The Waterfront Recap: Hey, Let’s Have Fun

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Over the recent episodes, you might have puzzled over why Belle continues to stand by Harlan, given his efforts to revive their family’s illicit drug business. The rationale for her persistence becomes clear in episode four: She is drawn to it. She fully supports him and has several opportunities to exit the situation, yet she discards her most viable option – Wes and the beachfront property development. Despite urging from her son against labeling Harlan as a cold-hearted killer, she defends him. In private, she expresses apprehension about potential danger to Harlan or herself, but it seems that this fear excites her, as indicated by their passionate afternoon rendezvous following her confession. On the surface, Belle appears calm and careful, but her actions suggest a deeper fascination with this new venture, possibly even more so than Harlan himself.

Evidence continues to mount that Belle seems to take great pleasure in leading a criminal organization. The shift in Belle and Harlan’s relationship occurs following their joint effort to disguise the sheriff’s death, which they accomplished by hiding his body under a Chevy Chevelle after it was crushed by the vehicle. It’s like watching a man’s skull get squashed under his car after moving his lifeless body, making it appear as an accident. I personally found the sound of Clyde Porter’s body being crushed (for those who haven’t experienced Netflix’s closed captions yet, I highly recommend giving it a try) to be nauseating; Belle, on the other hand, seemed to find it arousing. After all, everyone has their peculiar tastes, but I do find it intriguing that The Waterfront insists on denying that Harlan and Belle are essentially two cunning psychopaths roaming Havenport.

The series doesn’t shy away from psychotic characters, either. Eventually, Harlan encounters the mastermind behind the scenes, Grady, who turns out to be an uncontrollable psychopath, but in an entertaining manner. Or, at least, a style that suits The Waterfront, given its lack of originality and edge. This show tries too hard to appear serious, but adding a touch of absurdity through Topher Grace’s character, Grady, gives it a new lease on life.

Grady is an avid admirer of Harlan Buckley. He also provides some additional details about Harlan’s father and his death: In the 1980s, Harlan’s father was a prominent figure in the California cartel and met a brutal end through torture. It’s already known that Bree witnessed this murder as a child. The individual who killed Mr. Buckley later committed suicide, hinting subtly, according to Grady.

Grady, who inherited his rural farm from his grandparents, works independently. He finds Harlan intriguing and hopes to collaborate with him. Grady emphasizes the importance of loyalty when speaking to Harlan. Harlan’s enthusiasm does not appeal to him, but after inspecting Grady’s operation—rich in opiates and on the verge of expanding his own supply—he proposes a partnership as long as Grady doesn’t interfere with his preferred management style. This, however, posed a significant challenge in the Harlan-Clyde partnership. But Harlan is firm—he intends to utilize his team and will not undertake more than two runs per week to avoid raising suspicions. He maintains control over his side of the business. Grady agrees to the deal, but his expression suggests a silent laugh at the idea that such an arrangement might be feasible.

Later on, Grady further explains Stevie’s facial expression by delving into his past involvement with both Harlan and Clyde. You may recall Stevie as the fellow who introduced Harlan to Grady, but prior to that, Stevie had been an employee of Clyde. An interesting turn of events occurred when Stevie confronted Harlan at Clyde’s funeral, as he was aware that Harlan had murdered his former boss.

Grady then summoned Stevie and playfully coerced him to confess his derogatory remarks about Harlan, implying that Harlan should be the one to succeed Clyde. Grady presented Harlan with an opportunity: he could either execute Stevie immediately or give him a chance to work for him instead. Intriguingly, Stevie accepted the offer and fled across Grady’s fields. As I mentioned earlier, Stevie exhibited quite the reckless character.

Grady authorized his men to act as they normally would, which resulted in them riddling Stevie’s body with bullets from a machine gun, causing some of his limbs to detach. To put it bluntly, Grady is clearly a psychopath, and Harlan realizes that he has no chance of escape now. Grady’s parting words, “Let’s have fun,” may very well be the most genuine and perilous threat Harlan has encountered since embarking on this endeavor.

