

Title	Don't Fence Me In
Episode	1.04
Aired	February 11, 2021
Ratings	2.91mil - 0.5 (18-49)
Director	John T. Kretchmer
Writer	April Fitzsimmons
IMDB	IMDB
Synopsis	Micki is uncomfortable with the spotlight Captain James puts on her during a current investigation. Walker talks to Liam about their parents and learns there was trouble while he was away. Trey applies for a new job in town while Stella starts community service and August stumbles upon some secrets from his father’s time away undercover.
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Plot

The episode begins in the evening, Cordell and Micki are driving while on duty and Cordell asks about Trey (because he wants them to be best friends). They continue to discuss middle names and Cordell is a dog with a bone. Connie chimes in on the radio and says Sheriff Monty Shaw in Liberty Rise requires urgent assistance, at Harlan Oil field. The oil field boss Bob Harlan was DOA when the sheriff arrived, according to Shaw. The shooter was a Hispanic male in a yellow truck.

They turn on their sirens and head off, catching up with the truck and trying to get him to pull over using the bullhorn. The truck is swerving and Cordell tells Micki to run him off the road (bulldog it). If the suspect hits the upcoming flare the explosion could kill anyone in the vicinity. She runs him off the road and they both pull their guns out to approach the vehicle. Micki opens the driver door and finds the driver unconscious with a bloody head wound. He has tattoos on his arm of tear drops, indicating he's part of the Olvidado gang.

We next see a press conference with Monty Shaw being lauded by the Mayor for his arrest of another Olvidado gang member. Capt. James approaches Micki and she asks about the Olvidados because they don't usually mess with oil guys, only drugs and guns. James mentions that the suspect (Enzo Carillo) was a longtime employee and it's possible they had a falling out. She gets coerced to go to the front with James to do a quick photo op and shake the Mayor's hand. Micki spots a less than happy girl standing in the crowd watching and we learn through James that she is the daughter of Enzo Carillo, Delio Carillo. As Micki exits, Delia chides Micki for betraying her people to serve herself.

At the Side Step later, they're all laughing and praising Monty because he's about to retire and he's a well liked member of the department. Micki brings up Delia again with Cordell but he doesn't seem to agree with her just yet. James toasts to Monty and they all drink to the toast, then Stan appears and Cordell introduces him to Micki. He runs Morrison Seed & Tack, but in this episode we also learn he's the co-chair at the Department of Public Safety Commission and they approve all new Ranger hires (sus?). They joke about Cordell not being as good a rider as Micki and then Cordell goes to get drinks for himself and Micki.

Winston appears and takes the drink meant for Micki. He introduces himself as APD and then calls Micki "Muskrat", which confuses Cordell a great amount. Because you have to earn Micki's trust, she hasn't even told him her middle name, so he's still in the dark about a lot of things with Micki. Shaw goes up to Micki and tries to give her a sideways hug and Micki politely pushes him away, she still seems suspicious of the arrest. Cordell hands her bourbon and says he's learning.

Back at the farmhouse, Cordell and Liam are taking boxes from the old house into the kitchen to unpack. Stella asks if she can paint her room and August comes in wearing a weird blue wig and sunglasses, also carrying a box. Cordell promises pizza once they're done unpacking, but Stella has to go to the prison stables by the outlet mall to help out as part of her community service. Even though the prisoners will be on different rotations, Cordell tells her to steer clear. When they believe Stella to be out of earshot, Liam and Cordell discuss Isabel's parents and Liam says they're on ICE's radar, so he's going to talk to them the next day.

August opens one of the boxes that he'd been carrying and finds his dad's stuff: a Rangers baseball hat, a camera, and an old phone. Cordell walks in and packs it back up, dismissing it as just old case stuff, but August had hidden the camera and phone without Cordell noticing. Once Cordell has left the room, he plugs the phone into a charger below his bed.

Stan and Bonham walk into the kitchen and catch Abeline singing and dancing, and it's adorable. She's making jalapeño pepper jam. Abeline asks Bonham to get Cordell to get more canning jars and Bonham shouts to Cordell in the cellar rather than actually going to get him. Stan asks about Cordell and Bonham seems a little uncomfortable, leaving to grab something from his truck. Stan takes a taste of the jam meant for Bret, and he asks Abeline why she hasn't been around the Seed & Tack in Rosedale to pick up bird feed, because Gary has been asking about her.

