The Third Way – As the finale of Joe Pickett begins, one of the Grim brothers (Alex Breaux) sees men on horseback nearby. He runs back to his brother to tell him that it is time and they’re coming. While Joe (Michael Dorman) rides with Shenandoah (Emily Alabi), Deputy McLanahan asks Marybeth where Joe went. McLanahan (Chad Rook) warns her that she’ll be in jail without her kids if she doesn’t answer his questions. They argue about whether Sheriff Barnum was going to kill Shenandoah. McLanahan says Barnum saved his life only for Marybeth to shoot him. Once he gets tired of hearing her, he tells a deputy to get Marybeth (Julianna Guill) out of his face.

Hank Scarlett (Roger LeBlanc) and his men approach a fork in the road and have to decide which path to take. They stumble into a man taking a crap in the woods. They contemplate whether they should kill him. The man says he has seen the girl so he offers to show them where she is to avoid being killed. The man begins showing them the way. Shenandoah tells Joe that they should split up, but he is adamant that they should stay together. Missy (Sharon Lawrence) plays cards with Sheridan, Lucy, and April at home. When the dog starts barking, they see a truck outside. Missy calls Kyle because she doesn’t like the looks of it.

Joe tells Shenandoah about the feeling he has. He worries that someone is out there just waiting for them. Shenandoah says the first two deaths were labeled accidents. She made a big show out of Frank’s death to spur a real investigation. She insists she didn’t want to keep killing. As Cricket (Aadila Dosani) takes Marybeth to the station, she tells her that she did something stupid by shooting a cop. Marybeth asks where he went when she was shot and Barnum left Cricket to guard her. She tries to convince Cricket that Barnum was crooked. Marybeth says Shannon would already be dead if she didn’t do what she did.

Although Barnum destroyed the evidence, Charlie might’ve found something in the phone records Cricket got him. Marissa might still be alive. If she is, she will be able to prove that Barnum is crooked. Marybeth pleads with Cricket to call Charlie because he will support everything she is saying. The men in the truck get out and begin approaching the house where Missy and the girls are. Missy and the girls have already fled the house. They need to get across the water so Missy’s boyfriend can pick her up on the other side. Joe and Shannon make it to the burned cabin. He believes Marissa was staying there. Shannon wonders why they’d burn it down and cover it up if they were just going to leave.

Joe says the Grims know the woods better than anyone so they figure they can kill anyone they want. Shannon worries they’ll kill them and get away with it. Joe gives her a gun, deputizes her, and asks her to arrest these men. She tells Joe to shoot first if he wants to survive. The Grim brothers begin putting on bulletproof vests. As Joe looks around, he continues thinking about the incident from the past. Shannon falls off her horse and drops her weapon. Joe makes it to the Grim camp and begins calling for the brothers. He yells that he isn’t there for them. He is there to take Marissa home. They begin shooting at him so Joe hides behind a rock and shoots back. The brothers get closer as they suspect Joe is almost out of bullets.

Joe says he promised his wife he wouldn’t die today. Nate (Mustafa Speaks) shows up out of nowhere and puts his gun to the head of one of the brothers. Marissa (Tanchay Redvers) finds Shannon. Joe urges the Grim brothers to put their guns down because he is only there to stop others from killing Marissa. Nate learns why the Grim brothers do not like Joe. Marissa grabs supplies to help Shannon while Hank’s men get closer. Joe and the others sit down so they can negotiate. Joe tries to figure out who the brothers are so he can understand their situation better. The brothers want to know more about Joe first. Joe says this is his job. He is asked why he’d choose to work for the government.

Joe explains that he is working for the state and not the federal government. He tells them about his brother and how he craved order back then. Joe says his brother drove his car 100 MPH into the arc at the entrance of Yellowstone. He tried to call Joe who didn’t pick up because he was too busy. After Joe tells his story, the brothers say they come from Upper Peninsula Michigan. They had land in their family for many years, but the governor decided the land was the perfect place for a power plant. Although the brothers refused their offers, the government said they had the right to take the land anyway. They refused to hand it over so the government came with guns and helicopters. They kill their mother and brother.

