Recap / Walker Texas Ranger S9E2 "Deadly Situation"

Deadly Situation is the 2nd episode of the Ninth Season on Walker, Texas Ranger. It aired on October 14, 2000.

In Sage City, Texas, Walker and the Rangers are invited to compete in a baseball game against the city's police department. One such officer of the department, rookie Glenn Cooper— who happens to be the descendant of Hayes Cooper and therefore, a distant cousin of Walker's, and aspires to become a Texas Ranger himself— catches three detectives within his department getting involved in the theft of 300 kilos of cocaine from a recent drug bust. The dirty detectives find out he busted them and set him up for their crime to try to cover it up; somehow, they were tipped off by either an outside source or a fourth party in the department involved in the operation. With his partner killed by the dirty cops, Cooper is forced to go on the run and go to incredible lengths to clear his name.

Written by Gordon Dawson
Directed by Eric Norris

Tropes seen in this episode:

• The Aggressive Drug Dealer: Chick Winslow.
• Anyone Can Die: A minor body count consisting of two Sage City officers:
  • Officer Simms is killed by Baker when he, Moody and Rogers raid Glenn's home to silence him for uncovering their operation.
  • Lt. Shell commits suicide at his home after he realizes the Rangers have caught on to his involvement in the drug ring just before Walker and Captain Ryder could arrest him.
• Better to Die than Be Killed / Driven to Suicide: For Lt. Shell, it's better to die than be arrested since the Rangers found out he was responsible for the theft of the cocaine from the Smokey Cole bust and framing Glenn and Simms after Gage and Sydney arrested Baker, Moody and Rogers before they could find and Destroy the Evidence Glenn hid at the library. While Gage, Sydney and Trivette arrest Chick Winslow and his gang, Walker and Captain Ryder corner Lt. Shell at his home, but after they open the front door, they find that he hung himself.
  Captain Ryder: Somebody get up here and cut this man down!
• Big Bad Ensemble: Chick Winslow, Detectives Baker, Moody and Rogers and Lt. Shell. Chick Winslow leads a drug trafficking operation wherein the dirty cops take out his competition and steal their drugs, at which point Winslow sells the stolen drugs and splits 50/50.
• Casanova Wannabe: Detective Rogers towards Sydney, and his unwanted advances towards her prompt her to pulverize him twice. The first time is at the local bar after the baseball game when she leaves the ladies' room, and then, the second time is when she and Gage arrest him, Baker and Moody for their involvement in the drug trafficking operation after beating them to the evidence Glenn hid at the library.
• Clear My/Their Name: Glenn Cooper is framed for the theft of 300 kilos of cocaine from a recent drug bust and he suspects Detectives Baker, Moody and Rogers of doing it, and goes to incredible lengths to clear his name, even so much as taking hostages at the local district attorney's office.
• Death Row: In addition to turning in their badges after the truth comes out, Baker and Moody are said to be facing the death penalty after they murdered Simms and almost killed Kristi. Rogers cooperated with Gage and Sydney while being interrogated and avoids this punishment.
• Deceased Parents Are the Best / Disappeared Dad / Heroic Lineage: Starting off as an officer for the Sage City Police Department, Glenn Cooper aspires to become a Texas Ranger himself, and his knack of investigative skills, such as the bust he made against Baker, Moody and Rogers, is putting him on the fast-track to just that. Glenn's father was Tom Cooper, a Texas Ranger who died in the line of duty and a close friend of Walker's back in the day, and Walker and Trivette quickly figure out that Glenn is the great-great-grandson of the legendary Ranger Hayes Cooper. Due to Hayes Cooper also being an ancestor of Walker's, this makes Walker and Glenn distant cousins. After the bad guys are defeated and Walker and his team return to Dallas, Cooper is expected to be back on duty the next day with a promotion.
  Glenn: How did Walker know about Hayes Cooper?
  Alex: Everyone needs a hero, and Hayes Cooper has always been Walker's hero.
