Walker Boss Talks Cordell And Geri's Next Chapter, Cassie's Future And... Supernatural Alum As The Jackal?
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Walker Season 4 premiere. Proceed at your own risk!
Walker's Season 4 premiere kicked off with a five-month time-jump, a job change and a resurfaced threat on Wednesday.
The opening minutes got off to a steamy start: Cordell and Geri are now officially a couple and couldn't keep their hands off each other ahead of the Texas Ranger's birthday celebration. With Stella away at college (and dealing with the PTSD of what happened in the Season 3 finale) and Auggie entering his final year of high school, Cordell was also weary of his impending empty nest and the quiet it brings.
Meanwhile, Cassie resurfaced in Austin, needing help with her FBI case, and revealed that she's contemplating entering Quantico. Captain James, however, told her there's a way for her to make a difference on a grander scale at the Texas Rangers.
As for the Jackal, Cordell and Trey began their own investigation into the serial killer, and James' wife, Kelly, begged them to keep it secret from James, lest it send him spiraling again.
Below, showrunner Anna Fricke talks Cordell and Geri's serious relationship, Cassie's future on the show and whether a Supernatural alum will step into the role of the Jackal.
TVLINE | What are the challenges now that Cordell and Geri are a couple? What are you excited to explore now that you have them in this committed relationship?
I think what we have a lot of fun with is he's had a couple of dalliances since Emily died, but he hasn't had a real girlfriend, like really going through an adult, committed relationship. We were really interested in exploring what is it like beyond the first hookup? What is it like to actually be weathering things together and having adult conversations and getting through them or not getting through them? And just exploring the fact that Walker was with Emily since he was in high school, and so, all the firsts that you have with your high school boyfriend or girlfriend, to not have them again until you're 40 is different. It's like, "Well, the last time I had to do this, we were just, like, going to the mall," and now you're facing really adult decisions. And there's other family members involved, there are kids involved. So it's learning how to have that kind of relationship and to be straightforward with each other. So it's been really fun just having them sort of work through things together, but also, they meet a lot of obstacles this season, obviously.
TVLINE | Cordell and Trey are carrying on this secret investigation into the Jackal. How is that going to impact them, particularly their relationship with James? Is he going to suspect that he's being kept in the dark?
There will definitely be tension, yeah. These are people who work together, but they, obviously, are also really close, and they work in these high-stakes, life-or-death situations. [What] we talked about when we were in the writers' room this season was best intentions, and that's sort of the throughline for everyone's storyline, all the characters — Bonham and Abeline, Stella, August. Everyone's going into situations with the best of intentions, to make things right, to do the right thing for the other person, and everyone fails miserably. [Laughs] And everyone has to learn a lesson. But it's sort of like doing what you think is best and having it only lead to more complication is the throughline.
TVLINE | There's a comment that Cordell makes to Geri about how he doesn't like the quiet of an empty nest, and then he says to Trey that the quiet ate away at James. How worried should we be about Cordell's mental state this season?
You can be worried. [Laughs] It's fair to be worried. That's part of what the best intentions are for Cordell. He's working so hard to protect Captain James that he may neglect some other areas in his life.
TVLINE | How much is the Jackal an off-screen presence/threat versus someone we actually get to see and know this season? Is that somebody that you actually will be casting or have cast?
We will be. I will say the bulk of it is really about our people. It's really about the intercharacter dynamics leading up to some resolution.
TVLINE | Are you feeling any pressure to cast a Supernatural alum as the Jackal?
[Laughs] No. I guess I shouldn't say anything either way, because I don't want to disappoint people who always want Supernatural people. [Laughs] But no, cast the best person.
TVLINE | What can you tease about this vague job offer that James made to Cassie, and where her mind is at going forward this season between Quantico and James' offer?
Her stint with the FBI was really exciting for her in a way that was surprising. But she's really gotten thinking about what she wants and where to lay roots down. So a lot of this season is about that for her — Where does she feel her roots are? Where does she feel her family, both blood and found, are? — and sort of getting a sense of permanence. She's someone who's always been sort of racing to get to the top. She's worked so hard, and she's been running for so long to be the youngest this and the fastest that and the best at what she does. This is about her finally slowing down a little bit to focus more on, "OK, now I'm here. What is it that I want to do?" And where do her ambitions lie? We thought it'd be very interesting for her to explore that. This is only elevating her on the show. I worry that some people thought she was going away. It's the opposite of that. I love Cassie so much. It's about challenging her character in the show and actually elevating her and giving her more to do, if anything.
TVLINE | With Stella, it's obvious that she's dealing with PTSD, but is the storyline for her this season mostly about her emotional wellbeing? Or will that case come back to haunt her?
The case will come back to haunt her, yeah, and she's very much showing herself to be her father's daughter this season, just in terms of how she kind of rushes into danger.
TVLINE | Is she ever going to open up to Cordell about what's going on? The scene with Liam was extremely touching, but I wonder what's holding her back from talking to Cordell?
That's partially why I just said that she's like her dad, because he's sort of the same way, and it's only on the other side of things that he realizes that he should've brought people in. So that's really going to be part of their journey together, both of them, father and daughter.
Walker fans, what did you think of the season opener? Grade it below, then hit the comments!