Endangered – The show begins with young Joe Pickett (Zebastin Borjeau) arriving home to find his mother, Sadie Pickett (Cassie Dzienny) with a black eye. He runs inside the house to grab a pistol. He carries it into the bedroom, where his father, George Pickett (Kyle Mac) is asleep. He aims the gun directly at George and cocks the trigger. George wakes up to see Joe pointing a gun at him. Joe fearfully points the gun until George knocks it out of his hand. He takes off running, with George in tow. Sadie orders him to leave Joe alone, but he doesn’t listen. Joe runs into the woods, falling over a hill. George screams, “You have to come home sometime.”

Victor Pickett (Oliver Mandelcorn) asks Joe if he was scared of spending the night in the woods. Joe says a little, but mostly because he didn’t know how to start a fire. He suggests they create a plan just in case it happens again. Victor calls it a survival guide.

Game Warden Joe Pickett (Michael Dorman) joins in daughter, Sheridan Pickett (Skywalker Hughes) at the dining table.  She says if I don’t start eating, I may need to get a feeding tube. He says they have been talking a lot lately. She tries to eat but can’t. He found it scary to be seven, believing the sky would fall at any second. She asks if the fear ever went away. He learned how to not run from it because it isn’t always a bad thing. She eagerly follows him to the staircase, where he sets down a cardboard box filled with mementos. He pulls out a survivor’s guide that he and Victor made inside their makeshift fort. They found it comforting. She reminds him that he rarely talks about Victor. He admits to missing him every day, kissing her on the head. She agrees for the two of them to read it together and create a new one. The first page consists of three words – fight, flight, and freeze. He says react instead of freezing.

Sheridan listens to her mother, Marybeth Pickett (Julianna Guill) pleads for help. When she enters the room, Marybeth slumps to the floor. While gasping for breath, she screams for Sheridan to run.

Hank Scarlett (Roger LeBlanc) and his brother, Arlen Scarlett (Brendan Fletcher) follow Joe down an isolated road. When Joe calls Marybeth, her phone goes directly to voicemail. Hank questions where Joe is heading to. Arlen says he is not going home because it is in the opposite direction. Hank suggests he may be going to the police station. Arlen doesn’t think so.

Sheridan has no luck in trying to wake Marybeth. She jumps up to lock the door when footsteps are heard outside. Another attempt to wake Marybeth failed, forcing her to run out the backdoor. Wacey Hedeman (Paul Sparks) looks in the house, surprised to find the doorknob locked. He utilizes the butt of his rifle to smash out the window. Marybeth lies on the floor unresponsive when Wacey enters the house. He squats beside her body, asking why she is home. She was supposed to be at the Kensingers’ house.

Wacey calls Vern who thinks he is concerned about Pickett snooping around elk creek. He tells Vern about Marybeth being shot, claiming it was her fault. Vern reminds him that Marybeth is a law enforcement officer’s wife, not like Ote Keeley’s wife. He warns him, they will come after him. Wacey corrects him, saying they will come after us. Vern says he is out. Wacey admits he got involved because of Vern, refusing to go down alone. Vern suggests they calm down, they can figure something out. Wacey says no one witnessed the shooting, he went to Pickett’s alone. Vern asks about the weasels. He knows they are living, firing a shot into the woodpile. The gunshot stresses Vern out. He suggests Wacey stage the shooting to look like a robbery. Sheridan sits quietly near the firewood pile, listening to Wacey talk.

Vern calls Arlen to give them a message from their mother, Opal Scarlett (Judith Buchan). Hank questions the legitimacy of the message because Opal didn’t deliver it herself. He says Opal is concerned about the police checking their phone records. The message is to kill Pickett if their plan goes wrong. They will plant his gun on Wacey after they kill him. Arlen takes a deep breath, agreeing to go through with the plan.

Wacey is creating a robbery scene in Pickett’s house while Marybeth lay unconscious on the floor.

Pickett realizes he is being followed.

Wacey tells Marybeth it is nothing personal, she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. While flipping over furniture and wiping potential evidence away, he finds small bloody footprints on the floor. He looks at Marybeth, asking if one of her girls tagged along. He calls her parenting “shitty” and recommends never bringing a child to a gunfight. Grabbing his rifle, he heads out to look for Sheridan.

Arlen and Hank lose Pickett. A short distance up the road, they find him standing in the road, with his rifle pointed directly at them. Arlen puts the truck in reverse, heading back in the direction they came from. Pickett questions why he hasn’t received a call from Marybeth.

Wacey calls for Sheridan, telling her Marybeth may die if she doesn’t hurry. He says they can work together to get Marybeth some help. It will be her fault if she dies. The stable goes dark when Wacey shoots out the light. He continues talking to Sheridan, screaming because no one will ever hear. He stabs a pitchfork in a pile of hay, hoping to find Sheridan. Marybeth comes through, moaning in pain and holding her stomach. Wacey continues hacking in the hay with the pitchfork. Sheridan accidentally knocks hay off the side of the loft just as Wacey stops. She covers her mouth to muffle her screams. He rushes outside to find Marybeth in her vehicle. She fires two shots at him as he runs away. She gets in the car and drives away, with him in tow.

