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Warning: The following contains spoilers for Walker Independence‘s finale. Proceed at your own risk!
Things got wild in the West during Walker Independence‘s (season?) finale on Thursday, as Tom killed his brother Shane, then found himself in a shootout with Abby & Co. in the middle of the town square.
Following his capture, Tom and Abby had a one-on-one chat, during which he revealed all: that he’d seen her prior to her arrival in Independence, that he ended Liam’s suffering after Shane shot him, and that he made it look like he killed Abby to protect her. With that confession, Abby sent Tom away to face trial, but his wagon was intercepted by a mysterious man with a circle tattoo… who’s connected to Tom’s father?!
Elsewhere in the episode: Gus became the new sheriff; Matthew ruled out the idea that Hoyt is his father; and as the new owner of Hagan’s, Kate partnered up with Kai for the establishment’s performances.
Below, showrunner Seamus Kevin Fahey talks about the finale’s Tom twist, the former sheriff’s “f—ked-up love” for Abby, and potential Season 2 storylines. (The series has yet to be renewed; Fahey discusses the show’s future prospects here.)
TVLINE | What was most interesting to me was the way that Abby gets this confession out of Tom, because it’s this really emotional, almost quiet scene.
Yeah. I’ve been thinking about that from early days, the pitch itself. Just knowing that they would kind of come eye-to-eye was the most interesting way to get that confession out of him. It’s a lot of reading into their expressions and their looks and taking advantage of what we know, coming off of the last episode and the flashbacks. It’s pretty intense, pretty good.
TVLINE | He confesses, he says, to protect her, because he’s developed feelings for her, but she doesn’t reciprocate them, and she sends him off to face trial for his crimes. How might his feelings change after that, if you were looking ahead at a potential Season 2?
I like that prospect! I like that there’s a few moments in there where she’s really trying her best to bury [her feelings] and keep them at bay so she can get the confession out of him. Tom, on the other hand, is kind of leading with his feelings on his sleeve a little bit more and making her aware that he did a lot of this for her, at least in his mind’s eye, whether you consider that to be part of an unhealthy, obsessive love or something else entirely. But he knew he had to do it because her life was at risk and would continue to be with his family and other powers that be that are out there lurking in the shadows… I don’t think the intention was that Tom would confess, and even if Abby would be part of sending him away, that he would change his tune, that he wasn’t trying to protect her, that he didn’t have feelings for her. I think those linger, and those [will] continue to linger.
Moving forward, what Abby went through, knowing Tom had known who she is for much longer than she ever imagined, I think that’s something that will take a while to wrap your head around. That he had this kind of obsessive love for her is the big reveal of the last two episodes… I don’t think he recoils or regrets the fact that he told the truth, and he still has strong feelings for her and loves her in his own warped sense. So I think that would continue. It’s a f–ked-up love story, Vlada.
TVLINE | Abby now finally has some closure and justice when it comes to Liam’s murder. So what does that mean for her as she moves forward in her new life in Independence?
I wanted to name it Independence for a reason, [to] see Abby come full circle like that and just explore how to tell a different type of western and how a main character and the entire ensemble could reinvent themselves in a western town. As far as Abby goes, it was kind of finding her independence and going down the path of exploring, what is vengeance? What is justice? And is she doing this for Liam? Is she doing this for herself? And slowly, she’s kind of doing it for herself, as much as the town and this town family that she has. But she kind of stood on her own, literally, with a rifle in her hand in the episode. But I think she’s ready to do her best to move on. That’s never going to be easy. Who doesn’t love a flawed character? But she’s kind of come full circle from Boston, upper-class elite to this kind of “Sarah Connor of the West” was the line I used in the pitch, and you see a real grit to her. At the same time, moving forward, it would be really dishonest to just abandon everything that she went through and everything that’s going through her head and her heart. She can do her best, but I don’t think Abby or anyone else, for that matter, can abandon what they’ve endured this whole season.
TVLINE | Looking at the end of the finale, Tom manages to escape, thanks to this mysterious new group. What can you say about these people with the circle tattoo and whether this is a blessing or a curse for him?
