Partners and Third Wheels



Title	Partners and Third Wheels
Episode	2.05
Aired	December 2, 2021
Ratings	1.795mil - 0.20 (18-49)
Director	Aprill Winney
Writer	Geri Carillo
IMDB	IMDB
Synopsis	Tensions run high when Walker and Liam (investigate a cold case together. Micki, still on desk duty, is working through her grief while slowly easing her way back into the field. Trey tags along for a fishing trip and gets a lesson on love. August makes a discovery that could lead to answers about the feud between The Walkers and The Davidsons.
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Plot

Cordell and Micki embark on a homicide investigation after the body of Mac Lippey is unearthed at a nearby construction site; with Denise Davidson and her family out of town, Liam takes point as the district attorney on the job, but it's clear that Cordell and Liam still have not overcome their differences on how they see the Davidsons and the hidden surveillance in their home. This brotherly spat is exacerbated when the alleged culprit manages to flee the scene, with Liam and Micki commiserating over their recent personal and professional setbacks. Liam admits he was at least partially relieved when he was passed up for Austin District Attorney in favor of Denise, unsure if he was ready to live up to the immense responsibility behind the role.

While Bonham and Abeline visit a potential scenic home to relocate themselves to on a fishing trip with Trey, away from all the drama with the Davidson family, Stella and August decide to take advantage of the situation and throw an impromptu party with their high school classmates at the ranch. As Stella and Todd grow closer, August investigates the burned out barn on the ranch that resulted in the tragedy that cost the Davidson family everything. Nearly injuring himself in a fall, August discovers the Walker family-branded lantern in the barn that began the fire in the first place.

Cordell joins Captain Larry James and his girlfriend Jillian at the Side Step, with Cordell intending to make the outing something of a double date with Geri. However, shortly after arriving at the Side Step, Cordell is shocked to see Geri on an apparent date with Dru, someone she met during a grief counseling group session. Cordell's questions about Jillian's Mustang keys make her visibly uncomfortable, leading her to leave abruptly. While this raises Cordell's suspicions, he is called away by Micki and Liam to resume the investigation when they develop a new lead on the murder mystery.

Micki and Liam continue to investigate the construction yard murder, inadvertently stumbling across the woman who fled the scene from Cordell, a blonde woman named Willa, who is also the daughter of the deceased Mac Lippey. Taking her into custody, Willa reveals she is looking into the unsolved murder of her father, with a sympathetic Micki deciding not to hold Willa in custody. Rejoined by Cordell, Micki and Liam tail Willa, who has since taken a suspect in her father's death hostage, Mac's brother (and her Uncle) Remy Lippey. Held at gunpoint by Willa, Remy admits to murdering Willa's father, with Micki successfully talking down Willa from executing Remy on the spot. In the aftermath, Cordell and Liam reconcile while Walker apologizes to Micki for not taking the trauma she endured during her undercover assignment as seriously as he should have.

Bonham and Abby put the party their grandchildren are throwing at a premature end, angered but ultimately good-natured about the kegger at their home. However, Trey learns from the older couple about the existence of Garrison Murphy, Micki's ex who was killed during her undercover assignment that continues to mess her up so bad. Trey leaves Micki a note asking about Garrison when she returns home, putting their relationship in a rocky position while Cordell and James commiserate at the Side Step over their own romantic woes.^[1]

Trivia

Jared's tweet

When Cordell is playing pool, the pool cue he's using was Sam Winchester's, directly from the Supernatural set, as confirmed by Jared Padalecki while he livetweeted.

Music In Episode

Song Title	Artist	Scene Info
Traffic!	Katy Kirby	Trey wakes up without Micki, but sees her note.
White Noise	Billy King & The Bad Bad Bad	Cordell steals Liam's car (ouch) to chase after the mystery lady at the construction site.
The Girl, The Gold Watch, And Everything	Literature	Stella and Todd go to the old Davidson barn.
Things Might Turn Out Right	Jon Dee Graham	Cordell plays pool with Jillian and Capt. James.
Alright	Christy Hays	Cordell and Larry get into an argument about Jillian's mustang.
The Devil Called Me a Liar	Ash Grunwald	August climbs the Davidson's barn and falls, finding the lantern.
You Can Stay	Sydney Wright	Micki arrives home to find Trey's post-it note on Garrison's painting.
Ain't Gonna Stop	Natural Child	Larry tells Cordell that Jillian went back to her ex, a random woman at the bar buys Cordell a drink.