case too, or if it’s separate. The episode also saw a lot happening with Witt and Stella, after we left off the last episode with Witt holding Sadie and Stella at gunpoint and ordering them to “just drive”.

Witt, after forcing Stella and Sadie to drive him away from HQ, insists they’re on the same side. I can understand why they’d be a bit skeptical, Witt!

He says that the shady and scary woman who hired him to steal a necklace from Geri’s house (and got him shot when Stella and Sadie came back there) is after him. Turns out it was his accomplice who died in that burning car – Witt switched their wallets so he could play dead. He feels as guilty about the other man dying as Stella did when she thought she accidentally killed him.

Sadie: All this insane BS and bloodshed is over a frickin’ necklace??

Apparently yes.

Witt gives them his gun and says he wouldn’t blame them if they shot him, but he’s asking for their help finding the necklace and he’s sorry for what he put them through. Then he walks away, leaving Stella holding the gun and sobbing.

Sadie tries to console her, but all the emotions Stella has been trying to swallow all this time, believing she killed Witt, just come pouring out. I thought Violet Brinson did an amazing job showing Stella’s breakdown, the way her face just crumples as Witt walks away. Ouch.

Sadie and Stella go to HQ to tell her dad, but then Stella has second thoughts. She doesn’t want Witt to go to jail, and wants to help him instead. She now feels a connection with him, knowing what it feels like to be responsible for someone else’s death. This time Sadie is the voice of reason, but Stella prevails. Like father like daughter, Stella wants to wait until they find out more about the necklace before they tell her dad.

Sadie’s not having it.

Sadie: You insist on carrying around this misguided guilt, and I won’t carry it too. We can end this right now, I wish you’d see that.

While the two are arguing about whether to confide in Cordell, Augie and Liam are at Cordell’s waiting for Stella, who had promised to come back there but hasn’t shown up. The two decide to eat massive amounts of midnight steak nachos in some odd masculine ritual about bulking up, make themselves half sick, and make lots of jokes about stinking up the bathroom (which has to be an inside joke for Jared Padalecki, whose reputation for being “gassy” precedes him on this set too I’m sure).

Augie is worried about Stella, but Liam has been told by so many people to leave her alone that he’s reluctant to be intrusive.

Liam: I heard loud and clear that we should stop hounding her so I’m staying out of it.

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Walker Episode 4.03 Learns some ‘Lessons From the Gift Shop’

Although we’re only on episode 3 of Walker Season 4, it’s a briefer season and that means that in the real world, the show just wrapped for the season! The cast was clearly emotional about the wrap and at the same time full of anticipation and excitement for this new season, which made for some interesting social media posts leading up to this week’s episode.

Jared Padalecki asked some of his castmates for some words to describe this season.

I guess they’re going with Frittata.

Not everyone was on board with that, though.

Suffice it to say, this cast always has fun together. And it sounds like the season is gonna be a real rollercoaster!

Jared was at a convention in Rome this past weekend and talked about being anxious about the fate of this show, since they don’t know yet whether they’ll be picked up for a fifth season. He said he wasn’t worried about himself, that he and Gen would be fine, but that he was worried about their cast and crew, and didn’t want them to have to be searching for a job. I love the genuine caring they all have for each other, something that we saw year after year on the Supernatural set too.

Fingers crossed for a Season 5!

So, on to episode 3…

This episode is all about our ‘things’. Physical, psychological, emotional. What we keep and what we decide to give up, and how we all make those decisions differently. How they change at different times of our lives as the meaning of all the “things we carry” changes over time. As someone who is probably too sentimental about a lot of things, I could relate to many of the characters’ struggles – so, as usual, I enjoyed this episode the most for its psychological explorations.

I’m guessing the title too is meant to hold multiple meanings. Yes, we buy things at the gift shop, and maybe they become souvenirs of experiences we want to remember. But some of the most important gifts we get in life aren’t things at all – love, caring, understanding, friendship, a gentle challenge. The space to be who we are and where we want to be. Space in every sense of the word.

This was a surprisingly deep episode, in other words!

Once again, the interconnected relationships also make the show work a lot more smoothly now. The becoming-family bond between Cassie and Liam is one of the relationships that I’m really enjoying.

