Longmire 6.6 "No Greater Endorsement" Review

                                             
Walt (Robert Taylor) finds a letter from Lucien detailing that he was responsible for Tucker's murder and where he can find the bullet that killed him.  Stating he couldn't live with what Tucker was doing and he's not sorry he killed him.  As well as saying he couldn't live the rest of his life in prison, which is what he told Walt last ep.  He also does what he tells him re his burial, rather cremation and Walt carries around his ashes in a Maxwell House coffee tin where Lucien had money saved to pay for the cremation.  Haven't heard that brand name of coffee in ages!  Cady (Cassidy Freeman) comes to see Walt and asks him since when he drinks Maxwell House.  He talks to her about retiring and giving up his job, it would be easier than to go through the court case.  She tells him the judge didn't order a mistrial and is continuing with the case with new counsel for the plaintiff.  Cady tells him to fight and not give up and if he wants to retire to do it on his own terms and not those of the judge and the mayor.

Ferg (Adam Bartley) is called in to a noise complaint and inside he finds a DB.  Cady apologizes to Knighthorse (A Martinez) and asks him to be fair on Walt in the trial.  Not to lie but to do what's right.  She's grateful he will still let her continue with being the lawyer for the Res.  But he knows anything she can do to help his people is good for them.  Ferg calls Walt who's still reading Lucien's note and he sees the DB who was shot with 16 arrows and 'Hector Lives' being carved into his back.  His name was Ian and he was a drug dealer but he doesn't find any drugs there.  Walt asks for Ferg's phone and he wants him to let Walt know if he comes across a silver car.  He wants Vic (Katee Sackhoff) to check out the Vic.  That sounded funny!! For background on the Vic.  Ferg radios the station but Ruby's not there and Vic finally answers his call arriving late.  He tells her Walt took his phone which she calls strange for him.

Walt tells Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) about the DB and he asks if his name is Ian cos he knows a Rusty Ames (James Macon Mauldin) who he saw when he borrowed his bronco.  Walt is grateful to Mathias as he takes him to see Rusty who was associated with Ian but they find he's not at home and Mathias notices a pack of cigarettes on the table.  Also telling him about Henry and Knighthorse being attacked by a silver car and how he was wearing a hood, claiming to be Hector.  Vic gives Ferg the details of where the anonymous call came from.  Ferg finds Zach (Barry Sloane) is living there and he gives him details of how there were people buying drugs from Ian.  Ferg tells him Ian was murdered and he kinda acts shocked that he could've helped and maybe saved him.  Don't know about you but got the feeling Zach was acting like he's behind this and the so-called Hector reappearance.  He wasn't exactly on good terms with Walt and perhaps he needs to worm his way back in for ulterior motives.

Henry tells Knighthorse about the DB and how he had 'Hector Lives' carved on him and he should pack up his security and lay a trap, with Walt waiting to pounce when Hector attacks them.  But Knighthorse refuses though invites Henry to stay at his house whenever he wants.  Henry is fed up of hiding and refuses.

Cady gets a case where the local school teacher, Catori (Susan Santiago) tells her of how some children had Scarlett fever and they recovered with antibiotics, but one of them, Tate Dawson (Phoenix Wilson) hasn't been at school and is just getting worse.  She takes Cady to visit cos perhaps the parents don't have health benefits and insurance and she can help them.  That is the case but they don't want their son treated by 'white' medicine at the hospital where her mother was sterilized after giving birth to her.  They use their own medicine.  So she tells Henry who says that she can only go before the Tribal Court which will take time, but Knighthorse sits on the Tribal Council.  However they take a vote and refuse help.  Knighthorse telling her about being taken away when he was 7 and he doesn't trust them and she's here without the parent's permission and without them knowing.  Even though it would only be temporary custody.  I suppose Catori will not take Tate away herself.

At the trial, Knighthorse testifies and tells the court that he has emails from Barlow which state how he wanted to take away Walt's land and develop it.  After Sam (Hank Cheyne) sends questions to the judge.  Milgrom (Patch Darrah) objects to this but the judge rejects his objection.  So now they know why Sam was here and obviously he and Knighthorse exchanged glances so Sam asked the questions mentioning Barlow.  Knighthorse says that Walt is of impeccable character. Cady thanks him for what he did for Walt, but he says he hasn't done anything yet.

Ferg and Mathias drive and Ferg notices a car that was described on Zach's notebook that he gave to Walt.  After telling him he's been staking that place out for a while.  As well as it being him on the phone when he called Ferg and Walt answered.  He panicked.  Nope still don't trust Zach, he must have an ulterior motive for suddenly cropping up, but being around for a while now.  I mean he just happened to be at that house, across the road from the Vic where deals were being made.  And coincidentally he gets killed by 'Hector.'  Ferg finds that the owner of the car is out of it and doesn't help them, but Mathias notices the same cigarette packet outside a toy house, where they find Rusty inside.  Ferg calls Walt and Mathias waits for him to question Rusty about Hector.  He doesn't remember him but he pushed his head up against the wall.  Walt asks him how tall he was, but he was shorter than Walt.  Ferg asks Walt how the trial is going and he replies "weird."

The lawyer Bishop (Chris Butler) has a settlement conference with Walt and agrees to accept $250 million.  Which is the exact amount that the county can pay, and Walt won't have to pay out of his own pocket.  Walt wants to accept, but Milgrom wants the case to continue to court cos by Walt accepting he'll be admitting he did something wrong and Milgrom also wants extortionate lawyer's fees Walt had to pay.  So Bishop drops the entire case.  Milgrom says that's why Walt needed him and he knew he could do it.  Onto another chapter now the case is over.

Cady comes face to face with Tribal 'justice' decision-making in seeing they would rather see a child die than to accept white man medicine.  Reminding her of how they were removed as children.  However they're not really helping anyone and in accepting medicine for their children they will be using their remedy to help their own.  Also penicillin was actually discovered by a Brit not an American.  Anyway it was good for Walt to get a win after all this time in his corner and now he can return to being a sheriff which is all he ever wanted!  An ironic or a tongue-in-cheek title for this ep with Walt getting an endorsement from Knighthorse of all people, or more like enemies!  Also Knighthorse showing double standards in wanting Cady's help as a 'white' lawyer for his people and at the same time not wanting to help their own and save Tate's life.

