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| RJ Decker Season 2 Episode 3 Recap & Review. |
RJ Decker season 2 episode 3 turns a favour for an old prison friend into a murder investigation, with RJ caught between a traumatised former inmate, a string of bank robberies and an FBI agent hiding a very nasty secret. What begins with Stevie begging RJ to erase incriminating videos quickly becomes much bigger when RJ finds the entire robbery crew dead. Meanwhile, Emi is struggling with the fallout from her father's corruption, giving the episode a surprisingly emotional thread beneath all the detective work, awkward FBI politics and one particularly persistent banana-and-walnut smell.
The episode opens with Wish and Catherine taking part in a dance mob designed to help RJ catch a pickpocket. It is exactly the sort of ridiculous distraction that somehow works in RJ's world. Later, Catherine visits RJ at the trailer park and asks about Emi. RJ explains that he is giving her some room after she specifically asked for it following her father's murder.
Catherine also reveals that Emi is increasingly isolated after the truth about her father's corruption comes out. People who once stood beside her are now keeping their distance, while her family's company is struggling. RJ asks whether Catherine has heard anything about Victor's case, but she says Mel has been concentrating on another investigation.
That investigation involves a group of bank robbers with a bizarre habit of committing their crimes without trousers. Unfortunately for Mel, the wardrobe choices are not the strangest part of the case. She has been working alongside the FBI to identify the gang, but progress is painfully slow. Her partner is also starting to wonder why Mel is allowing the FBI agents to dominate the investigation.
RJ's own problem arrives later that night when Wish calls to say that Stevie, an old prison acquaintance, is looking for him. Stevie is drunk and in trouble, and Wish worries that calling the police could send him straight back behind bars. RJ goes to find him and discovers Stevie barely conscious in the toilets.
Stevie manages to say that he has broken several rules and is in serious trouble before promptly passing out. RJ wakes him the next morning and demands an explanation. Stevie finally reveals that Chip, one of the bank robbers, filmed him drunk shortly after his release from prison and used the footage to blackmail him into becoming the gang's getaway driver.
Now Stevie wants RJ to find Chip, take his phone and delete the videos. He refuses to involve the police because he does not trust them. More importantly, he reminds RJ that he once did him a favour. It is not exactly the most conventional private-investigator job, but RJ clearly takes the debt seriously.
At the police station, Mel has another problem to deal with. She admits to Detective Ragsdale that she slept with FBI agent Winswood and then ghosted her. Mel suspects Winswood's attitude towards her is partly revenge, although the episode makes it clear that their professional friction is becoming a genuine problem.
RJ arrives looking for information about Chip, while Mel complains about the FBI presence in her investigation. Agent Clark is particularly memorable for being a serial vaper whose banana-and-walnut fumes have apparently taken over the entire station. It sounds like a minor joke at first, but the episode is quietly planting a very important clue.
Catherine, meanwhile, visits Emi at her brother's house. The meeting gets off to a rough start because Emi is understandably defensive, particularly given Catherine's previous attitude towards her. Still, Catherine eventually gets through to her.
RJ and Stevie spend nearly seven hours watching Chip's place, only to see absolutely nothing. Rather than waste another day staring at a building, RJ decides to investigate. Inside, he finds something far worse than an empty house: the entire gang has been killed.
RJ immediately calls Mel and admits that Stevie can identify the group. Mel is furious because this information could have helped her investigation from the beginning. She threatens to stop helping RJ altogether, but RJ explains why he became involved. Stevie once saved his life in prison and was stabbed in his place. For RJ, this is not simply a favour. It is a debt he has carried ever since.
Mel softens, but the case has now become more dangerous. The gang appears to have been tortured before they were killed, leading the police to believe that Stevie could be the killer's next target.
The investigation points towards the gang's former getaway driver, Liam. Mel and Winswood clash over RJ and Stevie's involvement, while Mel eventually tells Winswood to put their personal issues aside and concentrate on finding the killer. The FBI agent's insecurities are becoming increasingly obvious, particularly because she feels Mel is outperforming her.