Cassie and Liam, Giving Space and Taking Space

The episode begins with Cassie packing up some things that Geri had left in the spare bedroom that’s now hers, automatically assuming they might have some meaning to her now housemate.

Ben wants her to clean her stuff out of his storage unit (and bring those to Geri’s or donate them to a charity sale they’re having soon at Ranger HQ). Cassie’s been unwilling to put down roots for most of her life, but transferring things from a storage unit to a house is a step toward putting down those roots, symbolizing a new phase of life for Cassie.

She asks Liam to help her clean it out. Liam has been trying so hard to help everyone else. He wants Cordell and Trey to check out a podcast on Kintsugi –  “embracing the broken and rolling that history into the future”. Could there be a more apt podcast for the repeatedly traumatized Walker clan?? Of course no one else is very interested.

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Walker Season 4 Pulls at the Heartstrings with Maybe It’s Maybelline!

The second episode of Season 2 continued the show’s exploration of all kinds of family transitions, especially those of being a parent as your kids grow up – always way too fast! After a widely-watched season premiere, the fandom was eagerly awaiting the second episode, and the numbers were great once again as many fans tuned in. Let’s keep it up this week for episode 3!

We got some teasers again, including a proud Jeff Pierre letting us know that his character’s hot date in this episode was his real life wife!

This episode definitely did pull at my heartstrings, but it also introduced a guest character that I thoroughly enjoyed – and who had some much-needed words of wisdom for Cordell.

Transitions

In its fourth season, Walker has gotten much better at integrating its story lines and its cast, so that none of the arcs or characters feel shoe-horned in anymore, and the transition from scene to scene is smoother. Geri and Cassie are the latest in the newly close relationships, and I’m here for it. They come back from a run together and Cassie tells Geri that she’s not going back to the FBI – in fact, it’s time for her to lay down some roots.

Also, Cassie has a cute nickname for Geri – Geri-rigged.

We eventually find out that Cassie is gonna be laying down those roots at Geri’s place –  they’re now roomies!

This episode continues the theme from last week, as Cordell struggles with both his kids growing up and soon moving out, and the fear that the quiet in their wake will be hard for him. Augie is definitely growing up WAY too fast, working out and doing an end run around his dad by asking his Gramps to sign a permission slip for a high school boot camp readiness program. Bonham, to his credit, keeps his boundaries where they should be and says he won’t sign – but he will talk to Cordell about it.

Bonham goes to Trey’s to talk to him about it too, since Trey is the one teaching the boot camp. Trey is getting ready to host a hot date (played by his actual wife), opening the door to a knock with a rose and a “hello, gorgeous” only to find it’s Bonham.

Mitch Pileggi plays Bonham’s reaction perfectly.

Bonham wants Trey to let August join his boot camp prep course; Trey too says Walker has to approve.

Finally, Bonham brings the permission slip to his son, who accuses him of interfering and asks him to stay out of it, August is his son. Which, valid – but Cordell is gonna have to deal with it instead of burying himself in the Jackal case to avoid it.

Bonham confesses to Abby that he’s been “meddling”, but he also says he knows a thing or two about raising boys, and that you can’t tell them not to do something or they’ll do just that.

Abeline: Please tell me more about raising two boys.

Me: I love you, Abeline.

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Walker Returns for Season 4 with ‘The Quiet’

There was a lot of anticipation for the season premiere of Walker last week – it’s the show’s fourth season, and it’s made a switch to Wednesday night, but fans were happy to follow it to its new day, posting their excitement online after the long, long wait.

Graphic by laurenxann

The cast and crew were equally excited – it was a long long break between seasons with the strike going on. They posted some bts photos and Jared Padalecki even took over the Walker Instagram for some fun videos.

We also got some hints that the premiere episode was gonna be a little racy…

Which of course amped the excitement up even more!

The season premiere opens 5 months later – after a reminder of the reappearance of The Jackal, the reappearance of “Cordri” (the Geri and Cordell romance) to the elation of those who ‘ship it’, and the missing body after Stella and Sadie’s break in.  The episode is a treat for the Cordri shippers, opening with some Geri and Cordi making out – waiting all these seasons really created a lot of passion! I don’t ship it but I don’t not ship it, so good for you, Cordell and Geri.