After that, the brothers wanted to find somewhere they would be left alone. Nate says these guys are folk heroes to the people underground. He even knows their last names. Nate doesn’t think Joe is on the right side of this thing. When they found Marissa, she had been wounded by some government man. Joe insists he isn’t going to leave the mountain without her. Hank sees Marissa and tries shooting her. Once Joe hears the shooting, he tells the others that they all want Marissa to live. They agree to help keep her alive. Although the brothers agree, they make it clear that this isn’t over.

When the shooting starts, the man who was crapping in the woods tries to flee. Eventually, Hank is nearly killed so he begins shooting and fleeing. Joe and Nate stop one of the men only for a brother to kill him. Then, they say the truce is over before asking Joe how he wants to play this thing. Although Joe is a government man, they believe he has honor. Marissa interrupts to say Shannon needs help. Derek Longbrake (John Ralston) is there to pick up Missy and the girls when they make it across the water. Derek and Missy speak about the relationship as she admits she can’t stop thinking about him. Missy says she made a promise that she’d only find love with someone who can take care of her.

In reality, she just wanted a guy who’d show up at a moment’s notice. Derek surprises her by saying he is fantastically rich. They begin kissing. Once Joe and the others catch up with Shannon, he says it is his job to take her in now. He says she can plead not guilty and say it was self-defense. He’ll even testify for her. Nate knows a place where she can get medical attention. Kyle McLanahan warns the others to keep an eye out for Joe and Shannon. The media interviews the man who was crapping in the woods. Cricket arrives with Marybeth and Charlie. She tells McLanahan that she’ll catch him up later. Joe rides back with Marissa. Kyle takes credit for sending the rescue party up there. He also calls himself the sheriff.

Joe kisses Marybeth while Charlie is reunited with his daughter. Kyle tells Marybeth that they’re not going to press charges and she is free to go. He never wants to speak about Joe punching him ever again. Charlie (Sean Wei Mah) shows Marissa a board full of missing posters and says she has given the families new hope. Joe and Marybeth agree that their son would’ve been happy there. They sing together. Later, they catch up with Luke (Keean Johnson). A protest passes through town asking for justice for the Grims. April Keeley (Vivienne Guynn) is shocked to see her mother, Jeannie (Leah Gibson), in one of the cars.

 

Joe Pickett Review

Joe Pickett’s second season wasn’t nearly as good as the first and even it wasn’t perfect, but viewers will undoubtedly notice a steep quality decline here. Viewers will likely find the finale okay if they can overlook the episode’s many believability issues. Although the finale wrapped up some storylines, it left a lot open without any explanation. If the writing had been better, this season could’ve been just as good as the first if not better.

For starters, many scenes in this episode and others really insulted the viewer’s intelligence. Either that or the writer has never been out in the wilderness and shouldn’t have been writing for such a show. It is very unlikely that there would be so many random encounters out there, especially with Hank running into the very man who’d lead him to Marissa. Not to mention the guy would just happen to be in a compromising situation at the time.

Then, Nate just happened to pop up out of nowhere even though he had been attacking Hank’s men in the previous episode. There were serious continuity issues between this episode and others as well as some in this episode period. After Vern’s escape, there was never a mention of him again. We also don’t know what happened with the men who went after Joe at home or whatever happened to the special forces who were after Nate and Cricket.

The latter storyline just seemed to be dropped out of the blue giving Nate the ability to wander freely and for Cricket to return to work. With Nate saving Joe’s life at every turn, one would think they would’ve discussed the Grim brothers previously. It was cringe to hear Joe and Nate making jokes even though they were in a life-and-death situation with the Grim brothers.

Joe Pickett showed a lot of potential in the first season, but the writing has been detrimental in the second season. If the series is going to return for a third season, it needs better writers and people with experience being in the woods and with firearms. However, it wouldn’t be unjustified if the story ended here either because this season’s quality doesn’t give me any confidence that another season would be any better.

The finale scores a 5 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.