Longmire 6.5 "Burned Up My Tears" Review

                                                
Vic (Katee Sackhoff) sleeps on Walt's (Robert Taylor) couch and he has to prepare for court again.  She says she wishes there was something she could do for him and he is worried as he reminds her she saw him burying his money.  Seems like there's only one way his trial could go, obviously with him losing everything.  As he arrives for court and sees Tucker (Brett Rice) Walt has a murderous look on his face, at least that's how Milgrom (Patch Durragh) describes it and tells him he shouldn't show that expression.  But Walt can't help it, as Tucker begins his opening arguments to the jury.  Maintaining how most people will be loyal to Walt but also that they don't need someone who is basically corrupt and looking after his own interests.  As he brings in Sheriff  Jim Wilkins (Tom Wopat) to testify and he talks of how Walt shot him after he accused him of rape and handcuffed him to his hospital bed.  Wilkins telling them how he knew Walker was innocent and let him go.  Cady (Cassidy Freeman) also attends court, as does Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) and Lucien (Peter Weller) who walks in last minute and asks what he's missed.  With his usual wry comments about the sort of people who will hang him out to dry.  Well okay, not in so many words!

Walt is livid and goes to the Red Pony to wallow and get drunk, though he has every right, it's not really his character as we've seen so far.  He gives his keys to Henry and doesn't want a Rainier beer but whiskey and he keeps on ordering it from the barkeep.  I wondered where Henry vanished to since he wasn't around to stop the drinks.  But Walt did manage to find himself on Henry's bed and and heads home nursing a hangover and finds Vic gone with her RV the next morning.
Vic gave her statement to Marshall Hammond (Josh Stamberg) and asks him to inform the press that she shot and killed Chance not Walt.  But he can't do that cos Walt asked him not to and says she should talk to him.  He also hands her back her gun.

Mathias (Zahn McClarnon) calls Walt at home and asks him down to the Res where he finds Tucker's DB.  He was shot and left there and it's not his CS.  This automatically makes Walt his prime suspect and Vic too.  But Walt is adamant he didn't kill him.  He tells Milgrom what happened and Mayor Sawyer Crane (Eric Ladin) wants to see him, using Milgrom's phone to call Vic and leave her messages.  The Mayor has prepared Walt's resignation in a few words, briefly, as Walt is a man of very few words, which is also what Tucker said about him in court.  Walt gets out of the car and screws up the resignation letter, throwing it on the ground.  Ah Walt you just littered!  Ha.

He finds Mathias speaking to Ferg (Adam Bartley) and he says it's not his jurisdiction and he's more than capable of dealing with this.  It's not the first time they've 'invaded' each other's jurisdictions and he takes Ferg to Tucker's house.  He tells him to search the house and finds the chair with the bullet hole but it's not a through and through and he puts his fingers in the hole trying to retrieve the slug, but it's not there.  He then tells Ferg to take pics with his phone as they hear a car approaching.  He hides the phone under his pant leg.  It's Wilkins and he's come to arrest them both for tampering with evidence and Walt can't investigate as Wilkin's been appointed by the Mayor.

Walt finally finds Vic's RV and tells her what's happened.  She went for a drive and she doesn't have an alibi and he checks her gun, which has one bullet missing.  But they don't know if Tucker was shot with a 9mm.  Lucien sees Walt at work and tells him he's been made the new executor of the will and he can now have the case against Walt dropped, but Walt doesn't want him doing that as it will show favourtism.  Yeah and then he'll never clear his name effectively.  Walt also leaves all his property to Cady since he doesn't want to lose his home or his land which comes as a shock to her.

Lucien also gives Walt Tucker's diary and tells him he obtained it from Tucker's other office at Barlow's company since he was also CEO.  Walt uses a pencil and finds the imprint of Alex Graham, as well as a Post-it with the name Alan O'Brien.  He tells Ferg to find him and also he goes to see Alex (Radha Mitchell).  She's Barlow's ex wife and she invites Walt into her room in an attempt to seduce him.  She recalls Barlow would've lost his head if he had seen them together right now.  She wants what's hers, half of the estate and she's here to seduce the new executor of his will to get her own way if necessary.  Took me a moment to recognize Radha, she's changed so much from her days of playing Catherine in Aussie soap, Neighbours.

Vic returns to work to help Walt and tells him that Wilkins is waiting for him outside the office and she also does a stupid thing too again.  Her undying loyalty is all well and good but she just makes mistakes and makes things worse for him.  Walt says she'll return with an alibi.  She tells Wilkins that he didn't do it and that he was with her.  Her RV was parked outside his cabin and writes him a ticket for loitering.

Henry can't give Walt an alibi and is sorry since he took his Bronco and drove out to the Res.  Telling Walt about being attacked by someone dressed as Hector.  Walt thinking he's probably playing Hector again.  But it wasn't him.  He doesn't know if Walt was still here or not, but does that mean no one else saw Walt in a crowded bar and how did he get into Henry's apartment.  Unless Henry put him there.  But wouldn't he have been too drunk to even get to Tucker's and shoot straight!  Henry can't alibi him since he'll probably makes things worse for him, which he already did, just like Vic.

Walt gives Lucien the heads up on Alex and also he has three missing bullets from his gun clip.  Walt can't recall how many shots he took at Chance and can't recall much of anything.  Lucien reloads his gun clip and now Walt doesn't have any bullets missing.  He is sure Walt didn't shoot Tucker.  How is he sure, well cos he's the one who did it.  As said by me and sis at the same time.  There were hardly any other credible suspects there anyway.  Ferg and Walt go to Barlow's as the alarm is on and find Alex trying to take what was hers.  She has a gun, but he tells her it would've been so easy to hide the weapon amongst Barlow's other collection.  He takes her in and Vic is still interviewing Alan Brien's.  There being many of them.  Wilkins is there and releases Alex as Walt doesn't have any authority to arrest her and wants Walt and Vic to accompany him to the Mayor's office.  Where it's shown Vic lied and Cady comes in as they're being interviewed without a lawyer present.  She got the news from Mathias and was going to get him a good criminal attorney, but didn't have enough time.

