‘American Rust: Broken Justice’ Recap – ‘Daddy Issues’

5/7/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Maura Tierney, Jon Osbeck, and Mark Pellegrino as Grace Poe, Billy’s Attorney, and Virgil Poe in ‘American Rust: Broken Justice’. (Photo Courtesy of Dennis Mong/Prime Video.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 206 of ‘American Rust: Broken Justice’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

There comes a point in every crime drama, where all the various plot threads begin to jell together and understandably so. Because every crime drama features a heavy, some kind of villain that serves as the major problem in the tale that the heroes need to battle. Not to mention, a lot of what the characters need, and desire comes into focus as well, and tying together those plot threads and really showcasing the heavy’s power all helps to move us toward resolution of the story, and well, that’s top of mind today, simply because the next episode of American Rust: Broken Justice, offered all of that. A feat that ‘Daddy Issues’ accomplished by quickly making it clear that Landwill, happens to be one of the grand villains hanging over this particular season.

Simply because, despite Lee’s amazing progress in bringing settlements forth for the folks that ‘lost’ their water tests, Landwill made it clear just how far and how deep their reach can go in this community. Thanks to the fact that threats abound came forth for Mrs. McKenna from the company, the kind that prompted her to quickly burn whatever evidence she had regarding her own involvement with the company, so that she could quickly turn herself into the police and state that she was the one that murdered her husband. A move that could be related to fear and related to wanting the protection of a cell because of the power of this company, and well, that was indeed the perfect way to explore the raw power of Landwill and why everyone in this story should be afraid of them.

Which made Grace’s journey here a little scary. Since she agreed to work with Landwill on a more intimate basis as an outright sales rep, with no knowledge of their power, and she wasn’t the only one who started down a more focused and terrifying path. Since Billy really slipped into the darkness here, for he was genuinely disturbed about the fact that his grand tormentor in prison was back on the street and free from consequence. Which prompted him to think deeply upon killing the man, simply because he wanted that catharsis and peace, and while he did not commit to that here, because of a good moral reason, it was still terrifying to see that his journey this season will indeed be dark and tortured and possibly bring him to a place where there can be no redemption.

But there was mention that we have more than one villain on our hands and that was fully confirmed by Del’s journey in this tale. Because as he and Angela worked with the FBI to come up with a plan to bring down the Brotherhood, Fisher continued to solidify his power within the organization. Since we came to learn here, that he did indeed kill Vic with impunity, and was going to great lengths to cover his rear in the wake of that death. Even going so far to have planted a listening device in Vic’s apartment while Del was hiding on the balcony, and he was carefully monitoring everyone and everything to make sure that the Brotherhood would be protected and functional. Which will lead to dark days for Del and Angela, now that Fisher has made it clear she’s a target for speaking up about her concerns.

All of which really did bring the season into focus, since now we know, Landwill and the Brotherhood will be the big problems, but of course, some other moments will be peppered in to break things up. Such as Billy’s journey into darkness and Grace’s dealings with Landwill. In fact, it would also seem we’re basically done with Steve Park’s ‘thorn in the side’ mentality thanks to the powerhouse embarrassments he faced here over his never-ending quest to bring down Del and Grace. But what matters more, is that the next four episodes should move the plot forward in a powerhouse manner, the kind that will put us onto the edge of our seats as we wait to see how Landwill and the Brotherhood will be defeated, or if they can be, because of the power they yield.

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