

Title	Bar None
Episode	1.06
Aired	March 11, 2021
Ratings	2.43mil - 0.6 (18-49)
Director	Amyn Kaderali
Writer	Casey Fisher & Paula Sabbaga
IMDB	IMDB
Synopsis	When Geri decides to sell the bar, it throws Walker for a loop. With so many memories attached to the bar, he asks Geri to reconsider and reminds her of all the good times they’ve had there with Emily and Hoyt. Meanwhile, Micki is shocked when her mother drops in unexpectedly.
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Plot

Cordell and Micki are at the Side Step having a drink, commiserating over Cordell's upcoming DPS hearing, and the fact that the system isn't always fair (even though it works in their favor). Cordell toasts to "Denise", a stuffed boar head on the wall, and Micki says she doesn't understand his "thing" with the hideous boar. Cordell says it was Emily's favorite thing about the Side Step.

Flashback to six years ago

Geri and Hoyt are sitting on the pool table sharing a drink, and Emily is walking into the Side Step with a large box, a gift for Cordell's 32nd birthday. He opens it to reveal none other than Denise, the "hideous boar".

Present day

Geri, behind the bar, tosses Cordell his Bed and Bath coupons, stating she doesn't want them and he needs to update his address. Micki takes the coupons while Cordell looks through the mail and finds he's received the check for Emily's life insurance. The upcoming Sunday marks one year since her death, and August and Stella want to go camping because it was "Emily's favorite thing". While they're taking, the bar begins to implode, with parts of the ceiling crashing down.

In prison, Carlos Mendoza is walking out to the yard to meet with Liam and Capt. Larry James. They have questions for him but he says he doesn't want a new trial. He leaves and Liam and Larry discuss it further, saying they need someone on the inside who can get him to talk, because they think he's scared.

At the Walker residence, they're all getting prepared for camping. Stella and August are packing things up when Cordell gets a phone call from Geri. She says she's selling the bar and there are developers who've made offers. He tells her not to, and decides to run over to the bar to stop her from selling, telling the kids he'll be right back.

Trey and Micki are in bed being cute, obviously post-coitus. Trey gets a text from his mom with a photo of food and he sends a selfie of them in bed as a response. He says he'd ordered food from the "Olive Garlic" before hearing someone at the door, and he gets up, assuming it's the food. He is dressed in a kimono when he answers the door, only to come face to face with Micki's mother, Dr. Adriana Ramirez. She walks in without much fanfare, making herself comfortable. Micki and Trey rush off to get dressed.

Geri is meeting with Alex, a developer when Cordell comes in to stop her. He starts to ask the developer for credentials and says he needs to shut down the bar to investigate the "crime scene" because it could be foul play. An obvious attempt to stall.

Micki mentions to Trey that she hasn't spoken to her mom in months and wasn't even aware she knew where Micki lived. They're in the bedroom finishing up getting dressed, and Micki tells Trey not to speak to her mother. When they exit the bedroom she finds her mom perusing some shelves, spotting her own book among Micki's things. Micki cuts right to it and asks her mom why she's there, to which Adriana responds that she's trying to make an effort. Micki seems to soften and offers having lunch together the next day. But Adriana says she has a psych evaluation the following day, with a Ranger, and it all clicks. Micki accuses her mom of trying to eviscerate her partner, grabbing her coat before she storms off to find Cordell.

Cordell is at the bar, having a drink with his old friend Denise. Geri comes in to berate him for trying to make the bar a crime scene, because she thinks he's in denial over the anniversary of Emily's death. He counters by saying they have so many memories at the bar, and reminds her of his 32nd birthday. Geri says the problems are foundational, and he simply replies that he can't walk away from a crime scene, so he asks for the keys to the bar.

Six years prior

Geri and Hoyt leave, letting Emily and Cordell have some alone time in the bar. Cordell makes a point to put Denise on the wall of the bar, reaching up to reveal a bandage on his hip (obviously injured on the job somehow). Emily points out that his job is dangerous so they need to have wills. This discussion prompts him to ask her: "What would you do if I died?" Emily replies with the best answer possible, she'd marry Geri and work at the Side Step (yes good). She turns the question on him and he says his life would be over if Emily died. Then he jokes that he'd also marry Geri and work at the Side Step. They kiss and begin some hanky panky on the pool table.

Present day

Stella's packing for camping, just finishing a phone call with someone. August seems confused, but she explains that they need someone to give them a ride to the campground because she believes their dad bailed. Bonham and Abeline enter, stating they're taking the kids camping, but Stella has her own backup plan. She leaves to meet someone outside, and Abeline, Bonham, and August all rush to the window to see Stella meeting with Trevor. They come outside and Trevor introduces himself to Bonham, but Abeline seems cold to the boy. She says to Stella that she thought it was a family trip.

