Banshee Recap: “Wicks”

Banshee Recap: “Wicks”
Original Air Date (Cinemax): Friday January 15, 2013
Season 1 Episode 6

by Julianne Snow:

This episode of Banshee, titled ‘Wicks’ begins with a flashback of Lucas in prison as he is being awakened by the guards and taken to the laundry room. In the laundry, he is met by Rabbit, who wants to know where the diamonds and his daughter are. When Lucas doesn’t give him the information, Rabbit lets him know that each and every moment he spends in prison will be full of suffering and torture for what he did. As Rabbit turns to leave, Lucas is approached by two inmates who beat him for a short while. Once that beating is over, a man they call the Albino steps forward to deliver more pain. Lucas’ hand is broken in much the same move he used on the fighter a few episodes back and he is shivved in the back.

The perspective shifts to Banshee in present day as a bus stops in town on in its way to Pittsburgh. When the riders disembark for a few moments, one of them recognizes Lucas from across the street.

Meanwhile a car pulls into the parking lot of Proctor’s Slaughterhouse; Benjamin, the chief of the local tribe and his son Alex get out. Benjamin talks to Proctor about the charges against him and how they don’t want that to sully the expansion of the casino and hotel. After assuring the chief that the charges are bogus, Proctor mentions that there is still one landowner that doesn’t want to sell up.

Later that day, Proctor goes to see the last landowner holding out who happens to be the local Reverend. Expressing a familial attachment to the land, the Reverend refuses and Proctor leaves.

In bed, asleep next to Kat Moody, Lucas gets a call; when he answers it, he finds out there is a petty shoplifter at Cadi that says he knows him. The name that Brock gives him doesn’t ring a bell – Leonard van der White – so he decides it’s probably best to go and talk to him. Once at Cadi, Lucas recognizes the man as the one that served him food while he was in the infirmary. The convict’s name was Wicks, and he gives him information about the Albino and what is in store for him once he gets out of the infirmary.

Lucas springs Wicks from jail and takes him to the diner in town where the two discuss how long they’ve been out and what the other has been up to. Lucas is obviously uncomfortable when Wicks asks how he managed to get where he is, stating that he would never out Lucas. Wicks then gets upset that Lucas won’t help him, telling him he’s available to do whatever Lucas needs done. Later that night, Lucas drives Wicks to a motel and when he asks Lucas what’s next, he simply replies “we’ll talk”.

In another flashback, Lucas is out of the infirmary and in the yard at the prison. Most of the other convicts steer clear of him, all but Wicks that is. Lucas asks him how he can get to the Albino and he’s told to talk to Billy B, the Albino’s girlfriend. Lucas approaches Billy B who takes him to the Albino. The conversation between Lucas and the Albino is fairly tame; Lucas wants to make a deal with him to be left alone and the Albino seems to think that Lucas will willingly fellate him at some point. The gist is that the Albino is going to uphold his deal with Rabbit and Lucas is pretty much screwed… On the way out to the yard, Lucas tries to work Billy B into standing up the Albino with him; something Billy B won’t even consider. In a bold move, Lucas takes a shiv to Billy B’s face and earns himself ninety days in solitary; time he uses to get strong.

Back in current times, Lucas brings clothes to Wicks the next day at the motel. He gives him money and sets him up with a ride to Pittsburgh, hoping to finally see the end of him.

Meanwhile Proctor is back at the Reverend’s house, talking to him about selling the farm. When the Reverend refuses again, Proctor pulls out a number of photographs depicting Proctor having sex with his wife back when she used to dance for him at one of his clubs. The Reverend is shocked to say the least and Proctor is not above using the photographs to extort the farm out from underneath him.

Across town Max, Carrie and Gordon’s son, is talking and laughing with one of his friends. One moment he’s fine, the next he’s having an attack and is rushed to the hospital. The doctors don’t have the best of news for the family saying that Max is not responding to the treatments as they would have hoped and that he will likely need a lung transplant fairly soon. Carrie is obviously on edge and Gordon picks an odd time to confront her about all of the things she’s been going through. He wants to put it all on the table, and tells her about noticing her staring out of windows blankly and Deva coming to him and asking questions. Then he says that words that many of us have been waiting for him to utter – “tell me about the Sheriff”. Carrie gets up and walks away from him and for a moment, you wonder if she’s going to leave. She stops and turns, telling him that she’s just thankful he got Deva out of the rave. In the end, Gordon gets the reassurance he wants when Carrie says that problem is her.

Wicks, it seems, never made it very far out of town as the next scenes involve him in the casino, gambling and snorting cocaine off of a woman’s breasts. For a while he’s winning, but when he starts to lose, Wicks goes a little crazy and gets into a fight. The security at the casino apprehends him and they call Lucas to come and pick him up. On the way out, Alex warns Wicks to stay away.

Lucas treats Wicks to a steak dinner at Sugar’s bar. Wicks, as always, is running his mouth and telling Sugar and Lucas he wants in or he’ll expose everything. Not that he just wants a hand out… No Wicks wants to be able to earn his keep in the racket that he believes that Lucas has created.

In another flashback of the prison, Lucas has just gotten out of solitary. Wicks comes to see him and tells him that the Albino will be coming for him the next day. True to form, Lucas meets the challenge and when the Albino comes to get him, he allows himself to be brought back inside. On his knees, Lucas is instructed to “ask for it”. His reply is simple – “I do this and we’re good?”. The Albino laughs, simply stating no. When Lucas asks for it, he uses the Albino’s own straight razor to slice off his penis and in a weird twist of mental and physical prowess, the Albino is still able to fight back. During the fight, Lucas sticks his thumbs into the Albino’s eye sockets and blinds him. Lucas is then able to subdue him and choke him into unconsciousness. With the Albino unable to fight back, Lucas ends it in brutal style. No one else in the prison wants to mess with him now.

At Cadi, Brock asks Lucas what he did with Wicks and is upset to learn that Lucas let him go. Later that night, Sugar and Lucas are on the local lake, talking about the kind of person that Wicks is and that no matter how much you give them, they always want more; that some people are just made to bring you down. As Lucas and Sugar row back to shore, the camera pans below the surface to reveal that Wicks is now dead and unable to bother them any longer.

In one of the last scenes, Carrie calls her father and agrees to bring Lucas to him by the end of the week. Something just isn’t right with that girl…

The scene after the credits is a little foreboding for Lucas – you’ll have to watch it to find out why, but it does answer an earlier question that I had. I have no new points of discussion this week, many of my questions are still unanswered and while we’ve gotten a closer look into Lucas’ past, I’m not entirely sure that we’ll ever learn who he truly used to be.

DarkMedia contributor Julianne Snow was first lulled into the horror genre by her parents during an ill-advised viewing of Alien when she was only 4 years old. Since that date, it’s been a given that Julianne will watch and read anything that is horror related. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies from Sirens Call Publications and Open Casket Press, as well as The Sirens Call and various other websites showcasing short fiction. She is the author of the Days with the Undead series, which can be found on her website dayswiththeundead.com. Her first novel, Days with the Undead: Book One was published in early 2012 and is based on her popular web serial. Find her on Twitter @CdnZmbiRytr.