Faster Horses, Younger Women, and More Money – The episode begins at the Pittsburgh station right before Chief Bolt (Leon Addison Brown) dispatches Detectives Angela Burgos (Luna Lauren Velez) and Del Harris (Jeff Daniels) to the officer-involved shooting. Already on pins and needles over the disappearance of Vic Walker (Marc Menchaca), Cynthia Frazier (Britian Seibert) races into Bolt’s office to demand to know why Detective Larkin (Andres Munar) hasn’t taken her statement. He not so nicely assures her that Larkin’s got everything covered which only manages to make her more suspicious. After sharing her suspicions with Angela over a voicemail, Cynthia is shown leaving the office.
Russell Wolfe (Christopher Denham) has nearly finished his search of Lee English’s (Julia Mayorga) room when he’s interrupted by Nate (Tom Pecinka). Russell not only makes light of his deceit but utilizes the opportunity to see what Nate knows about Landwill and the Alleghany water tests. When Russell asks why he isn’t spending the evening with Isaac English (David Alvarez), the footage switches to Billy Poe’s (Alex Neustaeder) going away party at Snarley’s.
After Joelle (Caitlin Cavannaugh) toasts Billy, Virgil Poe (Mark Pellegrino) gives him a small jewelry box that contains the front door key to the trailer. As Virgil so cleverly puts it, he wants Billy to use the key as motivation to remind himself that he no longer has a place in Buell.
Nate and Russell’s conversation is now bordering on awkward as Russell asks him if he’s jealous of Lee and Isaac’s close connection. Nate appears to not have anything to say until Russell questions him about the Saint Sebastian necklace gifted to him by Isaac.
Elsewhere, Del and Angela are just now arriving at the officer-involved shooting. Although Angela notes there are no cruisers on the scene, they suddenly hear a shot ring out in the distance. They tactically approach the tire yard but are stopped when they encounter what appears to be a deceased female. At nearly the same time, Del receives a call from the sniper, who is revealed to be Detective Ramon Fisher (Kyle Beltran). He tells Del that the weapon in the victim’s hand is untraceable and suggests he uses it to kill Angela.
Although he turns the weapon on Angela, he tells her to run and fires at Ramon. Angela gets nicked and ends up on the ground and Del catches a bullet in the shoulder/arm from Bolt. Bolt is about to finish off Angela when Cynthia shoots him from behind. Before Del’s vision goes blurry, he sees Cynthia get hit in the side or chest after watching her shoot Bolt.
Isaac and Billy have partied into the early morning hours and are now lounging on the hood of Billy’s car, overlooking the Buell. Isaac is rambling on about how nice and practical Nate is but spending time with Russell is like emotional ecstasy. Billy soon interrupts him with a real diamond ring and the announcement that he’s going to propose to Lee tomorrow before leaving.
Sheriff Steve Park (Rob Yang) is in the middle of his morning shift when he hears a morning news report about four officers being shot in a Pittsburgh tire yard. It doesn’t take him long to confirm Del’s attendance at the Bouvy Hospital and appears to speed towards the destination.
Del wakes in the hospital to find Grace Poe (Maura Tierney) passed out at his bedside. After a bit of stirring, she wakes to tell him about his two broken ribs and a punctured lung. Grace doesn’t get a chance to answer his questions about the tire yard thanks to the sudden arrival of Angela. Once Grace introduces and excuses herself, Del learns that Bolt was dirty and wasted precious time trading what he knows for leniency. Before FBI Agents Joe Dordt (Ben Cain) and David Garn (Brett Newton) show up, he also learns that Cynthia didn’t make it and Ramon Fisher is AWOL.
While Lee meets in New York with Alejandro Ferreiras (Federico Rodriguez) and his Lawyer (Nayab Hussain) to finalize the divorce, Isaac finds a ‘Dear John’ letter from Nate. The divorce proceedings go rather well and Lee even seems to be interested in Alejandro’s offers to become friends, starting with dinner later that night.
Angela returns to the Pittsburgh station to retrieve the laptop with the CCTV footage of the mail bombing case while Steve fails to get in to see Del at the hospital. He does pass Agent Dordt on his exit, although it is later revealed that Steve didn’t actually leave. Despite not getting in to see Del, Steve does meet with Angel and appears to convince her that Del is a murderer.
Lee’s visit to Alejandro’s new apartment appears to start fairly well. They waste little time getting into the wine and he even jokes about overcoming the Lee English sickness. When they finally get around to the pizza, he is surprised to learn that she never liked mushrooms. The reveal leads to a discussion about hidden secrets. It soon becomes clear that he still has feelings for her when she asks him if he’s ever considered remarriage and he asks if she is still with Billy. They end up sleeping together.
After Angela’s visit, Del spends the evening combing through the CCTV footage on the laptop. As Grace says goodnight to him, he apologizes for not being able to be there to see Billy off. He also tells her to stop by his apartment and check in the front closet, he has a present for Billy. This is later revealed to be the letterman’s jacket. The following day, Del storms out of the hospital after spotting Sue Herlitz (Emily Davis) on the CCTV footage.
The episode ends by showing Russell abandoning his vehicle in an empty parking lot, wiping down the prints, and removing the tags. In the process, Nate’s body is also revealed to be in the trunk, dead.
American Rust: Broken Justice Review
The stage is certainly set heading into the finale episode. Although it wasn’t until the last episode or two, it became pretty obvious that Russell was involved in some dirty dealings. I did not, however, see Alejandro and Lee’s hookup coming. That one was a shocker. It’s going to be interesting to see what Angela does with the evidence Park gave her. Either way, the stage is set for what should be an action-packed final episode. I’d give episode 9 a 5.5 out of 10 based on climatic suspense alone.
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