A Monster at the Gate – The show begins with young Game Warden Joe Pickett (Zebastin Borjeau) running through the woods, with his father, George Pickett (Kyle Mac) in tow. As he falls over a steep incline, adult Joe Pickett (Michael Dorman) wakes up. Picket inspects a fence torn down by a wild animal. A shot from his pistol scares the animal away. A man on a four-wheeler approaches as he collects his supplies to repair the fence. The man tries to convince Joe into getting the state to cover the repair costs by saying Vern would have done it. Joe says the State is responsible for all damage caused by elk. They hear a gunshot off in the distance. The bullet hit flesh, so he leaves to investigate further.

 

Joe arrives at a scene with Ote Keeley (Benjamin Hollingsworth) standing over a dead else. Ote is hunting elk out of season. The dead elk is “meat for the pot.” Joe says you didn’t have to kill a trophy to fill your freezer. Ote is shocked when he threatens to write him a ticket. Joe arrested the Wyoming Governor Budd for fishing without ea license. Ote is worried about a suspension of his professional outfitter’s license, which will take his family’s financial support. Joe asks for his driver’s license.

As Joe reaches for Ote’s wallet, he lunges forward and grabs his pistol. He points the gun and threatens to kill him. Joe refuses an offer of walking for not writing a ticket. He had rather have a murder rap than a ticket for hunting out of season. Joe wrestles the pistol away from Ote. He points the gun at Ote and asks if he wants to leave his kids without a father. A lawman can’t kill him. The police wouldn’t care if he died. Joe has a childhood flashback of holding a pistol at his father while he sleeps. He puts the gun away and writes Ote a ticket.

 

He has another flashback, standing on a mountaintop. He hits himself in the head, takes in the view, and counts down from three.

Joe arrives home to find his wife, Marybeth Pickett (Julianna Guill) sitting on the porch. She asks about his battered face. They will soon be a two-income family when she chooses between a rodeo clown and a tractor doctor. She has a law degree. She receives a phone call from her doctor. He sings his daughters, Lucy Pickett (Kamryn Pilva) and Sheridan Pickett (Skywalker Hughes) a song before they go to sleep. He has a flashback of his fight with Ote. He returns downstairs and finds Marybeth crying because she is pregnant.

A few months later, Joe and his family visit the Saddlestring Community Plaza farmer’s market. Marybeth stops in at a booth to ask how she can make new friends. A man suggests divorcing Joe. Sheridan knows her cat is not coming back. They meet the former game warden, Vern Dunnegan (David Alan Grier) at a booth. He is working with a company to bring a pipeline through Saddlestring. He broke up with his significant other, Sandy. Ote tells the locals about taking Joe’s gun. Game wardens are killed more often than any other law officer. Vern suggests bending a little to avoid pissing off people like Ote. Joe doesn’t agree. Joe bumps into Ote who says why don’t you watch where you are going. Joe suggests calling during business hours.

Joe has a flashback while monitoring a herd of buffalo. He tells his brother, Victor Pickett (Oliver Mandelcorn) his plans of going out west. They can hear the Wyoming wind blow from looking at a Grand Teton National Park poster. He can still hear it. A call from Vern sends Joe to the Bouvier Sister Emu Emporium. They need an emu named Hey You moved back outside. He opens the bedroom door to a screeching emu. The sisters give him a quilt to drape over Hey You’ head. Joe wrestles Hey You through the house and out the front door while the Bouvier sisters watch. He suggests they keep their door shut from now on. Hey You likes Jeopardy. They are surprised he did so well after what they read in the Saddlestring Roundup newspaper. An article describing the recent incident claims Joe pooped himself when Ote held him at gunpoint.

Marybeth meets Ote’s wife, Jeannie Keeley (Leah Gibson) at the doctor’s office. She offers to take a look at Jeannie’s eviction notice. Jeannie initially refuses but eventually accepts the offer when Marybeth says she will read about celebrities going through menopause. She says landlords cannot give evictions to children under the age of 14. Jeannie can remain in her home until the landlord figures it out. A nurse escorts Marybeth to an examination room. She hopes Joe is okay after reading the newspaper article about Ote. She reads the newspaper article.

