'American Rust' Episode 5: Del Harris visited by old friend amid hunt for Bobby Jesus
Four episodes in and 'American Rust' continues to explore characters' backstories and how it plays into the actions that often come back to haunt them. As Del Harris (Jeff Daniels) tries his best to prove Billy's (Alex Neustaedter) innocence, his past steps in the way of work, proving that he can never truly separate his personal life from his professional one.
Episode 5 of 'American Rust, 'Jojo Ameri-Go', sees Del Harris stuck in a race against time. With the district attorney out to arrest Billy, Harris is now on a frantic manhunt to find Bobby, as he still believes there is more the situation than what he knows. Meanwhile, Issac (David Alvarez) and JoJo's (Nicole Williams) friendship takes a sour turn, while Lee finds herself coming to Billy's aid, despite asking him to stay away from her and her family.
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As Dell delves deeper into the case, he finds himself hot on Bobby's (William Apps) tail, as he believes he is the key to exonerating Billy. Seeing that he found opioids at the crime scene, he begins to suspect that Bobby has been lacing his drugs with Methamphetamine. He roughs up an old informant and an active user who sets Harris on a trail to sniff out Bobby. Harris eventually gets a call about a couple who overdosed at the son's baseball game and goes in to question them. The wife, Melaine, who agrees to talk to the cops, insists that their drug use has only been restricted to cocaine, although her test reports say otherwise. When asked about who her supplier was, she said that her husband typically never took her along while buying drugs; however, this time, he did, and the man they brought the cocaine from looked like 'god'. When Harris showed her a photo, she identified Bobby and where they met, promoting Harris to continue his search.
Meanwhile, Issac and JoJo continue to scam their way to Nevada. However, during a game of gamble with other drifters, one of them points out that JoJo's phone, the one she's been using to talk to her partner Joe, is not functional, implying that JoJo has been making Zoe up. Issac senses a shift in her behaviour and tries to ease the situation by talking about how he was in love with Bobby since high school, and seeing him with Lee was the final straw that caused him to run. The conversation has no real effect on JoJo, who abandons Issac, forcing him to prostitute himself for money, seeing that he now has nowhere or no one to go to.
Virgil tries to encourage Billy to run away to Canada, but he refuses, determined to face his problems. Lee (Julia Mayorga) visits a lawyer in an attempt to help him, desperate to find a way to save them both. However, that proves impossible. She tries to buy herself more time in Buell, only to have her husband come from New York to see her. It complicates things even further, seeing that Lee still cares deeply for Billy.
On the other hand, despite his hunt for Bobby, Harris runs out of time and eventually turns Billy in. Grace (Maura Tierney) reassures her son that no matter what the situation, she will stick by his side, reminding him that they deserve happiness just as much as anyone else. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, seeing that Harris is greeted by Chuck, his old Pittsburgh PD partner, whom he hasn't spoken to in 10 years. As Chuck explains it, he's here to collect an 'old debt', a request that leaves Harris visibly stressed.
What do you think the debt is? Does it have to do with the old case where Harris and other Pittsburgh cops took the law into their own hands? Sound off below!
'American Rust' airs on Sundays at 10 pm ET/PT on Showtime.
