'Moonshiners' Season 9 Episode 2 highlights yet again the dangers of making illegal moonshine as Tickle reminds Tim of this being 'tradition'
In the season 9 premiere of Discovery Channel's 'Moonshiners', Tickle and Tim spend time looking for a decent spot hidden deep inside the woods for a still site. But their challenges are different this time around.
In the moonshine capital of the world, Franklin County, Virginia, Tickle and Tim find themselves in the same age-old dilemma - the dangers of making moonshine. The duo finds themselves discussing the pros and cons of legal and illegal moonshine with Tim particularly pointing out to Tickle's recent brush with the law.
Tim points out that while he understands Tickle's urge to make moonshine, he doesn't really side with it. "I look at you doing something you love doing... It's like a drug," adding that he gets it, but doesn't exactly get it. At the same time, both of them are fully aware of what is at stake if things go south this spring. But Tickle is adamant and wants to remind Tim of his roots, of a time before he started making legal moonshine; because as Tickle points out - this is a tradition, this is who they are. And that legal moonshine, according to Tickle, is not as good as the one from the woods.
Franklin County has been known since the time of the Prohibition as the moonshine capital of the world. Tickle feels that Tim needs to be reminded of where he came from but at the same time, he doesn't exactly wish to draw him away from his legal business. And so they stop to meet Perry and Berkley Whitlock, fellow moonshiners, for a good old session nestled deep in the picturesque woods of Franklin County.
Together, the four discuss being caught in between passing on the legacy to their children and the dangers associated with it. "You want your kids to know it, but not make it. I'd hate seeing one of my kids go to jail," Perry adds sadly. The dilemma is a real one.
Simultaneously, in Cocke County, now that Mark and Digger finally successfully reverse-engineered Popcorn Sutton's multi-grain recipe, look for a still site to produce large-scale runs. Their miscellaneous adventures in this episode include turning cowboys for some runaway cattle. But there is also a little heartwarming scene when the duo shows up with four boxes of their recent batch at Daniel's house to help him out. In the previous episode, it was revealed that Daniel was seriously injured and it had begun to make Mike impatient.
A grateful Daniel points out that despite knowing how injured he is, Mike didn't even pay him a visit while Mark and Digger did - helping him get by this season because if he is not moonshining, he is not making money. The episode reflected a sense of brotherhood and community.
Mike seeks the help of a hired hand Jerry to help him build his massive project up the hill. They spend the episode building staircases, camouflaging them in the wild and Mike slipping multiple times. We weirdly did not see any Josh this episode. Last week, the site he had picked turned out to be weak. Will we see him next week?
'Moonshiners' airs on Tuesdays at 9 pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel. You can watch the new season as well as the previous seasons on Discovery Go.