I think it might be both. Did someone want to free Tom? Or did someone want to silence Tom, make sure he wouldn’t say any more than he had? Playing into that new mystery in a Season 2 would be the new onion [to] peel layer upon layer away. Everything he knew and his connections and his family connections to the outside world and trains, there’s a lot left to explore with what he knows and what their intensions are out West, in Independence at least. That’s exactly the question. It’s not taking one lane or the other. Did people want to save Tom, or did people want to kill him? And where does that put our characters, who wanted him to at least go to trial and pay for his crimes?
TVLINE | You left the season on this very interesting cliffhanger, with Tom’s dad handing him a knife. What kind of guy is Tom’s dad? And is it safe to say this is not a happy father-son reunion?
[Laughs] Yeah, I mean, you know, men and their daddy issues… If we’re lucky enough to explore more stories in this world, it would definitely be about that father-son dynamic, in the wake of everything that Tom did and everything that happened. And how does Aunt Teresa fall in that mix? How do you take a character, who is more or less fearless in Tom Davidson, and kind of get to a point where he was cornered by everybody else on the call sheet? You finally see him sweating a little bit. But he made it this far, and how can you pull it off in just one scene where he’s terrified of what comes next, just by a shadow alone, the presence of a father figure? That was an interesting way to end the season: What is a villain now scared of, and opening it up to a bigger threat and a bigger mystery.
TVLINE | Speaking of father-son relationships, are we to believe Matthew when he says Hoyt is not his father?
Yeah, I think that’s a safe one to say it’s far more interesting, to me, the idea that Hoyt thinks about if he was Matthew’s father and what would that be like, and he considers growing up for a second, what it would be to become a father, that was more interesting than actually being it. There’s this moment a character comes into his life that makes him kind of shift toward another step forward to who he should become, and he’s questioning what is his legacy going to be… You asked the question, well, if it’s not Hoyt, who is it?
TVLINE | Based on what Matthew said about his father, my money is on Liam, which I’m sure you cannot confirm or deny.
No, I think that’s interesting. But yeah, we definitely want to explore that, if we’re lucky enough to have more track in this saga, for sure.
TVLINE | When the show first premiered, I felt like there was a bit of a love-hate flirtation between Abby and Hoyt, but then they both went on these separate romance journeys, and in the finale, Abby calls Hoyt a friend. Is that all there is between them?
Listen, if you put two attractive people in a room, there’s always going to be an interesting chemistry, and so I think that will always be there. That’s just a fixture of TV… She needed to hire a gunman to kill someone. So it’s not exactly the most romantic thing, and Hoyt’s seeing her in a very fragile place. From the start, they had a very different relationship, and there’s moments where the sparks fly, there’s certainly chemistry. But at the end of the day, it was more interesting, the realization that, through thick and thin, he was always there for her. Knowing that starting point up on the hill in the pilot of someone who’s telling her, “This is a bad idea,” but at the end of the day, he was right at her side, being shot and taking shots. It was that reliance on someone that’s dependable that was more important and stronger, honestly, than a romantic relationship, and it was just kind of acknowledging that. That’s the crux of that one. But we’ll see where it goes. You never know. No one’s locked in.
Walker Independence fans, what did you think of the episode? Grade it below, then hit the comments! And stay tuned to TVLine for more scoop!
Now it has to get renewed. This is one of the best shows on the CW.
Really?
Yes, really.
Not really.
Really really.
I love this chemistry that Abby and Tom have, and if they developed further this relationship it’d be such a good “enemies to lovers” that I think it’s a wasted opportunity not to follow.
I actually think Matthew is Tom’s son. He has brown eyes and the 15 years fit with the 16 years ago relationship he had and his family interfered.
What a fantastic episode and season! If any show deserves to be renewed, it’s this one. The quality of the acting, the production, the cinematography, the story, everything is top notch!
I’m enjoying this more than the parent show.
The finale was spectacular.
The season overall was amazing, the cinematography and the acting was excellent.
I am invested in each character’s story and I really hope we get the opportunity to see them played out in one or more seasons go forward.
i loved the shootout between the group & Tom. Looking forward to more seasons. This was certainly better than tonight’s episode of “Walker.” Good old fashioned western.
This was without a doubt one of the best seasons of television I have seen. Everyone brought so much fire, so much passion, and raw talent. The way, especially in this finale, Kat taps into these insane emotions that Abby is feeling and makes them transcend the screen and make me FEEL those emotions too? It’s pure magic.
