On this week's episode of Walker, viewers were in for a treat with Debra Mooney showing up as the guest star; known for her roles in Everwood, Grey's Anatomy, The Originals and of course as Mrs. Anderson from "Dead Poet's Society" it was a fun-filled episode with a little less intense scenes, but still plenty of action in its own way!
We get to see more of Cassie & Geri bonding as the episode opens up with them returning to Geri's place after a morning run, where they discuss her time with the FBI in Florida and we learn that Cassie has already turned down Tessa Graves's offer to return back to the Task Force; she's choosing to trust Capt. James and is even looking forward to putting down roots and finding a place to call home now! Their conversation gets circled back with Geri offering her to move in when the two friends meet up again at the Side Step at the end of the episode - it looks like we've got a new friendship to enjoy; which is one of this show's strengths, pairing up the characters who don't always spend a lot of time with each other, eventually do find their way to a storyline together.
Elsewhere, we pick up on the thread of August still determined to enlist in the army when he talks to Bonham about enrolling in Boot Camp Readiness, an after school program. (one that's led by none other than Trey himself - sorry, Drill Sergeant Trey Barnett!) It opens up a beautiful storyline that spans three generations of Walker men; Bonham is supportive of his grandson's decision to find his place in the world, Walker is anxious about letting go of his baby boy, and Augie is learning about what it means to become a man. I really enjoyed the scenes with Cordell and August when all the dust had settled; having one kid grow up and leave the nest is scary enough, especially when its your oldest daughter, but to have the second kid also ready to fly, it's a new normal that Walker will have to adjust to.
Onto the case of the week though - we first meet Ms. Maybelline Pratt (Mooney) when all of the Rangers come rushing outside the station to surround the area; Cassie and Walker having arrived at that exact moment to discover that she's given Trey the slip and is working on the patrol car with a wrench! Talk about an entrance! Capt. James seems to be away at a conference this week, leaving Walker, Cassie and Trey in charge to take care of the situation that's arisen with Maybelline, who as it turns out is the state's key witness in a money laundering case - testifying against Brandt Jeric - she used to work at one of Jeric's diner's that was used as a front where she came across his client list one day when she opened the wrong drawer, which now means that Maybelline is in need of protective custody, but let it be known that she's the one in charge over here as we soon find out!
"Maybe It’s Maybelline” – WALKER, Pictured: Jared Padalecki as Cordell Walker. Photo: Rebecca Brenneman/The CW ©2024 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved
From having furry handcuffs - run away Trey, run far far away - to an actual file that she was going to use somehow to escape from her WITSEC custody, Maybelline was proving to be quite a handful for the trio - so of course when the time came to draw straws in order to protect her in a safe location, Walker got the short stick; something which neither he nor Maybelline seemed to be too happy about. Still, the two of them have an important conversation about family in the middle of the night when Cordell wakes up to find her seated at the dinner table with a bit of a drink in hand (just to taste of course!) "The days are long, but the years are short," Maybelline tells Cordell, reminding him that he's raised two strong children, who are ready to experience the outside world, while reassuring him that there's always a tendency for them to return.
Here's another stranger that we find is easier to open up to, as he talks to her about his anxiousness over not being prepared for the quiet that will be here sooner rather than later once his kids are gone; it's nice to see that the previous week's episode wasn't just a one-off thing for some of our characters, this is something which will no doubt continue to be one of the season's underlying themes, especially with our lead. Still, the talk seems to have done Cordell good as that leads to his discussion with Augie where he gives his son the signed permission slip to go ahead with his boot camp training.
"Maybe It’s Maybelline” – WALKER, Pictured: Jared Padalecki as Cordell Walker. Photo: Rebecca Brenneman/The CW ©2024 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved
Continuing the emotional story that she's been dealing with for several months now, Stella is still having nightmares about what happened with Witt, leaving Liam the only one capable of reaching out to help her. It's good to know that Ben is in the loop with what happened as well, given how he's the one to get Stella to open up after a particularly intense scene with her uncle at the dorms once he catches up to her - he'd arrived there after she hastened away from the ranch, with college essential supplies and good intentions to do whatever he could to help out, but sometimes, it takes talking to a stranger who has no bias and no judgement that starts to make it seem like there's a way through this. Stella had gone to leave a flower and a rugby ball at Witt's gravesite, where she meets his uncle, who seems pleasant at first, but as soon as she leaves in a hurry, he's on the phone talking to a mysterious man - it looks like we haven't seen the last of this family!
When the Rangers get to the courthouse in the morning for Maybelline's case, Trey goes on a ginger ale run while Walker and Cassie get caught up in what is clearly a distraction, so that one of the security guards can grab Maybelline and take her hostage so that she can't testify! It's time for another rescue mission for Walker, Texas Ranger! Cue the music and a car chase scene through the parking garage which ends in Cordell and Trey getting their punches in, saving the day as always! Although, according to Maybelline, it was all Trey; the poor guy eventually ends up single once she picks up the phone call he gets from Lauryn, and even though it happens all off-screen, it isn't too hard to imagine how that conversation must have gone!
"Maybe It’s Maybelline” – WALKER, Pictured: Jared Padalecki as Cordell Walker, Ashley Reyes as Cassie Perez and Jeff Pierre as Trey Barnett. Photo: Rebecca Brenneman/The CW ©2024 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved
Once the Walker clan reunites at the Side Step for some chatting and darts, we start to think everything is well and good, Stella teams up with Liam and even gets a bullseye on the first shot, but things aren't always so smooth sailing... the final scene with her returning to her dorm room reveals a chilling revelation - someone has left a message "This Isn't Over" which is seems more a threat than a warning, but definitely a bit of both.
Over to you now, Walker fans! - what do you think Witt's uncle is going to do now that he's come face to face with Stella? Surely he's the one who left the message, right? How excited are we for Cassie & Geri to be roomies? And if Lauryn is out of the picture, does that mean that the seeds are slowly being planted for Trey and Cassie perhaps? And even though I didn't get a chance to talk about it in the review, it also looks like Bonham and Abeline are considering that maybe it's time to look into retiring? Talk about shaking things up!