Walt thanks Mathias who doesn't believe Walt is guilty as he was genuinely shocked to see Tucker dead.  Walt looks at the note again and the name Alan O'Brien and takes out the book Lonesome Dove from his book shelf.  He drives to Barlow's where Lucien is doing an inventory and finds some items missing.  Walt tells him about the book and how Lucien gave it to him, but he hasn't read it in years.  Walt recalled the name Alan, who was Sean O'Brien's brother.  Lucien saying he was just a minor character in the book.  However Walt says he was the one who gave him the book.  Thus he knows it was Lucien who took care of Tucker.  Lucien wanted to do one last right thing since Walt is a good sheriff and good for the county.  He asked Tucker to drop the case but he wouldn't.  So he didn't have a choice.  He shot him.  As they head for a showdown themselves cos Lucien doesn't want to spend his last days in prison.

They shoot and Lucien is shot in the hand and Walt in his leg.  Walt won't finish it off.  So Lucien takes a final drink and heads for the cliff where he throws himself over.  At least he now knows who will attend his funeral.  Walt saying "I wouldn't miss it you bastard."  Phew that's a whole family wiped out in this show.  But it was coming, you could tell.  Lucien telling Tucker about Sitting Bull and how he said he had two dogs in his heart, a mean one and a good one.  He thought Tucker had the same and appealed to his good dog, but to no avail.  Tucker was bringing the case and persecuting Walt "because I can."  Which was too much for Lucien to listen to. Quoting the line from Alan in the book to Walt and how this land "burned up my tears."  True, not just cos of the weather, but the hardship to endure.

Vic also going to kill herself came as a shock.  After seeing that family with their daughter.  She was always a strong person, or at least gave that impression.  But she couldn't go through with it and Walt makes her promise to never do that again.  As it'll be more painful for him not having her here than this case or anything else.  He doesn't have many friends and loyal ones at that, so every one counts and plus he doesn't want to keep losing people he cares about either.

Halfway through the final ever season (sob!) and this case being wrapped up so 'easily.'  I would've liked to have seen it go on a little bit and seen what would've happened.  But that wasn't to be.  Also Tucker claiming that everyone Walt encounters ends up dead kinda wrote his own epitaph in many ways.  Well I can't call it wishful thinking, cos that's exactly what happened to him.  Perhaps karma and a little too conveniently.  Then again Longmire was also good at quoting from movies and Milgrom also refers to the Mayor driving up and carting Walt away as a scene from Goodfellas.

Longmire 6.4 "A Thing I'll Never Understand" Review

                                             
As Walt (Robert Taylor) rushes Vic (Katee Sackhoff) to hospital after the shoot out with Chance, he tells her things and makes sure she doesn't lose consciousness.  However she dreams of a little girl running in the woods as she hazes in and out.  Walt also brings up Gilbert and Sullivan and recites some to her.  As they arrive at the hospital, he tells the doctor she's pregnant.  Walt refuses to leave her side and sits by her bedside holding her hand.  A bit of a repeat of Vic last season doing the same for Walt after he had been shot.  However she had ulterior motives in her feelings for him and here Walt's just concerned about her as his deputy and friend.  Ferg (Adam Bartley) drops by with food for Walt and will heat it up for him.  But Walt tells him to leave it.  The Marshalls want their guns for ballistic purposes and also want statements.  Meg (Mary Wiseman) wants to speak with Ferg.

She tells him about her mother, Beverley (Marylouise Burke) at the casino and she stole their chips, well Mathias (Zahn McClarnon) says he locked her in the car that's up as a prize.  She refuses to return the chips saying they're her winnings.  Ferg talks to her and she refuses to give them back, being very derogative towards the Native Americans.  Meg writes a cheque so they can take her home and she must return all the chips as Ferg made that deal with them.  However she suffers from "chemo brain" as Meg puts it and has hidden some of the chips.  She tells Ferg about wanting to go to Paris when she was little and how Beverley sewed costumes for her.  Also taking her hunting with her grandfather's rifle, not wanting Meg to miss out on anything.  She didn't want him to know in case he wouldn't want to see her anymore.  Beverley calling Ferg a cross between Cary Grant and Raymond Burr, also calling him Dreamboat.  Cary's name for Claude Reins in Notorious!  ha.  Personally didn't see the Cary resemblance!  Not being horrible or anything!

Travis (Derek Phillips) gets drunk at the Red Pony and Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) needs a ride to Cheyenne to make his statement to the FBI about Malachi.  He doesn't sell bottles and Travis says he would if he had a gun and badge like he does for Walt.  Henry takes Vic's keys from him.  Then Henry rides to Cheyenne with Knighthorse (A Martinez) who blames himself for Henry getting involved in his beef was with Malachi.  He had a choice of banishing him or killing him.  But Henry says he had a third choice, to do what he's doing now and report him.

Walt still goes around with his blooded shirt and the press hound him at the station.  The Marshalls say that they're a bit of a hero as they got Chance for them. They take the guns, Walt says he doesn't want to give a statement to the press as Chance's "nuts" may go after Vic.  He wants them to let the "nuts" think Walt shot him and not her.  He drives to the compound and sees the news on the telly which he destroys with a baseball bat and rips Vic's photos from the wall.  The compound is empty.  he wants Ferg to check the family's social media and see if there's anything about revenge against Vic.  However he's sidetracked with Meg's mother, who's now gone missing and taken the gun with her.  They think she'll head to the casino, but instead find she's trying to pawn it off to pay for her cheque.  Though she could only get $1200 for it and not more.  At the pawn shop, they find Beverley driving up with Jamie (Bob Clendenin) who's now working as a taxi driver and he doesn't get his fare back either.