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Edit by lemondropsonice

Also Geri looks hot in his oversized shirt and a disheveled Cordell who really really doesn’t wanna go into work right now is a very good thing.

It’s Cordell’s birthday – Geri surprises him with a little cupcake before he reluctantly has to leave for work – more reluctant about leaving Geri than not eating the cupcake though.

He’s saving room for a big steak eating competition at the Grand Lonestar. Augie isn’t thrilled about it, but Geri wants to surprise her man by the whole family being there too.  Abeline, I’ve missed you!!

Also I’m happy that Ben’s eating breakfast with the Walkers so I guess things are going well with him and Liam. Lots of happiness it seems….which I’m sure means something will go very wrong soon.

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Where It All Began – Return To Supernatural Chicon!

Chicago was the very first Supernatural Creation convention, way way back in 2007. My friends and I stalked their website for weeks waiting for the tickets to go on sale, trading off ‘watch the site’ times so it would always be covered. We were rewarded with front row seats, back in the day when front row was the same price as the rest of the gold tickets, and had an amazing time at that very first con. I’ve been extremely fortunate to be able to return to what we then called “Chicon” each year it’s been held since then. It’s where one of my closest friends lives, so it also means I get to hang out with Winchester Family Business editor Laurena and her lovely husband. This year I had lots of other friends, both old and new, there too – so it was a whirlwind weekend of patio dinners at great restaurants in the 75 degree sunshine and long talks in the vendor room with friends I don’t get to see nearly often enough.

If you’ve ever wondered what the vendor table looks like, this was the Chicago set up – if you’re ever at a con, come say hi! I’m always happy to sign books too, whether you’ve brought them with you or bought them at the con. And if Family Don’t End With Blood inspired you in some way, it makes my day to hear about it – and the actors’ when someone says the chapters they wrote were an inspiration.

My flight got in on Friday, so I missed DJ Qualls and Julian Richings (my friend Barb caught a few photos for me).

I got to chat with Julian a bit later – we both worked on the book ‘Death in Supernatural’, with Julian writing the Foreword and me writing the Afterword, so it was nice to see him and catch up.

I caught Gil McKinney and David Haydn Jones panel in progress. The pairing of Gil and David might seem like an unusual one, as their characters didn’t interact at all on Supernatural, but they have gelled into a delightfully naughty duo that I thoroughly enjoy. When I came into the ballroom, they were trying to decide if Gil once wore his dance belt backwards, or was it really just a thong?

David has a new movie coming out that apparently involves dancing, so that is sure to be fun!

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Supernatural in The Big Easy: SPN NOLA 2023

I have enjoyed every Supernatural convention that’s been in New Orleans, which is one of my favorite cities in the US. The food is incredible, the history and architecture are fascinating, and it’s a place where people are determined to relax and have fun – which makes it a great place for a con. This year was the first time it was a Road So Far Creation con instead of an official Supernatural con, but it was once again a wonderful time, in part because I had lots of friends there.

And because  – New Orleans!

My friend Tedra brought a bunch of free postcards to put at my vendor table, from artist @sfwFandD, which were needless to say very popular.

I love when fans do things for other fans just out of wanting to share the joy – so much of what makes fandom special!

(Also they made great bookmarks for the books)

I had to work later than usual, and then flights were wonky, so I didn’t end up actually getting there until Saturday late afternoon – which meant I missed a ton of panels and people that I really wanted to see. First Misha panel I’ve ever missed, I think. Boo work.

I did make it in time to have dinner with friends, and for the Saturday Night Special, luckily!

This was a uniquely awesome SNS because the stage at this venue was very very far from the first row of seats (which makes no one happy) so the ever resourceful Creation tech team constructed a catwalk to bring out a portion of the stage – and every single actor and musician seemed to love it as much as the fans did!

Kim performed one of my favorite Blondie songs, which is a perfect fit for her.

Creation’s own Stephanie Dizon performed, which she used to do a lot back in the day, so it was great to have her (and her great voice) onstage again.

It’s also great to have Gil McKinney back – at the cons and at SNS singing. (Check out our exclusive interview with Gil recently here if you missed it)

And look at those fabulous back up dancers aka Kim and Briana!

And newcomer to the cons JoJo Fleites also joined in the SNS.

