In Joe Pickett Season 2, Episode 6, the game is officially afoot. We finally learn the truth about Nate Romanowski's checkered past and how he's connected to Mark 5. Back in Saddlestring, Joe and Marybeth connect the dots on the murdered hikers, leading them to a Season 1 fan favorite.
Who's on the hit list? Who's in the photo? Why Hank Scarlett? Don't worry, we zoomed in, screen-grabbed and generally went all confused math lady meme over the hidden clues in this week's episode. (Nate's wife? Yeah, we think she's alive.) Read on for a rundown of everything you may have missed, plus a little theory dive into what it all means.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for Joe Pickett Season 2, Episode 6
Who's On the Hit List?
(Chris Large/Paramount+)
Episode 6, titled "Ducks and Falcons," opens with a flashback to three weeks ago, when Nate Romanowski (Mustafa Speaks) was first targeted by Mark 5, a special-ops group he used to be part of. (Remember when Nate vaguely warned Joe that he was marked in Episode 3? Yeah, this is what led to that convo.) Nate is off the grid blessing some ducks before feeding them to his falcon. The Newton Brothers' excellent score works overtime to highlight the majesty of the moment before it's interrupted by Mark 5 hitmen. Nate kills them and finds a hit list with 11 names, including his, Joe's and Cricket's.
In the present day, Nate and Cricket (Aadila Dosani) seek refuge with ex-Mark 5 buddy Robbie Jax. Turns out the entire Mark 5 team went AWOL when their top-secret missions started to feel morally wrong, and they've been hiding out in the Northwest to avoid the wrath of Mark 5 boss Nemecek (whom we've yet to meet). Robbie reveals that three of their Mark 5 brothers had recently died or gone missing, and their names are crossed off the hit list. Since Joe and Cricket are also included, it's safe to assume Nate is the connecting thread. Here's the full list:
- Aldo Nunez (crossed off): A Mark 5 brother who died mysteriously
- Jason Sweeney (crossed off): A Mark 5 brother who died mysteriously
- Mike McCarthy (crossed off): A Mark 5 brother who died mysteriously
- Big Merle: A Mark 5 brother who was almost killed by hitmen in Episode 5 but escaped
- Nate Romanowski
- Dalisay Romanowski: This is likely Nate's wife, who he said was murdered last season. Her name isn't crossed off the list, though ...
- Robbie Jax: A Mark 5 brother
- Joe Pickett
- Reid Turner: Unknown
- Malcolm Turner: Unknown
- Cricket Ludlow
Is Randy the Killer? Joe and Marybeth Don't Think So
Julianna Guill as Marybeth in Joe Pickett Episode 6. (Paramount+)
In Saddlestring, Joe (Michael Dorman) and Marybeth (Julianna Guill) think Randy was framed and that the real killer is still out there. Wolverine's ominous Stop The Slaughter! blog posts are extremely eloquent, and Randy is ... not. The answer to the poker chip killings lies with the four murder victims: Frank Urman, Wally Conway, Dan Garrett and Warren Tucker. Did they owe money, get on someone's bad side or find out some damning information about a powerful person? Oh, and Luke is evidently still in a coma.
Marybeth asks Blaire Urman (Star Trek's Julianne Christie) if Randy and Frank had a falling-out, but Blaire stonewalls her. "My husband was a wonderful man," she says suspiciously, adding that Randy is probably just a psycho killer. Never one to give up the scent, Marybeth rifles through the Urmans' estate files and learns that Frank's Bull Grove Foundation paid for the pricey funeral of Dan Garrett (murder victim No. 1).
Joe snoops around Randy's office for clues, only to find that an intriguingly locked drawer hides a stash of leftover ketchup packets. Highly disappointing, but very on-brand. Wendy (Jessica Zhang), the secretary, reveals that Randy and Warren Tucker (murder victim No. 2) got into a shouting match a month ago. The plot thickens: Frank Urman knew Dan Garrett, and Randy knew Warren Tucker and Wally Conway. Now, they're all dead, and Randy's in jail for the murders.
Vern Dunnegan Is Back, Baby!
(Paramount+)
After noticing an impressive new bighorn sheep mount in Randy's office, Joe books it to Saddlestring's resident taxidermist. He threatens to write him up for stuffing poached game if the guy doesn't tell all about Randy's exploits. The taxidermist hands Joe a damning photo that shows Randy on a hunting trip with Dan Garrett, Warren Tucker, Wally Conway, Frank Urman and, crucially, Hank Scarlett.
The Scarletts are Saddlestring's powerful founding family. Last season, they conspired with former game warden and now-imprisoned Vern Dunnegan (Tony Award-winner David Alan Grier) to cover up the discovery of endangered weasels in Wyoming. Hank's presence in the photo confirms that the group of mostly dead hunters was up to no good. Someone's picking them off, one by one.
Back to Nate and Cricket, lovers on the lam: Cricket is understandably livid that Nate didn't tell her she was marked for death. But when he hands her a copy of missing teen Marissa Left Hand's phone records, courtesy of expert hacker Robbie, she softens up. In Episode 3, Marissa's father, Charlie, said she made "secretive" phone calls before her disappearance. Cricket refused to illegally obtain the records, so Nate had Robbie do the dirty work for her. He's a keeper.
In the final scene of Episode 6, Joe pays a visit to Dunnegan in prison. The former game warden once told him a story of some hunters who got caught up in "something bad," which could be a clue to the poker chip killings. "Joe Pickett," Vern says. "What took you so long?" Fantastic to have Vern back in the saddle.
Questions and Predictions
(Paramount+)
Iconic Marybeth quote of the week: "Get that rear in gear, kiddo!"
- Dalisay Romanowski is likely Nate's dead wife — only she's not dead. Last season, Nate told Joe that bad men from his past murdered his wife. Her name isn't crossed off the list, so she could still be alive. Sound the love-triangle alarm.
- Missy's new boy-toy Derek could be Wolverine. The guy quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson in a restaurant booth. If that's not eloquence, I don't know what is. Besides, Missy would fall for a psycho killer.
- Nate and Cricket will search the forest for Marissa Left Hand. I still think Marissa is the girl from the cabin.
- Blaire and Chris Urman are in on it. Blaire knew Frank had been missing for roughly 12 hours before she asked Joe to search for him. Obviously, her nephew Chris (who was on the hunting trip with Frank) told Blaire that Frank had gone missing. Why didn't they immediately call the cops, and why is Blaire so dodgy? Bombshell Bull Grove news must be on the horizon.
- Just gonna leave this one here: Vern will win his freedom by helping Joe catch the killer.
New episodes of Joe Pickett stream Sundays on Paramount+.
