A DB is found in the woods and Ferg (Adam Bartley) is first on the scene, at the site, any closer and he'd have contaminated the CS. Which he has to point out when the others arrive, that he was the one who heaved. Seems the Vic, Ed Crawley was bear baited, literally had meat thrown onto him so he'd be mauled by a bear. Clearly someone was out for revenge, vengeance.
Walt (Robert Taylor) and Vic (Katee Sackhoff) are preoccupied with Branch's uncle, Lucien (Peter Weller) as he shoots up the retirement home, oh, I mean the' retirement facility.' Walt sending in Vic cos he doesn't like Walt being around and cos he'll never shoot a woman. Well he didn't, he says he shot the chair and he's arrested, but turns out he wants to help Walt in the current case and he can't keep him out of it, even if he was the former sheriff. Apparently Branch's (Bailey Chase) father wants nothing more than for Branch to win the race and become sheriff himself. Appears it runs in the family. What is it, being sheriff gives them some sort of standing in the local community. Though it's also obvious that Branch loves his uncle, even if he does charge him for bringing him food.
Walt questions Ed's sister, Pam (Debrianna Mansini) about her brother and also his brother in law, Russell (Wade Williams) who doesn't have a good word to say about Ed, she on the other hand sees him as being able to do no wrong. Though Russell thinks the parents of the girl he murdered are good suspects. Although they would have been obvious, it seems they wouldn't really have waited for him to get out of prison, especially since they would have had several opportunities to have killed him when he was found guilty or at his trial and since hey were relying on the justice system, at least the parole board, to ensure he never would be parolled.
The girl's mother, Donna (Cristine Rose) hasn't gotten over her murder, Ed stabbed her twelve times cos he was a meth addict, but she insists that just doesn't happen even if he was an addict. Then has a go at Walt for referring to him as a Vic. It's the age old story of having to investigate Vic's murders or otherwise irrespective of the sort of people they were. It's the nature of the job. So yes, the murderer became the Vic. Clearly Walt shares her pain but he can't come out and tell her about his wife and for on thing, she can't be mentioned all the time and this is one of those eps were she wasn't.
The bear needs to be found as it's really a public menace now and since she's on her third strike (yes bears have that too) it means she will have to be put down if she did indeed kill Ed. Walt's visit to the bear tagger/monitor, Pete (Dean Chekvala) proves less than fruitful since he's out in the field and can't be reached, though Walt tells the woman receptionist that a satellite phone will help. Gotta love that line for someone who doesn't carry a mobile (cell) phone! he is up on technology much to the chagrin of others.
Walt takes the evidence and the slither of flank steak as Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) refers to it and turns up at his fund raiser. Henry adding it would have been more popular if he had made a personal appearance sooner. Henry throws the steak onto the barbecue and Walt has to retrieve it, it's evidence. Later he meets with the hunter, Omar (Louis Herthum) who he wants to track the bear. Henry telling him that the bear can't be responsible for what it did. Walt can't pay Omar, why would he anyway even if it's police business, he's meant to hep the law, not bargain over his services, which he manages to do when he wants Vic to come with him onto the search.
Which proves to be more problematic than not. As Vic is shot with a dart and it's Pete who does the shooting, claiming he was aiming for the bear. Of course I said that if he had been shooting at the bear his dose of tranquilizer would have been far more potent than what was in the actual dart, a point which Walt also raises later on. Vic telling Omar beforehand that she's married. Well Omar was just plain smarmy, but it's not like Vic can't handle herself. Also mentioning her husband again when Walt thinks he should call him. She says he doesn't care and won't be bothered besides he's out of town and will probably be getting a transfer somewhere else. So why is she still with him, though we're not really meant to dwell into her personal life just yet seeing as it's still early days. Although she does say to Walt that he's "different, because you're a man." In comparison to her husband. Kind of an echo of what I wrote for the review of the Pilot ep, where I said a show going back to a time where, "men were men.." Ha. Yeah okay, narrow it down to one man in terms of Walt. No one else holds a candle.