Sheridan climbs down off the loft. She looks outside before running into the house. Marybeth yelps in pain as she veers off the road into a shed. Wacey stops in front of the house to see the family come out to check on Marybeth. Sheridan tries the phone, but the line is cut.

Sheriff Barnum (Patrick Gallagher) calls Pickett to alert him of Marybeth’s condition. Pickett asks Sheridan what she should need to survive in the dark. She says water, clothes, and a flashlight. Now, she will no longer need to be afraid of the dark. Wacey returns to the Pickett house.

Opal scolds Vern for coming to her house unannounced while a man has him held at gunpoint. The man alerts Opal that Vern is not carrying a gun. She threatens him, saying his visit better be important.

Pickett arrives at the hospital to find out Marybeth is in surgery. The nurse (Roel Suasin) promises to tell the doctor he is waiting. A flashback of young Pickett arriving at the hospital, with his mother.

Opal asks Vern if Wacy knows the Scarlett family is involved in the pipeline deal. He isn’t for sure how to answer the question, fearing he will be implicated. She questions why he visited her house. Vern admits he lied to Arlen and Hank, saying she wanted them to kill Pickett. He claims it would help resolve their weasel problem. It will play out, with Wacey killing Marybeth and Wacey and Pickett killing each other. Vern thinks he controls Sheriff Barnum. Opal threatens to murder Vern if the problem doesn’t go away by morning.

The doctor (Katherine Fadum) informs Pickett Marybeth’s condition is critical. The baby didn’t make it.

Wacey pours lighter fluid on the woodpile while trying to encourage Sheridan to come out of hiding. He sets the woodpile ablaze as he hears a cracking noise in Sheridan’s direction. He fires his gun multiple times. Sheridan reads survival tactics to young Joe. As he continues walking toward her, she tosses a rock to divert his attention in a different direction.

Deputy McLanahan (Chad Rock) does a wellness check at the Kensingers’ house. He bangs on the door until Missy (Sharon Lawrence) answers in a drunken stupor. She laughs when he says, “I could have shot you.” He shames her for getting drunk while watching her grandchildren. She snarky asks if he is the babysitting police. He calls into the police station to alert them every one is okay.

Pickett looks through a window at Marybeth. Young Pickett and Victor enter their mother’s hospital room. Pickett takes a chair beside Marybeth’s bed. He squeezes her hand, assuring her he has arrived. Sadie tells young Pickett to not worry because he will never see his wife in her condition. He refuses to let her die before him, pleading with her to stay. Sheriff Barnum and Cricket (Aadila Dosani) enter Marybeth’s hospital room. He assures Pickett the girls are safe, but Missy had too much to drink. Pickett informs him, Wacey is responsible for shooting Marybeth, and he knows why. Stunned, Sheriff Barnum advises him to get the evidence before walking away to take a call. Cricket promises to protect Marybeth with her life. He orders her to use her gun if necessary.

Sheridan runs through the woods, with Wacey right behind her.

Pickett returns to his vehicle to find the passenger window busted out and the evidence missing. He grabs his rifle, returning to the hospital. Sheriff Barnum alerts Cricket, someone reported seeing Nate Romanowski (Mustafa Speaks.) She is shocked by the news.

Wacey finds Sheridan’s flashlight hanging in a tree as Sheridan runs back toward the house. Pickett tells her about sending smoke signals. She sets the stable on fire.

Pickett enters the hospital, holding a rifle. He asks Cricket where Sheriff Barnum is at, telling her about the stolen evidence. When he kisses Marybeth, she muddles, “Sheridan run.”  He utilizes Cricket’s police radio to McLanahan if there were three kids with Missy. Joe orders him to go back to the house. He is checking out a Romanowski sighting. Pickett rushes out of the hospital as the episode goes to an end.

Joe Pickett Review

This was nothing more than a Wacey pursues Sheridan episode. I felt it was poor judgment to have an entire episode with Wacey chasing Sheridan. They went from the house to the woods, to the barn to the stable, and back to the house. I was exhausted by the end of the episode. It seems the chase will carry over to the finale as well.

The scenes with Pickett and Sheridan were nice. He tells her fear is not always a bad thing. She capitalized on what she learned from the survival guide to try to outwit Wacey.

Pickett and Marybeth would not win an award for parents of the year. The entire season, they ignored Sheridan’s stress and poor appetite. At times, Marybeth was more concerned about April than Sheridan when she needed her most. How could you possibly take on another child when your hands are already full and money is tight.

There is a lot to be desired about the show. Hopefully, the finale makes up for it. The episode deserves 6.5.

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