In the latest Banshee recap, Special Agent Dawson recruits Hood for backup, Proctor severs ties with his Amish relatives, and Brock holds a press conference to ensure the town he will bring the serial killer to justice.
By Michael Stets — Staff Writer
When we last left off after Episode 4, Special Agent Dawson was giving Hood a ride home to his cabin now that he was released from jail, Randall Watts was setting out to reclaim his throne as the king of the Aryan Brotherhood, and Carrie torched Proctor’s meth warehouse, putting his expected three-ton shipment to the cartel in serious jeopardy. Oh yeah, and the serial killer, who killed Rebecca Bowman and three other young women is actually a satanic cult of cannibals.
Banshee certainly threw a curve at us with that choice, and now that they’ve done that, they’ve invited us all down a whole new rabbit hole, which leads to the underbelly of the town we’ve not yet seen in seasons prior as Dawson and Hood inch closer to finding out the cult’s identity.
Executive producer, Adam Targum was a guest on this week’s “Television’s Most Wanted” podcast, and said the goal this season was to “betray all expectations,” which they have certainly done thus far.
With Season 4 at the halfway point, the pace is picking up, the flashbacks aren’t as prevalent and the action is front and center and in the here and now, at least for Episode 5, that is.
Let it Burn
Hood gets dropped off by Special Agent Dawson after engaging in some conversation and a few sips of whiskey out of the bottle only to walk up to his cabin and see it’s been set ablaze. Of course, it’s Proctor who is responsible since he found out Hood impregnated his niece. After telling Hood he should kill him since Rebecca was declared “off limits,” he urged the former Sheriff to find the killer and hand him over alive. Hood heads over to The Forge and Sugar tells him his old place was ravaged by termites, so with another place in mind, he heads to Siobhan’s old trailer, sits down outside and reminisces about her.
Hood Uncovers a Major Lead in the Case
He may not be the Sheriff any longer, but it’s clear that Hood is not stopping until he finds out who killed Rebecca. He shows up in the back seat of Brock’s cruiser to ask him about any potential leads and Brock tells him about the Kinaho boy, who was believed to have witnessed the latest body being dumped, but had yet to speak about it. Hood drives up to the Kinaho Reservation and sees the young boy, Tocho, drawing with crayons. It turns out the boy most likely saw Declan Bode, because he is drawing a man with horns. Once the boy shakes his head “no” after he’s asked if the man he saw was wearing a mask, Hood knows where he needs to look next.
Hood continues his streak of always showing up in the nick of time, when he comes to Special Agent Dawson’s rescue as she is fending off assailants in an underground S&M club, which is ripe with leather, bondage attire and body modification. The latter being a catalyst in finding the horned killer. Hood shows Dawson the boy’s drawing and the agent tells Hood the F.B.I. handbook pointed her in the same direction after witnessing the latest dead body (and also from staring at crime photos while high on meth). They lean on the club goers they just beat up to get a name of the surgeon whose been doing all the local body modification work: Dr. Quick. In theory this could lead them to the horned man Tocho drew in his picture.
Back at Dawson’s hotel room, she recruits Hood to be her back up on the case since he knows the town better than she does. He’s reluctant at first, but agrees to help her. Antony Starr and series newcomer Eliza Dushku have great chemistry so far. Their partnership and acceptance for one another just makes perfect sense. They know they are each very flawed individuals, but they have a mutual understanding of one another.
Pony Joe Had to Go
Watts may have been locked up for almost a decade, but he is right back to work after only being out of jail for a day. First order of business is to reassure Proctor the brotherhood can still offer protection after the meth lab was burned to the ground and more importantly to make good on the three-ton shipment that is due to the cartel in eight days. To show he is serious he has Pony Joe—the man overrun by Carrie at the warehouse—chained to a tree and the back of a pickup truck. Watts orders Calvin Bunker to drive off, which rips Pony Joe in half.
Watts broaches Proctor on changing the terms of their current deal. If he is going to make good on readying such a big shipment of drugs for the cartel and take on more risk, he argues the brotherhood will need to get cut in on a piece of the earnings.
Proctor, Neo-Nazis and the Cartel. You think maybe some crazed violence is heading our way soon?
Chase Kelly, who plays Watts, has been a creepy and welcome addition to Banshee. He delivers killer lines in a matter-of-fact manner like calling Clay Burton “bow tie,” or telling Calvin point blank it was Pony Joe or him that was going to get dragged from the tree. By the way I failed to mention last week that Watts is actually Maggie Bunker’s father. Yeah, let that sink in for a minute.
Job and Hood Bury the Hatchet
In perhaps the best scene of the episode, where the writers prove once again the show can stand alone as a drama at any point in time, Hood drops by Carrie’s house to visit his old friend Job. Carrie has Job doing chores around the house to earn his keep, but really it’s to get him up and moving and out of bed because he is still struggling severely with PTSD from being held in captivity. Hood apologizes to Job for giving up on searching for him and Job reminds Hood he did the same when Hood was sent to jail for 15 years and Hood never held it against him.