Cane’s under such tension, you’d think his head might pop any second. Considering his state, it’s unlikely he’ll handle meeting Grady smoothly. However, for the moment, Cane has more pressing issues at hand. He finds Bree in a friendly conversation with her DEA agent and confronts her. The situation could easily deescalate if Cane shared some information about his current predicament with Bree, but the Buckleys never seem to make things simple. Instead, he scolds her for being reckless, and their pent-up emotions spill over. Bree accuses Cane of being the reason she lost custody of her child due to his court testimony. Interestingly, she thinks that was what led to her downfall. However, Cane gently points out, if you recall, she had set fire to a house with her son inside it. Bree’s swift response, “I got him out!”, cracks me up.

Cane consistently leaves me astonished as a character, despite his ordinary appearance suggesting otherwise. Among all the Buckleys, it appears he’s the one with the genuine moral compass. His outburst at Bree for accepting responsibility for her actions isn’t unfounded. Her retort is to tell him to stay silent instead. Now, she wants him to face consequences. He won’t be going to jail, she says, because he’s the favored one, but she wishes to see him humbled a bit. It’s not surprising that Bree takes this stance, given our knowledge that her parents prioritize loyalty over accountability as well.

I didn’t spill all the beans, but Cane did hint to me that my scheme with the DEA agent isn’t just going to affect him – it will impact the entire family. We’re all in this together, and our parents could end up in trouble too. Everything we own is at risk. He didn’t explicitly say that our dad killed Clyde, but I got the message loud and clear. I really messed up!

When Bree talks to her mom about feeling left out of the family and wishing she were seen as an ally because she thinks they’re responsible for her working with the DEA, it seems like she’s trying to shift the blame. If only we had been more included, then I wouldn’t have snitched on us. It would be great if Cane could yell at me about taking responsibility again!

Fortunately, she doesn’t have to discuss her argument with Cane again; we can see that her brother has reached her because she goes to Marcus’s hotel room, trying to mislead him. However, it’s already too late. Due to the poor investigation into Clyde’s death, Marcus is now more certain than ever that the Buckleys are involved in something, and he plans to expose them to save his career. Unfortunately for Bree, she can’t take back what she’s done.

It seems that Peyton’s concerns might also apply to Cane’s other issue – his marriage troubles. The chemistry between Cane and Jenna, evident during their boozy high-school double date, is something that can’t be ignored, even by Peyton. She yearns for transparency from her husband; she wants him to open up about Jenna and about the issues within his family. Her actions, such as suggesting a sexual act at Clyde’s funeral or threatening to leave for her parents’ home in Durham, are attempts to assert herself and seek honesty. However, these tactics don’t seem to be working. Cane remains tight-lipped about the real goings-on at the fish house and fails to reassure Peyton of his love. In response, Peyton takes their daughter and leaves town. Kudos to her for standing up for herself!

Since Cane is too predictable, he goes to tell Jenna that he doubts they can continue seeing each other. It’s a bit confusing because on one hand, he seems to want to end things, but then tries to kiss her. However, Jenna is very mindful of Peyton and maintains distance from Cane due to her loyalty. Jenna is a true friend! She’s making a smart decision by keeping her distance from Cane as there are many innocent individuals surrounding the Buckleys – Jenna, Peyton, Shawn – and now with Grady involved, the risk of unintentional harm has significantly increased. So, are we enjoying the drama yet?

Bait & Tackle

It’s important to show respect during funerals. If you’re planning on performing an intimate act, it would be more appropriate to do so in a private setting instead, given that someone has just passed away.

As a movie enthusiast, I found myself utterly baffled when my mother suddenly backed out of the land deal with Wes, a decision that seemed like the perfect solution to our financial woes. Intrigued and determined, I decided to arrange a meeting with him personally. To my surprise, Wes remained eager for the business partnership, but it took multiple instances of me explaining our intimate past before I started to grasp the complexity of the situation at hand.

After they’ve shared an intimate moment, Belle confides in Harlan about Shawn. The initial interaction between father and son under these circumstances is surprisingly amicable. Shawn needs to swiftly depart from Havenport, but he seems drawn to both Harlan and Belle. It’s clear that he’ll eventually become entangled in the family affairs, making it hard for him to escape. Hurry up, Shawn! Flee back to your partner and your legal career!

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2025-06-20 23:54