Tree – The episode opens with Nell McKenna (Olivia Mulder) confessing to hiring a stranger to send a mail bomb to Liam McKenna (Andrew William Smith). Although Nell says she did this because he found out about her affair with Marta Canter (Kelli Simpkins), she had nothing to do with the attack. It soon becomes clear that Del Harris (Jeff Daniels) and Angela Burgos (Luna Lauren Velez) don’t believe her story but have no other option than to charge her for the crime. They later receive a standing ovation for their work on the case.
Grace Poe (Maura Tierney) makes the rounds, greeting several guests when she arrives at her and Virgil Poe’s (Mark Pellegrino) divorce party. After a bit of joking with Virgil and Joelle (Caitlin Cavannaugh), she finds her attention drawn to the gloomy atmosphere at Billy Poe’s (Alex Neustaedter) table. Billy’s mood worsens and he finds himself alone at the bar once Lee (Julia Mayorga) and Isaac English (David Alvarez) subtly comment on his excessive drinking. Grace attempts to lighten his mood at the bar, but this only lasts for a few seconds thanks to the arrival of Del.
With Billy no longer dragging down the mood at the table, Isaac and Lee find themselves in a spirited discussion with Bethany (Zenzi Williams), Drew (Matt Hopkins), and Lucy (Jama Williamson). This quickly turns awkward when Isaac admits to being gay to keep Lucy and Bethany’s suggestions for girlfriends at bay. Lee soon excuses herself to plead with Billy to return to the table. He doesn’t get a chance to put up much resistance thanks to Grace’s announcement of the meal being served.
Despite the good moods and lively discussions all around the table, things quickly spin out of control when Billy insists on following Grace and Virgil’s toasts. By this time he’s slurring and the sudden news of his enlistment only manages to make things even worse. After a bit of tyrannical ranting, he throws up on the table. Although Lee is the first to Billy’s aid, Grace demands she leave. On her way out, Grace tells her that she knows what she did.
Later that night as Virgil drives Billy home; Del tells Grace that she really has to get over her resentment of Lee. He tells her that they know better than anyone the lengths that people are willing to go through to help those they care about. A text from Angela soon transforms their discussion into her accusing him of sleeping around. This leads to him telling her about Angela finding out about his deal with the FBI and the Brotherhood.
Much later that evening after arriving back in Pittsburgh Del confirms that Angela is safe before meeting with Sheriff Frank Deluca (Namir Smallwood). Del is surprised to hear that Deluca is retiring from law enforcement and going back to teaching in East St. Louis. He’s even further surprised when Deluca leaves him with Billy’s letterman jacket from the mill.
When Lee receives an urgent visit from a frazzled Rinna Bransford (Amelia Workman) with requests to track down some Landwill files, she resumes her search for the owner of the ‘N G’ initials that signed off on the Alleghany water tests. This not only leads to her discovery of Nell Grady but Nell’s confession.
Cynthia Frazier (Britian Seibert) confronts Angela after finding the listening device in her apartment. Angela immediately admits she planted the device but claims she did so to protect Cynthia in case Vic Walker’s (Marc Menchaca) beatings ever got out of hand.
Ron Goassage (Mark Junek) is joined by Frank Deluca and Steve Park (Rob Yang) as he holds a press conference to announce that the Sue Herlitz (Emily Davis) murder weapon was found on private property and turned over by the owner of that property.
Del gets a bit of a scare and jumps to conclusions when he arrives at the Pittsburgh police station to discover Angela missing. After quick words with Cynthia and several of his associates, she shows up.
Isaac receives an unexpected visit from Nate (Tom Pecinka) while Nell gets a visit from Lee, posing as her lawyer. Isaac’s visit goes much better and even ends with a summer invitation to the Vintage Grand Prix and a make-out session. All Lee learns from her visit is that Nell is scared to talk about the water testing and has apparently destroyed all the original evidence of the testing. Elsewhere, Grace confronts DA Gossage about not divulging to the public that it was Steve Parks who found the murder weapon on his land.
Del speaks with Agent David Garn (Brett Newton) while watching Angela’s apartment. Much to his surprise, he soon learns that she’s known he’s been there the entire time. After teasing him about his choice of stakeout food and caring for her, she uses a story of her father’s abuse to explain why she isn’t scared and her need to do the right thing. After apologizing for what she went through, he convinces her to spend the night at his place.
While a guard discovers Nell hanging by a sheet in her cell, Virgil takes Billy to an abandoned forest where his former cellmate, Aaron Daniel Fuchs (Jon Collin Barclay), is beaten and tied helplessly to a tree. Virgil gives him a knife and encourages him to finish him off.
American Rust Review
A very decent episode, although entirely too long. A lot was revealed and some plots even reached their highest points, but I couldn’t help from feeling bored at times. The whole divorce party fiasco could have been cut down or completely left out. I do like the way the episode ended and hopefully, Billy will finally stop moping and move on. I’d give the episode a 5 out of 10.
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