‘Shiptober: Will ‘Longmire’ season 5 bring Walt and Vic closer together?
For our latest entry in our daily CarterMatt ‘Shiptober’ series, we’re focusing on a TV show that is a fan favorite here at CarterMatt, and while it has not been renewed yet for a fifth season, we are trying to take an optimistic approach with this article. We know the fan support is there, and a renewal will mostly come down to whether or not Netflix is seeing the numbers that it wants.
We’re not here to discuss renewal possibilities, so much as we are here to look at some of the romantic variables that could come up for Walt Longmire on the series moving forward. This show is not a romance in any shape or form; as a matter of fact, we barely tiptoed into those waters with Walt and Donna Sue Monahan at the end of season 4 after the case of Martha Longmire was resolved. They don’t want to sully her memory with any pairing that they put on the screen, and it is an exercise in care to make sure that they handle it the right way and don’t detract from the mystery as a whole.
Now that we’ve said all of that, Walt and Vic in our minds are the real will-they-or-won’t-they couple of the series. Vic made her interest clear at the beginning of season 4, and her confrontation with him near the end of our binge-watch came as a result of him suddenly putting her at arm’s length. The mixed signals were confusing her, and while we don’t think she is entirely in love with him (she was interested for a time in Eamonn following her divorce), there’s enough interest there to make it a factor in her interactions with him.
So should something change in the relationship between these two for season 5? Let’s go ahead and lay out the case both ways.
The case for Walt and Vic – Let’s go ahead and assume that Dr. Monahan isn’t up to anything shady, which is something we are still considering after she was less-than-forthcoming about the car fire prior to the shocking end of season 4. Even if she is innocent, she is still not a character we have some deep attachment for thanks to her only being around for a handful of episodes. We’ve already seen the Walt and Vic dynamic for a few years, and there are many reasons why they are good together. Both want the same thing out of work, neither is particularly interested in notoriety or technology, and they know each other backwards and forwards. Also, just imagine the sort of stories that could come out of these two being together; “Longmire” is great at drama, but its comedy helps it to stand apart from the rest of the competition.
The case against Walt and Vic – The primary problem is that both Walt and Vic suffer from the same weakness: They are not that in touch with their feelings. It took everything in the world for Walt to ask Donna Sue out, and when it comes to Vic, most of her attempts to admit to some sort of feelings have failed to land. If these two cannot admit to any feelings or struggle with crossing the office-romance barrier, it’s not going to work out. We’re just not sure either will be willing to take the leap, and if Dr. Monahan is innocent of any wrongdoing moving into season 5, how do you split that relationship up? Walt could be happy with her.