Vic wants the hospital to deal with the baby and she doesn't know how to react or feel about losing it. But she talks with Doctor Sanders (Nikki Dixon) who tells her they didn't know what the sex was.  She asks for her pre-natal file and they were able to determine the blood type.  She lost the baby since she suffered too much blood loss so they had to save her since the foetus was non-viable at this stage.  As Walt tells Vic earlier, the baby saved her life.  She discharges herself when Walt turns up and he takes her to the RV.  Where he speaks with Mega (Robert Baker) and also a man drives by.  I said he should just drive that to his place and that's exactly what he did!  Great minds with the writer ha!  She hides her file and he he's left a note for her to take the pills.  After she wakes up hearing the horses.  He's made her breakfast but he has to go.

At the station. Walt finds Travis going through the files and he wonders if Eamon was the father, looking through the files for him under 'A' and not 'E'.  He wants to know who the father was and again asks if it was Walt, who doesn't really tell him it's not him.  He didn't get chance to visit her.  In the RV, Vic finds the swab she used for Travis after she punched him and takes it to be examined for blood type.  Mega tells Walt about the package and thinks it's a bomb.  He gets Mega to takes pics of it and then Walt shoots at it but it turns out to be a child's toy barn.  Walt fixes the bullet wound with glue and a sharpie lid melted. 

Henry and Knighthore are attacked on the way back and are run off the road by someone dressed as Hector, as Henry tells Mathias.  Who tells him they both know it's not Hector.  So he got some man to dress up as him.  Malachi wrote 'Hector Lives' with rocks, so he could've got someone to dress like him.  Vic tells Walt she doesn't know her baby and she knows she was a girl.  As her dreams shows her running towards her and then the little girl vanishes.  She got the blood tests as she thought she could learn something more if she knew who the father is.  But as usual we'll have to wait for that since she doesn't want to look.  Fancy asking Walt if he looked at the results, as if he would.  Kinda an ep tying up loose ends in a way and just adding a bit of a tacked on case for Ferg to work on which was essentially personal for him too.

Longmire 6.3 "Thank You Victoria" Review

                                             
Where it all comes crashing down in many ways, especially for Vic (Katee Sackhoff).  As the day arrives for Walt's (Robert Taylor) civil hearing and the voir dire.  We actually call that a trail within a trial to set aside certain issues that may arise, such as relating to evidence, not for jury selection per se.  Though of course in English Law jury selection and preemeptive challenges per se are a thing of the past.  Anyway Vic sees Walt before the start to tell him she's here about the Chance Gilbert (Peter Stormare) trial which has also been set for the same day.  Milgrom (Patch Darragh) breaks them up cos people will think they're still continuing their little trieste.  However they both reply they were never together.  Though how will small minds determine that as shown by that potential juror number 3.  The little runt trying to be a show off by saying he hates the way he's been treated by law enforcement.  Well if you can't hack it then don't be a criminal to begin with.

Remember when the judge shows bias towards a particular lawyer, here the lawyer for the plaintiff, then things are not going to bode well, especially for our Walt.  Already showing favourtism towards Tucker Baggett (Brett Rice) and judges who do that should be booted off.  As was Juror number 3 as Millgrom asks Walt who he wants him to have struck out.  Walt thinks Sam Poteet (hank Cheyne) since he didn't raise his hand when Judge Drood (Mike Pniewski) asked if anyone knows Walt, or has had dealings with him.  Joking how his name rhymes with 'screwed.'  Walt telling Millgrom to ask about his work.  As well as working for Knighthorse.  He thinks Sam may be spying for Knighthorse.  Just as he asks for Walt's help last episode.  (Incidentally where was Cady this ep?)  Just as Milgrom is about to ask for Sam to be removed, Walt
changes his decision and wants Sam to stay as he's a White Warrior and will have more integrity than anyone else.  So Number 3 is removed asking if he's still going to get paid for this.  See it's only money that motivates.

ADA Brigitte Holder (Catherine Dent) tells Vic she won't have to testify or anything and this shouldn't take long.  Chance enters and wants all the charges read out.  Judge Mayhew (Ralph Alderman) getting bored with that since there are 15 pages to be read out.  he makes some more comments about being here and how he's pleading guilty out of honour.  As Chance leaves to be transported back to Death Row he sees Walt and wants to say goodbye to him.  Well not really.

When Walt goes back to court, Vic rushes in telling her she needs him as chance has escaped and taken one of the prison guards, Rudolph (Bill Tangradi) hostage, wearing a gasmask as he goes outside.  They follow but he vanishes into a crowd of others dressed just like him, that Ferg (Adam Bartley) refers to as a flashmob.  Walt wants Ferg to get their names and Vic finds his gasmask on the ground round the corner.  Walt says they'll get the surveillance camera footage from the tattoo parlour and see him getting away on a motor bike.  Which was left there in the night for him.  As they search for him and use the surveillance at the courthouse to search for his family, Walt thinks it's safer if she stays at work cos he'll be after her.  But she doesn't believe he'll come after her, he disagrees especially as she put him away to begin with.

Milgram gets Walt's hearing postponed just so we can have it dragged out longer as the Chance loose end is tied up for the final season.  They see a man enter the toilets in a check shirt.  Checking out the toilets after the two prison guards give their version of events and uncuffing Chance to change back into his prison orange.  One says he spat on his hand and he left him uncuffed in the toilet.  Knew one of them was in on it since it was too easy for him to escape.  Ferg finds that one of the flashmob was Bob (John Bishop).  He responded to a Craigslist ad and would get paid for this.  But he's getting neither.  Walt has Ferg check out the IP address of the ad.  Ferg was pretty much absent for this ep when he could've been helping out more.

