Sheriff Country Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: Mickey's Family Secrets Get Even Messier
If there's one thing Sheriff Country proved during its first season, it's that Sheriff Mickey Fox can handle just about anything Edgewater throws at her. Murder investigations, family drama, dangerous criminals, and an ex-con father who seems physically incapable of staying out of trouble are practically part of her daily routine. But the Season 2 premiere, “Cyclone,” might have finally found a way to push Mickey to her breaking point.
The CBS drama picks up with Mickey dealing with the aftermath of last season's bombshell involving her supposedly dead mother, Maria, who is very much alive and operating under real name Eva. As if learning your mother has been alive all these years isn't enough to send someone spiraling, Mickey has a whole collection of other problems waiting for her. Naturally, the sheriff has decided the best way to handle her feelings is to avoid them entirely.
And honestly, how long did we think that was going to work?
Mickey, Boone, and One Very Awkward Morning After
The premiere wastes no time showing us that Mickey isn't exactly dealing with her mother's return in the healthiest way. Boone checks himself out of the hospital to help Cassidy retrieve a very drunk Mickey from Sheriff Wade's station, where she's apparently been making quite an impression.
Wade, played by guest star Ben McKenzie, has some history with Mickey, and there are definitely hints that their relationship wasn't strictly professional. The casting is especially fun because McKenzie is Morena Baccarin's real-life husband. Something tells me Wade's history with Mickey could become another complication for Boone, who already has enough competition from Mickey's tendency to run away from her feelings.
Back at Mickey's house, things aren't any calmer. She's ready to throw Wes out, apparently forgetting that he's on house arrest and can't exactly pack his bags and leave. But the biggest moment comes when she admits to Boone that she made the wrong decision when she didn't choose him after he confessed his feelings.
Now, THAT is the conversation I've been waiting for! Unfortunately, Mickey is drunk when she says it, which creates a whole new problem. Meanwhile, Travis gently confronts Mickey about keeping him in the dark about her mother's criminal past. His concern is understandable, especially given how much this revelation affects their family. By the time Mickey makes it downstairs, Skye is also looking for answers about the grandmother she believed was dead.
Instead of talking to her daughter, Mickey blows her off and heads to work. I love Mickey, but she has a habit of expecting everyone around her to understand her decisions without actually explaining anything. Skye deserves answers, and
avoiding the conversation isn't going to make this family situation any less complicated.
A Desperate Woman on a Bridge Leads to Something Much Bigger
When she asks Boone whether she did anything embarrassing, he brushes it off rather than reminding her of the confession. I understand why he doesn't want to take advantage of something she said while intoxicated, but these two have spent enough time dancing around their feelings.
Mickey barely has time to process her personal problems before she's called to a bridge, where Donna, Dale's daughter, is threatening to jump. Thankfully, Mickey manages to talk her down and save her life, but the incident becomes the beginning of a much more dangerous investigation.
When Mickey visits Donna at the hospital, she learns about a powerful street drug circulating in the area. Donna clearly knows more than she's willing to admit, but getting answers out of her proves difficult. Mickey's concerns grow when an inmate dies after taking the same substance, suggesting this isn't an isolated problem.
Things take a terrifying turn when Donna disappears from the hospital with a group of dangerous men. The criminals have threatened her father, leaving Donna little choice but to cooperate. Fortunately, she's smart enough to borrow another patient's phone and send Mickey her location.
Mickey and Boone track her down and manage to rescue her, but what Donna reveals afterward makes the drug investigation seem like only the beginning. The operation is connected to the Russians, who are holding a group of girls in a house and exploiting them through sex trafficking. Suddenly, Mickey isn't just dealing with a dangerous new drug. She's looking at an organized criminal operation with vulnerable young women trapped in the middle of it, and the people responsible clearly aren't afraid to threaten families to get what they want.
I liked how the episode allowed Donna's story to unfold rather than revealing the full scope of the operation immediately. What begins as a desperate call involving a troubled young woman develops into something far more sinister, giving the premiere a case with consequences that will extend beyond a single episode.
Maria Finally Tells Her Side of the Story
While Mickey is busy investigating, Eva, is determined to get back into her daughter's life. She arrives at the station hoping to recruit Mickey for a task force targeting the Russians, but Mickey wants absolutely nothing to do with her.
And can we really blame her? From Mickey's perspective, this woman allowed her family to believe she was dead for years, only to return with a story about undercover operations and impossible choices. Eva may have had reasons for disappearing, but those reasons don't automatically erase the damage she caused.
