Fair Chase – As this episode of Joe Pickett begins, Joe (Michael Dorman) speaks to Vern Dunnegan (David Alan Grier) at the prison. Joe explains he is there to talk about Randy Pope who is locked up for murders. They’ve tied him to Frank’s death, but Joe doesn’t think he did it. Joe shows Vern the picture of Frank with Hank and the murder victims. He remembers Vern saying something about Randy going on a hunting trip and running into some kind of trouble. Vern says he had his suspicions. He knew he was right on target when Randy was arrested.

Vern doesn’t want to tell Joe what he knows unless he gets a deal. He wants early release and he wants it signed by the governor. Joe suggests another innocent person could die, but Vern suggests they weren’t innocent. Joe gets upset when Vern mentions Marybeth’s name. Nate (Mustafa Speaks) and Cricket (Aadila Dosani) prepare to give evidence to Charlie (Sean Wei Mah). Nate asks Cricket if she is okay. Cricket is more concerned that she feels fine. She is worried about having to go back to work and questioning every law she is enforcing. Nate assures her that they’ll find them if there is a Mark V agent in Saddlestring. Joe approaches Hank Scarlett (Roger Scarlett) to remind him hunting is suspended.

Joe asks him about the photo and says he knows Randy didn’t do it. He wants to know what they did. Joe says he won’t bust them for it since he just wants to arrest the killer. When Joe gets physical with him, Hank pulls out a gun and tells him that he can look after himself. He thinks Joe should be watching his back. Missy (Sharon Lawrence) complains about this happening to her again. Marybeth (Julianna Guill) reminds her that she has to be nice if she wants to stay there. Missy thinks things were turning the corner, but she is too broke to rent a cheap motel room now.

Although the kids like Derek (John Ralston), Missy believes she has no future with him. She tells them that no amount of good looks will fill their bank accounts. She is going to break it off with Derek. Marybeth looks at a missing persons post for Marissa Left Hand before Joe returns home. Joe and Marybeth go outside where they talk about Vern and Hank. Vern won’t say anything until he gets a deal. If his info isn’t enough to help them catch a killer, he goes straight back to prison. They discuss the governor who might lose the election if he doesn’t open hunting season. Marybeth believes the governor would let Vern out if Joe thinks that would help solve this.

Joe admits that he wanted to kill Vern when he was in there today. He worries he will do something to Vern if he runs into him. Marybeth thinks it is worth considering if Vern can stop the murders. He doesn’t need permission to do this so she isn’t going to give it to him. Joe picks up Vern outside the prison and asks him to talk. Vern makes Joe take him for ice cream. Joe warns him that he is out on conditional release so he can throw him back inside whenever he wants. Eventually, Vern says he was having lunch with a young deputy about ten years ago. A young girl from the reservation walked into the restaurant and she was in a fit. She said some hunters hired her to be their camp cook, but they drugged her and raped her.

The deputy calmed her and spoke to every one of the hunters. They were all upstanding members of the community and said they had done nothing wrong. She said the girl liked to party and she was coming on to them. Vern says they were just having fun hunting and playing poker. It was one girl’s word against six men’s reputations. Then, she showed up at the police station. She was harassing the deputy and acting all crazy. The deputy thought she was high on drugs so he arrested her for public intoxication. Joe thinks Vern should’ve helped her. Vern says he was never in it to save Bambi. Instead, it was always about business. Messing with those men would’ve been bad business.

Joe wants the girl’s name, but Vern isn’t in a rush to give it to him. When Joe gets physical with him, Vern says the girl’s name was Shenandoah and she was a senior at Blue Sky High School. Once they get into the truck, Vern complains about the ankle bracelet they made him wear. Vern admits he regrets what happened. Joe warns Vern that he’ll be begging to go back to prison if he comes around his family. Joe handcuffs him to the steering wheel so he can go into the school. Derek visits Missy and brings her flowers. Missy tries to break it off with him because she likes nice things more than him. Once she goes back inside, she tells Marybeth she doesn’t know why she has pictures of dead weirdos in her kitchen.

She questions what kind of hunter carries a pink backpack. Marybeth looks at the picture and immediately notices something. She sees a pink backpack with a national park badge behind Randy Pope. Marybeth tells Missy to watch the kids because there is someone she needs to see. Joe goes into the school to speak to Alisha Whiteplume (Cheryl De Luca). She asks if she worked at Blue Sky High School back in the day. Once she says yes, Joe asks her about Shenandoah. Everyone knew her because she was an amazing basketball player. There were offers from schools, but she never ended up going. Someone changed in her after graduation.