At the prison they speak with Chance's cellmate, Hawk (Charles Halford) who doesn't know much.  He was on the computer progamme but he couldn't stand the noise of the keyboard.  Chance didn't tell him anything but when he hears Vic's name he recalls how much Chance hated her and spoke about her all the time.   He also used to read books about Payne and Jefferson.  In the prison library Walt speaks with Aaron two Rivers (Gary Farmer) who has his own way of doing things and tells them where he can find the books he read, including the Federalist Papers.  Walt finds a page has been torn from each book, page 76.  Chance was the only one who checked the books out.

Further reasons for having Walt keep her at the station.  Walt's called by Travis (Derek Phillips) as Vic didn't show up for their steak dinner he was going to cook for her as two masked men turn up and graffiti her trailer.  He follows them and calls Walt.  Walt leaves Vic there and she has a nightmare about Chance coming after her.  But wakes up to find Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) there instead.

Walt dresses as Chance with the red bow tie as Travis ties it for him, pretending to be Chance on the bike.  He drives through the compound but he's not there.  He returns leaving Travis to wait for the Marshalls.  They check the footage again and see the man go through to the toilet.  The only other people to have contact in the library were the two guards.  Walt beings them and questions them, thinking it's Rudolph cos he has similar views as Chance.  However it turns out to be Eubell (Graham Shiels) the one who was spat on.  He admits he helped him cos he was seeing a woman, Sharon (Rachel Michaela) and he wanted her gone cos she wouldn't end it.  So he helped him in return for Chance taking care of her.

As they drive to her house, they find it empty but Vic finds he's already been and gone as he ate fried belloni there.  Walt tells Travis to take Vic home and she confronts Travis about telling Walt about Vic.  As said, last ep it wasn't for him to tell him and Vic says the same.  That it wasn't his "secret to tell."  Travis says they're worried about her and she should say thank you more often and appreciate what they're doing.  Especially since he cooked steak and she missed their date.  Vic replying it wasn't a date but a "nutritional consultation."  Yeah that makes it sound better but she doesn't need anyone.  She drives away in his car as Walt returns to the compound.  Chance wasn't going to go through with killing Sharon.

Walt enters the storage bunker and the ladder's removed.  There I was saying he doesn't need a ladder!  Ha.  Chamce hasn't killed the Marshall and he didn't want to kill anyone but that census taker wouldn't leave him alone.  He's going to leave Walt in there and it gets cold in there too.  Vic arrives in the nick of course and they have a shooting match.  Walt tries to get out and Chance tells Vic he didn't want to die but to live in freedom.  She finally kills him by firing off practically the entire round as Walt climbs out.  She's shot in the knee and when he carries her, she thanks him.

And therein ends the saga of Chance, being dragged on for a long time.  Of course Vic will have self defence on her side but now she doesn't have to look over her shoulder for him, that doesn't mean his family won't come after her.  Which doesn't seem likely.  Such an elaborate escape plan and where did it get him: death!  Walt told him earlier how he was committing suicide by state since he wanted to be on Death Row.  Vic also saying how she let him escape and should've listened to Walt when he refused his request.  Walt wanted to see him suffer and be alive but she didn't.  Maybe cos as happened here, deep down she really wanted to see him dead so she could get out of having to deal with him, especially with her baby on the way.  Also we get to see Walt in a suit for court, which was shortlived for now.  Though we saw him changing into it, luckily (or not!) we didn't get any shirtless scene this time round!  Well you know, could've had him put it on you know!! Ha.

Gotta hand it to Longmire, after 6 years it still entertains and never failed to thrill.  Just when you think the hearing will be getting underway, they add in a new case and leave us hanging more to see how Walt will fare!  A bit of a tongue in cheek ep title cos not only did Vic get to say thank you more than once, but also perhaps for shooting Chance and putting everyone out of their misery.

Reminds me I should've added how in Supernatural, Lucifer called Bobby Longmire in season 13 cos of how he dresses, more likely!  See even Walt gets a mention in one of my fave shows!!

Constantine 1.13 "Waiting for the Man" Review

                                                 
Jim has a case for Constantine and shows him pics of spontaneous combustion and the man being mummified.  Constantine talks of the lunar tetrad involving the blood moon.  Constantine sees Zed and Jim flirting and she has that same vision again. Not of death but of change.
During the thirteenth century, Devil's branding was used to torture witches.  The blood moon is a sacrifice for a welcome new cycle.
Gary awakes in the body of the DB as an animated corpse warning Constantine there's a price on his head - his warning.  [What price Constantine? A question we may well ask for as long as he doesn't get his own show back!]

Constantine's comment of how little girl's loving their fathers no matter what they do - Zed doesn't though.  Constantine also telling her everytime he lights up he thinks of the surgeon's bloody warning and he's still here.  (Yeah til he gets to that comic issue.)  "We can shape our destiny but we can't really escape our fate."  Fate mentioned here aptly re Dr Fate's helmet, or perhaps not.)

Manny envies Zed it's not "all harps and halos, we have rules to follow."  Zed has a choice and she can act on her visions if she wants to.  Constantine does a yukky spell using the missing girl, Vesta's hair and tooth brush, which he describes as "piercing the veil according to Tibetans."

Constantine is attacked by one of Papa Midnite's zombies.  He advises Zed to move past her distractions, viz Jim.  Her visions never lie and she says what I said earlier, Constantine doesn't even have a phone.

Midnite gave up on his soul, but the bounty on Constantine is worth it - his sacrifice will free his sister's soul from eternal damnation.  Constantine saying that only the Brujeria have that power.  Obviously Constantine appearing to Midnite wasn't actually him.  Constantine: "added a glamour spell nifty 'ey."

Danie Cerone tweet: "closed Marriott amusement Park Atlanta.  Our best location ever."
After they find the missing girl, Constantine wonders what if that man like him doesn't get to prison cos he's not really a man.  Zed tells him of her vision since he deserves to know.
At the bar Constantine watches them snog and all he gets is the taste of a cigarette and as he walks away once more into that night, there's his longer trenchcoat at the end!  A better fit.
Daniel Cerone tweeted: "Matt Ryan always wanted a longer coat per #Constantine #Hellblazer. We busted it out int his scene.  Will be permanent if we get season 2."  Why?