Julie Scarlett (Evie Marsten) calls Lucy “country weird” and jerks her book out of her hands. Lucy agrees, the book looks boring, but only if you can’t read. April Keeley (Vivienne Guynn) sniggers. Julie tells her friends that April is wearing her secondhand jacket.

Jeannie reads the newspaper article about Ote and Joe. She angrily tosses the newspaper in the trash, where she finds April’s jacket. She demands an explanation of why she threw it in the trash. She throws the jacket at April when she admits to not liking it anymore. She scolds Ote for shooting off his mouth in town. He tells her to not worry, he has a plan.

Lucy asks Joe what’s wrong when he returns home. Marybeth is not in a great mood. He asks Lucy to keep Sheridan outside for a bit. She suggests telling her she looks nice. Marybeth is on the phone with her mother when Joe walks in. He says you look nice. She grins and says I don’t have time for it right now. They prepare to go pick up her mother, Miss (Sharon Lawrence) at Jackson Hole. Her husband was recently arrested.

Ote, Calvin, and another man are on horseback. Ote discovers a large disco ball while urinating. Nate Romanowski (Mustafa Speaks) shoots an arrow in his direction. Ote pulls his gun while Nate reloads his bow with another arrow.

Joe and Marybeth discuss the newspaper article. He let his guard down and it is not a dangerous situation. People who grow up around violence, sometimes have a hard time recognizing danger when it comes. He promises to do better and not die. He denies pooping his pants. They arrive at grandma Missy’s house. She asks him to be nice to her mother. The federal government took her lover away. She is entitled to a glass of wine. Joe says “lover” is creepy. She has to leave all her assets away. Her chair costs more than their entire house. She asks, “How does that make you feel”. Joe says maybe I should take up wire fraud. Marybeth runs him out of the house. Missy scolds her for marrying a park ranger. Marybeth defends Joe.

While getting ready for bed, Joe admits he was wrong about not trusting her more. He didn’t tell her because he was afraid, she would think less of him. His dad’s voice tells him to not look weak. He nearly killed Ote. It is okay to be angry, it doesn’t make you dangerous.

Joe dreams of walking on glass and a woman pleading with him to open the door. George cocks his gun and points it directly at young Joe. He fires his pistol as adult Joe awakens. He has a flashback of running through the woods, with his father in tow as he gets a glass of liquor and a cookie. Young Joe falls over a steep incline and listens to his father yelling. The racket woke Missy. He finishes off the alcohol and crams the cookie in his mouth.

Sheridan tells Lucy about her back dream. Missy says she was not at her best last night. He responds, “Apology accepted.” It was not an apology. Joe asks Sheridan about her dream, where she talks about a man. Maxine scratched to get inside. Joe grabs his guns and heads outside. He finds Ote’s horse and his body in a woodpile. Marybeth comes out with a rifle. He has a flashback of pointing his gun at his father and Ote. She asks why Ote is here. He was wrong about things not escalating. She stares in shock as the episode comes to an end.

 

Joe Pickett Review

The pilot sets the stage for a TV series. In this case, the pilot is oversaturated with similar dreams and flashbacks. It is unclear why they chose to rehash the dispute between Joe and Ote through repeated flashbacks. The earlier flashbacks provide viewers with an idea of Joe’s life as a child. The recent flashbacks felt like filler, as they rehashed the first few minutes of the episode.

C.J. Box fans may not appreciate the character changes. Instead of ruining a good book by changing the characters and storyline, why not start from scratch.

The acting is very amateurish, with out-of-sync body and eye movement. A few more episodes is needed to determine if Michael Dorman is the right Joe Pickett.

About 40 percent of the dialogue is cringeworthy. The episode deserves a 6.5.

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