Circle of Life is the 23rd episode of the 6th Season of Walker, Texas Ranger. It aired May 2, 1998.
Safecracker Joe Lopez, the husband of the Rangers' old friend, Marta Lopez, is paroled after serving a 10-15 year stint in prison and is serving out the rest of his sentence at a halfway house. While Joe tries to mend his relationship with his family, especially having landed a job as a dishwasher at his wife's newly-opened Mexican restaurant, his housemates force him to partake in their next heist, which is easier said than done, as Walker and Trivette need his help in catching them.
Tropes seen in this episode:
- Affectionate Nickname: Coburn to Joe: Joe-Boy.
- Anyone Can Die: Here's our body count:
- J.T. Hopkins and Little John Mulkey lost control of their vehicle while being chased by Walker and Trivette, causing them to get stuck in the middle of the road, at which point they are hit by a speeding semi.
- Walker and Trivette kill Coburn, returning fire just after he shoots Joe, who jumped in the path of his gun to protect Tommy. Joe luckily survives his injuries.
- Asshole Victim: Buck Coburn is killed by Walker and Trivette while he tries to shoot Tommy, but Joe jumps in front of Tommy to protect him, but luckily survives his injuries.
- Big Bad: Joe's parole officer, Buck Coburn.
- Big "NO!": From Hopkins before he and Mulkey are killed by the oncoming semi after their truck stalls in the middle of the road during the chase.
- Chekhov's Gun: Since being taken out of gangs and learning a thing or two from Walker in "The Covenant", this comes in handy for Tommy when he is kidnapped by Coburn and his gang and threatened with death when the gang is cornered by Walker and Trivette.
- Continuity Nod: The Lopez family (from "The Covenant" and "The Brotherhood") return in this episode.
- Dirty Cop: The Big Bad of the episode, Buck Coburn, was responsible for the heists. As a parole officer, he is not only in charge of the halfway house Joe was staying in, he had access to the police scanner during the Diamond Mart robbery at the start of the episode, as well as the ankle monitors the residents of the house, including Joe, had to wear.
- Disney Death: When Walker and Trivette show up to save Joe and Tommy from Coburn, Tommy employs one of the karate skills he learned from Walker to escape, and while running, Joe jumps in front of him and takes Coburn's bullet, while Walker and Trivette return fire, killing Coburn. While carted away in an ambulance with Tommy onboard, Joe luckily survives his injury.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After Coburn is defeated, the restaurant is renamed Family Lopez. Likewise, for testifying against his housemates for the Diamond Mart robbery, Joe is pardoned.
- Everyone Has Standards: Joe, when he was arrested, crashed his getaway car into a tree, with the reason being he narrowly avoided running over a group of children playing in the street.
- Groin Attack: Tommy does this to Coburn in an effort to escape just before shots are fired and Joe takes the bullet for him.
- Heroic Sacrifice / Taking the Bullet: Tommy delivers a Groin Attack to Coburn, allowing him to escape his clutches. Coburn promptly fires at Tommy, but Joe jumps in front of him to protect him, at which point Walker and Trivette return fire and kill Coburn. Luckily, Joe survives his injuries.
- Just Got Out of Jail: The basic premise of the episode has Joe Lopez being paroled after serving a 10-15 year prison sentence and seeking to mend his relationship with his family. It starts off when he lands a job as the dishwasher for Marta's newly-opened restaurant, Casa Lopez (later renamed Family Lopez after Coburn is defeated), as well as staying at a halfway house for the remainder of his sentence.
- Special Guest: Stephen Macht as Buck Coburn, Boris Cabrera as Tommy Lopez and Danny Trejo as Joe Lopez.
- Stuff Blowing Up: While being pursued by Walker and Trivette, the Ford Bronco J.T. Hopkins and Little John Mulkey were riding in is blown to smithereens after a semi truck collides with them, killing them both, but Joe is later able to identify them. Cue a Big "NO!" from Hopkins mere seconds before the collision!
- Tempting Fate: Walker and Trivette speculate the Diamond Mart robbers would get shortchanged and brag about the robbery when they go out to splurge their ill-gotten gains. This pays off when Hopkins and Mulkey do so at a bar in McKinney known as the Velvet Elvis and the bartender reports this, prompting Walker and Trivette to give chase, which ends with Hopkins and Mulkey being killed in a fiery explosion.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Discussed when Walker and Trivette are investigating the Diamond Mart robbery after they first meet Joe. While Walker didn't know Joe personally at that time, he does remember when he was arrested: while being chased by authorities, he crashed his getaway car into a tree trying to avoid children playing in the street.
- The X of Y: The episode's title, "Circle of Life".