• Destroy the Evidence: Glenn thought he could trust Lt. Shell with the pictures he took of Baker, Moody and Rogers' involvement in the drug trafficking ring run by Chick Winslow at Henners' Barn after the recent arrest of Smokey Cole, but he would later be proven wrong near the end when he tells the Rangers about the copies of the photos he took and the negatives hidden at a library. Glenn busted the trio at Henners' Barn retrieving the coke hours after the party at the bar following the baseball game, then gave the photos to Lt. Shell the following morning. Rather than take the original photos Glenn gave him to internal affairs, Lt. Shell likely destroyed them before planting the stolen drugs in his locker, and then sending Baker, Moody and Rogers after him and Simms, where the latter officer is killed by the three and made to look like a suicide, and then tried to kill District Attorney Clark after they chased him to her office. Quickly subverted, however, when Gage and Sydney beat Baker, Moody and Rogers to the evidence Glenn hid at the library and promptly arrest them, and Rogers, from there, promptly confesses Lt. Shell's involvement in the case. Lt. Shell then goes on to commit suicide before he could be arrested by Walker and Captain Ryder.
• Dirty Cop: The topic this episode covers is four detectives gone rogue and participating in a drug trafficking operation after recently arresting the competition. Glenn has caught three of those detectives, Baker, Moody and Rogers red-handed while staking out Henners' Barn for two days in a row, and is then set up for their crime along with his partner, Simms, who is promptly killed when the three raid his home, thanks to the fourth party involved, Lt. Shell, tipping them off after Glenn gave him the original copies of the evidence. After the three dirty detectives chase Glenn to District Attorney Clark's office so he can apprise her of what they were up to, they shoot her while trying to either arrest or assassinate him. Baker, Moody and Rogers then try to find and destroy the negatives and second set of photos Glenn hid at the library, but Gage and Sydney get there first and arrest them. Lt. Shell realizes he has been caught after the three detectives are arrested and, while Trivette, Gage and Sydney arrest Chick Winslow, he commits suicide at his home before Walker and Captain Ryder could arrest him.
• Dirty Coward: Lt. Shell, who'd rather not accept accountability for his crimes after the truth comes out, goes home to kill himself.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Of the three dirty detectives who framed Glenn and Simms, only Rogers seems to be the cooperative one. After he, Baker and Moody are arrested by Gage and Sydney after the two retrieved the additional photos Glenn hid at the library, they all tried to play the blame game on one another, but it's Rogers who reveals the real truth.
• Fall Guy / Frame-Up: The premise of the episode involves rookie Sage City officer Glenn Cooper being framed for the theft of cocaine from a recent drug bust and going out of his way to clear his name.
• Get Out!: This exchange between Walker and Baker when the latter and his fellow dirty detectives trail Cooper to the Sage County D.A.'s office, at which point the former sees what's going on and intervenes:
  Walker: What's going on?!
  Baker: Cooper resisted arrest, and tried to kill us! [about to fire again, but Walker stops him from doing so]
  Walker: Hold it! Stop firing! Alex!
  Alex: Walker!
  Walker: You OK?
  Alex: Yes, but Kristi's been shot!
  Baker: Cooper, you're under arrest for possession of narcotics for sale!
  Glenn: That's a lie and you know it, you rotten slimeball!
  Baker: Yeah? Slimeball this! [fires his gun again, but Walker stops him and takes his gun]
  Walker: I said "stop firing"!
  Baker: You have no right to do that.
  Walker: [pointing to his Ranger badge] This badge gives me every right! Now get out of here! Go on! All of you!
• Hanging Around: Lt. Shell kills himself this way before Walker and Captain Ryder could arrest him while Trivette, Sydney and Gage arrest Chick Winslow. When Walker and Captain Ryder are outside his home with two other Sage City cops, they demand he come out with his hands up. No response, so Walker and Captain Ryder decide to go in and get him out, but the moment they open the front door...
• He Knows Too Much: Detectives Baker, Moody and Rogers' involvement in the drug trafficking ring run by Chick Winslow is captured on camera by Glenn, and his partner, Simms, and Lt. Shell are the only two who know about it. Baker, Moody and Rogers' only solution to dealing with Glenn and Simms is to silence them by either setting them up or killing them (the latter solution is done to Simms), because Lt. Shell tipped them off after receiving the original copies of the evidence.
• Here We Go Again!: The episode started with the Rangers' Company B Broncos playing baseball against the Sage City Lions, after Chick Winslow and the Dirty Cops are busted, the Houston Police Department's Vice Grips are challenging the Rangers, next.
• Hostage Situation: The premise of the episode.