Micki is at home drawing and Trey tells her to take a break. Micki is unsure of the fanfare around her photo op because she feels like she's being used as a prop. Trey convinces her that it's for the greater good because she's an inspiration to other little Mexican girls. She asks about the job search and Trey says he has an interview lined up, but she seems distracted while checking the Ranger database, which says Enzo's gang activity dropped in 1990. She worries about looking into it because Monty Shaw is beloved. She then tells him good luck for the interview and leaves. Trey moves aside an old drawing and sees a drawing of "Lady Libertad" from when Micki was a kid.

Cordell is bringing boxes to the cellar and he finds old letters from Gary, addressed to Abeline. He takes a peek in one of the letters and they appear to be love letters.

Back at the Ranger station, Micki informs Cordell Enzo got out of the gang 30 years ago. He didn't realize she was still looking into it. Micki wants to speak with Enzo, mentioning the nurse said he'd wake up any moment, and she asks Cordell to go with her to see him.. Cordell seems distracted and says it's because of family stuff (The Gary thing, obviously). Micki says she tried with James but he said he didn't want her chasing it, so it needs to be off the books. Cordell is more than okay with doing things off the books. Connie comes up behind them and says Enzo Carillo passed away an hour ago, so they can no longer go speak to him.

At the prison stables, Stella rushes up to meet Isabel. Vern arrives and introduces himself, asking if anyone grew up on a ranch, to which Stella puts up her hand. Vern tells her to muck horses and says she'll be reporting to their new hire, Trevor. Trevor tosses her a rake to muck the stalls. She obviously has a crush on him already.

Micki is speaking with Delia while Cordell takes photos of the garage, including shots of Bob Harlan at her quinceanera. Micki is trying to convince Delia that she's on her side. Delia points out a photo of her father's tattoo, stating the tears are filled in, meaning he got out for good, and wouldn't have been back in the gang for anything in the world. We also learn that she's in pre-med, which Enzo was very proud of. And she mentions losing Mr. Harlan too, because Mr. Harlan loved them and would even try to give speeches in Spanish. But Bob's wife, Mrs. Harlan, hated Enzo.

Cordell and Micki approach the gardens that the Harlans had donated to the city. Cordell smells something and Mrs. Harlan states it's a corpse flower (or amorphophallus titanum). She says she already gave the sheriff her statement, but they counter by saying it's just a routine follow up. Mrs. Harlan seems distraught over the loss of her husband, and calls him a "magnanimous man". When her husband died, she was at the Garden Gala, and she claims that Bob was meant to be her date. But Enzo called at the last minute to say that one of the rigs was out. According to Mrs. Harlan, Enzo had been dogging Bob for a raise. Micki mentions they spent a great deal of time together, but Mrs. Harlan didn't socialize with them because of her children. She claims Enzo was too "familiar".

Margaret Harlan says Enzo was always looking at her too long, and Bernard Harlan says he was a hanger-on-er who potentially wanted Party invites? Margaret has an alibi, because she was hosting a sound bath in Barton Hills (we had to look up what a sound bath is and it sounds ridiculous). She playfully winks at Cordell and says he should join next time. Bernard was on a private jet partying. Micki and Cordell advise the kids not to leave town while they check out their alibis.

Inside, the lawyer is reading the will and says Bob Harlan gave his entire estate to Enzo Carillo. But since Enzo was accused of murdering him, and according to slayer rule, the assets would revert to the spouse. So they need the autopsy report, once the Rangers have finished the investigation, before anyone receives anything.

August meets Ruby at Joe's Photo Shop, where she works. He says his mom used to develop photos there too. Ruby had taken the photo from the camera August stole and is in the process of developing it. The image becomes clear and it's Cordell with a blonde woman. Ruby remarks that he looks "so chill, like he's on vacation". She asks if it's his mom in the photo and August says no, while obviously distraught, and grabs the still-wet photo before leaving.

Liam is meeting with Isabel's parents. They ask if Isabel is going to be deported, but Liam assures them she isn't in danger because she's a citizen. Stella asks what they can do and Liam replies they need to do it by the book because Isabel's arrest made ICE aware of the family's presence. They can potentially apply for asylum but it could take years. Alma says Stella and Isabel should stay out of trouble and Stella shrinks in her seat.