Stevie's situation also takes a darker turn. After his arrest, he suffers severe alcohol withdrawal and ends up in hospital. He tells RJ that his drinking began after returning to prison following the stabbing. RJ had already been released, leaving Stevie without the person he had relied on. His drinking gradually became worse, and the episode treats his addiction as something that needs genuine help rather than simply another plot complication.
Liam eventually gives the police a crucial lead. He explains that someone else was actually controlling the robbery operation: an anonymous figure known as Mr Big. Chip was the only person who could identify him. Liam also recalls that Mr Big supplied the weapons, which carried the initials PCM.
That clue sends RJ and the police towards a citizen militia group known as PCM and eventually to Mr Osgood, who runs a junkyard. Winswood and Mel visit him and clear the air about their increasingly awkward professional relationship. Osgood, however, is not their man.
RJ then gets another hour with Liam, this time as part of a deal involving Liam's dog. It sounds absurd, but the conversation produces the breakthrough they desperately need. Liam remembers Chip returning from a meeting with Mr Big smelling strongly of banana and walnut. Chip had also mentioned that Mr Big was a heavy vaper.
RJ immediately connects the dots. The smell points straight back to Agent Clark, whose vaping habit had already been established at the station. He calls Mel to warn her, but Clark has already left to meet them at the junkyard. With the phone network failing, RJ resorts to the landline. It is a suitably old-school move for a case that has become increasingly complicated.
Clark arrives and starts shooting, unaware that he has walked directly into a trap. The police arrest him, and during questioning, Clark finally admits that he was Mr Big and had been behind the robbery operation. Winswood is devastated that she failed to recognise what was happening under her own nose and blames herself for missing the warning signs.
Mel, however, refuses to let Winswood spiral over the mistake. She reassures her that one failure does not erase the fact that she is a good agent. Their relationship ends the episode in a much healthier place than where it started, even if their investigation involved a truly impressive amount of vaping.
The emotional conclusion belongs to Stevie. RJ encourages him to enter rehab and promises that he will support him through recovery. It gives their prison connection a more meaningful payoff and allows RJ to repay the debt without pretending that he can solve Stevie's problems for him.
Emi also begins to move forward. After Catherine encourages RJ to reconnect with her, he visits Emi and helps repair her brother's car. Rather than immediately pushing their relationship in a romantic direction, RJ and Emi agree to be there for each other as friends. Given everything Emi has lost, that quieter ending feels more appropriate than forcing another dramatic development.
As an episode, RJ Decker season 2 episode 3 works because it balances a fairly ridiculous murder mystery with surprisingly grounded character moments. The pantless bank robbers, the vaping detective clue and the banana-and-walnut trail give the story a deliberately odd sense of humour, but the episode does not allow the jokes to completely swallow the more serious material.
The Stevie storyline is probably the strongest part. His history with RJ explains why the detective is willing to put himself in a difficult position, while Stevie's alcohol problem gives the episode something more substantial than another case-of-the-week mystery. RJ cannot magically fix him, and the decision to push him towards rehab is more believable because it leaves the actual recovery in Stevie's hands.
The Emi material is also handled with more patience than expected. She is dealing with the consequences of her father's actions while losing friends, watching the family business struggle and getting no answers about his death. Catherine initially approaches her awkwardly, but their conversation eventually gives Emi someone willing to listen. RJ helping with the car is similarly understated, and the decision to establish friendship rather than rush into romance gives the relationship room to develop.
The mystery itself is deliberately playful. Mr Big being revealed as Agent Clark works because the episode quietly gives viewers the clue before the reveal, with Clark's constant vaping and the unforgettable banana-and-walnut smell eventually becoming the giveaway. It is silly, but satisfyingly so.
The episode also gives Mel and Winswood something to work through beyond the central investigation. Their tension could easily have become repetitive, but the story uses it to explore insecurity and professional rivalry before bringing them back together when Winswood needs reassurance. Mel's decision to support her after the arrest gives their relationship a warmer edge.
Overall, episode 3 is an entertaining mix of detective work, prison loyalty, FBI friction and some wonderfully strange comedy. The case is wrapped up neatly, but Stevie's recovery and Emi's uncertain future leave enough emotional material for the season to keep developing. What did you make of the Agent Clark reveal, and do you think RJ and Emi are better off staying friends for now?