Sheriff Country Season 1, Episode 14 ‘Show of Force’ brought Cassidy’s storyline of finding her sister and the other missing girls from the Blood Moon festival front and center.
With initial support from Hank, Cassidy finally told Mickey about her suspicions of a serial killer lurking in Edgewater’s shadows. And after finding multiple sets of bones in the woods, Cassidy unfortunately proved herself to be correct. So, we’re glad she got Mickey and the department in on the case before this year’s festival. Cassidy and these missing girls need all the help they can get the unknown killer before he strikes again.
If she was right about a killer being on the loose, then it meant she’d someday find her sister’s bones discarded in the woods. Just like how she found Jessica Winters. As horrific as that’ll be, we’re proud of Cassidy for putting her fear aside. This episode showed us just how strong and selfless she is. Her sister Zoey’s life matters, of course. But so do the lives of every girl who didn’t have family caring about their return. They all deserve to be found by someone like Cassidy who cares about bringing them to peace and rest.
Aside from getting more of Cassidy who we’ve missed, this episode doesn’t hold back from showing us some harsh realities. Some actions have consequences that could put careers and lives on the line. Hank and Cassidy put their guards down when they shouldn’t have and they paid for it. While Hank almost lost his job for getting his service car stolen, it was Cassidy who caught the wrong guy. And led the killer right to her doorstep in an intense cliffhanger.
The Blood Moon Festival Had Mickey Questioning Herself
This hour gave us Mickey questioning if always putting on a kind and respectful face as Sheriff to mask and essentially lie about hard truths in Edgewater was worth it. All because Punch Elliot (Sean Bell) made a return to annoy Mickey.
He believed the Blood Moon festival took priority over any case Mickey got and it caused them to clash. Sure, he wanted Mickey to appear professional as this was her first year attending the festival as Sheriff. That’s understandable. However, if she was seen in a good light, then he would be too. So, that’s why he was in Mickey’s way when she and the team were trying to catch a killer at the festival.
Punch is a character we’ve seen before in Season 1, Episode 1 ‘Pilot’ and he’s only memorable to us as someone who Mickey clashes with. He questioned Mickey’s position as Sheriff before, and being bothersome in ‘Show of Force’ annoyed us. Even if he could’ve had good intentions in wanting the festival to be a happy event without any problems. We get that he didn’t want people to worry or see anything bad happen.
But supporting Mickey and the team’s effort to find the killer should overshadow that fear. Because protecting lives matters more than having fun. On the other hand, Mickey should’ve been open and willing to share information about the killer to festival officials before their search. Sometimes bad things happen that need awareness. Even worse things will happen to people don’t know what dangers lie in their communities. Being honest is how Mickey will be a better Sheriff than the people who came before her.
MORE: Missed last week’s Sheriff Country and Fire Country Crossover? Read our review HERE!
This Was Cassidy’s Hour (And We Loved It)
Nothing was going to stop Cassidy from going into the woods and investigating where one of the missing girls was last seen. Even if she was in Deadwater where people had their guns raised and pointed if they didn’t recognize you. As a matter of fact, Cassidy took it as a challenge because she wasn’t going to back down. This search was too important. She was willing to risk her life for this search if the armed men didn’t let her through. When they did, Cassidy continued on like nothing happened. Even if she had just raised her voice and yelled at them for not caring about the girls she’s trying to find.
She knew she was going to find bones, and not a body, as Jessica Winters went missing years prior. But Cassidy was treating this investigation as if she was trying to find a living girl who needed her immediate help. That’s what makes her so special and why we love her character so much. Michele Weaver plays Cassidy as a woman whose strength is rooted in kindness and empathy. Having her heart on her sleeve is something that empowers her on the job. And the moment where she found Jessica’s remains was powerful because her intuition worked.
It took one look at a broken tree stump for Cassidy to start thinking outside the box. She looked into the stump and found Jessica’s necklace immediately. As if the universe knew she was the right person to uncover the hiding spot. We’d have to agree because Cassidy won’t stop until she finds every girl who went missing at the festival. She’s close to the case because her sister Zoey is one of the girls, but she isn’t selfish. Her heart won’t allow her to be. If she’s going to find Zoey, she’s going to find every victim who got hurt and hunted by this mysterious killer.
Boone Mentoring Hank
“Show of Force” had us seeing Hank in a new light. He’s still the same guy who wants to be doing more than he’s given at work, but we haven’t really seen how he acts when given that freedom and trust. Not until now.
After Boone gave him the responsibility to arrest an escaped convict named Reyes who stopped at a local diner, Hank was more than happy to do it. We had faith in him to do the job successfully because this was what he wanted. Hank wanted to be more out there to show off his skills and authority. In the end, he was confident, sure of himself, and treated the situation as a leisure activity. Which was his mistake. Because leaving Reyes in the cop car to get breakfast gave him the time to make his getaway right under his nose.
In getting reprimanded by Mickey and Boone for getting his car stolen, Hank was at risk at being fired. Previously, he was this confident cop who thought a convict wouldn’t escape if he was already handcuffed. Now, he was someone who stared at the wall because Mickey told him too. Someone who followed Boone’s strict instructions to use Reyes’ case file to find him. He was fragile and willing to do anything to fix his mistake. If it meant going over the case an endless number of times, he’d do it. And it was being forced to slow down and focus on small details by Boone that ended up making Hank a better cop. He was able to find a location of where Reyes would be by putting clues together in just a few hours.
Overall, he’s someone who feels so called to doing this job that he can’t imagine himself doing anything else as a career. And when he got rattled by this mistake, it was easy for him to spiral and doubt himself. So, we’re glad Boone reminded him to slow down and take more than a second to think before acting on impulse. “Show of Force” left us loving this partnership because Boone showed Hank how it was okay to be confident. He just needed some guidance on how to get ahold of a situation.
MORE: Wanna rewatch from the beginning? Watch then re-read our Sheriff Country Season 1, Episode 1 ‘Pilot’ review HERE!
The Cliffhanger
For Cassidy’s sake, we initially hoped that Wainwright was the killer to give Cassidy the answers she desperately wants about her sister. But nothing is ever easy, and Cassidy should’ve reminded herself of that. Wainwright wasn’t at the last few festivals where the girls went missing so he can’t be the guy they’re looking for. Even if he’s creepy and gets too close to his female students.
However, we can’t blame her for putting all of her metaphorical eggs into one basket. She wanted to lift the burden from her mother’s heart and catch the killer on her first try. Additionally, Cassidy was hopeful here in catching Wainwright because she wanted to find the person who took her sister. In a way Cassidy is putting everything into this search to also give her mother peace and answers. To heal both of their hearts and bring Zoey home. So, when the arrest fell through, Cassidy thought it was time to tell her mother what she was doing.
It was this act of letting her guard down when going home to call her mother that Cassidy wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings. There’s no doubt that if Cassidy has been investigating the disappearances of girls forgotten then the killer was doing the same to her. He was probably watching her every move and following Cassidy because she’s the woman who is trying to uncover his secrets.
The killer who had been lurking in the shadows for over ten years had found Cassidy in ‘Show of Force.’ And we won’t rest until Mickey, Boone, and the others won’t rest until they find her.
Sheriff Country airs on Fridays at 8 pm EST on CBS.
