A Conspiracy of Ravens – The show begins with a police helicopter searching for Game Warden Joe Pickett (Michael Dorman), Deputy McLanahan (Chad Rock), and Wacey Hedeman (Paul Sparks) at Crazy Woman Creek. The helicopter pilot drops Sheriff Barnum (Patrick Gallaher) at the campsite, where the bodies of Kyle and Calvin were discovered. Wacey tells Barnum, Joe killed Clyde Lidgard (David Haysom) in a shootout. He questions why it was necessary to shoot Clyde five times. Wacey explains it was him or us. McLanahan was useless and didn’t do his job. Clyde has an old gunshot wound several days old. Barnum describes Clyde as a “town creep.” He says the suspects probably shot each other while hunting out of season. It is impossible to ask Clyde since he shot him.

In a flashback, Pickett visits Clyde while he takes pictures of the intestines of a dead deer. He sniggers and points at Pickett. Pickett gives him a warning and orders him to report dead deer from now on. He looks back to see Clyde gradually falling to the ground.

Marybeth Pickett (Julianna Guill) appears to have fallen asleep while reviewing Nate Romanowski’s (Mustafa Speaks) case file. She receives a call from a woman to alert her of Pickett’s condition. A nurse (Autumn T. Dang) treats his wound. She asks if her friends can meet him. He smiles when she tells him, the locals see him as a local celebrity. Former game warden Vern Dunnegan (David Alan Grier) brags about Pickett’s ability to change his reputation in just one move. He doesn’t feel like a hero and believes there is more to the story. Rumors claim Clyde took pictures of his penis. Vern encourages Pickett to accept the win and not go looking for trouble. He may not be so lucky the next time. InterWest Resources may be hiring at three times more than game wardens are currently paid.  Pickett refuses the offer.

Marybeth arrives as Vern is leaving. She sees a nurse feeding Pickett Jell-O. She scolds him for not calling her to say he is already. The next time he gets shot, it better kill him. She angrily eats his Jell-O and disagrees with Vern’s hero statement. She hops in the bed with Pickett and breaks down sobbing. The next time, he will listen to her when she tells him to be careful.

Opal Scarlett (Judith Buchan) and her sons, Arlen Scarlett (Brendan Fletcher) and Hank Scarlett (Roger LeBlanc) meet with Vern in a local restaurant to discuss Pickett. He can handle Pickett. She disagrees, “You couldn’t handle your own dick.” He hits the table, telling them to back off. He promises no more loose ends.

Sheridan Pickett (Skywalker Hughes) plays with weasels near the firewood pile when Lucy Pickett (Kamryn Pilva) approaches. She threatens to tell Pickett about the weasels if Sheridan doesn’t let her name them. They call off a few names. Sheridan has been teaching the weasels tricks.

On the ride home, Pickett tries to figure out why Clyde was at Crazy Woman Creek. Romanowski told the police Ote was with Kyle and Calvin. He didn’t mention Clyde. Pickett thinks it is odd, but not anyone else. Marybeth questions if he thinks Clyde killed Kyle and Calvin, not Romanowski. She says Romanowski picked her to be his attorney. Pickett doesn’t like the idea. She isn’t happy about him getting shot in the face. As he enters the house, Lucy asks for some popcorn, and his mother-in-law Missy (Sharon Lawrence) asks for coffee. Marybeth is worried about Sheridan’s odd behavior. He agrees to talk to her. Sheridan greets him with a hug and asks about his face. He caught the bad guys, and they are now safe.

Pickett makes a call to the Wyoming Game & Fish Headquarters to get the samples of a scat sample. Les Etbauer takes the phone. He denies receiving the scat sample. Wacey arrives with his truck and horse. He can’t get the shooting out of his head. It was his first time shooting someone. If he got shot, no one would cry. Pickett feels the same. Wacey feels bad about killing Clyde until he thinks about it. He would do it again, with the right opportunity.

Pickett visits the sheriff’s department to speak with Romanowski. Cricket tells Pickett, Romanowski is not in the system. She gives Pickett a sandwich for Romanowski. Pickett questions what he is up to, sending up to Crazy Woman Creek and asking Marybeth to be his attorney. He threatens to kill anyone who hurts Marybeth. Romanowski thinks Clyde is an escape goat. He asks Pickett to feed his falcons.

Pickett has a flashback of Clyde with a rifle while removing his bandage.

Vern performs live at Deer Days while Pickett arrives with his family. McLanahan is running a gun safety booth for the sheriff’s department. Pickett asks him about the scat sample, which he admits to sending. The nurse from the hospital greets Pickett. McLanahan whispers under his breath, he hates Pickett. Everyone claps when Vern recognizes Pickett. He meets Sheriff Barnum at the coffee booth. He asks about his plans for Romanowski. The locals have never seen Romanowski with Clyde. Sheriff Barnum believes Clyde killed Kyle and Calvin and Romanowski killed Ote. Romanowski was caught with the weapon that killed Ote. He recommends not letting Marybeth be his attorney. Scarlett listens to their conversation.

Mitch (Mark Bellamy) tells Marybeth he doesn’t think Clyde killed Kyle and Calvin. He was afraid of the boogeyman, not a predator. Marybeth finds April Keeley (Vivienne Gyunn) sitting by her dad’s, Ote’s horse. She is selling her horse because her mom says they can’t feed him. Marybeth offers to board her horse for free. InterWest Resources donates a playground in Saddlestring. Pickett and Wacey take a picture with Vern. Missy greets McLanahan. Wacey gets on the stage and tells the crowd Sheriff Barnum didn’t want to go up to Crazy Woman Creek. He announces his big for sheriff. Marybeth discovers Lucy is missing.

Lucy meets Julie Scarlett (Evie Marsten) at the goat pen. Julie says she is too “country weird” when Lucy asks to get picked for a contest. Lucy tells her about the weasels that are supposed to be a secret. Arlen approaches and asks about her pet when Pickett arrives.  Arlen introduces himself to Pickett and invites Sheridan and Lucy to ride on their float. Pickett seems worried. Pickett has a flashback of Clyde while talking to Marybeth about the Crazy Woman Creek incident. He tells Marybeth, Clyde looked like a scared deer. Sheriff Barnum may be involved in the scheme. She suggests checking out Clyde’s trailer.

They arrive at Clyde’s place. She looks at the place and says maybe he did do it. The trailer is filled with nude pictures of women, dead deer, Clyde’s penis.

Sheridan climbs out the window to visit the weasels at the woodpile while a man watches from the distance. A woman calls Pickett to tell him, the scat sample arrived on Tuesday and disappeared. She says to forget about the package when Clyde’s trailer explodes. Marybeth got out of the trailer just in time. She found a picture of Pickett in Clyde’s trailer. A vehicle drives off in the distance as the episode comes to an end.

 

Joe Pickett Review

This is the best episode so far. The investigation is beginning to come together as more characters begin to show their true colors. Saddlestring is beginning to produce quite a few villains.

The camera moves too fast through objects. The scene where Clyde falls backward looks like a silly video game. This camera move takes away from the genuineness of the show.

It is good to see Pickett smile, even though it is a bit weird. Pickett and Marybeth have one of the best onscreen relationships I have seen in a long time. The episode deserves 6.5.

Get more Joe Pickett recaps here.