There was a lot of romantic drama in “Freedom,” and it was so much fun!
“Encore” really set us up for a fun episode. Stella (Violet Brinson) was running away with Trevor (Gavin Casalegno), and Hoyt (Matt Barr) was coming home. We knew none of this was going to end well.
Both Cordell Walker (Jared Padalecki) and Geri (Odette Annable) were stressing about Hoyt coming home. They had yet to talk to each other about the kiss, so they didn’t even know what it meant if anything.
They were also throwing a surprise welcome home party for Hoyt. Which looked like a lot of fun, except Geri and Walker were not having any. It was quite funny to watch Walker literally sweat.
Walker was lucky when he got called away. Clint (Austin Nichols) and Jaxon (Clayton Froning) had escaped from prison.
Meanwhile, Stella and Trevor were trying to get off-grid. Did either of them think a family cottage was probably not the safest place to go?
The writers are doing such a great job with this storyline. While it’s infuriating to watch both of them make mistakes, they are choices teenagers would make when they are in love.
I loved the detailed camera work of Stella grabbing his hand as he burns his father’s money and passports, and then it moves up to her face and then to his face. It really portrayed how they loved the drama of it all.
Then, they appear to have sex, right before Clint and Jaxon come crashing in. Plus, the house is smoking up because the fireplace is indeed broken.
Stella gets away, but Trevor doesn’t.
Micki (Lindsey Morgan) and Walker were not far behind. While visiting Twyla (Karissa Lee Staples) in prison, Micki discovered Trevor had been visiting Clint, and they put the pieces together.
It’s kind of cute when Walker worries about his kids. He had almost a full-blown melt-down when he couldn’t find Stella.
They get to Clint’s cottage, and Stella’s running away from Jaxon in the woods. Then, Stella accidentally shoots her father. This was kind of funny, even though it was awful.
It makes it difficult for him to fight Jaxon, but Micki comes in there and takes him down! The writers need to give her a lot more of this stuff. She’s such a badass.
This story is happily not over yet. We didn’t even get to see Clint much in this episode. Now that I have accepted Austin as this villain, I definitely want to roll with it for a little bit.
Mama Walker, Abeline (Molly Hagan), was on fire in this episode. She’s so happy to have Hoyt home. It was cute watching them walk in together as Liam (Keegan Allen) was finishing up an interview. As fun as Hoyt can be, it definitely wasn’t a good look for his District Attorney run, which affected the article. The reporter brought up Stella’s court case but didn’t call out which family member.
A teenager’s weed arrest is definitely no big deal, especially considering so many states are legalizing it now.
Abeline gave him the advice to get ahead of it and tell his story. He worried that would be wrong, but she told him that he put his family first all last year, and it was time to put himself first. That was great advice, especially since that’s what I’ve wanted for him.
She also gave Hoyt the engagement ring she got from her previous fiancee.
It was a beautiful moment when Hoyt got down on one knee to propose to Geri with rose petals shaped in a heart and an actual ring this time. She said no. It was brutal.
She told him about her kiss with Walker. He was ready to forgive her in a heartbeat, but she thought it should matter more to him. Hoyt was seriously hurt. He rushed off to see Walker. A scene we will have to see.
Now that I’ve gotten over my nightmares of Stalker Derek, I could really get to like Hoyt. I hope he’s going to be sticking around. That may be the way to Geri’s heart. Showing her, he’s sticking around.
We only got a few scenes with Trey (Jeff Pierre) this week, but he shined in all of them. We really need more of Trey!
Is this the end for Stella and Trevor? Tweet me @MandyTTCarr or comment below.