There's a commotion at the hospital as Donna and Ira (Scott Paulin) arrive and don't have ID. Ira tells Walt she needs to see the DB to get some sort of closure which Walt lets them do. She's hysterical, but there's no reaction from Ira. Ed had a car which is missing so Walt sends Ferg to look for it. As well as wanting Branch to find a way of getting his uncle back to the home and out of his hair. Walt talks to the former warden of the prison, Dan (Graham Beckel). Since Ira thought that if he'd been at Ed's parole hearing then he wouldn't have been let out. But it was due to budget cuts that Dan had to step down and a younger man getting the job of warden, effectively he was pushed out. In which case he wouldn't really have been much for upholding the law.
He tells Walt how one of his guards was killed by Ed but someone else took the credit for it, thus there wasn't any way of telling if he actually killed him or not. His allusion to being pushed out for a younger man is another that is close to home for Walt since Branch is practically gunning for his job and depending on which way the wind blows and how the voters vote, seems like they may go for a 'younger model', ha, irrespective of his abilities and getting the job done. They may think it's time for change. Then again some people just hate change.
Walt gives Dan a list of prisoners to look over but he doesn't recognize any names on there which are relevant. Ferg locates the vehicle outside a dishevelled house and Ruby (Louanne Stephens) calls for back-up. Branch warning Ferg to get out if he sees any tubes and other drug paraphernalia. However on this occasion, it's Walt who freezes as he has another flashback of coming to a closed door and chasing someone. Which leads him open to being shot himself, at the worst. Don't see the point of that flashback being put there or his thinking to it at that point in time, since he's faced that situation many times before and probably has for a year since his wife's death.
They arrest the men but no one's talking. One of them says he found the truck abandoned with the key in it so Santa left it. Though he recalls Jerry Stonesifer (Jackamoe Buzzell) is one of the men who was at the house. Jerry being related to one of the women Lucien knows at the home. Branch and Ferg look over the postcards and cards from the drug bust and Ferg is attacked as the men steal some cards from him and eat them, they're laced with meth and a good way of being smuggled into prison right under the authority's noses.
Lucien tells Walt the motive is more likely to be vengeance (another emotion close to Walt's heart). Walt takes him back to his home which Branch got him back into by finding some code violations at the home. Lucien doesn't like Branch that much cos he's like his father and ruthless in that respect. Also bringing up the part about Walt using his nouse and not being a CSI or relying on forensics. Knew that had to come up, for more reasons than one. Vic realizes she was shot with a dart thus her wound is far bigger than a syringe wound, so Ed was also shot with a dart, thus his murder was planned. Would've thought that was obvious since he was baited with meat!
Walt talks with Pete, who says it was an accident with Vic getting hit, but Walt brings up the fact the he used a lesser amount of tranquilizer, which I pointed out a while back. He promises to help if the bear, known as Waffles isn't put down but just relocated. He found human flesh in her scat. Walt takes Waffles to Dan and makes him confess after throwing red meat onto him and threatening him with Waffles. He killed Ed cos he killed his guard and the fact that he was released for the daughter's murder. Which really wasn't for him to question, even if it was all to do with budget cuts too. Anyway Dan wants Tommy Lee Jones to play him in a movie since he'll be seen as a hero for what he did. What take one scum off the earth, Walt reminds him this is real life and not a movie. Walt lets Waffles go since as stated humans are the worst kind of hunter and should know better.
Yes, mention of CSI, there was such an ep in season 5.14 Unbearable, where a hunter was not only mauled and killed by a bear but the bear was also killed. As Catherine said there, the bear could be considered a lethal weapon. The bear was called Tippi (a reference to actress Tippi Hedren who is also an animal advocate.) CSI:Miami ep 5.17 A Grizzly Murder also appeared to have a case of what turned out to be bear baiting.
Wonder if Walt going after Dan will have an adverse effect on his election campaigning seeing as he probably had a lot of people and connections on his side. He was even willing to put up one of his election signs, which it seems Walt carries spares of in back of his truck. Everyone in this show, at least our cast, have a personal issue or axe to grind, in other words, they're damaged goods.
Lucien had some choice words for Walt and kept much of the episode going, (also directed by Peter Weller) especially when he harks back to how in his day they'd have beat confessions out of suspects. But then that can't be done these days and Walt does uphold the law, though it could be said his getting Dan to confess could be seen as heavy handed, but I wouldn't say so. Especially considering he was guilty. As said, Walt did his job, upheld the law and brought the killer to book, without any favourtism.
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