Joe Pickett's magnificent and brutal sophomore outing went out with a bang. The Season 2 finale, entitled "The Third Way," topped things off with the reintroduction of two key characters and a bracing chase sequence on Bermuda Mountain, where all paths converge. Directed by Shana Stein (who's helmed episodes of Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer), with a bang-up script from series co-creator John Erick Dowdle (director of the upcoming Friday Night Lights remake), the Joe Pickett Season 2 finale sees our titular game warden finally face his fears—and cop to his own shortcomings—in a deeply satisfying conclusion. Still, there are plenty of questions lingering in the post-finale air: What happened to Vern Dunnegan? What on earth is April's mom Jeannie doing in that parade at the end? We've got the answers. And while there's no word yet on whether Joe Pickett will be renewed for a third season, we've made a few educated guesses about what's in store for Saddlestring's heroes and villains. Happy hunting!
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Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Joe Pickett Season 2 finale.
The Grimm Brothers Are Back!
The episode opens with the return of the Grimm Brothers (both played by the excellent Alex Breaux, who's starring in Viggo Mortensen's upcoming western The Dead Don't Hurt), the ghoulish twins living on Bermuda Mountain who attacked Joe in Episode 2. They spot Hank Scarlett (Roger LeBlanc) and his men coming for Marissa Left Hand and prepare for battle. Nearby, Joe (Michael Dorman) deputizes a badly-wounded Shenandoah (Emily Alabi), who heads to the ridge to cover him while he enters the Grimms' camp in search of Marissa.
In another neck of the woods, a handcuffed Marybeth (Julianna Guill) refuses to tell Deputy McLanahan (Virgin River's Chad Rook) where Joe and Shenandoah are headed. While Cricket (Aadila Dosani) drives her to the police station, Marybeth tells her the whole story — and urges her to call Charlie Left Hand to corroborate her account. Meanwhile, at the Pickett house, Arlen Scarlett and his men have arrived to terrorize the family. Missy (Sharon Lawrence) and the girls hatch a plan to cross the river out back and have Missy's new beau Derek pick them up on the other side.
Shenandoah is quickly losing strength as her gunshot wound festers. She falls off her horse and is in a daze when Marissa (Tanchay Redvers, who appeared in an episode of Alaska Daily this year, and previously wrote on the series Sullivan's Crossing) appears. The girl covers Shenandoah with branches and heads off to her own little encampment to fetch medicinal herbs.
Joe, Nate and the Grimms Save Marissa
Chris Large/Paramount+
Joe enters the Grimms' camp asking them to hand over Marissa, but they open fire thinking he's there to do her harm. Survivalist-extraordinaire Nate Romanowski (Mustafa Speaks) shows up just in the nick of time (Cricket called him for help in Episode 9), and they all sit down and hash it out. The Grimms want to know why they should trust a government man like Joe, and he reveals that he became a game warden because he and his younger brother Victor always took solace in the woods when their alcoholic father became abusive. We also learn how Victor died: He committed suicide by driving his car full-speed into the arched entrance of the Yellowstone National Park. (Presumably where Joe was working at the time.) Joe had missed a call from Victor earlier that day, and his abiding guilt has driven him to be obsessive about his work — like attempting to arrest the Grimms for fishing without a license. Petty stuff, really, and Nate agrees.
The Grimms, for their part, are actually folk heroes to the anti-government underground. Their real name is Olofson, and Nate recognizes their story instantly. The government seized their property by eminent domain; they fought back, and the Feds killed their mother and brother during the raid. The two have been living off-the-grid with total freedom ever since, and they've been protecting Marissa since she came to Bermuda Mountain. Besides, they ate Joe's horse as a way of honoring the fallen creature — not to defile it. Joe and the Grimms call a truce and join forces to stop the Scarlett men from finding and killing Marissa.
