For the record, I’m still in denial that we’ve just witnessed the season finale of this series.
It feels like we just got RJ Decker, and now it’s signing off, leaving us craving a renewal and maybe a super-sized second season. The series has been this delightful slice of quirky fun and escapism, and I’m not ready to let go of that just yet.
But after RJ Decker Season 1 Episode 9, my mind is reeling: the good guys won this battle, yet that shocking ending suggests things go far beyond just Victor Ochoa!
It’s impressive how much RJ Decker is able to pack into a single episode, and the season finale gave us a motherload to explore.
By the end of the hour, two people were dead, and RJ, with the help of his friends, successfully solved THREE murders.
That’s not bad for a day or a day and a half’s work, right?
The first case was interesting because it seemed critical to figuring out what started all of this. We headed back to the beginning with the opener, showcasing just what transpired and how RJ went to prison.
He was the one who reacted to Lucas stealing his camera and punching him, and RJ even called the cops, but because of who Lucas was, they arrested RJ right away, and he went straight to jail. “Do not pass Go.”
But Lucas was deliberately going after RJ to steal his photos because he was under Victor’s direction, and they feared something incriminating was in the pictures. It was as simple as that.
RJ’s entire life was turned upside down for two years because he was in the “wrong place and the wrong time” when he crossed paths with Victor and his bad dealings.
It prompted RJ and the others to look into the case of Peter, the murder investigation that RJ had taken pictures of in the first place.
That entire case had nothing to do with Victor or any of his cohorts at all, but was instead a case of Peter’s husband murdering him and feeling guilty about it for so long that he copped to it when Mel and the others questioned him.
Solving that case so quickly was a surprise until we dove right into another murder, Jessica, an architect whose death was initially ruled a suicide, largely thanks to Ochoa and his connections.
The real reason they thought RJ had something was because his photos revealed that Ray’s car was at the scene of another death, and so was Bruce, the guy whom Victor sent Ray to clean up after.
It was actually quite the surprise that it wasn’t Ochoa who wanted Jessica dead but rather Bruce.
Ochoa was just covering for Bruce and racking up leverage he could use because that’s basically how he’s been able to run the town and get people to do his bidding.
I did love that it demystified Ochoa a bit, and they also added in the element that will likely come up next season: Ochoa wasn’t the most powerful player on this board; he was working for a bigger fish.
It makes all the sense in the world. Someone with the type of connections that he did doesn’t secure those without working with some pretty bad people or looking the other way.
So I imagine that assuming RJ Decker gets a renewal, next season we may have to delve into whether or not Ochoa was working for a criminal organization or the cartel.
He could instill fear in people, but it has to be more about who he has access to than about him alone.
It makes sense that he was going after Cath, too, because he was likely fearful that she would stumble upon things or have information about the Jessica murder or something else entirely.
The crazy thing is that RJ wouldn’t even have looked into Ochoa or had him on his radar if paranoia and overreach hadn’t prevailed.
For me, it was most shocking that they couldn’t actually dig up much dirt on Ochoa directly. Ochoa kept Emi out of most of the dirty dealings, and apparently, the man left little of a paper trail, which was smart.
It makes me more curious than ever about his dealings and what else he has, or rather had, going on if they couldn’t pin much of anything on him.
Even taking him down felt futile if he’d likely just buy his way out of things, and the case against him was too flimsy.
The only way to have ever built the perfect case against Ochoa would’ve been if Ray was still alive and turned on him. Bruce killing Ray was definitely a move that helped Ochoa as much as it did him.
Initially, I didn’t think Ray would be capable of turning on Ochoa. But he was especially pissed off that Ochoa’s inability to be a halfway decent father to his children was what was causing them so much grief in the first place.
He knew that burning Lucas’ boat was a step too far for both the Ochoa kids and that Victor’s attempt to keep Emi under his thumb to the point of her not even being able to find love would backfire.
And then he was there to give up the thumb drive information as he died.
It was actually sad to see Ray go out like that in the end, and my Wish-loving heart swelled another two sizes when he was right there, trying to save Ray and being with him in his last moments.
Wish’s ability to see people for who they are, with little judgment, continues to make him one of the series’ best characters.
He’s a generally trustworthy person whom you’d want on your side, which is why it works out so well that he can walk the line, appealing to criminals, broken souls, and law enforcement alike.
This finale was so great because we had Wish and everyone coming together to help RJ out in this “war” against Victor Ochoa.
It was finally putting RJ’s family and the people he cares about in the same setting, focused on the same goal, and it’s always great when we have team-ups like that.
For Emi, it was nice to see her getting to interact with RJ’s circle more and slowly become part of it.
They were as determined to help her and ensure her safety as they were RJ, and something tells me ht Emi doesn’t have great friends like that.
It’s probably one of the many reasons she’s drawn to RJ in the first place. He’s introduced her to what people can be like when they’re genuine and good-hearted. It’s something Lucas has picked up on, too.
He was shocked that RJ was there apologizing to him when he should’ve been doing the same.
But he also said he wouldn’t apologize for what he did because he felt RJ was in a dark enough place where if he hadn’t landed in jail, then something terrible could’ve happened.
I’m not so sure how I felt about that part of their interaction. It’s irritating that someone could attempt to put a positive spin on this undeserved moment in RJ’s life.
Sure, it led him to Wish, and he’s doing well for himself since then, but that’s just a hell of a thing to suggest.
Nevertheless, he was instrumental in them getting some of the information they needed to piece everything together, thanks to his keeping the SD card from the camera’s photos.
And he’s another character on this series whom I’d like to see explored more in the second season.
RJ Decker has been a fun, beachy, entertaining watch, but the first season barely had time to put its back into developing these characters and exploring their dynamics, so I definitely need more of that.
And we don’t know quite as much about Emi as I’d hoped, but what we do know is that she’s down bad for RJ and seems to gravitate toward the sincerity he possesses, which she didn’t have in her life before.
You can see the small ways RJ is good for Emi. I wish RJ Decker delved into their relationship a bit more to really get a feel for the layers within it. There’s still this enigmatic quality to Emi that comes from not really getting to know her.
And the way these two gravitate to each other is interesting, but it’d be stronger if we could understand more of the “why” behind them and didn’t rest so exclusively on Scott Speedman and Jaina Lee Ortiz having chemistry.
Now, their indefinable relationship can be in flux whenever she learns that her father is dead. It was one thing for him to go to prison. Emi expected that and was working towards that.
And it was a big enough step for her to actively work to put her own father in prison. But she still loved the man. He’s still her dad. So she’ll be inconsolable when she finds out someone murdered him.
No matter how you slice it, it’ll feel like she turned her back on her own father for a man, and love, and that’s a guilt that she’ll have to reconcile with, assuming she won’t become a suspect in his murder.
Victor’s death poses a new problem and more uncertainty for RJ, Emi, and the others.
One minute, RJ was sitting in jail, gloating to Victor after the man tried to send him back to jail again, and the next, Victor was floating in his pool after someone shot or stabbed him, I couldn’t tell which.
But it suggests that Victor wasn’t the head of the snake, so to speak, and that whoever else came for him. It means RJ and Emi can be in danger, too.
So, RJ did win his battle against Victor Ochoa, but a war may be brewing with some unknown entity, and that’s a cliffhanger that leaves you with something to ponder.
Over to you, RJ Decker Fanatics! Who Killed Victor Ochoa? What would you want to see in the second season? Hit the comments below!
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