66 Reno Split – The episode begins with Nina Hayes (Rachel Hilson) remembering back to 1954 South Philly when her father gave her a necklace after a visit with Ezra ‘Sax’ Saxton (Keith David). When Nina snaps out of it and returns to the present, she finds herself chained to a chair. Seconds later, Billy Mahoney (Evan Jones) tells her he’s got some questions for her. He asks her how long she’s been working with Jim Ellis (Josh Holloway). She tells him that Sax just introduced them the other night. Billy doesn’t buy it and asks if Jim is the only rat. She says she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Be begins waterboarding her.
Jim returns Luna Reyna (Adriana Aluna Martinez) to Izzy Reyna (Camille Guaty). Izzy tells her no more adventures like that. Izzy tells Jim she feels like she lost 5 years of her life looking for Luna. Jim gives her the photos of Bob Temple (Kevin Chamberlin) and says this will give her the 5 years back. She hugs and thanks him. They almost end up kissing until David Callahan (Matt Lauria) walks in. This leads to David telling Jim about Wesson Groomes (Donal Logue) waking up and Billy speaking with him.
Elsewhere, Awan Bitsui (Asivak Koostachin) is worried about Nina’s disappearance and goes to Nathan Abbott (Greg Grunberg). Nathan plays the whole thing down like Nina is simply out of the office. Seconds later, they are interrupted when Jessica-Lorraine Sims (Sofia Vasileva) knocks at the door, with news that Jim is calling for Awan. Jim tells Awan what he just learned about Billy speaking with Groomes. Awan says they’ll put out an APB. Jim tells him to do nothing because if word gets back to Sax, they will take Nina out.
Sax meets with Billy. Billy tells him about Nina being a fed. Sax walks in to find Nina chained up and asks why she did what she did. She says he still doesn’t know who she is and proceeds to tell him about her father. He tells her she doesn’t know anything about what went down between him and her father. She says she knows his car blew up when he stopped working for him. Sax says he can understand her, but he can’t understand Jim and Wade Ellis (Corbin Bernsen).
Izzy gives the photos to Bob. He immediately tears them up. She says there are copies in envelopes addressed to several newspapers just waiting to go out in the event that anything happens to her.
Sax tells Nina that her father was an informant for the Philadelphia Police Department, and that was why he was killed. She refuses to believe it and tells him that the FBI knows all about his dealings, so it’s just a matter of time before they take him down. The conversation doesn’t go any further because Billy interrupts to tell Sax that Jim is there. Billy immediately holds Jim at gunpoint and checks him for guns. After that, they take him in with Nina. Billy wants to shoot Jim, but Sax is willing to hear him out. Jim tells Sax all about the theory that he killed Joey. Sax demands to know who else is working with the feds. Jim swears it’s just him. He also says he knew Sax would respond the way he would when he came, and that was why he sent Wade to go visit Genesis Saxton (Sydney Elisabeth).
Wade is briefly shown drinking and chatting it up with Genesis at her bar. Wade is also shown with a gun.
When they are alone, Nina asks Jim what he is doing there. He tells her he couldn’t leave her hanging.
Wade and Genesis are still drinking when the phone rings. It turns out to be Sax, who asks to speak with Wade. Sax tells him he can’t believe he dusted off the ’66 Reno Split. Wade says he can’t believe he remembered. Sax says, after everything they’ve been through, who thought they’d end up like this? Wade tells him Jim is supposed to call him by 5:00 today, and he had better make sure he makes that call.
Sax calls the mysterious man in the cowboy hat and tells him he’s got an FBI agent and needs a fix. The man in the cowboy hat tells him he is his man, and he will call him right back. As soon as Sax hangs up, he receives a call from Howard Hughes (Tom Nelis), telling him the package was intercepted by Greek Sal (Jack Topalian).
Back at the FBI office, Jessica tells Awan that she got Cyrus Baker’s (Michael B Woods) phone records, and he called the Bellamy Motel an unusual number of times. Awan tells her to cross-check the hotel records and see who was staying there when the calls were made. Nearby, Agent Chad Grant (Dan Tracy) receives a call from the man in the cowboy hat telling him to be at the end of Route 37 at 2:00 pm sharp.
