When a young woman is assaulted on the reservation, Walt and Mathias must join forces to investigate the crime.
We're taking an episode-by-episode look at Season 4 of “Longmire,” which currently is available for streaming on Netflix. Be forewarned: There will be spoilers a-plenty in each of these overviews.
THE PLOT: When two hunters spot a partially clothed and obviously frightened Native American woman running through the woods, they make a beeline to the Absaroka County Sheriff’s Office to file a report. Newly hired deputy Zachary Heflin (who was introduced in Episode 405) dutifully records their eyewitness account, and even locates on a map precisely where the sighting occurred. But an impatient Ferg quickly sends the hunters on their way, appearing to deem the whole matter unimportant. This is a big mistake.
Walt is alerted by May Stillwater (Irene Bedard) that her young neighbor, Gabriella Langton (Julia Jones), was raped the night before at secluded spot on the Cheyenne reservation. Yes, you guessed it: She’s the woman the hunters spotted, and the location of her assault is the spot Zachary located on the map.
Trouble is, Walt has no jurisdiction on the reservation. On the other hand, since Gabriella identified her two attackers as strangers — white strangers — Chief Mathias (Zahn McClarnon) knows he, too, will have a hard time pursuing the case. So Walt suggests they “cross-deputize each other,” in order to play by the rules. Mathias warily agrees — then more or less recedes into the background while Walt and his team take over.
As it turns out, finding and arresting prime suspects — two roughnecks employed at a nearby oilfield — is the easy part. First problem: Linda Langton (Stefany Mathias), Gabriella’s mom, is actively (and angrily) discouraging her daughter from causing trouble by co-operating with the cops. Second problem: Before she can officially identify her attackers, Gabriella is kidnapped — and her mom receives a note warning her that if Gabriella doesn’t withdraw her complaint, she’ll never see her daughter again.
Walt manages to locate Gabriella — her abductors left her bound and gagged in a rented storage unit — but not much good comes of this. Linda (who obviously has been paid off by someone) succeeds in “convincing” her daughter not to testify against her assailants. Henry Standing Bear encourages May Stillwater to bring the traumatized Gabriella to a “sweat” ceremony on the reservation, where the young woman can “call back” the part of herself she lost when she was attacked. Gabriella appears to benefit from the ceremony, but May is far from satisfied. Indeed, as Episode 406 ends, May tells Henry she is going to seek justice… by calling on Hector for help.
TAKEAWAY NO. 1: Ferg must have felt very embarrassed — and very, very angry at himself — after his careless dismissal of the hunters’ report. When one of the rape suspects makes a sexist remark about Vic while he’s being escorted into a jail cell, the normally easygoing Ferg explodes and roughs up the roughneck. It makes you wonder just how much damage this guy could cause if he ever gets really peeved.
TAKEAWAY NO. 2: And speaking of Vic: After being evicted from the house she used to share with her husband (and now ex-husband) Sean, Vic is hard-pressed to find temporary living quarters, since all hotels in the area are filled with tourists attracted by the new casino. Walt convinces his daughter Cady to let Vic move into her guest room — temporarily — and it should be interesting to see how the dynamic between the two women plays out over the rest of Season 4 (and, maybe, beyond). A nice touch: Late in Episode 406, we see Walt, Vic and Cady drowning their sorrows together in Cady’s kitchen after Gabriella’s attackers are set free. Misery loves company.
TAKEAWAY NO. 3: For the benefit of those who tuned in late: No, Walt isn’t being rude or condescending to Cady. When he addresses her as “Punk,” he’s simply using her childhood nickname.
