‘American Rust: Broken Justice’ Recap – ‘The Golden Goose’

4/9/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Maura Tierney as Grace Poe in Episode 202 of ‘American Rust: Broken Justice’ – ‘The Golden Goose’. (Photo Courtesy of Dennis Mong/Prime Video.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 202 of ‘American Rust: Broken Justice’. To revisit the Season Two Premiere, click here.

These days, crime dramas move at a breakneck pace and understandably so. After all, they are dynamic in 2024, and pack in a bevy of plot points, so chugging through those and offering up intense moments just takes the viewer on quite the epic ride. One that truly puts folks on the edge of their seats and builds to quite the justice filled finale. But what’s fascinating about this modern era edict for the crime drama, is that we are seeing pushback on such matters and are encountering more and more stories in this genre that are slowing things down and making use of the slow burn style to engage us and enthrall us, such as American Rust: Broken Justice on Prime Video.

For season two of this magnificent and beloved show, really is taking its time in building the cases at hand and the story is giving the audience what it loves the most about this series…. face time with the characters. For now, we can watch them put the pieces back together after season one and grow and find what they are searching for, as evidenced by how ‘The Golden Goose’ played out. For this was a fairly relaxed story, one that saw Billy Poe, begin to put his body back together through sheer will and exercise. Because he wanted a new path, one that involved serving his country and it was fascinating to see him push for that kind of big change and experience some conflict from it with Virgil.

Who was quite excited about owning a bar in this episode, for reasons we will get to in just a moment. But he truly did think his son would be part of his dream, and they grappled accordingly. Which spoke to Virgil’s need to try and make peace with his boy and find common ground to heal within, which was quite powerful to see. As was the fact that he basically managed to quickly negotiate with Grace, a payoff for the divorce. One that would get him the bar in question. Because Grace was preparing to make her land available for fracking use, which would provide her with a cash payout, and she was more than ready to make that happen and be done with Virgil. Because agency and freedom both financially and emotionally, are goals that Grace harbors and it was amazing to see her push toward it here.

But while it was lovely to see everyone start moving toward better days, there was mention that casework was taking place. After all, Chief Park was hellbent on bringing down Grace and Del in this story. To the point where he asked the District Attorney’s permission to have Del arrested, and he of course… was convinced that Grace murdered that waitress in cold blood. But his goals were stymied here by a lack of evidence, which only emboldened him further to find it. Not to mention, Del worked harder to embed himself in the Brotherhood and their ways, even going so far as to let one of those men, Vic, take hold of a recording device in the hopes of getting some dirt on the group… and he even went so far as to invite Vic up to the cabin to ensure moving his case forward.

All of which really did bring forth, a slow-burning crime story that was as compelling as they come. Because it’s obvious that we are building to something, something explosive in nature and going this route allows for the tension to build as it would in real life. Through self-discovery, detailed and engaging police work and all the other little things that build things up in our lives. Such as excitement for a better tomorrow, or a little peace and grace in our lives, making this a realistic episode for certain, one that leaves us hungry for more. So, we can see what these characters find in their quest… and to see how these cases will continue along. Until next time.

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