Constantine: "be an angel, come over here and hold it for me will ya!"
This line tweeted Daniel Cerone "was pitched on set by our fine script supervisor Cheryl Starbuck.  It takes a village."

He tells Manny.  Spent time with Constantine, "I felt betrayed seeing other people now."  Manny says Constantine is jealous of Jim with Zed.  But he just hopes she can handle it.
Constantine: " stare into the face of  evil every bloody day...this is different - not evil in any realm, more dangerous than the Rising Darkness."
Manny reassures they can win this war. "trust me."
Constantine: "you know me I don't play if I can't win...worrying about how to spend my last days after I've driven every last bastard demon to where it belongs."
Our last scene with our beloved anti-hero and the ensuing battle continues somewhere on some plain, but not on our TV screens...!

Daniel Cerone: "This scene kills it.  It's Matt and Harold being awesome backed by Christine's stellar writing."

Manny releases Midnite who tells Manny he will never be free as he works for the Brujeria.
Manny: "...cancelling the contract on John Constantine - he's off limits - the Brujeria work for me."

Constantine's reference to fate and destiny - something similar to what I used to say - re fate already written for us and destiny is ours to change or do as we wish.  See also Dean and his version - he doesn't believe in either?/

With regards to the spell and the hair, as said in 1.4??  it's what Sam and Dean did in 3.10 Dream A Little Dream of Me with Bobby's hair.  Used here for different reasons.
And again it's mentioned he doesn't have a phone (in the vein of Longmire.)  But hey is it cos they're more trouble than they're worth especially with all that digital tracking etc and well he's been around (and in the comics) even before the dreaded mobiles were even invented.  But he uses Midnite's phone here which came in handy.
Daniel Cerone tweeted: "that's um human hair John put in his mouth in case the camera missed it!"  EEwww!

Jealousy is a trait in Constantine that wasn't so very apparent.  The final reveal though - that this Brujeria work for Manny - as an angel or his capacity in something more evil.  And why even bother with this when he wanted Constantine's help to win the war and what reign supreme.  It doesn't appear to be some sort of test for Constantine.

This episode was based in some form on Hellblazer #4 Waiting for the Man.
A not so much monster of the week ep, but a creepy evil one where Constantine and Dean Winchester both hate such cases - since humans are the worst sort of evil predators to cross their paths.

Constantine's mark revealed on Disyree's mummified chest is a 'Diaboli Cauter' - tool for interrogating or torturing witches. Lo and behold it's Gary Bloody Lester warning Constantine on his head.

Zed uses psychography to locate the address and scribbles it on paper. Sister Cadella is Midnite's sister with his hotline to hell.
The first time Jim manages to shoot the perp as he's killed so many people and again Jim makes the point of 'the man' not being a demon or a ghost.  Thus he's likely to escape. Or get off on some "mental technicality" as I put it.

Constantine: "Tibetans call it ‘Piercing the Veil’. DNA, the right words, a dash of cardiac arrest, and it gets you into the bardo state. Allows you to connect with the subject’s spirit."
Piercing the veil was a concept with lots of references in Supernatural.  Especially the Hallowe'en episode, It's The Great Pumpkin Sam Winchester.  The veil being where ghosts, etc, dwell.  Demons and angels inside vessels can pierce this veil interacting with spirits etc.  Ancient Celts believed 31st October was when the veil was the thinnest between the dead and the living.

Used loosely, "bardo" is the state of existence intermediate between two lives on earth. According to Tibetan tradition, after death and before one's next birth, when one's consciousness is not connected with a physical body, one experiences a variety of phenomena."

Daniel Cerone: "Believe it or not every spell is genuine, written with the consult of our REAL demonologist advisor Christopher Charon."  I always wondered if there was any fall out from this.  But Matt said he hasn't really experienced anything.  See in Constantine section for more.

Hozier's Worksong plays when Zed and Jim kiss.  Oh and I won't forgive Matt anytime soon for making me have Hozier's Take Me to the Church in my head for weeks on end after he said it was one of the current songs back in 2014 he was listening to!!

In the comic, Vesta is actually Constantine's niece, Gemma Masters.
Next blood moon we had (during writing this) was 31 January 2018 when it was a #SuperBlueBloodMoon.

Of course the ep would end with a cliffhanger and a never-ending one at that - just as Manny's true purpose was revealed.  After all the cryptic comments from him - the final ep was perhaps by far the most unresolved and intriguing: i.e Manny's 'end-game.'
It was a pity that Gary was utilized very little, if at all, but under the circumstances it was the only 'time' available in which to give him the message.  Secondly, it kinda absolved Constantine from any guilt he was still wallowing in especially the couple of past eps) but this was a new message to drive home how his soul always will remain in danger - and for other purposes; for the show to have continued at least for the remainder 9 episodes it should have been given to get to a total of 22 for season 1.

The chemistry was there between Zed and Constantine - but perhaps too early days to have gotten anything serious going on between them.  They marvelled in joking about their pasts - the mysteriousness of who they really are.
Angelica: "Both believe in the greater good of humanity against the Rising Darkness but because Zed believes in mankind - that people can be good and they deserve a second chance - that's when they butt heads and John thinks with his head while Zed thinks with her heart and she will stand up to him for what she believes in."  That's why 1.13 Constantine hates people but prefers demons.

As said even with the Manny reveal that the Brujeria work for him - doesn't per se signify that Manny is all bad - this purpose may be perfectly 'innocent' and why cancel the bounty on Constantine so abruptly.  It's like Zed's visions; what she sees doesn't necessarily happen at times in the way she sees them.

Daniel Cerone commented that "John's entire life was an origins episode and we wanted to explore it all.  Golden Boy is my favourite.  Heartbreaking.  We just need a second season."  I second that!!