In the ensuing battle, Joe and Nate align with the hatchet-throwing Grimms to vanquish the Scarlett men. When Hank almost takes a hatchet to the skull, he runs away, terrified. Joe may be a government man, but the Grimms credit him for being honorable. They give up their vendetta against him and disappear without a trace when Marissa shows up with news of Shenandoah's critical state.
Marissa Reunites with Her Father Charlie
Meanwhile, Derek (Ginny & Georgia's John Ralston)—a right knight in shining armor—safely picks up Missy and the girls after their ice-cold river crossing. Missy admits that she was wrong to break things off the way she did, and that money isn't really all she cares about. "Maybe all along what I really wanted was a guy who would just show up on a moment's notice," she tells him. Then, he reveals that he's actually, quite conveniently, "fantastically rich." (Yeah, we called it.) Real Princess and the Frog stuff going on here, and Missy is elated with her and Derek's happy ending.
Back on Bermuda Mountain, Joe decides not to haul Shenandoah back to prison. Instead, Nate will take her to one of his outlaw medical outposts, then help her set up her new life as a fugitive off-the-grid. Finally, Joe escorts Marissa down the mountain on horseback. Cricket evidently did just as Marybeth suggested, because Charlie Left Hand (Sean Wai Mah) is there to reunite with his missing daughter. It's a deeply moving scene, followed by some much-needed levity: McLanahan is peacocking like he sent Joe up the mountain to rescue the girl. Both Joe and Marybeth are free to go; McLanahan even agrees not to press charges against the game warden for stealing his cruiser in front of the entire police force. Gotta hand it to McLanahan. He knows when to cut his losses.
In the aftermath, we see that Marissa's return to the Wind River Reservation has given the entire community hope that their own missing loved ones will turn up. Shenandoah's portrait is vibrantly painted on a building with the epithet, "Shenandoah, Bistower of Dignity." Later on, we see the Pickett clan at a diner with Joe's trainee Luke (Waco: The Aftermath's Keean Johnson), who's evidently recovered from his coma. Just then, a cavalcade of Don't Tread on Me anti-government types parades through main street calling, "Justice for the Grimms!" In a shocking twist, April's mother Jeannie Keeley (Manifest's Leah Gibson) is among the paraders. She spots April and laughs coldly, "Hey, honey. Miss me?" Have we found our next Joe Pickett villain?
Unresolved Plot Points + Season 3 Predictions
The mystery continues in the Joe Pickett Season 2 finale. Here's a rundown of all the lingering questions we have, plus some thoughts on where Season 3 will take the Saddlestring players.
- What happened to Sheriff Barnum? Barnum is evidently still in critical condition after Marybeth shot him in the gut in Episode 9. And now that he's most definitely going to prison, McLanahan is likely the new Saddlestring Sheriff. Yuck.
- What happened to Hank and Arlen Scarlett? Hopefully, Hank Scarlett will be prosecuted alongside Barnum for assaulting young women. And fingers crossed that Joe has some proof Arlen aimed to attack Missy and the girls.
- Is Shenandoah dead? No, Nate has taken her to get low-key medical attention. Then he'll help her get set up off-the-grid. After all, he knows a thing or two about being a fugitive in the forest.
- Who's Jeannie Keeley? Jeannie is April Keeley's mother. In Season 1, Jeannie's husband Ote Keeley got mixed up in the Scarletts' business and Wacey Hedeman killed him. After Wacey threatened Jeannie, she skipped town — leaving her daughter April in the Picketts' charge. She was devastated to leave April at the time, which tells me whatever Jeannie is playing at now with the anti-government protesters is just for show.
- What happened to Vern Dunnegan? We figured Vern escaped Joe's custody to save his own skin after ratting out Hank Scarlett. Now that Barnum and Hank are likely in prison, will Vern return to Saddlestring? I mean, how could he stay away?
- Oh, and Mark 5 is still after Nate, Cricket and (for whatever reason) Joe. If Joe Pickett lands a third season (fingers crossed!), all bets are on the shady Mark 5 boss Nemecek finally showing his face.
All seasons of Joe Pickett are now streaming on Paramount+.
