‘Longmire’ season 4, episode 7 review: Walt tackles (and struggles with) forgiveness

Seven episodes into “Longmire” season 4, and the show is still tackling deep, psychological issues. In the seventh episode “Highway Robbery,” Walt Longmire was having a hard time dealing with one key question: How does he handle not feeling guilty over something that he should feel very guilty over? Killing someone is a deep, terrifying thing, and yet he feels it was justified after what Barlow did to his wife and to Branch.

This is a man trying to seek forgiveness through the unforgivable. You can argue that he had no other choice, and the FBI cleared him of wrongdoing. Yet, taking a life is a ghost. It haunts you, and it continues to do so well beyond the point where you think it would stop. This is where he looked to find a way to allow himself to move forward, and interestingly Dr. Donna Sue Monahan is at the crossroads of what he both wants and needs. She is someone who can help him thanks to her training, and yet he has a romantic interest in her as well.

While we have not seen much in the way of reciprocation on her end, this feels very much like a story the show has every intention of exploring. Donna is a complex character in her own right, and someone who doesn’t seem to want to be involved with someone so deeply conflicted away from work. Yet, she did still hear him through on multiple occasions, including when Cady called her out to see him in the middle of nowhere.

We feel like this episode was a huge step forward for the Cady character, at least when it comes to her journey to help those in need. After failing to secure a high-paying job, she just wants to feel like she is helping after what happened with Gabrielle. That’s why she went to Mathias in an effort to be closer to the people at the reservation, and serve as a new source of help for them. This coincides interestingly with Henry’s own undercover work as Hector, who is still trying to hunt down the men responsible after getting a letter to do so in episode 6.

The stories for Cady and Henry were woven together nicely. Do we still wish there was more for Vic to do? Certainly, and the procedural element of this story regarding the murder on the road was a little too obvious in the way of a suspect. This episode was also extremely long, clocking nearly an hour and ten minutes. There were probably a few scenes that could’ve been trimmed down.

As a whole, “Highway Robbery” was best when tackling the notion of grief and what you should feel after tragedy per the standards of those around you. Robert Taylor continues to be brilliantly understated as the season is entering the home stretch. Grade: B.

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