Micki is back at the drawing board, literally, and Trey comes in wearing a towel-cape. He's talking about his job interview, about how it has medicine and sports. The reason behind the cape is so he can learn about Lady Libertad, and he pulls out the old drawing to show Micki. Part Salma Hayek, part Wonder Woman. Trey is impressed by Micki's newest drawings and asks how the case is going. She takes a second to look at the drawings and it gives her pause, her eureka moment. She leaves after thanking Trey and giving him a kiss.

Cordell and Liam are at the Side Step talking about Abeline and Bonham. Liam informs him that it was right before Emily died that their parents were having trouble. Micki approaches with her drawings and says Enzo could be Harlan's son. Liam introduces himself to Micki for the first time and Micki says she likes him. They mention that messing with the Sheriff makes "things go fast". Liam agrees, mentioning they booked Carlos Mendoza two days after Emily. It's a touchy subject but they move past it and Cordell and Micki hypothesize about Enzo; if he knew he was the son he wouldn't ask for a raise or kill his benefactor. But if he didn't know, what's stopping him from killing? Or who would want to frame Enzo? Cordell sticks Liam with the bill for the drinks and leaves with Micki to go round up the Harlans.

Stella is back at the stables and Vern tells her that Sunny the horse could use a brushing. Trevor approaches to say a new horse kicked at the gate, and just as he says that, a horse breaks free from the gate. Stella says she'll go get her, hopping on Sunny to trot off after the other horse. Trevor follows on a horse of his own.

Micki and Cordell are with Mrs. Harlan again, and say the Harlan kids alibis check out but they have more questions for her. They mention they have reason to believe Enzo Carillo was Bob's son, to which Mrs. Harlan seems to genuinely have not known, denying it outright. Micki says early DNA tests confirm they're right, and the will was only recently updated, which would make sense. It's implied that they think Mrs. Harlan is involved, and she says the Garden Gala was filmed and Teraysa can give a thumb-drive with the video. She is about to leave but Cordell stops her and says they're still waiting for autopsy results, because she seemed to have forgotten that she wanted to know.

On their way out, Cordell says he wants to stop at the stables to check on Stella. He then says "Michelle Floriana", and it gives her pause. If they're gonna be working together they need to trust each other. She says she's putting up a front because she can't afford to screw it up, and the APD people only "hopped the fence" (earned her trust) after 8 years.

Back at the stables, they've gathered the horse and Stella asks Trevor for some advice because she doesn't know how to make it right with Isabel. Trevor says he's working at the stables because his dad is in prison (not for the first time) and he wanted to be close. Trevor's advice is "don't pretend it didn't happen". Good advice, all things considered.

Stella grabs Trevor when they're in the stables and hides when she hears her dad talking to Vern. Trevor asks who it was and Stella informs Trevor that her dad is a Texas Ranger.

In the farmhouse, August finally has a charge on the phone and he scrolls through the contacts until he sees Twyla Jean, the same woman in the photo with his dad. He texts her just saying "hey Twyla", and waits.

Capt. James and Cordell are talking about the Carillo case, confirming they're not 100% sure Enzo murdered Bob Harlan. Micki points out the seating chart for the gala shows Mrs. Harlan was seated alone. It's not enough for a murder conviction, but Cordell asks Connie to look at the security camera footage for the Harlan Botanical Gardens, because she's a woman of many talents. She scrolls through the footage and they all see that Mrs. Harlan was having an affair with Monty Shaw, leaving them to believe her husband must have found out and cut her out of the will. They still need the autopsy report, but Micki questions if she conspired with Monty to murder her husband. Cordell backs her up when James warns that she could be wrong, and asks if they could put Monty's feet to the fire. Larry gives them the go ahead to go after Monty.

Outside Monty's house, Micki and Cordell pull up and they say they have some loose ends with the Carillo case. Micki rides with Monty with Cordell following in his truck, and they share a look before she enters the vehicle. They head off, and Cordell calls Micki's phone. She answers to let it pick up everything they're saying so Cordell can hear. Enzo's autopsy had just come through and showed that he was bludgeoned by a gun, with traces of Monty's gun residue. Monty's phone rings and it's Cordell telling him to pull over. He pulls a gun on Micki (oh no) and she yells for Cordell to bulldog it, to which he does, cutting off the vehicle by pulling out in front of it. He gets out of his truck and they arrest Monty.