Skye, however, isn't willing to wait for Mickey to decide when the family can discuss Maria. After getting nowhere with Wes, she takes matters into her own hands and arranges to meet her grandmother at a diner. Eva tells Skye that she was working undercover when she fell in love with Wes, the very man she was supposed to be investigating. Their relationship resulted in Mickey's birth, but Eva claims she was forced to choose between disappearing into another assignment and facing serious consequences that could have landed both her and Wes in prison.
According to Eva, staying away was the only way to protect them. Skye listens to the story but eventually gets up and walks away, leaving her grandmother sitting there with her explanation and little else. I can't say I blame Skye for her reaction. Learning that your grandmother is alive is one thing, but discovering that your entire family history is tangled up in undercover operations, criminal activity, and decades of secrets is quite another. Eva might believe she made the right choice, but everyone else is left dealing with the consequences.
Wes Is Free, but Is He About to Get Himself Into More Trouble?
Wes also gets some unexpectedly good news when Travis manages to have his house arrest lifted because Alec was a dirty cop. Considering Mickey spent the beginning of the episode yelling at Wes to leave her house, the timing couldn't be better.
Of course, freedom doesn't mean Wes is suddenly going to become a model citizen.
He confronts Eva about their past, wanting to know whether their relationship was genuine and whether she betrayed him. Her answers are complicated. She admits that her feelings were real, even though the circumstances surrounding their relationship involved deception. This is one of the more interesting aspects of Maria's return because it challenges everything Mickey thought she knew about her parents. Wes may have made plenty of terrible choices, but he also spent years believing a woman he loved was dead. Now he has to reconcile that loss with the revelation that she was alive and working undercover.
And naturally, the timing couldn't be worse. By the end of the episode, Mickey realizes she needs Eva's resources to dismantle the Russian operation. She finally agrees to join the task force, with Wes potentially serving as their way inside the criminal organization. I'm sorry, but trusting Wes to help infiltrate a dangerous criminal operation sounds like the beginning of approximately seventeen new problems. This man just got off house arrest, and we're already putting him back in a position where he could end up surrounded by criminals? This family reunion is about to get very messy.
Cassidy and Hank's Partnership Hits Another Rough Patch
The premiere also checks in with Cassidy and Hank, who are continuing their investigation into the murder of Andy and Punch's mother. Despite everything pointing toward Andy, neither seems convinced he's responsible, and they're determined to keep looking for answers.
Their investigation provides a nice continuation of one of the show's unresolved mysteries, but their working relationship isn't exactly running smoothly. While Cassidy is talking to Boone during a police call, Hank mistakenly believes they're organizing a surprise birthday party for him. Unfortunately, he eventually learns that Cassidy was keeping Mickey's drunken incident from him, and the misunderstanding turns into a much bigger argument.
Hank calls Cassidy out for not trusting him, which is a pretty significant thing to say to your partner. Oh, and she also forgot his birthday. I actually like that their partnership isn't suddenly perfect. Cassidy has her reasons for being guarded, but trust is essential when two people are working together in law enforcement. Their disagreement could become a bigger problem if they don't figure out how to move forward.
Final Thoughts: Mickey's Biggest Problem Might Be Her Own Family
“Cyclone” is a strong return for Sheriff Country, personal drama, and complicated family relationships while introducing a dangerous new threat to Edgewater, my kind of premiere.
What I enjoyed most is how the different stories build on one another. Mickey's refusal to deal with Eva's return affects Travis and Skye, while Wes is caught between the woman he once loved and the daughter who has plenty of reasons not to trust her. Throw Boone's unresolved feelings into the equation, and Mickey's personal life is practically one bad conversation away from imploding.
The Russian trafficking investigation gives the season a serious threat, but it's the decision to involve Wes and Maria that makes things particularly interesting. Mickey has spent so much time trying to separate her family's problems from her responsibilities as sheriff, and now she's willingly bringing those problems straight into a major investigation.
And let's not forget Boone. Mickey admitted she regretted not choosing him, but he decided not to revisit the confession while she was sober. I understand his hesitation, but I really need these two to stop pretending there's nothing happening between them.
I also want to know more about Sheriff Wade and his history with Mickey, because there were definitely some hints that the two have a past worth exploring. With Skye searching for answers, Cassidy and Hank struggling to trust each other, and the Russians posing a growing threat, there is more than enough material to keep this season interesting.
Sheriff Country was already one of my favorite new dramas, and this premiere reminded me exactly why I enjoy it so much. The characters are messy, the relationships are complicated, and the consequences of their decisions rarely stay contained to a single episode.
Mickey may have agreed to work with her mother, but agreeing to a task force is a far cry from forgiving her. And with Wes serving as their possible way into the Russian operation, I have a feeling the Fox family is about to learn that some reunions are better left for the holidays.
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