As the finale begins, Piper (Natalia Payne) allows John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) to watch the surveillance footage from the halfway house. They quickly confirm that Leon has kidnapped Red (Alex Paxton-Beesley). John and Lise (Karine Vanasse) discuss the possibility that they may have a traitor in their ranks. They speak with their team moments later. Clegg is nowhere to be found. Nobody admits to saying anything about where Red was staying. Ray (Bruce Ramsay) visits Kevin (Jonathan Keltz). He reminds Kevin of the rules. He tells Kevin how his mother felt when she trying to quit drugs. He insists that it is only going to get worse. McLeod learns about an unsolved murder in Toronto that connects back to Ray. Ray went to the same elementary school as the victim, Aaron Osborne.

Alan Clegg (Kevin Hanchard) meets with Ray again. This time, Clegg tells Ray that John Cardinal is on his trail. Lise and John speak with a woman from Ray’s past. She admits that Ray was obsessed with anything to do with the afterlife. She also suspects that he might have killed animals. They learn that Ray attacked Aaron with a shovel after the boy insulted his mother from sleeping with bikers. they believe that Ray might be seeking payback against the bikers for abusing his mother. Ray went to Florida to learn more about Palo Mayombe. Catherine speaks with her doctor. She explains that she was responsible for blowing the cop’s cover and John covered for her. Commanda (Glen Gould) speaks with Clegg. He seems suspicious that Clegg never followed up on their possible lead in Michigan. Clegg admits that his ex is trying to take their kids away. Leon visits Kevin and brings a body along. Kevin pleads with him to let him go, but he refuses.

Kevin soon learns that the body is that of his sister. Ray washes in blood down by the river. John and Lise speak with Detective Marie Gonzales (Tara Nicodemo) in Florida. She confirms that they called Ray the witch or El Brujo. They had their suspicions, but was never able to catch their killer. John notices a drawing from Red. He gets in touch with Catherine and asks her about a similar picture she took. Catherine tries to give John directions to where the photo was taken. John teams up with Clegg and Lise goes with Commanda to find the spot. Ray visits Kevin. He also chains up Red. Clegg visits Lasalle’s pub. He leaves behind a note telling Lasalle how to find Northwind. Red wakes up. She recalls entering Ray’s shack and finding his ritualistic items. That was why they tried to kill her. Clegg and Cardinal search the highway. Clegg gets bitten by a wasp. He use it as a distraction to get rid of John’s cellphone.

Red tries to make an escape. She also helps Kevin down. They grab spikes and prepare to defend themselves. Leon enters. Leon overpowers them. He chokes Red, before Ray enters and stops him. Red is tied back up and Kevin is tied to the table. Ray tells Leon to prepare the boat. He plans to leave after the sacrifice is completed. McLeod tells Dyson that he might have said something to Clegg to make him aware of Red’s location. John finds the location, but notices that his phone is missing. Clegg pulls his gun and points it at John. Commanda and Lise track the vehicle’s location. Clegg leads John to Ray’s cabin. He calls for Ray and delays the sacrifice. John tells Ray that he doesn’t have any spiritual powers. Ray instructs Clegg to shoot John. He turns the gun on Ray. Ray slashes him across the side of the neck.

John manages to push Ray through the window. He gives Clegg a cloth and promises that he’ll be fine. Clegg tells John that the bikers are coming. He looks out of the window and finds that Ray is missing. Lise and Commanda arrive. Jerry stays with Clegg. John and Lise make it to Ray’s torture shack. Lise takes care of Kevin, until Leon arrives. She holds him at gunpoint and forces him to chain himself to a nearby motor. John spots Ray with Red. He fires a shot and Ray leaves Red behind. John tells her to stay put, before going after Ray. John and Ray get into a fight near the water. John’s gun falls to the bottom. Ray tries to drown him. However, John grabs the gun and fires into Ray’s shoulder. Lise arrives. Ray is taken into custody. The bikers arrive, but are stopped by the police outside. Kevin and Clegg are taken to the hospital. Leon and Ray are jailed. John tells Lise that he needs to go home.

Lise lets John borrow her phone and car. When he makes it home, he finds a note from Catherine. It explains that she went to Doug’s. Cardinal heads towards Doug’s. He soon runs into police. He gets out and learns that there has been a jumper. Then, he finds Lise. She encourages him to stay back. John goes forward and finds Catherine dead on the ground.

 

Cardinal Review

The finale of Cardinal was fantastic. It might have been a little too easy for John and the gang, but it was good nevertheless. A crisis was averted. Ray and Leon were brought to justice, before the bikers could intervene and before anyone could get killed. Clegg was finally found out. At the end, we learned that Catherine had taken her own life. It was really only a matter of time. It will be interesting to see how John handles her passing in future episodes. Will this open the door for a relationship between John and Lise?

The finale scores an 8 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Cardinal right now!