‘Hightown’ Recap: ‘Jackpot’

2/17/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Monica Raymund as Jackie Quiñones in Episode 304 of ‘Hightown’ – ‘Jackpot’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 304 of ‘Hightown’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

One particular belief that a great deal of us share in, is that it takes one singular moment to change our lives, and it makes sense as to why we hold to that. Because one stunning phone call with bad news or good news or one particular decision either troubling or brilliant, seems to put us on a vastly different path. One that takes us on all kind of twists and turns. But what’s fascinating about this belief, is that it is wrong. Because everything that happens in this life, is progressive and based in causality. For instance, a bad phone call about a loved one having a heart attack is either related to bad health habits or a progressive issue that went undetected, giving rise to progression and causality.

Which means that in the end, we should view life changing moments, as the culmination of either years of hard work and sacrifice or years of poor choices that finally come back to haunt us and really, this particular line of thinking is top of mind today, simply because… causality and progression came into play in the next episode of Hightown on STARZ. Because after years of bad choices and years of trying to avoid consequences… life changing moments as a result of those decisions finally came back to haunt so many in ‘Jackpot’. For instance, both Ray Abruzzo and Renee Segna both suffered mightily for their previous choices.

For Renee… not being vigilant and firmly believing she could return to old haunts without a worry in the world, brought about quite the stunning surprise for her. Because while she was out and about at work and enjoying the spoils of being back in the game, her nest egg was being plundered. For Rachel made her move and tore through the backyard and discovered the stash and the cash. Which prompted her to call Ray and be honest at last, a move that put immediate strain on their already tenuous relationship and that… prompted Ray to experience a culmination of bad choices. Because for some time now, he’s indulged Sarah and her flirty behavior and endured the thrill of it and when frustration and temptation came into play, he let old habits that he never really resolved come back into his orbit. All of which was a fine example of how one ugly moment comes from so many.

Riley Voelkel as Renee Segna in Episode 304 of ‘Hightown’ – ‘Jackpot’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

But there were some positives to be found in this tale regarding this particular concept. Because sometimes… good things come out of the work we do… or the bad prompts us to take our lives in a different direction, and that came forth via Jackie in this tale. Because with Alan’s help and trust, and solid advice, the kind that oddly… reflected the lesson of the episode… she went full bore into this murder case and even was able to bring Swayzee in to expose some concerns. But alas, without hard evidence nothing came to bear, and that prompted her to keep working in her spare time and try and apologize to Emma and well… that brought about a shocking twist. In that, Veronica was in fact, okay, and was in hiding to heal because she and Jackie got into a fight and Jackie hit her. And well, seeing that she had wasted all this time on something that was a direct result of her substance abuse, prompted her to reflect on how said abuse… brought about everything bad in her life and that culmination moment, prompted her to seek out help at last and check into rehab. Giving rise to some good for Jackie at last.

However, while it was amazing to see the lesson play out, there is still a big case hovering over this season, one that advanced in a scary manner. After all, Frankie Cuevas has been lurking the shadows for weeks now, and has quietly been planning revenge for being ignored and for being put back in jail, and well… he decided to unleash said reckoning in this tale. First, by feeding intelligence to Shane Frawley regarding Osito so that Owen could lay down the hammer and take Osito out of play and that led to a harrowing sequence where Ostio, may have reached the end of his life since he took a couple of bullets in the midst of a nasty firefight and of course… Rachel’s liberation of Jorge’s go bag… likely secured Frankie’s freedom. Because it was Frankie that used that cash to have the only witness standing in his way… removed from the equation.

In the end, this was simply… a brilliant episode through and through. Because well, this served in many ways as the apex of three years of bad choices and attempts at avoiding accountability. Giving rise to the reminder, we cannot escape our past, our decisions, or our vices. We must confront them, so we don’t have culmination moments, and it also… sets the stage for some fascinating moments for these characters. Because now, they must choose a path, to either stay in the world of bad decisions or forge a path forward, and truly it will be interesting to see, if Osito survives or if this was his swan song, and if Ray and Renee are willing to put in the work, and if Jackie can stand strong and accept rehab’s teachings. Because none of those things are easy tasks, not when a person is truly locked in those patterns of bad behavior. But regardless of what they choose, we will learn much from them as this brilliant series about the human condition, inches toward its farewell. Until next time.

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