A Conspiracy of Ravens

**"A Conspiracy of Ravens"** was the fourth episode of the first season of *Joe Pickett*. Though originally broadcast on Spectrum Streaming in the fall of 2021, its Paramount+ re-debut was in May 2022.

## Synopsis

Joe enjoys newfound praise after dispatching the presumed murderer, but he isn't convinced the investigation is over. Someone is attempting to clean up all the loose ends.

## Plot Summary

A police helicopter searches around Crazy Woman Creek for Joe Pickett, Deputy McLanahan, and Wacey Hedeman. The helicopter pilot drops Sheriff Barnum at the campsite, where the bodies of Kyle and Calvin were discovered. Wacey tells Barnum that Joe killed Clyde Lidgard in a shootout. He questions why it was necessary to shoot Clyde five times. Wacey explains it was him or us. Clyde has an old gunshot wound several days old. Barnum describes Clyde as a “town creep.” He says the suspects probably shot each other while hunting out of season.

In a flashback, Joe visits Clyde while he takes pictures of the intestines of a dead deer. Joe gives him a warning and orders him to report dead deer from now on. He looks back to see Clyde slowly falling to the ground.

Marybeth fell asleep while reviewing Nate’s case file. She receives a call from a woman to alert her of Joe’s condition. A nurse treats his wound. She asks if her friends can meet him. He smiles when she tells him, the locals see him as a local celebrity. Vern brags about Joe’s ability to change his reputation in just one move. He doesn’t feel like a hero and believes there is more to the story. Rumors claim Clyde took pictures of his penis. Vern encourages Pickett to accept the win and not go looking for trouble. He may not be so lucky the next time. InterWest Resources may be hiring at three times more than game wardens are currently paid. Joe refuses the offer.

Marybeth arrives as Vern is leaving. She sees a nurse feeding Joe jello. She scolds him for not calling her to say he is okay. She angrily eats his jello and disagrees with Vern’s hero statement. She hops in the bed with Joe and breaks down sobbing.

Opal Scarlett and her sons, Arlen and Hank Scarlett meet with Vern in a local restaurant to discuss JOe Pickett. He can handle Joe. She disagrees, “You couldn’t handle your own dick.” He hits the table, telling them to back off. He promises no more loose ends.

Sheridan plays with weasels near the firewood pile when Lucy approaches. She threatens to tell Joe about the weasels if Sheridan doesn’t let her name them. They call off a few names. Sheridan has been teaching the weasels tricks.

On the ride home, Joe tries to figure out why Clyde was at Crazy Woman Creek. Nate told the police Ote was with Kyle and Calvin. He didn’t mention Clyde. Joe thinks it is odd but no one else seems to. Marybeth questions if he thinks Clyde killed Kyle and Calvin, not Nate. She says Nate picked her to be his attorney. Joe doesn’t like the idea. She isn’t happy about him getting shot in the face. As he enters the house, Lucy asks for some popcorn, and Missy asks for coffee. Marybeth is worried about Sheridan’s odd behavior. He agrees to talk to her. Sheridan greets him with a hug and asks about his face. He caught the bad guys, and they are now safe.

Joe makes a call to the Wyoming Game & Fish Headquarters to get the samples of a scat sample. Les Etbauer takes the phone. He denies receiving the scat sample. Wacey arrives with his truck and horse. He can’t get the shooting out of his head. It was his first time shooting someone. If he got shot, no one would cry. Joe feels the same. Wacey feels bad about killing Clyde until he thinks about it. He would do it again, with the right opportunity.

Joe visits the sheriff’s department to speak with Romanowski. Cricket tells Joe, Nate is not in the system. She gives Joe a sandwich for Nate. Pickett questions what he is up to, sending up to Crazy Woman Creek and asking Marybeth to be his attorney. He threatens to kill anyone who hurts Marybeth. Nate thinks Clyde is an escape goat. He asks Joe to feed his falcons.

Joe has a flashback of Clyde with a rifle while removing his bandage.

Vern performs live at Deer Days Joe Joe arrives with his family. McLanahan is running a gun safety booth for the sheriff’s department. Joe asks him about the scat sample, which he admits to sending. The nurse from the hospital greets Joe. McLanahan whispers under his breath, he hates Joe. Everyone claps when Vern recognizes Pickett. He meets Sheriff Barnum at the coffee booth. He asks about his plans for Romanowski. The locals have never seen Romanowski with Clyde. Sheriff Barnum believes Clyde killed Kyle and Calvin and Romanowski killed Ote. Romanowski was caught with the weapon that killed Ote. He recommends not letting Marybeth be his attorney. Scarlett listens to their conversation.

Mitch tells Marybeth he doesn’t think Clyde killed Kyle and Calvin. He was afraid of the boogeyman, not a predator. Marybeth finds April sitting by her dad’s, Ote’s horse. She is selling her horse because her mom says they can’t feed him. Marybeth offers to board her horse for free. InterWest Resources donates a playground in Saddlestring. Pickett and Wacey take a picture with Vern. Missy greets McLanahan. Wacey gets on the stage and tells the crowd Sheriff Barnum didn’t want to go up to Crazy Woman Creek. He announces his big for sheriff. Marybeth discovers Lucy is missing.

Lucy meets Julie at the goat pen. Julie says she is too “country weird” when Lucy asks to get picked for a contest. Lucy tells her about the weasels that are supposed to be a secret. Arlen approaches and asks about her pet when Pickett arrives. Arlen introduces himself to Pickett and invites Sheridan and Lucy to ride on their float. Pickett seems worried. Pickett has a flashback of Clyde while talking to Marybeth about the Crazy Woman Creek incident. He tells Marybeth, Clyde looked like a scared deer. Sheriff Barnum may be involved in the scheme. She suggests checking out Clyde’s trailer.

They arrive at Clyde’s place. She looks at the place and says maybe he did do it. The trailer is filled with nude pictures of women, dead deer, Clyde’s penis.

Sheridan climbs out the window to visit the weasels at the woodpile while a man watches from the distance. A woman calls Pickett to tell him, the scat sample arrived on Tuesday and disappeared. She says to forget about the package when Clyde’s trailer explodes. Marybeth got out of the trailer just in time. She found a picture of Pickett in Clyde’s trailer. A vehicle drives off in the distance as the episode comes to an end.

## Cast

### Main

* Michael Dorman as Joe Pickett
* Julianna Guill as Marybeth Pickett
* Sharon Lawrence as Missy Vankeuren
* Paul Sparks as Wacey Hedeman
* Mustafa Speaks as Nate Romanowski
* Skywalker Hughes as Sheridan Pickett
* Kamryn Pilva as Lucy Pickett
* David Alan Grier as Vern Dunnegan

### Recurring

* Patrick Gallagher as Sheriff Barnum
* Chad Rook as Deputy Kyle McLanahan
* Judith Buchan as Opal Scarlett
* Aadila Dosani as Cricket Ludlow
* Brendan Fletcher as Arlen Scarlett
* Roger LeBlanc as Hank Scarlett
* Jacqueline Robbins as Violet Bouvier
* Joyce Robbins as Vivian Bouvier
* Mark Bellamy as Mitch
* Diego Diablo Del Mar as Oliver Lopez
* Vivienne Guynn as April Keeley
* David Haysom as Clyde Lidgard
* Faith Louissant as Clerk
* Evie Marsten as Julie Scarlett
* Melanee Murray as Valerie
* Heather Pattengale as Flirtatious Nurse
* Blair Young as Les Etbauer