Back at the prison, Hoyt meets with Liam and Larry, and Hoyt gets in a jab at Larry's jacket. They tell Hoyt that he's moving cells and is going to be bunking with Carlos Mendoza, who they very much don't need shivved. They believe Carlos knows something about Emily's death that he isn't telling them, and they can reduce Hoyt's sentence if he helps. Hoyt seems unsure first, not wanting to bunk with someone who killed his friend, but they say they're working on a case, and Hoyt realizes that they might have put the wrong man away for her murder. So he agrees to do it.

Cordell is working on fixing up the Side Step, and Micki is trying to convince him to prepare for his psych eval. She believes her mother will do anything she can to make Cordell look guilty, and Cordell seems sure enough of himself to ignore her warnings. He climbs a ladder and states he can take care of himself, before accidentally shooting a nail into his own hand and nailing himself to a piece of wood. Classic.

Micki had spoken to Trey, who suggested to take the nail out by just pulling it like a bandaid. Cordell weighs the options but decides to let her do it because he doesn't have time to go to the ER if he wants to save the bar. Micki again brings up the psych eval and Cordell walks away from her, the board still nailed to his hand. He plans to remove the nail himself before Micki stops him. She removes the nail, Cordell lets out a manly grunt of pain, and he wraps his injured hand in a towel (this is the same hand he injured in the pilot too... that poor hand). Micki goes to grab a bottle of bourbon to pour on the wound but Cordell stops her because it's for "drinking". He hands her a cheaper bottle meant for "sanitizing".

Trey arrives, bringing Adriana with her, and Micki seems annoyed by this. They were apparently on their way to lunch when Micki contacted him. Cordell sort of introduces himself to Adriana, coming across a little defensive when he speaks to her, claiming Dr. Ramirez is trying to make him look like some rotten apple. She responds that it's not about rotten apples, but a rotten system.

While Trey works on Cordell's hand, and Cordell again gets defensive because he thinks Trey is trying to lecture him about Emily's death, but he literally was just talking about how he could've injured his hand worse if he hit anything structural. Cordell realizes his mistake and deflates a bit.

Abeline and Bonham are talking with Stella while Trevor and August are off on their own. Abeline says she won't let Stella go camping alone with Trevor, even with August going too. Stella walks off and leaves the grandparents to discuss amongst themselves. Bonham seems less strict about it, asking what the harm is, and mentions that he hasn't seen Stella smile much in the last year. He asks Abeline if she's upset that Stella asked Trevor to go camping, or if she's upset because Stella didn't ask her.

Hoyt is walking toward his new cell, checking out a book from one of the guards so he can have an "in" when speaking to Carlos. The guard mentions that Carlos has been reading about this one specific artist (Rufino Tamayo), and Hoyt thanks him. When he walks into the cell, Hoyt tries to introduce himself but Carlos is reading "Illusion and Force" by Rufino Tamayo, and doesn't seem interested in speaking with Hoyt. But Hoyt uses his charm to mention the artist, and says he's not really a fan of the "limited palette crap", with the exception of Niños Jugando con Fuego (Children Playing with Fire). Carlos finally warms up to Hoyt and they shake hands.

Back at the Side Step, Micki is throwing test questions at Cordell to prepare him for his psych eval. She mentions that Cordell went undercover only two months after Emily's murder and Cordell sort of loses it, yelling at her and getting angry.

Bonham, Abeline, and the kids are stopped at a rest stop, the last one until they get to the campsite. They're about to have sandwiches (though Abeline seems frustrated that Bonham offers Cordell's sandwich to Trevor). August begins to play "Eye Spy", probably to ease the tension, and before the game can really get going, Stella spots smoke coming from the hood of the car.

Capt. James and Liam are back with Hoyt again, after only two hours. Hoyt says Carlos didn't have to tell him anything, because he learned that Carlos has ALS and the track marks on his arms are from injecting a drug called Edaravone. Carlos is dying, not a drug addict, and Hoyt mentions that Carlos gets the drug through "other" channels, so it wasn't listed on his file anywhere.

Stella and Abeline are working on the car, with Bonham behind the wheel. Stella asks Abeline why she's being harsh with Trevor, and mentions that Trevor "gets this, more than you think". They get the car going and it's a job well done by all involved.

Cordell is still working on the bar with Micki, and she's still asking him test questions. Through her questions, he admits that he believes his actions were justifiable, and she deduces that his default is violence. He gets angry again and says her default is "avoidance", because she hadn't stepped in when he was dealing with Jordan. Before the argument can continue, the ceiling yet again implodes on itself, and Cordell responds like the rational adult that he is by yelling and throwing a chair. He shouts that Micki was right because it was about Emily, and he storms off.

Micki finds him outside, drinking the alcohol meant for sanitizing. She hands him the good stuff and takes a seat across from him to have a heart to hear. Cordell mentions that he's pissed, saying the only time he didn't feel like crap was when he was pretending to be Duke. Micki says he has to deal with his feelings, and admits that she's avoiding her mother because she doesn't want to face that she might be right about Micki. And Cordell. Cordell resigns himself to pleading guilty, saying he'll probably get a suspension, but at least he'll keep his badge.

