Hey everyone and welcome to a new season of “Walker” that is now in its fourth year! ‘The Quiet’ aired 11 months after the finale of season 3, which saw our beloved characters face a lot of different changes, some good, some surprising and some that were life-altering even! Captain James and Kelly got married (again!), Auggie decided he was going to enlist in the army, Stella and her best friend Sadie found themselves in hot water when an unknown invader attacked them - which led to a shooting and a missing body, with Liam getting involved in the coverup to help his niece once they discovered that he wasn't so unknown after all. Not to mention, Cassie choosing to take the FBI assignment in Florida to get away from all the complicated feelings she might have been dealing with when it came to the newly appointed Ranger, Trey. As for Walker himself? Well, as we saw at the ending of episode 18, the reemergence of ‘The Jackal’, a serial killer whom Cordell and Capt. James failed to capture years ago - which had led the latter down a dark path - meant that any new investigation Walker was going to lead, would have to be done secretly, without the Captain finding out.
Season 4 kicks off with a five month time jump; the premiere episode centers around Walker’s birthday, with Geri making plans to celebrate - and as we saw from that steamy opening scene, things definitely seem to be going smooth sailing with these two, for the moment at least? Jared Padalecki and Odette Annable have good chemistry together and after having lost Emily and Hoyt respectively, we can only hope that Walker and Geri find their way to a happy ending! (sidenote: do we have a ship name for them? Cordri?) It's been a minute since we've seen Cordell smiling and enjoying his life, let's try and hold onto that feeling for as long as we can, because these things seem too good to be true sometimes!
"The Quiet” – WALKER, Pictured: Keegan Allen as Liam Walker, Odette Annable as Geri Broussard and Jared Padlecki as Cordell Walker: Rebecca Brenneman/TheCW ©2024 All Rights Reserved
Elsewhere, we see how Stella has been managing her life since having to keep a secret from her family; Uncle Liam knows the truth about what happened that night, but the mystery of who that masked intruder was still lingers like a dark cloud over Stella and what she had to do. Violet Brinson does a beautiful job of showcasing how much the aftermath of her encounter with Witt has changed her, it's something that isn't just going to go away now that the case is officially closed, but she has her uncle's support and sometimes, having even one person in your corner can help.
Cassie's return after her time away was a perfect scene with her showing up at the station like a whirlwind and declaring that there's a case she needs their help with! And just like that, Cassie's back with the boys; but while they're working together to help her take down the Delmonico brothers who are running a fentanyl ring, Walker and Trey, who have partnered with each other in her absence, are also investigating a new lead on The Jackal while trying to stay on the DL - how long do we think that's going to last? Not even till the end of the episode, since Kelly is the first one to find out that he's gearing up to do something big again. Things get tense between her and Cordell as she begs him not to let James find out about this, we don't find out why until the very end, but it definitely lays the groundwork to show just how intense things did get back then and could happen once again.
"The Quiet” – WALKER, Pictured: Violet Brinson as Stella Walker, Coby Bell as Capt. Larry James, Jeff Pierre as Trey Barnett, Odette Annable as Geri Broussard, Ashley Reyes as Cassie Perez, Molly Hagan as Abeline Walker and Mitch Pileggi as Bonham Walker.: Rebecca Brenneman/TheCW ©2024 All Rights Reserved
The family comes together for Walker's birthday celebration and we see that even though Geri's initial surprise plan to have everyone join her and Cordell for the weekend away didn't pan out, in the end they still are with each other - they brought the Grand Lonestar to Walker Ranch, complete with an 80 oz steak, creamed spinach, the works and even a countdown timer! It's these lighthearted moments with the entire ensemble that shows you just what the heart of the show is - family, the one you're born into and the one you forge along the journey of life with close friends and partners. The show has always been able to balance the scales with the more serious side of things, as we see how Cassie leads the boys to takedown the Delmonico brothers soon after, with a momentarily tense showdown when Capt. James was being held hostage - the scene where Cassie basically knocks them down a peg and arrests them shows just how much she's changed in her time with the FBI... although her scene with James in the aftermath of that does make one wonder, what exactly does he have in mind to convince her to stay in Austin, while still being able to do more on a grand scale?
"The Quiet” – WALKER, Pictured: Jared Padalecki as Cordell Walker.: Rebecca Brenneman/TheCW ©2024 All Rights Reserved
When all is said and done, Geri is at home with Cordell, taking a moment to themselves, discussing how things are changing with Stella away at college and Auggie on his way to being a teenager and "dipping out early" from family events that aren't as appealing to him anymore. It's the first reference we get to the episode title when Walker tells her that his worry is about "the quiet" that an empty house brings about, where the thoughts and the darkness of the work that they do seeps in and starts to affect their mental health - and it's brought up almost immediately again when Trey shows up to continue their secret investigation into the Jackal (complete with a murder board and red string! Now that's official!) The flashback we get shows us just how far into the case James had fallen prey to - consuming his nights, his life, keeping him away from his son and how it ultimately led to his separation from his wife... it was the quiet of not being able to get answers, to try and reach out and pull at any threads that he could find, which still led to nowhere that changed everything for him... Walker has seen that firsthand and he'll do his best to not let that happen again, but these things are a slippery slope as we all know... will Walker be able to save himself while still keeping his best friend and Captain in the dark?
We have a whole season ahead of us to see where this case will take Cordell and the others, but do we think that Cordri will last? Is Cassie going to leave for Quantico permanently or will she stay back? And does Stella have a chance at moving on from that haunting night at Geri's? Let me know what you guys think in the comments!
