As the episode begins, Leo Doyle (Sam Trammell) wakes up in the hospital after being stung by bees outside of his home 50 some times. When he wakes up, the nurse Valerie (Andrea Demetriades) tells him what happened. Leo is okay but he is in serious pain and his face looks horrible. After the intro, Cyd Ramos (Gloria Garayua), Mike Serrato (Aden Young), and other police offices chase Emilio through the woods. They eventually corner him by the water and he gets desperate and tries to shoot at the police. Before he can, Cyd shoots him dead. After that, Candace (Laura Gordon) and Paxton (Ed Oxenbould) check on Leo at the hospital. Paxton asks if Leo did it to himself while Candace reminds Leo that she told him to call an exterminator but he didn’t listen.
She lets Leo know she has already notified the school before Leo says Candace is going to be late. They leave and Candace promises to call him this afternoon. Paige (Simone Kessell) speaks with Amanda (Mitzi Ruhlmann) about Jake being sent away to a special school and she isn’t happy about it. Then, she tells Sam (Milly Alcock) who reminds her mother that she has wrestling practice that night. We jump over to the school’s gym and see Sam sitting alone until Paxton arrives and shows her the picture he took of his father. Wrestling practice is canceled because Leo can’t make it. Sam tells Paxton about her brother being sent away and he is positive that she’ll rarely get to see him. After all, this is what happened to him.
Back at the hospital, Valerie speaks with Leo and makes sure the medication is kicking in. He admits he looked like a fool but she tells him about an even worse story of a man who ate so many pumpkin seed shells that it plugged up his colon. Then, Leo learns that his nurse is originally from Alaska before he gets high, talks about reindeer, and passes out. We jump over to the police station where Sosa is speaking with Cyd and Mike about the shooting. Sheriff Waller (Paula Arundell) arrives and speaks with Mike in private. She ridicules him for using Gretchen’s case to investigate the Russian River Killer. Mike tries to convince her that everything worked out well since they caught a killer.
Mike tells Waller about the note he believes the RRK sent him. They go back and forth until Waller makes it clear that Mike will never work on the RRK case again. Valerie finds Leo playing with his food because he isn’t hungry. She tells him that every American should visit Alaska at least once. Before the conversation ends, Leo asks his nurse to bring him some strawberry ice cream and she agrees to do so. Leo checks his phone and finds several missed calls while Candace cleans up the hornet’s nest. Since Leo is away, Candace decides to check out his shed. She nearly finds the pictures of the victims but only finds pictures of his mother and her earrings. Then, Paxton tells Sam about the old pervert he has been catfishing.
She reluctantly agrees to speak with the man on the phone and he wants to meet up with her. A bit later, Leo gets out of the hospital and looks out of the window. Valerie finds him up and standing and says he is looking much better. She lets him know that Dr. Edwards said he is nearly ready to be discharged before he claims he is thinking about moving to Alaska. Candace sits down with Paige and reveals that he is pregnant. She confesses that she hasn’t told Leo just yet but there hasn’t been a good time yet. Valerie learns about Leo’s mother disappearing when he was young. She says she understands since her father died when she was going to college. Leo says he has tried everything including self-help meetings, meditation, and self-medication.
He apologizes for oversharing but Valerie admits she does the same thing at the end of the day when she speaks with the bartender Marvin down the street. Then, Leo says his family won’t be coming with him. Paige wants to speak with Candace about the first night she met Leo. She wonders if Candace trusts Leo as much now as she did when she first met him and Candace says yes. Paige says trust sometimes requires you not to have all of the answers. Candace gets upset and leaves the session early. Valerie removes Leo’s IV while Candace arrives back at home. She approaches Leo’s shed and secures the lock without going back in.
After that, Mike meets with Cyd at the bar and they speak about Emilio and the shooting. They also discuss Beth Stanley’s sister who has nothing. Mike leaves and meets with Leo at the station before he can leave the hospital. They chat about the hornets before the conversation turns to Mike’s interview with Arlen (Anthony Phelan). Sam and Pax head to the motel so they can meet with the old pervert. They approach room 4 and Sam stands outside while Paxton knocks on the door. The man opens it and Paxton rushes inside. Paxton says he wants the man to die before asking about the $3000 the man promised for a Stella Dimor bag. The man nearly chokes Paxton to death until Sam threatens to stream a video of him live.
Ron makes a run for it. Leo tells Mike about his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Mike wants to know about the last time Leo saw his mother. He goes on to say that Arlen said she was there to take Leo with her and Leo did not know this. Mike wonders if this caused a fight between the two. Leo leaves the hospital a short time later. The following day, he visits his fathers and asks about the last time he saw his mother. Leo accuses his father of strangling his mother before he tried to save her. Leo recalls his father using a scalpel to remove his mother’s tattoo before Arlen says he did it for Leo. He says Leo would’ve had a pathetic life if he had gone with his mother because he would’ve been taken up and down the state.
He would’ve been practically homeless. Arlen says the way he sees it is that Leo killed his mother. That night, Mike learns from Paige that Jake is all set to go to the school. Mike changes the conversation and asks Paige about the RRK letter. Leo drives through the night while Paige suggests the RRK doesn’t want to kill again. She wonders if that part of him is dead and he wants the investigation to stop. Mike believes they need to keep the pressure on the RRK now even though he is off the case. Paige is concerned that they’re going to push him to kill once again. Leo checks the toolbox in the back of his pickup and Valerie is inside. Mike goes for a run before Brad (Nic English) visits Paige outside. They share a drink and chat a bit before Paige jumps on him and kisses him.
She stops herself, apologizes, and goes inside. Leo chokes Valerie by the river before trying to get her to wake up and she does. He hugs her when she begins moving around. In a flashback, we see how Leo met with Valerie outside of the pub and managed to kidnap her. Valerie tries to convince Leo that there are professionals who can help him. In another flashback, Leo tells Valerie that he has found out his mother is dead. Then, she makes a run for it and Leo chases her. He catches her before choking her to death. When she is dead, he removes the tattoo from her body before returning home for a shower. He imagines blood filling the water before Candace joins him and tells him that they’re going to have a baby.
Reckoning Review
This episode of Reckoning was hit and miss. It felt a bit long-winded and drug out at points but finally got good there in the end. The show is far from perfect but I think I get what the writers are trying to do. We’re starting to see why Leo has been lashing out at women. He thought his mother had abandoned him but that wasn’t the case. So, he had been taking his anger out on women for no reason.
He strangles them but lets them live because of his father strangling his mother and him trying to save her. So, I guess that much makes sense. I just think the show would’ve been better with 5 or 6 episodes. It would also be far better with improved acting. I still can’t understand why they felt obligated to make the show American. What was the benefit of that? This is an Australian production with a mostly Australian cast so I can’t understand that. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Previous recaps of Reckoning are available on Reel Mockery.