They absolutely blew everyone away with their beautiful rendition of ‘Hard Times Come Again No More’ which was also performed this season on ‘The Winchesters’. Wow!

‘The Winchesters’ cast is as talented as Supernatural’s actors have always been apparently – Meg Donnelly also performed, showing off her onstage experience.

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Walker’s Season 3 Finale – And A Cliffhanger Ending!

It’s been a tumultuous week in the Walker fandom (and especially in the Supernatural fandom at large), with Walker renewed but Walker Independence and The Winchesters not renewed and Gotham Knights still up in the air. So I think we all needed some feel good TV, and the season finale of Walker didn’t disappoint – although, of course, that wasn’t ALL the episode gave us!

“It’s A Nice Day For A Ranger Wedding” set up the story for next season while also giving us some truly happy making moments, which felt much needed.

The episode starts at the end, a discarded bouquet of flowers, a bloody body on the floor, still alive and breathing heavy.  The room is ransacked, broken glass strewn all over.

And then it’s 36 hours before…

Well damn, Walker, that’s a beginning!

Cordell is back to running with Liam and Trey, which means he’s starting to make some progress with his PTSD perhaps, and also means we get to see the boys all run in single layers. Cordell has a brief flashback of the time he went running and got kidnapped by Grey Flag, but then Cassie runs right into him and they’re off again. Cassie wins and triumphantly puts on the hat and everyone is a good sport. (Also, we find out she was a Mathlete, which is a shoutout I’m sure to Padalecki – who really was a Mathlete!) There are a lot of shout outs in this finale, and I am here for it.

Most of the episode is devoted to planning the wedding of Captain James and Kelly, with a lot of healing going on in the process for lots of the main characters.

Abeline tells Trey she’s seen how far he’s come, highlighting that he’s in a better place and feeling less responsible for the Grey Flag mess.

Cassie gets a call from the FBI – Tessa Graves – who wants her and Walker to come join an FBI task force for the summer in Florida. They’re flattered and Cassie is tempted, though also conflicted because Austin has come to feel like home. She’s clearly in a better place too.

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Walker Heads Into Its Season Finale – And A Renewal for Season 4!

Tonight is the season finale of Walker, and the fandom is going into it in a celebratory mood – because a few days ago we got the good news that the show has been renewed for a fourth season! Yeehaw!

Last week’s episode, airing in the midst of the writer’s strike, was titled ‘It Writes Itself’ which sounds like a commentary on the importance of writers or a critique of the use of AI in writing, but is actually referring to a speech that Cordell is struggling to write and the work he has to do on himself to be able to be in a place to do that. The episode was actually a remarkably feel good episode – for the most part.

It kicks off with the Walker Rescue celebration, which featured lots of pretty horses and some of the fandom as extras, so that was fun. James confides to Cordell that he’s getting married to Kelly again and asks him to officiate the wedding – with a caveat.

James to Cordi: When in doubt, do not make a joke…

(This could just as easily have been directed to Jared Padalecki, as most fans of his infamous dad jokes know…)

Abeline and Bonham offer to have the wedding there, so that’s more reason to celebrate. Liam and Stella celebrate realizing their shared dream and cut the ribbon – but I’m sad that neither Ben nor Colton are there.

The guys plan a bachelor party (which initially they include Cassie in) – an overnight at Racer Ridge to go fishing. Cassie is not in, however, since it’s not the “usual pub crawl and debauchery”.

Cassie: I was born in Brooklyn. I draw the line at tents.

The guys head out at dawn on horseback, Trey asking ‘there aren’t any bears, right?’ which made all the Jared Padalecki fans laugh because of his well known fear of bears lol

Meanwhile, Augie is filling out online applications for joining the Army but doesn’t tell his dad.

Cordell surprises James with his son DJ coming along on the ride – which was awesome to have him back on the show even briefly.

Also awesome? Getting to see so many pretty horses in the beautiful Austin scenery.

And Cordi looking damn good in a denim jacket and black hat, Trey fishing in a tee shirt (and spraying bug spray on his bared tummy), and Liam chopping wood. This show knows its audience…

My guess is all the cast had a fabulous time riding horses and fishing and roasting marshmallows and playing football together, and who can blame them? Giddyup!