Neil Marshall - director of 1.1 stating how he felt, "a wrong needed to be righted.  This a comic character who his origins are, he meant to be.  But, he's meant to be blond, he's meant to be a bit of a rogue."
The important aspect of Constantine was to ensure his character was on par and the rest: - stories, other characters, would just fit into place around him.

Daniel Cerone tweeted: "Told U this episode was dark and no wonder we don't play cuddly with Midnite.  He's badass. Not afraid to kill."

"Yes we shot John twice now.  But it's just so much fun and this felt organic to the story cause Midnite comes a packing."

"Yeah so John pretty much hit up there and smoked all the way into the house."

Waiting for the Man ep was an early Constantine story where he wrestles a 'deranged' man rather than anything supernatural.  In the comic this was where John had a date with Zed which went awry with the news John's niece, Gemma, had been kidnapped.  You see in the comics, Gemma's family were in league with the Resurrection Crusade [in the TV show it was the church looking for Zed and that's where they had a falling out and Zed was was kidnapped.]  The crusade were against paedophiles, forming the basis of the story.  John realizes Zed's hiding something and needs to find out what that is.  With numerous hints towards The Spectre and Jim's fate.
Then there's John's story where he doesn't have lung cancer at this point - a reference for future (see Matt's comments elsewhere.)  Where he does succumb to this, but then tricks a demon into saving him from death.  This story took place in Hellblazer #4 written by Jamie Delano entitled Waiting for the Man.

Supernatural 1.15 The Benders
Mass murderers in the US, called The Bloody Benders (hence the title of the this episode, rather than the UK critics going gung ho over the use of the name ‘Bender’ since it has a completely different meaning here.  In England, ‘benders’ is an offensive term for someone who is gay.) 

This episode was a bit of a time out from hunting demons and supernatural phenomena and turned into Sam and Dean being “hunted” by none other than humans.  Demonstrating that even humans can be demons once they surrender to their dark sides, or some in general are just freaks of nature and know no better than senseless killing.  Which is why Dean prefers demons, at least you know their motives, always evil, never chopping and changing.

Daniel Cerone tweeted:
"Seriously how awesome will it be to watch Harold as Manny now that we know he's connected to Rising Darkness."

Manny and Midnite.  I've got chills.  #Constantine 14/2/2015  [Yep Valentine's Day! ha]

"John doesn't walk off into the sunset.  He walks off into the pouring rain. Fitting #Constantine"  [That's what I said re rain.]

"Love watching Matt and Harold work together.  It's  a dance."

"That's John's new longer trenchcoat.  If we get another season you'll be seeing a lot more of it."

"Proud to say @mattryanreal and @EmmettScanlan pitched the #Spectre justice ending.  Was written as an arrest.  This is better."

"John can see dead people. John with another fresh ciggie."

"All sorted."  Straight from the #Hellblazer.  Love his lingo."

"Series over.  John dead.  OH well.  #Hellblazer"

"Real bird or CGI you decide.  {As I said Hitchcock's The Birds}

"Headshot in the family hour we're not pulling punches tonight."

"#Spectre vision."

"Good to see #Constantine and #JimCorrigan together."

"Reports of our demise greatly exaggerated. Season finale - darkness will reign."  Sadly not!!

My Matt Ryan book.  Yeah I know a lot of you are fans in name only which is fine and are only fans of Constantine but this was a labourious one to write so do check it out!! And there's plenty Constantine in it too!!

https://www.amazon.com/Matt-Ryan-Behind-Becoming-Constantine/dp/0244677557/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1526609115&sr=8-4&keywords=mila+hasan

Constantine 1.12 "Angels and Ministers of Grace" Review

                                                
They can't find anything strange on the map.  Zed is alone, Ariadne's thread is mentioned.  As Constantine tells her "heroes are usually jerks at heart."  Dionysus's adventure started from one piece of thread.  Zed only saw this room and it never changes.
Constantine; "helluva hangover comes from magic but the best curse for a hangover is another drink."  No one's prepared for what they do, "but this is the labyrinth we choose to walk."

Constantine: "I forget, angels they can't read sarcasm."  (Like most people I know or don't know.)  Manny's always giving him information seen as another form of manipulation dressed up as angelic guidance."  Manny burns the map calling it a crutch and he should use his instincts and Zed's visions.  Chas: "I hate being used."  That's an understatement.

Daniel Cerone tweeted:
"Ah the scry map.  Felt so smart at the time.  Turned into an albatross.  Writers cheered when Manny burnt it. #Constantine"  25/4/2015

So much foreshadowing in just this opening part of Manny - what's to come - betrayal.
Chas has a screwdriver through his leg and Zed sees an angel, "light was like it was trying to kill me."

The doctor didn't find anything on the dead woman and he's ever seen black veins before.  Constantine experimented on him "in the name of magic."
Detective Constantine thus he always needs a raincoat.  He says Elan Vital, the human body can always give off a spark.  Constantine doesn't want to see Zed just yet since he can't face what she's going through, but he does succumb to his feelings.  Introducing himself as "colleagues" whereas she says "friends."  He says she's not to blame for the mass and visions.  Ariadne ended up dead.

Manny: "filthy habit" when Constantine's with his cigs again.  He asked if Manny knew about Zed and if he can fix it.  But as always it's out of his hands.  Always being the piss poor excuse.  Constantine uses air from Hades on Manny to control him and he can't stay in a human body for long, he'll lose contact with the host and his angelic powers.  As Constantine says he wasn't using his powers anyway, I said that too!  A sorcerer destroyed the Black Diamond of evil and an angel's sword shattered the diamond scattering the pieces around the world. It's clarified evil and a human can't touch it.  Chas can and Constantine uses the cattle prod to get it out of his hands.
Constantine comments on Manny socializing and making "two sods feel pleasure" it's not a sin but he wasn't around when those rules were made.  "Denial and gin" helps him get his work done.  Manny and his filthy habit again, drinking and smoking.