She has trouble keeping a job, some substance abuse issues, and she eventually left the reservation. Alisha shows Joe a picture of her. Joe finds that odd because she is Klamath Moore’s wife. He says Shenandoah Yellowcalf is Shannon Moore now. As Joe walks outside, he begins thinking it is Klamath. When he gets to the truck, he finds that Vern is missing and his ankle bracelet is still there. Klamath (Aaron Dean Eisenberg) gets upset when he reads about the governor rushing to reopen hunting season. He says they can’t let them reopen hunting season because they’ve worked too hard. Sheriff Barnum (Patrick Gallagher) complains about Joe going above his head to the governor.

Joe confesses that he lost Vern. He claims he just solved the case. Joe says he is killing for justice, but not for animals. He believes it is justice for his wife. Barnum says Klamath will have an army of lawyers there before they can even get the cuffs on him. Joe thinks they’ll have to catch him in the act. He believes he can make that happen by using Randy Pope. Randy learns that they want to use him as bait to get Klamath who wants to kill him. They try to pressure Randy into helping them. They’ll make sure Klamath hears their plan and they’ll reel him in. They’ll do that using a police scanner since they know he is listening in. Randy says they should go to Bull Grove.

In private, Joe tells Barnum that they’re going to need more men to take down Klamath. Joe says they need Nate, but Barnum says he is a fugitive. Marybeth visits Charlie with the photo to ask if the backpack belonged to Marissa. Marybeth is introduced to Gloria when she goes inside. Klamath is shown with a poker chip. Randy learns about the steering wheel. Sheriff Barnum sends word over the radio that they’re going to Bull Grove. Once they arrive, Randy says this is where they camped with the girl so Klamath will know the place. Nate joins them moments later. In private, Joe and Nate talk about whether Klamath is justified in wanting to kill Randy.

Joe insists Randy and Klamath will both get what they paid for. Everyone gets into position. Barnum says he and McLanahan (Chad Rook) will follow Klamath. Nate will keep an eye on him. Randy takes Joe to the campsite. Joe asks Randy if the shed is where they had their fun, but Randy insists he doesn’t know what he is talking about. Randy says he didn’t do anything to the girl that she didn’t ask for. Nate sees a vehicle approaching them. Klamath gets out of his car and runs up the hill towards the campsite. They keep an eye on Klamath as he gets closer to Joe and Randy. Barnum walks behind Klamath. He turns around and sees Barnum before running. Klamath eventually stops. Joe and the others hear a shot. They find Klamath on the ground after Barnum shot him.

Barnum claims he was reaching for his gun and almost shot him. However, he only had a phone and no gun. Marybeth calls Joe to say this is bigger than they thought. She explains that there are more women. As Joe tells her about Klamath, Shenandoah runs up behind Randy and stabs him. She says she is the killer of rapists. After cutting his neck, she seems to surrender.

 

Joe Pickett Review

This episode of Joe Pickett wasn’t terrible, but it came pretty close with the characters doing a lot of stupid things. It is getting to the point that it is hard to take Joe and other members of law enforcement seriously because they’re constantly messing things up or being complete idiots. As a result, there really isn’t an authentic connection between the viewer and Joe Pickett or any of the other characters. Joe could’ve been stabbed in the woods and it wouldn’t have made a difference in terms of emotional impact.

Heck, the entire cast in the woods could’ve been blown to smithereens and no one would’ve shed a tear. The writing feels like an insult to the viewer’s intelligence. Vern getting out of prison was a stretch to begin with, but Joe shouldn’t be making the same mistake again. He already got Luke shot by locking someone in his truck. Now, he let Vern escape by handcuffing him in his truck.

Furthermore, Joe knew Deputy McLanahan wouldn’t be enough to stop a potential serial killer so his bright idea was to call Nate. Why wouldn’t they call in backup from elsewhere? Not to mention Nate is considered a fugitive at this point. After the many mistakes they’ve made up until this point, it is hard to imagine they thought this would end well.

Truthfully, they might as well have sent Lieutenant Jim Dangle and his bunch into the woods of Canada and called the show Joe Pickett. At the very least, that would’ve been humorous. If viewers can ignore reality and just accept what is happening, the season might not be so bad. Those looking for a competent game warden will need to look elsewhere.

The episode scores a 4 out of 10. Recaps of Joe Pickett are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.