S01.E18: Drive

[jewel21]

Quote

Walker’s world is shattered after receiving shocking news that changes everything.

Airdate: 08/12/2021

This is the season finale.

[thuganomics85]

Well, hopefully we now can finally confirm who killed Emily officially.  While the Kali character did stop her from fleeing by shooting her, it was actually Stan who finished her off, although it was more out of self-preservation/saving his own ass and not something he actually wanted to do, for whatever that is worth (not much according to the Walker family, understandably!)  But, hey, this is the final twist, right?  There is no way they pull any more swerves!

But while that is wrapped up, it certainly sounds like the First Nation has their hands in a lot of pockets and are going to play a part going forward.  Also curious about what Stan whispered to Walker, which seem to shake him up a little.  Have a feeling it might have been the name of one of the members, and it is someone else that he is close to.  Maybe it's my paranoia talking, but I noticed that the camera seemed to pause on the handshake between Walker and James at the end, so I'm really hoping it isn't James.

Did love how Abeline threatening to kill Stan got a "Oh, shit!" reaction from both Walker and Bonham.

Liam loses the election (and is unsure if he wants to run in the special one), but looks like things are back on track with Bret!

So, now Micki might be going undercover instead.  That would certainly complicate things with Trey.

Episode ends with the revelation that someone has installed security camera in the Walker Ranch and is evilly spying on them like some kind of Bond villain?!

All in all, a bit of an atypical first season with some flaws and missteps (probably not helped by COVID); especially the midway arc with Clint and whatnot; but I had fun with it, and will probably stick around for as long as it goes.  Which; judging from the ratings apparently being pretty good; probably means another 10 seasons and Jared Padalecki getting a whole wing of the CW headquarters devoted to him!

[Coleyb]

2 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Well, hopefully we now can finally confirm who killed Emily officially.  While the Kali character did stop her from fleeing by shooting her, it was actually Stan who finished her off, although it was more out of self-preservation/saving his own ass and not something he actually wanted to do, for whatever that is worth (not much according to the Walker family, understandably!)  But, hey, this is the final twist, right?  There is no way they pull any more swerves!

But while that is wrapped up, it certainly sounds like the First Nation has their hands in a lot of pockets and are going to play a part going forward.  Also curious about what Stan whispered to Walker, which seem to shake him up a little.  Have a feeling it might have been the name of one of the members, and it is someone else that he is close to.  Maybe it's my paranoia talking, but I noticed that the camera seemed to pause on the handshake between Walker and James at the end, so I'm really hoping it isn't James.

Did love how Abeline threatening to kill Stan got a "Oh, shit!" reaction from both Walker and Bonham.

Liam loses the election (and is unsure if he wants to run in the special one), but looks like things are back on track with Bret!

So, now Micki might be going undercover instead.  That would certainly complicate things with Trey.

Episode ends with the revelation that someone has installed security camera in the Walker Ranch and is evilly spying on them like some kind of Bond villain?!

All in all, a bit of an atypical first season with some flaws and missteps (probably not helped by COVID); especially the midway arc with Clint and whatnot; but I had fun with it, and will probably stick around for as long as it goes.  Which; judging from the ratings apparently being pretty good; probably means another 10 seasons and Jared Padalecki getting a whole wing of the CW headquarters devoted to him!

Well said, lots of truths were said, empty blanks filled, what happened to Emily was FREAKING horrible, and I felt the most heartbroken for the kids. The reveal of Stan and Callie being Emily’s killers was anticlimactic though, but we now know that the last remaining of Northside nation has a strong hold on the police departments and businesses in Austin, we have a sniper who almost killed Cordell and Cap James is sending Micki undercover to find out who tried to kill Walker, the family dinner with Trey and Micki’s parents was cute, poor Micki though her undercover work is definitely going complicate things with Trey.  

I’m Happy Liam and Bret are starting over and that Boham is finally going to tell his family about his cancer and I liked the full circle from the pilot with Walker and his kids sitting on their couch. YES the scene of the guy watching the bugged cameras in the Walker home was definitely like a cheesy James Bond villain. 😂

Overall the first season as a whole was okay, the writing and some of the acting wasn’t spectacular, but I’ll also stick around for s2.

[Hana Chan]

This was a more than decent finale for a season that had some unusual challenges to weather (with COVID putting a damper on some of the filming). And it fulfilled everything that we expect of a good season finale. It tied up most of the storylines that we followed and provided some intriguing set up for next season. I've got no real complaints.

We finally got resolution on the real story behind Emily's murder and, as many of us expected, there was a conspiracy by someone close to Cordell. Fortunately I wasn't attached to Stan as a character (I would have been absolutely heartbroken if it had been Hoyt - RIP) but watching the whole Walker family confronting him was pretty powerful. Not that I bought his almost tearful regrets about him firing the killing shot on Emily while she lay helpless (after he nearly got Cordell killed). But the Walkers got at least some closure and for Cordell and the kids, especially, can start to move on.

And of course, this revelation opened up a huge can of worms, with widespread corruption within Texas law enforcement and Cordell apparently being a target. While the revelation that Cordell is under surveillance by unknown parties was a bit cheesy in execution, I'm excited to see where the show takes it next season. After losing Emily, there is nothing that Cordell won't do to  protect his family and I'm looking forward to some serious action.