• Internal Affairs: All police departments have this division when dirty cops are present. After Glenn busted Baker, Moody and Rogers at Henners' Barn hours after the party at the bar following the baseball game, he took the photos to Lt. Shell the following morning. Lt. Shell promised Glenn he'd hand over the original copies of the evidence to Internal Affairs, but unbeknownst to him, he was the leading dirty cop involved in the operation, and after destroying the evidence, he then tipped off Baker, Moody and Rogers and went on set up Glenn and Simms for his crime.
• It's Personal: After realizing the truth that Lieutenant Shell was responsible for stealing the drugs from the Smokey Cole bust and framing Glenn, Captain Ryder decides to deal with him personally. Walker is more than happy to help out, while Trivette, Sydney and Gage are tasked with arresting Chick Winslow.
• Laser-Guided Karma: After Lt. Shell commits suicide, Chick Winslow is indicted for trafficking narcotics, and Baker, Moody and Rogers are indicted for their roles in Chick's operation, killing Simms and almost killing District Attorney Clark. Rogers testifies and avoids receiving the death penalty.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After Glenn busted Baker, Moody and Rogers at Henners' Barn hours after the party at the bar after the baseball game, perhaps it would've been a good idea to turn in the evidence to the nearest Texas Ranger office; had he known Lt. Shell was the leading dirty cop, let alone the fourth party within the department, involved in Chick Winslow's drug trafficking ring following the bust, he would've never turned in the evidence to him in the first place, leading up to him and Simms being set up for the crime. To be fair, however, Glenn doesn't realize the truth until near the climax, where Gage and Sydney arrest Baker, Moody and Rogers before they could steal and destroy the extra photos he hid at the library.
• Only a Flesh Wound: Detective Baker shoots Simms as he, Moody and Rogers raid Glenn's home so they can silence him for uncovering their operation, and then District Attorney Clark as they chase Glenn to her office. As the hostage situation goes into full swing, a sniper is employed to kill Glenn, who takes the bullet for one of the hostages after telling her to stay away from the window. Simms was killed and made to look like a suicide, but luckily for both Kristi and Glenn, they survive their injuries.
• Pursue the Dream Job: Glenn desires to be a Texas Ranger like his father due to his knack of investigative skills.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Captain Ryder. He can be pretty hard-nosed at times, but he is a reasonable person. He takes the utmost pride in his job and doesn't stand for dirty cops.
• Special Guest: Michael Hagerty as Glenn Cooper (a rookie Sage City, Texas, police officer and distant cousin of Walker's aspiring to be a Texas Ranger just like his late father, Tom, and great-great-grandfather, Hayes Cooper), Wren T. Brown as Lt. Shell (one of Glenn's superiors in the department and the fourth dirty cop involved in the drug ring who framed him), Peter Crombie as Detective Moody (one of the dirty cops who framed Glenn), Pat Skipper as Detective Baker (one of the dirty cops who framed Glenn), Jay Huguley as Detective Rogers (one of the dirty cops who framed Glenn), Derek McGrath as the Annoying Reporter, Juliana "Juli" Donald as Kristi Clark (the Sage County District Attorney) and Bruce Weitz as Captain Ryder (one of Glenn's superiors in the Sage City Police Department who heads up the department's Zero-Tolerance Unit).
• Taking the Bullet: One of the hostages in the DA's office gets too close to the window when a sniper is employed to kill Glenn. Glenn tells one of the hostages to stay away from the window as the sniper prepares to fire. He takes the bullet for the hostage, and survives. Also lampshaded by Glenn after the fact, to which Walker pieces together their relationship:
  Glenn: So, that's what it feels like to get shot.
  Walker: You're lucky. It's just a flesh wound.
  Glenn: No, Ranger Walker. I'll be lucky if I get out of this alive.
  Walker: You will. And I believe you. And I think your great-great-grandfather, Hayes Cooper believes you, too.
• Turn in Your Badge: The fate of Baker, Moody and Rogers after they are arrested and indicted for their roles in Chick's operation, killing Simms and almost killing District Attorney Clark.
• Victim of the Week: Glenn Cooper, Officer Simms and Kristi Clark.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Detectives Baker, Moody and Rogers and Lt. Shell of the Sage City PD's ZTU seemed to be dedicated officers cracking down on drug rings, when in actuality, they were working for a drug dealer, and set up Cooper for their crimes after he staked them out for days. The detectives were tipped off by Lt. Shell after Cooper gave him the original copies.