‘American Rust: Broken Justice’ Recap – ‘Confessions’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Jeff Daniels as Detective Del Harris in Season 2 of ‘American Rust: Broken Justice’. (Photo Courtesy of Dennis Mong/Prime Video.)

​Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season Two Finale of ‘American Rust: Broken Justice’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
 
There are a great many things that go into creating a great season finale. For starters, the finale needs to be epic in nature, because who doesn’t love a good, jam-packed story that takes us on a ride? Plus, there has to be closure and character growth, in some form or fashion and above all, it should find a way to bring everything together. So, if there are lessons to be had the story should summarize them and if there were incredible plot threads that needed resolution those should be tied up. And hey, a cliffhanger never hurts either and well… what makes an amazing season finale top of mind today, is the sheer fact that American Rust: Broken Justice on Prime Video, offered one up to close out season two. 
 
For ‘Confessions’ was epic and tense and nature, thanks to Del’s hard push to solve the Landwill case and tie it all together to the bombing that happened at the start of the season. Not mention we saw growth and closure come into play in pretty and pretty ugly ways and everything else did indeed come together. All while this episode made it clear that all the strife that everyone went through this season was designed to answer an important question. In that, can we be redeemed when we’ve dabbled in the darkness and well, the answer to that question… came back with a maybe. Mainly because, some people died in this story and never found that redemption and also because lines were crossed once again and bad was imparted on the world.
 
Much of which came out of the Landwill case. Because Del did indeed figure out that Russell was the problem and the murderer, they all sought, and he also figured out that Lee’s life was in trouble and that prompted him to open up to Steve to protect her and put his life on the line to redeem her. But alas, Russell killed her in cold blood, denying the redemption that Del sought and to make matters worse, Steve was killed in equally as chilly blood by Grace to protect her man. Robbing Steve of redemption as well and of course… leaving Grace and Del in the grey space they’ve operated for so long. If anything, the only joy to be found here was that Russell died and life moved on, with some quirks and sorrow of course, especially for Billy.
 
Who found out far later that Lee was ready to marry him. Which left him in a unique place mentally, and while there was good news and change to come out of this madness, the lesson inherent was clear. In that, the maybe can be changed to a yes, if we do not follow the mistakes that others made in this tale. Because everyone here let their demons handle their decisions and their actions, and few were properly honest with one another in any form or fashion, and this is what they get. Which doesn’t necessarily make everyone here evil or dark people… just broken ones that are struggling to find the light, and all we can feel is pity for them and a strange sense of hope. For they wish to do right but seemingly cannot find their way and that brought forth, a satisfying tale for certain that truly, has us hungry for more.
 
In large part, because the show is just so damn good and so well-acted. But also, because we would like to see the consequences of their actions and see if Billy was able to put Fisher down with impunity at the end of this tale. So, hopefully, we get a third season of this series and get to enjoy more fine acting and complicated stories from a universe that is as flawed as our world, and ironically, if not… then we’ve been privy to a story that properly reflects our world. Where resolution isn’t always possible and where people remain in the grey. But worries about season three aside, this was… a great finale and a great season of storytelling that held our attention from beginning to end, and truly showcased the flawed world we live in and the broken justice that surrounds us.

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