‘Hightown’ Recap: ‘Small Craft Warning’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 209 of ‘Hightown’.
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One thing that we can all agree upon, is that season two of the STARZ series, Hightown, has been filled to the brim with dark moments. Which isn’t an insult by any means, since this is a show about the dangers of drugs and the struggles that come with addiction, so darkness and ugliness has to be expected and this show handles it in such a brilliant manner, that these difficult stories leave us on the edge of our seats and hungry for more. But the heavy losses and tough moments these characters have had to face this season… does leave one wondering… as to whether or not anything positive will come out of the Great White case or if this show is going to wow us all and go all-in on the ugliness of the drug underworld.
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As it turns out, we are finally closer to having an idea as to which way season two is going to swing, courtesy of last night’s episode. For ‘Small Craft Warning’ hinted at the possibility of a happy and satisfying ending finding its way to the cape, one where Frankie Cuevas would finally be behind bars for a very long time, and all it took for that to happen… were some heroic acts by a pair of individuals that have long operated within the grey. One of which, turned out to be Renee. Because shortly after Frankie decided her phone worked better inside of a microwave and after assigning his lackey to follow her everywhere… Renee finally decided she had enough and used what little time she had at a pre-arranged meeting with Ray, to spill the beans on the latest plan with Charmaine.

An admission that sprung Ray into action like never before, to keep Renee safe from harm and with Jackie’s help, Alan agreed to an operation that could potentially bring Charmaine in at last, with product no less, and that led to one intense sequence of events. Wherein Jackie and Ray took to the water to see if by chance Charmaine and Frankie were using boats to sneak drugs onto the cape, and while they came up empty handed, Alan most certainly did not. For he saw Charmaine hop off of a bus to try and escape capture, a move that failed miserably and allowed for her and the drugs to be placed in police custody. But alas, Charmaine’s capture wasn’t enough to bring Frankie to justice since Charmaine wasn’t talking and that’s when the second unlikely hero of the night stepped up to the plate.

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Because a conversation that Osito had with Charmaine earlier in this tale, one where she admitted she was thinking about a change of scenery, motivated Osito to make some changes to his life as wel. Which is why he handed over vital information that she provided him with to the police, so he could arrange a bail hearing and finally get out of jail and get that fresh start and well… that led to everything the CCINU could possibly need to issue a warrant for Frankie. Since Ostio’s intel led the police to Lance and Daisy’s final resting place, and they also found Jorge as well, making it seem as though Frankie was somehow involved in his death, and as soon as the judge signed off of everything, they needed to execute an arrest, Alan led his team to Xavier’s post haste and thank heavens they hurried.

For Frankie had spent the day preparing to run, since he had Renee retrieve the bug out bag of cash that Jorge left behind and he quickly snagged his son in the middle of the night before having everyone meet at Xavier’s to discuss the future. Which involved a trip to the Dominican Republic to lay low until the heat cool down around the operation. A move that Renee didn’t like in the slightest and thankfully, before she was whisked away to a part of the world, she wanted no part of… the CCINU showed up and put Frankie Cuevas in handcuffs and shattered his world in the process. For not only was he led out in handcuffs, but he was able to witness Ray and his wife embracing as lovers do, while he was hauled off to jail and let’s be honest… it doesn’t get much more satisfying than that.

Because the bad guys didn’t win in this episode. In fact, they were finally arrested, and the operation was brought to a screeching halt and that really is a wonderful way to end this particular tale. But what also makes this one so extremely exciting, is the sheer fact that there is more story to tell. For the season two finale awaits us and truly, anything could happen. For Frankie Cuevas is as cunning as they come and might have a trick or two up his sleeve to get himself out of jail or… he might finally spend his life behind bars and this long-standing and harrowing chapter on the cape can come to a close and give the characters some rest before the next case drops into their laps. But while we simply don’t know and have to tune in to find out, what is certain… is that the finale will be a quality story none the less and leave us in shock. Because this is a series that knows how to wow its audience and it will undoubtedly go all out come next week. Until then.

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