As Gator mourns his brother the police arrive, leading to the climactic car chase through dirt roads and cornfields. Gator takes out the support cop cars one at a time, until only he and Connors remain. Gator lures Connors into a final chase that ends with the sheriff's car jumping into a lake. Bubbles appear on the surface as Connor's hat floats to the top. White Lightning closes with a funeral and parade for Connors, who is given a hero's send off.
Gator watches for a while, then walks away.
Burt Reynolds is excellent as Gator, portraying him as a man caught between his family and the law, between tradition and the hippies, desperately trying to do the right thing. Reynolds is able to show Gator's rage and determination in certain scenes, such as when he taunts Connors behind the wheel of his snitchmobile, then express loss and sorrow heartbreakingly a scene later. And if you call him a stool pigeon, he'll punch ya. Ned Beatty also does a superb job as Sheriff Connors, bringing a nuanced characterization to a role that could easily have degenerated into Boss Hogg-flavored parody or melodramatic evil. Copyright 1998-2001, Keith Allison and Teleport City Heavy Industries.