Cordell calls Bonham and asks them to turn around to come back.

Micki goes home, finding her mother cooking in the kitchen with Trey. She tells her mother that Cordell is pleading guilty, and Adriana then admits that she wasn't randomly assigned the case. She wanted to teach Micki a lesson.

Bonham and Abeline are unloading the kids things into the Side Step, and Stella is having a chat outside with Trevor. They're about to kiss when Cordell interrupts with a truly great line about the tongue being the strongest muscle. He introduces himself to Trevor, stating he's a Ranger (and Trevor stares at him like he's seen a ghost?). Bonham and Abeline give Trevor a ride back to his car.

Cordell decides they're going to camp inside the Side Step, and finally admits that Emily actually hated camping. They have a nice moment, reminiscing over what Emily enjoyed when they were camping, and then they get setup to have a snooze.

Bonham gives Trevor back his things and Trevor apologizes to Abeline, saying Stella is a great girl, and that he recently lost his own mother (Stella was right, he gets it). Abeline seems to warm to him and she even gives him all their food to take home so he won't starve. Abeline and Bonham plan to have a night together without the kids.

Back in the bar, the kids are asleep and Cordell sees Emily as a ghostly memory. He apologizes for not saving the bar (to which she responds with her famous line: "not all things have to be good for them to be good") and when he turns his head to grab a drink, she disappears.

The next morning, they're about to eat breakfast, and Cordell brings out a skillet snickerdoodle that Emily had made right before her murder (it's freezer burnt, and probably gone bad). Gerri arrives and says they're going to tear down the bar to build condos, but August mentions that they should buy the bar with Emily's life insurance money. Stella agrees, saying they should turn it into a family place. Cordell immediately offers to buy and Geri says yes, tossing the key to Stella.

Larry James is looking over Carlos's niece's art gallery (Galería 107 in Reynosa, Mexico) with Liam. According to the records, she'd sold a painting for $50,000, which is a large sale for a piece of art in such a small, poor town. He then points out the repeat purchases, and one from right there in Austin. The first purchase date was from two days after Emily's murder. It's from a LLP called "Straw Ring LLP". Larry says it's Geri's LLP, and the scene cuts to a shot of Geri driving away somewhere.

Back at the Ranger Station, Micki and Cordell are showing up to begin the hearing, meeting Adriana outside. Just before they enter the building, a police officer shows up to arrest Adriana, which confuses both Cordell and Micki.

At the prison, Trevor walks in to meet with his dad. It was mentioned in Don't Fence Me In that his father is in prison, so this isn't a surprise, but when he begins to show his dad a photo of "Duke Culpepper", that is definitely a surprise. He tells his father that the man in the photo is a Ranger, and not dead as they'd assumed. It then shows that Trevor's father is Clint West, omg.

Trivia

Rufino Tamayo was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, painting figurative abstraction with surrealist influences.

Bonham says "Oscar Mike in fifteen" to Stella and August. This is from the military phonetic alphabet, spelling "O. M.", which means "On the move".

There were multiple versions of the car scene with Geri that were filmed, as show runner Anna Fricke stated: "We were going for enigmatic, which I think she pulled off beautifully".^[1]

Anna Fricke confirmed that Trevor and Stella's first meeting was innocent: "It’s funny, when Cordell walks in and stops Trevor and Stella from kissing, and Trevor just looks shocked, you think it’s because, “Oh, my girlfriend’s six-foot-five Ranger father just walked in.” But it’s because he recognizes him from this picture. In terms of danger, we’ll see. But it has definitely complicated what was a very innocent first meeting between Trevor and Stella."^[2]

The ratings for all television programs on Thursday March 11, 2021, were impacted by President Biden's prime time address, forcing ratings down universally for the majority of time zones. Walker dipped to a series low with 1.37 million viewers but ticked upward in demographic scoring a 0.3.^[3]

Music In Episode

Song Title	Artist	Scene Info
Kinda Shaken	The Kingston Springs	Cordell and Micki have a beer together
Hangin' On	Western Youth	Cordell receives Emily's life insurance check
I Gotta Cry	Jeff "Sonny Boy" Williamson	Cordell has bourbon and argues with Geri over Side Step's future
Magnolia	Mail the Horse	Liam and Larry James meet with Hoyt to ask for help
Say What You Mean	Rubber Band Gun	Cordell and Micki work on repairing Side Step
Warm	Alaska Reid	Trevor and Stella have a moment, Cordell interrupts and it's great
Summer Begs	Sarah Jaffe	Cordell, Stella, Augie camp in the Side Step and Cordell talks to Emily's "ghost"
Calling It	Automatic	Geri drives off and we all scream about plot twists