Zed senses Manny's not a doctor and he wanted to see how she was doing, saying Constantine sent him as he's "having a rad time communicating feelings."  She asks if her visions are a gift from God or evil.  Since she met Constantine she uses them "to save lives.  Her gift so put up with the pain," is what she wants to do.  Manny: "you have all the answers you need."  Yes more cryptic lines from him cos she needs to decide what to do.    Manny saying Constantine's missing Zed as support.  After all the dark Constantine's seen and he still has the heart to do this work, it's not his fault.  He realizes the Black Diamond is a gift of God, meaning 'Baghdad.'
Constantine: "heavenly light is the only thing that can fight dark matter."

Constantine reveals his secret how every morning he imagines those around him are dead for the first five minutes and meditates on that.  When it inevitably happens it lessens the blow.  He then sparks a ciggie and fries an egg, true to life!  ha.
Manny says she should enjoy her time with Constantine and she admits she can see Manny.
Zed: "magic has its cost if that cost is pain I'll take it."  Constantine taught her that.
Constantine: "you have changed angel."
As for her visions question, Manny replies "I'm here aren't I."

Stop lighting up in church dude!  Funny Daniel Cerone tweeted this too!! "John is smoking in a church.  Lighting up with a Communion candle.  Is this #Hellblazer or what?"
"We went from John not smoking at all to sparking up using a church candle.  We've come a long way."
"Demons and angels, John doesn't discriminate.  They're all his puppets."

Dionysus is such an oft used deity in many shows/plays.  More recently in Venus In Fur (UK play.)  This episode, Zed's the one who seems to be wallowing and manages to find a room in the millhouse which brings her some peace.  As for the 'wallowing' word she does have every right after everything she's been through and is going to be dealt yet another blow.

Ariadne was in BBC drama Atlantis (another shortlived show).  All from Greek myth.  She was the daughter of King Minos of Crete and Pasiphae, she helped Theseus with the Minotaur.  In some tales; she was wed by Dionysus.  In others, she was abandoned when asleep by Theseus and Dionysus found her again and married her.  Some say he asked Theseus to leave her there so he could find her.  This in effect absolved the "Athenian culture hero - of desertion" and in a roundabout way Constantine alludes to this when he says, "heroes are jerks at heart".  Also showing why he's your typical, average anti-hero.  Ergo non-typical anti-heroes are jerks too!
The Labyrinth was built by Daedalus to capture the Minotaur and found it difficult to escape from his own creative intricate design.  But Zed here manages to find this room - through the Labyrinth's of Jasper's creation: the millhouse with its mazes of rooms.

Manny cunningly burns the map (well it was an eyesore and had to go) so much for being a "crutch".  Adding and mentioning the Ivanche, the serpent and the Brujeria  from 1.8/9.  Oddly  though why did he bring them up now - no one else did.  Did he see that map as somehow eventually being, or bringing about his own downfall and crutch for whom?  Manny and his plans for Constantine.

Constantine won that vial of air from a siren.

"Elan vital" (meaning vital impulse) a term used by French philosopher Henri Bergson the force of life present in all organisms and contributing to evolution.

There's a shard of the Black Diamond they seek back at the millhouse.
Daniel Cerone tweet: "kudos to Dave Blass for designing that tricky Hellraiser puzzle box encasing the Black Diamond.  Straight from DC lore."
"Matt has a great cackle."
"Was that a tear in John's eye?"  I said that too when he recalled Astra earlier on .

Constantine mentions the William Rede - this is the morality system in the neopagan religion of Wicca containing the saying, "An it harm none, do what ye will."  After Manny says he interfered with that doctor/nurse couple and what they had.
Later it became in some texts, "An it harm none, do what thou wilt."  Not to be confused with the doctor's Hippocratic oath of "first do no harm."  As well as Aleister Crowley's Law of Thelema: spiritual philosophy with its roots in Western esotericism.  "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.  Love is the law, lover underwill."  Developed in the early 1900's by Crowley - English writer, magician and mystic.
Daniel Cerone tweet: "doesn't seem like a sin to me but I wasn't around when they made those rules."  this was Daniel's favourite line of the episode.

Perhaps in this scene the most baffling bit was Manny's face when Constantine asks 'are you wearing perfume?'  You know now that he's momentarily free of being an angel.

Zed develops or is now found to have a tumour and she believes perhaps this is a cause of her visions.  And let's not forget her unequivocal devotion to angels and believing in them still; even after her experience with Imogen in 1.7.  That's a sign of her faith and devotion, not some foolhardy notion she's clinging on to.  All the more real when Manny reveals himself to her, although perhaps he's not the right angel for her to cement this belief into reality.  Manny actually swoops in to rescue Zed and Constantine now.

Constantine tries to explain why he couldn't be there for Zed.  He does lament about Zed and what she's going through - does he feel guilty this being brought on or manifesting now cos of him.  But he does have masked feelings here?/

Daniel Cerone's tweeted:
"Zed seeing Many means more Manny.  Stellar."

"I like to hunt."  Yay Supernatural and Dean!!

"Yes that's Jonjo recorded from the UK to voice the animated corpse.  RIP Gary Lester."  [Yeah and Gary should've gotten his own hashtag#.]

"This story is ripped from the pages of #Hellblazer.  We're proud to say.  Siren's Call.  Sung by Bear McCreary's wife."
"NOW THOSE are wings."  Re Cas Supernatural 

And as if ironically, we get a quote from Hamlet re the episode title.  (Matt was in this stage production in 2013-2014 version but not as the lead Hamlet and hopes to play the title character one day!)
"Angels and ministers of grace defend us!
be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd
bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell.
Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
thou comest in such a questionable shae that I will speak to thee..."  Act I Scene IV.

My Matt Ryan book.  Yeah I know a lot of you are fans in name only which is fine and are only fans of Constantine but this was a labourious one to write so do check it out!! And there's plenty Constantine in it too!!

https://www.amazon.com/Matt-Ryan-Behind-Becoming-Constantine/dp/0244677557/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1526609115&sr=8-4&keywords=mila+hasan