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‘Walker’ Returns with ‘Daddy Was A Bank Robber’

There’s a brand new episode of Walker tonight, so here’s our recap of everything that happened last week when the show returned from a mini hiatus – and introduced a new character!

It’s an aptly named episode that picks up after the take down of Kevin Golden and the death of Julia Johnson (and Cordell being finally found innocent), a positive outcome but there’s aftermath for everyone, Cassie and Trey especially still on shaky ground.

Cordell comes home and hangs up his hat to kick it off, the family in the kitchen with coffee and bacon and things seeming more or less back to normal.

Cordell had two weeks off and some PT, and Geri is back (and Colton went to Vegas – not for an impromptu wedding but for a culinary internship – but boo, I really like Colton so I’ll miss him, never mind Stella’s feelings…)

Cordell has made some progress, able to say it was a good thing for him too that he took some time off to spend with family after his ordeal – that he needed it. Abeline thanks him for doing it, and hugs her son – and then even gruff Bonham joins in! A hug with Mom and Dad seems like just what Cordell often needs but doesn’t often get, so the fandom was just as happy as Cordi was in that moment, I think.

(So was Jared Padalecki, who live tweeted the episode along with his watching companion, daughter Odette).

Cassie knocks on Trey’s door and invites him out for a beer (and not a talk about our feelings all the time) and he says yes, which seems like a big step in the right direction for the two.

Geri returns to the Side Step – but she’s not alone, she’s got someone she wants the rest of the gang to meet.

That someone is Hoyt’s daughter Sadie (surprise!), who does not exactly endear herself to Liam and Cordell by trying to scam some tickets to the free fundraiser that’s happening that night for Walker Rescues. Saylor Bell joins the cast and does a wonderful job in this episode of portraying Sadie’s contradictions, and eventually the grief she tries to bravado over.

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Walker ‘False Flag Part 2’ Brings the Big Reveal

Part 2 of the dramatic two part ‘False Flag’ resolved a lot of the mysteries we’ve been pondering all season on ‘Walker’ and left Cordell absolutely reeling – and many of us too! (Suspecting that a character you kinda sorta liked is about to turn bad guy with a tragic backstory isn’t the same as watching it happen onscreen!)

In the aftermath of the explosion (and Julia’s death, which I am NOT over even if others are), Cordell is the prime suspect thanks to Kevin’s careful set up.

The not-very-empathic Agent Tessa Graves is determined to prove Cordell is guilty, with a single-minded focus on him that doesn’t allow her to see the holes in that narrative. She shows up at the Walker ranch to search everything, much to the family’s understandable protest. Kevin, it turns out, even (very obviously) planted some C4 in the room where Walker already had those photos of the men he served with, all with the X’s through them – which, if you recall, I always thought was a totally weird thing for him and Julia to do.

But made for a great set up!

Cordell, much the worse for wear both physically and psychologically, flees from the scene of the explosion and siphons some gas from a (very nice) woman’s trunk. I can’t imagine that was a fun scene to do, even if that, of course, wasn’t really gasoline that Padalecki had to suck up and spit out.

Ewww.

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(Disheveled Cordell somehow manages to look kinda hot even doing this though…)

At that moment, Cassie pulls up to the gas station with a deadpan ‘I need a coffee’ and seriously, she is an awesome partner and always has Walker’s back.

Trey is back in Ranger uniform (and looking amazing in that hat, truly) but just as angry as Captain James and the Walker family are that Cordell is being blamed. Graves insists innocent people don’t run, but James points out that if they’re being framed, they would. And he’s right! I’m not sure Tessa is the best at her job thinking that the way Grey Flag tortured Cordell “turned” him, because that makes no sense to me, but she’s sticking to that.

Walker realizes he asked Julia to meet him at the safe house, so of course it looks like he set her up to be murdered – Kevin did a brilliantly (evil) job with the set up. I would imagine that also adds to Cordell’s guilt that he accidentally got Julia killed, even if he was totally being manipulated and so was she. (Julia….sob….)

He also has a concussion, staggering around and bumping into walls in the little gas station where he and Cassie go to buy some burner phones. Nobody does hurt better than Jared Padalecki, so you feel every bit of that pain and disorientation.

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