The plot developments are so fun. Are they predictable? Sure, but that doesn’t matter when they’re done well. I’m hoping for a second season (and many more after that) to tell these stories. So we can see Abby wrap her head around this insanity. So we can see Kate finally find a true home. So we can see Gus heal and be Sheriff. So we can see Calian wrestle with the looming threat of his tribe wanting war. So we can see Kai wrestle with his old and new lives colliding in Independence. So we can see Hoyt grapple with change in himself.
Absolutely phenomenal stuff.
This reminds me of “Lonesome Dove” the series. Just a good old-fashioned Western. Keeping my fingers crossed for more seasons.
You’ve managed to capture everything that I’m hoping to see as well! For anyone not watching, they’re truly missing out. (And I’ll agree with another commenter and say that for me, Walker: Independence is better than Walker, and I love the parent show as well!)
This was a phenomenal episode to end a stellar first season with. Bring on season 2!!
I loved Walker independence. I don’t want to see the show end. There are no westerns currently on TV. This is a love story, mystery story, western excitement, and definitely cliffhangers. We have too much unscripted TV now I hate to see.CW go that way and have the majority of their programming unscripted boring. We have enough trauma and tragedy in reality TV with what’s going on in the world now we need a little escapism!
Walker Independence WILL have a 2nd Season & Walker WILL have a 4th Season!!!
If these two shows are not renewed The CW is dead to me!!
Excellent finale! I’m really hoping for a season two! I’d love to see more of Abby’s and Kate’s backstories. And the storyline with Calian’s tribe is really compelling and heartbreaking. Please renew this show, CW!
This is a fantastic show. It’s been clear from the start how much effort and care everyone is putting in, from the directors/producers to the actors to the costuming team and set builders. It’s obviously a labor of love for all involved. I sincerely hope it gets renewed so we can follow all those plot threads! Full of compelling and diverse and loveable (or love-to-hate’em!) characters. Ep 12 set a high bar so I knew the finale was going to be wild, and I was not disappointed!
If CW doesn’t have the brains to renew this show, they might as well just give up on the TV business.
absolutely agree!!
Walker Independence is a fantastic show. I love all the characters. To TPTB, please renew this show! It would be such a shame not to continue to tell the story of Independence, TX and its citizens.
Great finale holler.
Fantastic finale! Here’s hoping it’s just a season finale. Seriously, The CW/Nexstar needs to continue to this series. I also enjoyed just a thirteen-episode season. Far as I’m concerned, other shows should have these shortened seasons. It makes everything flow nicely without any unnecessary “filler” episodes.
Excellent show. Great storyline and character interactions. Not sure what’s going on at the CW, but it be a shame that some of its better programming may be sacrificed for its new ownership and formated programming. I’m hopeful shows like Walker Independence, Superman and Lois, Walker and others, find new homes, if as expected, these shows are scuttled by new ownership.
The scene right after Tom confess, Abby walks out and begin to throw up?? anyone else confused?… thats the only scene that doesn’t make any sense to me. but overall i would love a 2nd season!
I think there was some speculation Abby may be pregnant. I’m not sure on that though. It could’ve just been caused by emotion and adrenaline. One of the best Season finales on tv in awhile. I really hope this show & Walker both get renewed.
I wondered too if she was going to find out she was pregnant (dun dun dun!!)
But I’m thinking it was just stress and emotion
Im my opinion, this is the best show on tv without a doubt! It has everything. Great characters, great writing, action, great storyline, awesome costuming and props! And some of the best actors and actresses out there! My favorite shows are Walker and Walker Independence, the only two shows on tv I watch on a regular basis. I’m 69 years old CW, so all ages love this show. Please renew both of these and give them full seasons!!!
Love the show. Reallly needs another season!!
Is coming season 2?
Walker Independence is a fantastic show! There’s too many unanswered questions so there HAS TO BE A SEASON 2, 3, 4…..!!! The finale was awesome! I didn’t want it to end. So many possibilities with this drama. Please renew it!!!
Love westerns and love this show. So hopeful it will be back for another season.
Love Walker Independence. Grew up watching all the westerns in 60’s.
There needs to be a second season.
I really loved this show ! Has alot of great characters and loved the actors. Amazing story line, and this show was just great !
Please make more of Walker independent please it is a great show need more western shows
Please bring us Season 2!!!!!