Sheriff Country Season 1 Episode 5 Recap: Boone Has a What?

Sheriff Country has been quietly sneaking up on the fall TV lineup and claiming territory like a drama that knows exactly how good it is. Season 1 Episode 5 titled Expecting Trouble feels like the moment the series looked at the audience winked and said buckle up this ride is about to get messy. And oh does it ever.

The hour kicks off with a classic Sheriff Country recipe. A pregnant witness in danger a relentless hitman and two partners who would absolutely kiss if either of them could stop being emotionally constipated for five seconds. Val the very pregnant woman in witness protection has already had a rough week. Her boyfriend was murdered by a gun dealer she is about to testify against him and her marshals get blown up by a car bomb. You know. Tuesday.

Mickey and Boone are assigned to get her to safety which immediately turns into a rolling therapy session because Val can read people like she has x ray vision. Within minutes she clocks the tension between Mickey and Boone faster than the audience can yell thank you at the screen. She even calls Boone out for accepting another job without telling Mickey and calls Mickey out for pretending she has no feelings. Val is basically every viewer on social media but in human form and with better timing.

On the road Mickey lets her guard down for once and shares the story of getting pregnant in high school and learning she was having a daughter. Boone looks like the world has briefly stopped rotating for him. It is one of those scenes that says a hundred things without saying much at all. Meanwhile Skye is wrestling with the idea of going back to school and Wes steps in with his brand of mountain wisdom which naturally involves forgetting to take his pills and ending up in a medical situation only Wes could produce. Their story adds a warm heartbeat to the episode and gives Skye a moment of clarity about carving out a life that is truly hers.

Back at the station Cassidy is in charge for approximately three minutes before everything goes sideways. Someone starts a fire in the womens bathroom because the station apparently likes to keep things interesting. This brings in Manny from Fire Country who appears just long enough to prove a crossover technically happened. Cassidy however gets her strongest moment yet when she realizes the arsonist is a fellow survivor of abuse. The scene lands with real weight and gives Cassidy some well earned depth.

The final act takes the trio to a motel where the feds are supposed to meet them. Naturally the hitman arrives first because he is the worlds most persistent inconvenience. What he does not know is that Mickey and Boone are one step ahead. Val sends a text to lure him in and they take him down in a move that is equal parts tactical and deeply satisfying for anyone sick of watching this guy lurk around every corner.

Then comes the heartbreak. Mickey tears up Boones resignation letter in the boldest please do not leave me gesture the show has given us so far. It is everything fans have been waiting to see. And then Boone drops a bomb so big it might as well have been the second explosion of the episode. He is still leaving and the woman he introduces to Mickey is not his sister. It is his wife. The collective gasp could be heard across the country. Like were her and Boone even friends?

Expecting Trouble is easily the standout chapter of the season. It delivers high tension action plenty of character depth and a final twist that hits like emotional whiplash. Sheriff Country is stepping firmly into its stride and proving it has the juice to stay at the top of the TV conversation. Fans will be counting the days until the next episode to see whether Mickey fights for Boone or lets him walk away. Judging by that last scene she better start fighting fast.

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