Cordell and Micki share a drink with Capt. James (who is drinking water instead of bourbon). The final report came in and Monty shot Bob Harlan before striking Enzo with his gun when Enzo tried to help Harlan, and he had significant head trauma. Micki wasn't at fault for what happened with Enzo. The estate went to Delia in place of her father, and she can go back to med school. James picked up BBQ for them and it's revealed that Cordell had called Trey to find out things she likes, including her favorite BBQ place. Trey was very forthcoming with information. Cordell states he didn't actually believe her when she said the case didn't feel right, but he trusted her.

At night, Stella is sitting outside Isabel's house waiting for her. When Isabel arrives, Stella apologizes and hands her some of Abeline's jam. It's a very sweet gesture, and they seem to be okay, which makes us happy. We love them. Stella offers to go inside and apologize to Isabel's parents but she reassures her it's cool. Stella then does a literal happy dance when she looks at her phone and notices Trevor followed her on instagram.

Cordell walks into the living room with Abeline and begins to help labelling the jars of jam. Abeline says August dropped by and asked questions about Cordell's happiness. She asks if Cordell is happy. Cordell asks if she's happy. He has questions about Gary, but she says it's in the past, and the reason Bonham is sleeping in the bunkhouse is because he snores so loud. Cordell starts to laugh and says Emily used to snore like a bear cub. Abeline gives Cordell a hug when he gets emotional, because he misses Emily. It's very touching. We want a hug too.

Micki is home and shouts out for Trey. When he doesn't respond, she shouts for "Señor Libertad", and he jumps out wearing no shirt and a towel-cape again (we love it). They hug for a long time and Micki says he helped her sort out the case. She asks how Trey's interview went and he said he's the new director of sports medicine and assistant soccer coach at Sacred Heart High School. He then gives her a present, it's the Lady Libertad drawing framed, and we might be crying.

Cordell goes back into the farmhouse and sees the photo of himself with Twyla on the table. August apologizes for taking the camera but he asks who the woman is. Cordell says she was part of his undercover crew and August asks if they still hang out, to which Cordell says an adamant no. It was a job. He doesn't wanna go back to that time, he wants to be there with his family. August points out that Cordell looks actually happy in the photo. And Cordell states he is actually happy to be home, but he doesn't know how to show it sometimes. August asks why there weren't any photos like that of his mom, but she was the family photographer so she wasn't usually in the photos. Cordell then asks August to be the family photographer, grabbing the camera from the table and pulling August into his lap for a very cute selfie.

At Shangri Latte Coffee, Ada is with Liam, and Liam is looking over the files from Emily's case. Ada says Capt. James pulled the surveillance logs a couple of days ago and Liam seems confused, asking why he would do that after telling Cordell to back off the case.

Cordell walks into August's room and sees that Twyla has texted back, to "Duke Culpepper", asking to meet up. The episode ends on this cliffhanger.

Trivia

Winchester Auto

When August is looking through his dad's old phone, he scrolls past Winchester Auto, which is a reference to Supernatural (Jared Padalecki played Sam Winchester). Screencap provided by @winchstrbro on twitter.

While Micki and Cordell are interviewing the Harlan family, Bernard Harlan calls Cordell "Ranger Rick". This could also be a reference to Supernatural episode 7.09, "How To Win Friends and Influence Monsters", where one of the characters was named Ranger Rick Evans and asked to be called "Ranger Rick".

While the Rangers are toasting to Monty Shaw, and Cordell is getting a drink for himself and Micki, there's a star in the background that looks suspiciously like a pentagram. It's another possible shout out to Supernatural.

Jared and Gen tweet

Beth Broderick, who plays Mrs. Harlan, was also in an episode of Supernatural alongside Jared Padalecki. In 1.14, "Nightmare", she plays another widow named Alice Miller.

The Walker Ranch looks to be at 2105 Broken Trace, Dripping Springs, TX 78620 according to the letters that Abeline received from Gary.

In this episode, Stella begins her community service working at the prison stables with other teens. This is most likely a reference to the character Genevieve Padalecki played in Wildfire, Kris Furillo, who also worked at prison stables years ago. During the episode's airing, they both tweeted in reference to this.

Music In Episode

Song Title	Artist	Scene Info
Higher	Twin Buffalo	Micki and Cordell arrest Monty Shaw.
American Miles	Reed Foehl	Cordell has a heart to heart with his momma while labelling jam.
City's Alive	Chief White Lightning	Cordell and Augie take a selfie and talk about undercover stuff.