And we finally got some really good ActionCordell. Most of the season it seemed like he was being held back. Mostly because of his emotional issues around Emily's murder and partly (IMO) to allow plenty of time to develop Micki as an ActionGirl and appropriate partner for Cordell (which I have zero issues with - Micki is totally badass). But we finally were able to see just why Cordell was so well regarded as a ranger. And we finally got the balance of him being able to bring down a bad guy in a case that he is personally impacted by without losing his wits and not giving in to his worst impulses. Jared's acting here was really excellent, showing just how conflicted Walker was but still trying to handle things as best he could under the most extreme circumstances. Am wondering what Stan whispered in Walker's ear after he was shot because I know that's going to be important as this storyline moves forward.

Interesting that Micki is being offered the undercover assignment that is bound to put some stress on her relationship with Trey, but the fact that her partner is now a target of a larger conspiracy... Yeah, I'm really looking forward to see where this goes. I don't blame their boss for doing this behind Cordell's back as he is a possible target but there's only so long that they will be able to keep him in the dark without jeopardizing him and his family. 

I think that this was my favorite episode of the season and am happy that the series is on such good footing. Jared and the cast did a fantastic job and the whole crew managed to pull a series together despite all the restrictions on filming they had to deal with. 

[Bobcatkitten]

Cordell seemed a bit unhinged during much of the episode. There were a lot of moving parts. 

[ukgirl71]

I really enjoyed that - threads were (apparently?) tied up and we were given tantalising hints of what’s planned for Season 2.  I can’t help but think Stan was warning Cordell about Captain James - it seemed like Walker was looking in his direction, and he seemed a little strained with him at times in his office. Given the Del Rio gang’s ex-military make up, was the sniper acting for a vengeful person from Cordell’s Marine past, and will that frame the main story of Season 2?  It was nice to see Emily watching over her family, but it made the pull back to the camera-loving stalker all the more creepy.

[rr2911]

This finale was anti-climatic.  I was expecting Jeri to be the one that finished Emily off.  To me, Jeri seemed a little off and suspicious at times during the season.  Stan being the one to actually pulling the trigger that killed Emily wasn't a really big surprised, being that he was involved in some fashion. 

This was the season finale, so I'm thinking that sniper has to be someone we know and we've seen many times this season.  The Northside Nation is a huge powerful group so I imagine they have many moles in every facet of Austin's city government.  Hmm, what did Stan whisper to Walker?  Probably the name of an individual that Walker knows.  I think that person could be Bret! It sure looked like the back of his head!

I actually thought that Trey was going to die in the finale, especially when he went with Micki to the hospital.

When this series is said and done with, whether it lasts 2 years or 10, I think Walker and Micki will end up together. 

 

[Hana Chan]

On 8/13/2021 at 5:07 PM, ukgirl71 said:

It was nice to see Emily watching over her family, but it made the pull back to the camera-loving stalker all the more creepy.

I thought that was very clever. People who lost a love one sometimes find comfort in the idea that the one they lost is watching over them. Well, Cordell is being watched over, but not necessarily by the loving spirit of his wife. Pretty creepy.

There are so many directions this can go in - it could be someone from Cordell's military past or part of the deep rooted corruption in the law enforcement community or a hired gun brought in by the Northside Nation. Either way, Cordell is going to be up to his pretty ears in it next season. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

[tennisgurl]

I hope that this is the real official end of the "Who Killed Emily" mystery and that we can put it behind us now. Not that I didn't think it would be a major plot element, but there are few things worse for a show than the inability to let certain characters and plots go when they've outlived their narrative usefulness, and mysteries involving dead spouses/parents/siblings tend to really get drawn out past their expiration date, so I am crossing my fingers that this puts it all to rest. Its a bit anticlimactic, but I don't hate how things turned out, and I like that the whole family got to tell Syan off what he did. 

This season was a bit of a mixed bag. The over arching mystery was just sort of meh, with way too many twists and red herrings without any hug shocking moments, and the cases of the week tended to be pretty dull, but the acting was really good from the whole cast, as was the writing when it came to the characters, who were mostly all really likable and engaging. Even Stella, who was really pushing the "bratty teenager" thing super far a few times, still had enough going for her to keep me rooting for her to get it together. In general, when the show focused on cases, it was just alright, but it always got better when it focused on the relationships between characters, especially the complicated family dynamic between the Walker family and the growing friendship between Cordell and Micki. I hope that they can make some of the plot-y aspects of the show a bit tighter next season, but I overall enjoyed this show and will definitely be back for another season. The sniper targeting Cordell sounds intriguing, as does Micki spending time under cover (which we saw she's good at) and the family trying to move past Emily's death now that her murder is solved, which has always been the most interesting part of her murder mystery. Less the mystery and more how her death is affecting her family.

Edited August 18, 2021 by tennisgurl

[TheGreenKnight]

These last two episodes have been great. I still think this show is a great deal like Brothers & Sisters--a show I casually enjoyed like this one--and feel even more strongly about that comparison coming to the end of this season. I keep expecting Micki's boyfriend to get killed. I just feel like her and Walker will gradually be written together as the series goes along.

[Katy M]

On 8/16/2021 at 2:30 AM, rr2911 said:

o me, Jeri seemed a little off and suspicious at times during the season. 

And she specifically asked where Walker was when brought someone to hide.  Why did she want/need to know that?