Aahana Swrup
In ‘The Waterfront,’ the stakes continue to rise through the roof for the Buckley family, who find themselves wedged between a rock and a hard place. Harlan’s new partnership with Grady has its own benefits. However, the latter’s intense personality and dangerous disposition threaten to put everyone on his radar, including the Buckley family, in a tough spot. On the other hand, Marcus, the DEA Agent investigating the family fishery business’s shady practices, gets closer than ever to unraveling the entire operation. Naturally, this creates complications for Bree, his girlfriend, who has steadily begun regretting her decision to snoop around her brother’s suspicious trade matters. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Marcus Finds Incriminating Evidence Against Harlan
Porter’s unintended death seems to have opened up a whole new ballpark for DEA Agent Marcus Sanchez. Previously, he could only build his case against the information that Bree was able to smuggle to him. However, he can now snoop around the former Sheriff’s death to gain some leverage for himself. Fortunately for him, in the authorities’ sloppy attempts at brushing off Porter’s death for the Buckleys’ benefit, they accidentally levae behind some damning evidence. As it turns out, the Sheriff had a security CCTV system installed in his front yard. As a result, Marcus manages to get his hands on footage of Harlan and Belle arriving from and leaving Porter’s house within hours of his death.
Since the footage contradicts the Buckleys’ previous statement about Porter’s death, it can effectively be used as evidence to go against them. Nonetheless, Marcus isn’t interested in doing any such thing. He doesn’t actually care about Porter’s death and just wants to catch the family for their drug smuggling operation. Therefore, he pays Harlan a visit and gives him the option of giving up his supplier in exchange for the footage. Soon enough, Bree attempts to talk the federal agent into dropping his entire investigation. Nonetheless, their relationship only muddles the situation further, and Marcus remains unmoved in his decision.
Grady Visits the Buckley Fish House
After Marcus makes it clear that he’s coming after Harlan and his family, they naturally grow more vigilant around the more illegal side of their business. For the same reason, Grady’s unannounced visit to the Fishery causes everyone to grow more alert. If his boisterous and loud personality isn’t concerning enough, none of the Buckleys are keen to associate themselves with the drug lord. Inevitably, when Grady senses their lack of warm enthusiasm, he grows agitated. However, a business call takes him and Harlan away from the fishery.
Apparently, the new Sheriff, Drew, who is in Harlan’s pocket, mistakenly pulled over one of Grady’s trucks. The drug lord is inclined toward killing the man for the plight. Nonetheless, the Fish House owner is less than eager to kill his own cousin’s husband, especially given his value to the entire operation. Consequently, he manages to change Grady’s mind, allowing Drew to walk away with his life. If anything, this instance brings the stark differences between the two men out in the open.
Bree Crashes Out But Gets the Job Done
Although Cane keeps his sister’s secret from their parents, he doesn’t hold back his own judgment of her actions. Bree’s boyfriend is now directly coming after her family, and there’s little anyone can do about it. The young Buckley is already carrying a world of guilt with her for ruining her marriage and relationship with her son, Diller, due to her substance abuse problems. Therefore, the fact that she may have ruined her parents’ and brothers’ lives too, while completely sober, becomes too much for her to handle. As a result, she inevitably finds herself finding a moment of peace at the bottom of a bottle.
Furthermore, Bree also finds herself returning to Marcus. The duo has been a great support to each other’s sobriety journeys ever since they met in rehab. Thus, when she greets him with alcohol and hard drugs, it’s only a matter of time before he relapses as well. Consequently, when Harlan breaks into the DEA Agent’s motel room, ready to kill him, he’s met with the sight of Marcus already dead from an overdose. Shortly afterward, Cane finds his sister passed out on a nearby road, coming down from a terrible high.
Cane and Bree Mend Their Relationship
Marcus’ death via overdose comes as an insane stroke of luck for the Buckleys. With the DEA Agent gone, Harlan won’t have to worry about Porter’s death coming back to haunt him and his operation. However, Cane is one of the only ones who knows the price Bree paid for this twist of fate. The morning after Marcus’ death, the latter finds herself waking up in her brother’s house, recently vacated by his wife and daughter. Even though her actions have saved her family, she carries immense guilt for driving her boyfriend to his death.
When Bree had first shown up on Marcus’ door with drugs, she only intended to gather blackmail evidence rather than contribute to the agent’s death. As she tells her brother about the same, it also leads to the uncovering of old wounds, such as their grandfather’s death. As it turns out, Bree had been at her grandfather’s house the night of his death. Although she witnessed the entire brutal event from inside a locked closet, her mother compelled her to lie to the law enforcement officers to keep their family safe from the incident. Nonetheless, it also resulted in instilling feelings of isolation and guilt within her daughter.
Grady Takes Diller Hunting
Grady’s previous disastrous visit to the Fish house doesn’t stop him from dropping by the place again the next day. This time, he arrives with some cash and a demand. He wants Harlan to do an impromptu run for him in the middle of the day, interrupting his legitimate business flow. The latter, who has learned many lessons about drug running in his youth, remains against this idea. Naturally, this doesn’t sit well with the drug lord, who isn’t used to taking no for an answer. As a result, he decides to resort to more extreme measures. On his previous visit, Grady had managed to befriend Diller, Bree’s son, who is working with the Buckleys over the summer.
Therefore, Grady uses this past meeting to compel Diller to tag along with him for a hunt, convincing him that his grandfather will be following after. Therefore, it isn’t long before Harlan plays along and meets up with his business partner, who is increasingly becoming more of a problem. Surprisingly, once the two men meet up and hunt together, to keep the pretense going for Diller, they manage to come to an understanding. However, all that progress gets undone fast when Grady accidentally shoots Diller, while inexpertly aiming for a bird in the sky.
Shawn Learns More About the Buckleys
In the aftermath of the hunting accident, Harlan manages to get Diller to a hospital in time to save him. In fact, the doctors assure the family that the young boy has only suffered a minor injury. Nonetheless, Belle remains firm in her belief that Grady is bad news for the family. For the same reason, she loses her cool when she sees the man outside the hospital premises with flowers and a fake smile. As a result, she ends up punching Grady right on the nose. Naturally, this ruffles his feathers, and he’s prepared to unleash his fury on the woman.
Nevertheless, Shawn, an apparent black belt in Taekwondo, manages to step in and save the day at the last moment. Even so, once Shawn and Belle manage to run away from the scene, the latter remains cagey toward his queries about the Buckley family. Shawn knows enough about the Havenport family to know the stories surrounding their drug operations. Therefore, it’s only a matter of time before the truth reveals itself to him. Meanwhile, Grady takes out his anger about the incident on Harlan by ambushing him inside his own Fish House. Late into the night, the drug dealer tortures Harlan with jellyfish stings, sending a clear message to the Buckley family.
Read More: The Waterfront Episode 3 and 4 Recap: Playing With Fire and You Can’t Trust a Buckley
