Barn Burner



Title	Barn Burner
Episode	2.03
Aired	November 11, 2021
Ratings	1.642mil - 0.30 (18-49)
Director	Joel Novoa
Writer	Aaron Carew & Blythe Ann Johnson
IMDB	IMDB
Synopsis	Walker invites Gale Davidson to participate in the chili cookoff at the Side Step to try and make amends after years of their families feuding, however Abby isn’t too pleased with the gesture. Micki and Trey work on reconciling their relationship when she comes home after her deep undercover operation
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Plot

The beginning of the episode shows the return of the cameras watching the Walkers (while Cordell has a nightmare about the fire from his younger years), but now, it’s revealed that there are two men behind it, working on behalf of the Northside Nation. However, now with Serano locked up, the men behind the cameras are looking for a new buyer.

We also see a few things: Geri sleeping on the couch at Cordell’s, Stella and Colton taking care of the horse they found, Liam on the phone talking about Serano, and Dan snooping around the Walker ranch.

At the station, Micki answers a phone call from Trey. She says she’s finishing up paperwork from the case, and Trey tries to talk to her but Micki seems very shut down. Trey asks when she’s coming home, and Micki says she doesn’t know, that she’ll pop in when he least expects it (referencing to Trey coming to see Micki undercover in the first episode).

At the ranch, Abeline, August, Cordell, and Liam all help make Abeline’s chili for the cookoff. Augie accidentally leaves a towel on the stove next to an open flame, and Cordell sees it on fire and yells at Augie. Bonham goes to talk to Cordell and knows about the nightmares, in which Cordell says he can hear “him” (Gale Davidson's husband) screaming, crying for help, etc. Cordell tells Bonham he thinks they should invite them to the cookoff, and that’s just what he does.

Cordell talks to Gale and Dan, and Gale says she wants to enter the cookoff. Abeline is angry about it and says she will not allow Gale to go after her boy again.

Trey asks Cordell about Micki and why she hasn’t come home yet. Cordell tries to reassure Trey, saying it’s only been a day, and she needs to debrief. Cordell goes to the station to talk to Micki. Cordell invites her to the Chili Cookoff, and Micki calls him out on meddling. Cordell sees the church painting at the station, and Micki leaves and takes it with her.

The two men who are spying on the Walker family find a buyer who “hates the Walkers” and had a high price. One of the men shoots the other one after handing over the buyer’s information.

At the cookoff, Geri hosts it at The Side Step, with live music and multiple booths of Chili. Two women come up to Geri and ask if Walker is available, and Geri says he’s not married anymore. Micki arrives at the cookoff and finds Trey. Trey tells her he loves her, and Micki doesn’t respond, and she instead starts drinking but says she’s going to kick Trey’s ass in darts. Trey is shooting darts and then stops and says that he’s there for Micki when she’s ready to talk. Micki says she didn’t like that he came down to see her and put everyone’s life in danger. She says she knows that his heart was in the right place, and it what’s matters to her most. Trey says he knows it was reckless and he’s sorry. Micki goes to leave after hearing the band play, and Abeline follows her. Cordell goes over to Trey, and Trey gets upset because Cordell can’t tell him anything, and that he has a talent for calling out a problem but not coming up with a solution.

August hits Bonham down in a dunk tank, and the cookoff seems to be a success, but Dan runs into Liam, spilling an entire pot of chili on him, and the two get into another argument. Gale and Abeline agree to up the competition, with the winner getting $5,000 more. The booths keep getting eliminated until it’s down to Abeline’s and Gale’s.

Outside with Micki and Abeline, Abeline talks about love and calls out Micki saying “what’s his name,” and Abeline can see right through Micki. Micki tells Abeline about Garrison and how it’s making her question her future. Abeline tells Micki to be completely honest with herself and to do what’s right for her.

The mystery man goes to meet with the buyer, and surprise, surprise, we find out it’s Dan. Dan watches the Walker family and sees a conversation between Abeline and Cordell. After the conversation, Cordell goes to straighten a photo on the wall, and he sees the camera in the corner of the frame. He turns around as to not let on that he saw it, but it's obvious that he's realized he’s being watched.

Cordell has to do the blind tasting to determine the winner, and he purposely chose the Davidsons. Gale takes the microphone, thanks the Walkers, and mentions the loss of her husband, Marv. Gale also says they’re using the winnings to build a horse rescue and that Colton has been “single-handedly” caring for a horse. She also gives a thinly-veiled threat, which is only going to escalate the situation between the families more.

After the cookoff, Abeline talks to Cordell about the Davidsons winning, as Cordell talks about all that the Davidsons have lost. Cordell is very emotional about how everyone took the Walkers’ side over everything, how they lost Marv, their home, their land, etc. He also talks about how they had to leave town and that maybe the Walkers are actually the bad guys. Cordell tells Abeline about the nightmares, and that they’re memories. Teary-eyed, Cordell tells Abeline about taking a lantern and leaving it in the barn, saying the fire and the barn is his fault. Abeline hugs Cordell as he cries, reassuring him it was an accident. All the while, Dan has been watching through the camera feed. His face doesn't really give away what he's feeling, but we can guess it's something sinister.

Micki later arrives home to Trey, and she hangs the church picture in her art room. Trey asks about it as Micki hangs it, and she doesn’t want to talk about it with him.^[1]

Trivia

Abeline says "love is a battlefield" to Micki in the episode, then says she wouldn't explain the reference. This is (likely) a reference to the song Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar.

Music In Episode

Song Title	Artist	Scene Info
Super Fun Apocalypse (feat. Bryson the Alien)	Lucern Raze feat. Bryson the Alien	Surveillance watches Cordell having a nightmare.
Sentimental	ilo ilo	August working in garage band; Montage of Walker family ranch scenes; Stella turns up the volume; Colton and Stella walk injured horses into corral.
Three Decembers	Dark Water Hymnal	Cordell tells Bonham about his nightmares, says he wants to invite Davidsons to the cook off
Let It Go	Graham Wilkinson	Chili cookoff starts
Let It All Hang out Tonite	Low Cut Connie	Trey and Micki talk a bit as the cookoff continues
Devil n Me	Taylor Hollingsworth	The Harvest Chili Cook Off heats up; Abeline and Gale are the frontrunners
The Third Sound	The Third Sound	Micki kicks Treys ass at darts and have a heart to heart
We Got the Stones	7Horse	Dan crashes into Liam's chili; chili contest stakes are raised.
True Love Will Find You in the End (cover)	Graham Wilkinson	Micki hears this song (Garrison's song for her, previously covered by Wilco in The One Who Got Away), followed by Abeline
Hooked	Denney and the Jets	Abeline advises Micki to do what's right for herself
Touch the Lightning	KOLARS	Mystery man meets with "the buyer", Dan
Never a Good Time	Sylvee	Cordell makes a confession to his mother while Dan watches through the cameras, Trey tries to comfort Micki, Cordell notices a camera