Howard tells Sax that only one of his men made it out of the ambush alive, and he ID’d one of Sal’s men. Sax promises to get the tape back. After hanging up with Howard, the man in the cowboy hat calls Sax back and tells him to drop Nin at the end of Route 37 at 2 pm sharp. Sax calls Sal and tells him he will trade Jim for the tape.
While cross-checking the records at the FBI office, Awan notices Grant getting up and leaving. He decides to follow him and leave Jessica with the records.
Nina and Jim are removed from their holding room and placed in the trunks of separate vehicles. Billy takes Nina while Sac takes Jim in the Duster. Nina overhears Sax tell Billy to circle up at the Providence Railyard at 4 sharp.
Billy takes Nina to the end of Route 37, throws the handcuff key in the desert, drops her off, and leaves. Elsewhere, Ezra takes Jim to meet with Sal. Grant shows up and shoots at Nina, but she manages to escape and hide. While hiding, she finds the key to the cuffs and removes a knife she had hidden in her boot. She hides behind a tree and manages to get the drop on Grant. In the process, he loses the gun. They end up fighting and struggling for the gun. Grant gets to it first, and just as he is about to shoot Nina, Awan shoots him from behind. Nina asks Awan to deal with Grant while she goes after Jim.
By this time, all of Sax’s men and Sal are at the meeting. Right before Sax hands Jim over to Sal, Jim tells him the truth about everything from Joey to Luna being his daughter. He also tries to convince him that Wade will come after him if he lets this go down. Sal hands over the tape, and Sax hands over Jim. Sax considers walking away and almost does, but he eventually pulls out his weapon, calls to Sal, and shoots him. A shootout erupts from both sides. Jim manages to get a gun and get to safety. Not long after he does, Sax joins him and removes his cuffs. Sax tells Jim he couldn’t do this to his kid. Not long after the shootout starts, Nina shows up and saves Jim and Sax’s lives. All the while the shootout was going down, two of Sal’s men grabbed the briefcase with the tape and took off. When the dust clears and Sax sees them fleeing, one of Sal’s men, clinging to life, grabs a gun and tries to shoot Royce Saxton (Benjamin Charles Watson). Sax jumps into the line of fire and saves his life. Jim shoots the man dead. Sax passes out on the spot.
Wade is still with Genesis, and time is running out. He has his gun out and is about to shoot her just as Jim walks in, with the news about Sax.
Bob goes on TV and gives the women truckers equal rights as the men. The women spend the night celebrating. Jim shows up at the party and tells Izzy that he is leaving town. She tells him he has to stay because David isn’t just an oncologist. He is her oncologist, and that’s why she’s been fighting so hard for insurance. He asks how serious. She says it’s pretty serious, and she is going to need him to be there for her.
Abbott tells Nina he and the ASAC read her resignation letter, but she isn’t resigning. He tells her she was right about the conspiracy, but couldn’t tell her about it because he was working with a task force. He then tells her the conspiracy goes all the way back to DC, but she tells him she already knew about that. What she didn’t know was the loose end tying it all together. He tells her he can tie it together for her if she stays.
Nina meets with Jim to tell him that she’s been asked to stay. She also tells him that Joey is alive and living under the alias, Xavier. It was Sax who helped him disappear. She says she can’t do this without him and hands him a drink.
Elsewhere, Sal’s man takes the tape to Mad Raoul’s (Robby Ramos) contact at the gas station. They listen to it and decide they are going to take it to Mad Raoul. That’s where the episode ends.
Duster Review
Okay, I get that this was a finale, but there was just too much going on. I also get that they are preparing for a season 2, but once again, dial it back a little. Or at the very least, they could have broken this up into two episodes. Let’s not even talk about the part where Billy took Nina to the end of Route 37, threw the handcuff keys in the desert, and just left her there to go after them. Who wrote that? I do like the fact that we don’t yet know Sax’s fate. Live or die, things are going to be much, much different, and I for one hope this gets a second season, even though it has some big holes in its game. I’d have to give this episode a 5.5 out of 10.
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