Recap / Walker Texas Ranger S7E5 "Code of the West"

Code of the West is the fifth episode of the 7th Season of Walker, Texas Ranger. It aired October 24, 1998.

Escaped convict Dirk Morgan is out for revenge against everyone who put him away, including the judge-turned-author, Arthur McSpadden, who now runs a ranch for the children of convicts and doesn't want them to follow in their footsteps.

Written by Janet A Wilson and Michael L Wilson
Directed by Michael Preece

Tropes seen in this episode:

• Big Bad: Dirk Morgan, who originally did time for armed robbery and murder.
• Calling Card: Dirk Morgan's preferred method of murder is hanging.
• Casting Gag/Celebrity Paradox: At the end of the episode, the four main characters talk about who would play them in a movie. Trivette gets Denzel Washington, Alex gets Helen Hunt, C.D. gets Paul Newman and Walker gets... Chuck Norris. When Walker complains they got Oscar winners, Trivette points out that Chuck was a six time World Karate Champion, which pleases Walker. Good thing since, of course...
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Regardless of whichever judge put the criminals away, since retiring from the bench, Arthur McSpadden has invited the children of the criminals to live with him until they are paroled, wanting to ensure they don't follow in their parents' footsteps and end up in trouble themselves. Dirk's daughter, Cindy, is among the residents at McSpadden's ranch.
• Hanging Around: Dirk Morgan's Calling Card.
• Missing Mom and Disappeared Dad: Katie McSpadden lost both of her parents to a drunk driver six months prior to the episode.
• Oh, Crap!: When Walker and Trivette research the victims Morgan killed, they find that Art is next on his list. They try to call the ranch, but everyone is out hiking, so no answer came up. This prompts Walker and Trivette to get to the ranch and warn Art.
• Special Guest: Mike Conners as Judge Arthur "Art" McSpadden, Lindsey Lee "L.L." Ginter as Dirk Morgan, Amanda Fuller as Katie McSpadden and Camilla Belle as Cindy Morgan.
• Title Drop: The name of Judge McSpadden's book, and since retiring from the bench, he's been using the profits from his book to benefit the children of incarcerated criminals, who are living at his ranch. As a matter of fact, the first time the title name is uttered is when the Episode Title Card appears!
• The X of Y: The episode's title, "Code of the West".