As the episode begins, Jack (Alex Ozerov) wakes up in a panic. He begins yelling for Mama (Rya Kihlstedt). She comes to his aid and tries to comfort him. Jack asks what is wrong with him. Mama says nothing. Meanwhile, John (Billy Campbell) and Lise (Karine Vanasse) speak with Sam (Devery Jacobs) and Wendy (Jennifer Podemski) about the suspect. They learn about the guy having Sam’s phone and calling her. Sam gives them a picture she drew of the suspect. Lise agrees to circulate the picture. Jerry Commanda (Glen Gould) enters and checks on Sam. They agree to put her in a safehouse. Until then, Sam will stay with Commanda. Sam and her mother move in with Jerry. Wendy scolds Sam for her relationship with Randall (Aaron Ashmore).

Lemur (Nick Serino) and Nikki (Sophia Lauchlin Hirt) go hunting. She gets a rabbit. Lemur tells her that it gets easier. Lemur tries to kill her. She won’t let him. Dyson seems distracted at work. The detectives learn that white pine saw dust was found on the victim’s pants. McLeod believes he can help by calling a cabinet marker. He explains that there is a pub where sawdust is spread on the floor. The detectives visit it and speak with Alanna. She admits she has seen them before. Their clothes made them stand out. Alanna explains that they were with another guy. She doesn’t recognize the guy in the drawing. She explains that the guy was older, meaner looking and had a neck tattoo. The scary guy showed up with a bag and she doesn’t know who left with it.

The scary guy returned to the bar the following day and checked his phone constantly. Lise gets a call. The Barstow’s rental car has been found. Lise and John check it out a short time later. The GPS’s track log was erased. They might be able to recover the data. A bag full of money and a gun are found under the spare tire. John tells Lise that he doesn’t believe the guy is local. Lise and John believe that something might be shady about the Barstow couple. They believe that they might have been gun runners. Lemur helps Nikki prepare. Jack interrupts. He harasses Lemur. Jack admits his dad used to choke him out as a party trick. Nikki makes Jack let go of Lemur. Jack taunts Lemur until Nikki gets involved. Jack punches her in the face. Lemur tells Nikki about Jack hurting a girl from Colorado. Jack threatens both of them.

Misha Pulaski is brought into the police station. They believe he might be the guy with the neck tattoo. Misha is questioned a short time later. He admits that they sold illegal weapons. He confesses that he was buying weapons from them. Misha says he wouldn’t be here if he knew where the guns were. He believes the Barstows brought in enough guns to fight an army. Lemur and Nikki argue about Jack and the assault. Lemur wants to make it up to her. She says that she would like some new True Religion jeans. Lemur promises to get her a pair. Mama is happy with Nikki’s rabbit. She sees Nikki’s face. Next, Lloyd Kreeger (Tom Jackson) tries to get friendly with Nikki. They speak about money. Nikki believes it is going to be worthless pretty soon. She calls him a rich old perv.

Lloyd asks about Henry. He asks Nikki to look in the bunkhouse for him. He offers to give her a lot of money too. Nikki tells him about Mama and Jack visiting the bunkhouse when they arrived. Lloyd believes he can find a way to escape. Lise wonders if the killer took the guns and got far away. Lise turns her attention to the ATM case. John invites Kelly (Alanna Bale) out for pizza. They agree to do it tomorrow. John gets a bill from the funeral home. He visits an apartment building. He tracks down Roger Felt. John begins searching Roger’s property. John explains that the funeral home’s accountant is Roger. That is a direct violation. John finds something and tells Roger to get his shoes on. Nikki asks Mama about Lloyd’s friend Henry. She confirms that Henry was here. She explains that Jack slit his throat.

Nikki asks why she would do that. Mama suggests that they did Henry a kindness. She makes it seem like they’re going to kill Lloyd too. Jack continues stalking Sam. He watches her through the window. Dyson is not happy with John over the Felt situation. She claims it should have been left up to the parole officer. John believes Roger is behind the cars. He shows her the Ts. Dyson looks through the evidence. She doesn’t want John to question him alone. They speak with him right away. Roger confesses it was him. He just wanted John to know how he felt. John asks him about the night of August the 14th. Roger doesn’t know where he was. He denies having anything to do with Catherine’s death. Lise meets up with Ash Kular (Zach Smadu). Lise tells him to go home for a few hours.

A woman is attacked at a nearby ATM. Lise goes after the suspect. A car wreck leads to a foot chase. The suspect fires a round at Lise and another. The suspect is attacked by someone before the attacker is shot in the stomach. It is Marcus, the previous victim’s father. Backup arrives so Lise goes after the suspect. We see that the suspect is Lemur. He hides in a swimming pool and calls Jack. Jack gets to Lemur and shoots him in the head. Lise finds Lemur’s body in the pool. Jack watches from a distance before feeling. McLeod tells Lise that the vehicle was stolen. Roman’s wallet is found in the van. Lise says that the civilian is dead. Dyson tries to convince John that Catherine committed suicide. He doesn’t believe it. Lise returns and interrupts their conversation. Afterwards, Lise gives Dyson an update.

Dyson tells her about Cardinal. Lise is surprised to learn that John doesn’t believe Catherine committed suicide. Dyson wants to know if she is better off with or without Cardinal. A memo goes out warning officers to stop investigating Catherine’ suicide. Lise tells John about the ATM suspect. She asks why he didn’t tell her. Lise admits she told Dyson to write it. They end up arguing about the investigation into Catherine’s death. Lise wants to take over the investigation. She asks for the evidence. She says that he doesn’t have enough. McLeod interrupts with video footage. Lise tells John to spend Thanksgiving with Kelly. McLeod and Lise watch the footage and see the vehicle. Two men are shown getting out of the vehicle. Meanwhile, Lloyd makes his escape.

He checks out the bunkhouse and finds Henry dead inside. Mama finds him and knocks him out.

 

Cardinal Review

Another good episode of Cardinal. There is really just one thing that irks me and that is the bad acting. Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse are great. However, the side characters like Devery Jacobs, Nick Serino, and a few others don’t seem natural to me. They sound like they’re just reading a script. That really puts a damper on the show. Otherwise, the episode was great. Things are starting to come together. Cardinal’s investigation has come to an end. It might be temporary. I doubt he is going to let it go.

The chemistry between Karine Vanasse and Billy Campbell really drives the show. This episode deserves an 8 out of 10. Catch up with previous Cardinal recaps before you go.