It was a terrific scene between Antony Starr and Hoon Lee that showed both the history and the love between the two characters. Job then informs Hood about Carrie’s recent activity and the arsenal she has inside her new home.
Brock Means Business
After dropping off the remaining personal items to the family of the latest victim, Brock gets an earful about how that girl died on his watch. The Sheriff immediately calls a press conference to ensure the town he will stop at nothing to bring the serial killer to justice, while also speaking to the killer directly and telling him he’s going to catch him. While the speech is going on, Declan is sitting cozily in his basement watching it on TV.
During a Neo-Nazi rally filled with the usual dose of combat boots, bomber jackets and swastika symbols, there is also a huge movie screen rolling Nazi propaganda films (did you expect any less?). Bunker is up on a hill with a rifle and he has Watts in his cross hairs. Watts had paid him a visit earlier in the day and tried to recruit him back into the brotherhood, which, obviously, did not sit well with the Deputy.
Brock finds Bunker and rips into him with the best speech of the episode and probably the best one in Brock’s whole character arc:
“This town is going off the rails. We got a serial killer on the prowl. We got a mayor who is a gangster and you want to start a war with the Neo-Nazis. Look at me. I don’t have much in my life that I care about anymore, just Banshee.And I’ll be damned if I’m going to give up this town without a fight. Now you better decide right now whether you are going to fight with me–the right way–or you are just going to be another headache I gotta handle.”
Bunker agrees after hearing Brock’s words and even tells him it was a good speech, which prompts an angry look from the Sheriff.
Severing All Ties
The Bowmans, along with pretty much the entire Amish community are at the footsteps of the Mayor’s office to demand Rebecca’s body be returned so that they may bury her. Proctor tells them all to leave as he’s seething with anger and has to be restrained by Clay. He tells him they have no right to demand her body since they shunned her.
Later on in the episode, the Amish are taking their produce into town and they are cut off by Clay who is wielding a chainsaw. He cuts the horse carriage in half and the horse runs off. He informs them their days of doing business in town are over and in the background smoke is rising, a clear cut sign that Proctor had set fire to their village.
You Are Not Welcome
Calvin has had a difficult time wrapping his head around how Watts has been handling the brotherhood and now that he is out of jail and assuming full control, it’s eating away at him by the minute. He hates Proctor, hates working for him and now he had to rip one of their own in half by truck, tree and chain. The pot has been inching toward boiling. Back at his house, Calvin is having a drink when his imposing father-in-law comes in and he tells Watts to leave and that he isn’t welcome. Watts, in typical manner, tells him “it’s a little late to grow a pair. I need you to shut the f**k up and pour me a drink.” When Calvin refuses, Watts heads over to pour himself one and Calvin stabs him in the back of the neck with an ice pick and kills him, all while swilling on his drink. A chilling scene, which continued on with a naked Calvin cutting up Watts dead body with a circular saw.
With Calvin back in control, he and Proctor are going to but heads in a big way very soon and the three-ton shipment of meth is in even more jeopardy.
Other Notable Moments
–Deputy Cruz notices a women’s size 10 footprint while looking over crime scene photos of Proctor’s burnt-down meth lab. The Deputy heads over to Carrie’s house, but can’t get past the front gate and is sent away by Job.
-In a flashback scene from “one month ago” Rebecca is furious when she finds out her uncle has taken all of the money out of her safety deposit box and points a gun at him.
-Carrie visits her psychiatrist and they talk about her father and how even though she feels he got what he deserved, she still misses him.
-Declan Bode visits a young women in a florist named Gail, who is obviously part of the cult and informs her he has chose her for a special honor.
-Maggie visits Kurt and hands him copies of papers she found on Calvin’s desk, which indicate the huge shipment of meth being planned for the Cartel.
There you have it Fanshees. A ton of moving parts in Episode 5, and one big bad meets his demise. With three episodes left you can assuredly expect even more bloodshed before all is said and done. In the words of the famous Jim Ross, business is starting to pick up.
Memorable Quotes
“I’m honest, you’re silent. We’ve both got our things.”—Veronica
“You hear that bow tie? You and me is gonna be buddies”—Watts
“I don’t do windows!”—Job
“Well, look who got out of jail… again.”–Job
“Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to you.”—Sugar
“If I don’t deliver on my promise to the Columbians, Watts is going to be the least of our problems.”—Proctor
“You gonna arrest me again?”—Hood
“You know what they say, just because you are paranoid don’t mean they ain’t all out to get you.”—Job
Music
The song playing during the closing credits is called “Wall of Death” by Richard and Linda Thompson.
