Walker - Hold Me Now - Review: Finding a Needle in a Haystack... Blindfolded!

Well! There's definitely something to be said about the least likely possible answer being the right one... potentially? In the case of figuring out who the Jackal is, things have finally moved beyond just a blurry picture to an actual person who we actually got to see crossing paths with Walker himself tonight! But before we cut to the chase, let's rewind to how the investigation led him to that point! We begin the episode on a somewhat quieter note than previous week's have been, which could be considered a blessing in disguise, seeing as how when things start off slowly, they tend to snowball into something a lot more intense as the hour goes on! Which is exactly what happened in the climax of the episode; with Geri out of town for the near future and both of his kids off doing their own investigations, Walker has nothing but free time on his hands to continue delving into James's notes about the Jackal; and if there's one thing we've learned, it's that once you go all in, there's no easy way to come out of it unscathed. 

Cordell has been obsessing the same way that we had seen Capt. James do so, both in the past and for the few episodes that he was looped into everything, until he took himself off the case to focus on himself. We see how he steps into the role of leader, taking charge of the investigation as James had requested - working together with Trey, Cassie and Det. Luna (who returned after last week's episode-off shall we say) to narrow down a very, very long list of suspects, any one of whom could be the serial killer they've been hunting. Of course, things are never as cut-and-dry as we expect them to turn out; Walker learns that fairly quickly when the first potential suspect - Dave Sloane - turns out to not be the Jackal, despite him presenting a compelling enough argument that Sloane is someone worth looking into at the very least.

"Hold Me Now" - WALKER, Pictured (L-R): Violet Brinson as Stella Walker, Mitch Pileggi
as Bonham Walker, Keegan Allen as Liam Walker: Rebecca Brenneman/The CW © 2024
All Rights Reserved

Walker soon discovers that Sloane does have an alibi for the night of the Corpus motel murder, as convenient and too-good-to-be-true it sounds, having an Austin P.D Lieutenant as his AA sponsor does check out and the case goes back to square one! Still, if there's one thing we've learned about Cordell Walker over the past four seasons, it's that he's determined to see his cases through to the end, even at the cost of his own self, going against his family's better judgement and warnings - which ultimately does lead to a break in the case - and a bump on the head for him too! What initially is meant to be a quick check-in on a zookeeper who lived about a mile away from the Jackal's first kill (and is quite low on the list of suspects) turns out to be a whopper when Cassie and Luna uncover a bunker filled with clues and hints galore! Is Gary Boyle, seemingly animal..... terrorizer... the one they've been trying to find? We don't get to see Walker's attacker's face, but for now, it is more than likely that they're the same person! 

While Walker's late night murder board ponderings and deep dives into the notebook of doom give him the next suspect that everyone's looking for, the episode does also take its time to check in with the other characters and their storylines as well. Det. Luna and Cassie's relationship is clearly still blossoming into something positive and hopeful for the two of them - we totally love to see a karaoke date night scene at any given time thank you very much! And after spending the night together, it seems as if Cassie is giving herself a chance to be happy with Luna, as is clearly evidenced when she reaches to hold his hand after the intense run-in with the Jackal starts to quiet down. I've said it in my previous reviews, but I'll say it again - Justin and Ashley have great chemistry together and you can't help but root for them! While also perhaps simultaneously shushing any inner-voices of suspicion on hearing his story about a cheating fiancée from a few years ago - boy, did the whole Kevin/Grey Flag thing do a number on Cassie or on us viewers? 

"Hold Me Now" - WALKER, Pictured (L-R): Kale Culley as August Walker, Jeff Pierre
as Trey Barnett, Mathieu Caviness as Ralph: Rebecca Brenneman/The CW © 2024
All Rights Reserved

Let's hope for Cassie's sake - and ours too - that James is right and Luna is good people - he watches Hawk's Shadow even! That's definitely a sign of a keeper for Cassie if you ask me! Plus, if there's one thing this season is showing us, especially with the intensity of this overarching case, it's that you need to have someone in your corner to keep you tethered. Something to focus on outside of work before it sucks you in completely, which is where it feels like Walker is headed based on that very unsettling ending we saw!

On the Walker clan side of things, we got to see Stella learning self-defense from Bonham, something that she thinks she needs after the break-in at Geri's, which doesn't raise more than one alarm bell in her grandfather's head, for now? Elsewhere, Augie finishes up his boot camp training while learning what it really means to be a true leader - not beating any timed records or coming in first place, but rather understanding the importance of being part of a team, going back to help a fellow cadet-in-training, because you never leave one of your own behind! Is that where he sees himself next year though? Perhaps things aren't as crystal clear for Augie as he initially thought. 

"Hold Me Now" - WALKER, Pictured (L-R): Molly Hagan as Abeline Walker, Mitch Pileggi
as Bonham Walker: Rebecca Brenneman/The CW © 2024
All Rights Reserved

We're halfway through the season now and there's still momentum in the Jackal case that hasn't faltered yet; they've gone on the offense, which is leading to results and getting one step closer. Over to you now folks! What do we think? Will Gary Boyle turn out to be the Jackal or is it someone a little closer to home, though I dread to even think of it? Were you surprised to hear JJC's rendition of "Hold Me Now" by the Thompson Twins - because that sounded truly wonderful and I was delighted! "Corpus Crooner" is appropriate is it not? And how far will Walker go before someone pulls him out of the spiral he's found himself in? Who will it be? Geri, Liam, James or perhaps Abeline?

Anjali S

Anjali is a reviewer for SpoilerTV - her favorite shows include 911, Walker, The Rookie, Supernatural, Doctor Who! When she's not watching tv, she spends her free time reading and writing. She is a newly published author; her first book was released in March 2024 and she hopes to keep writing more!