Recap / Walker Texas Ranger S9E19 "Unsafe Speed"

Unsafe Speed is the 19th episode of the Ninth Season on Walker, Texas Ranger. It aired on April 28, 2001.

An unqualified trucker by the name of Boyd Scranton kills a family of three when he ends up getting high on crystal meth, but is able to provide information to Walker and Trivette of who gave him the drugs before he dies, and it was a mule by the name of Deke Trumbull. After Trumbull is arrested, he cooperates a little bit by giving the Rangers information of an outlaw biker gang known as the Raptors. Sydney and Gage are sent in undercover as bikers in order to gain their trust and locate the source of their operation. At the same time, the death of Boyd Scranton, as well as several other unqualified truckers, triggers an investigation by Alex and Trivette to seek out a corrupt DMV employee at a DPS Driver License office in Colby who is illegally issuing trucker licenses.

Written by Duke Sandefur
Directed by Garry A Brown

Tropes seen in this episode:

• The Aggressive Drug Dealer: Darby, who is working with the Raptors to distribute 99.44% pure crystal meth to truckers across Texas, and likely worldwide. With the Raptors wiping out the competition like no tomorrow distributing a powerful crystal meth that's 99.44% pure, they have not only been working with Darby, but they deal drugs on their own most of the time.
• All Bikers are Hells Angels: The Raptors are this to a T, being one of the toughest outlaw biker gangs in the Southwest.
• Asshole Victim:
  • Boyd Scranton killed a family after his big rig collides with their minivan due to him being high on crystal meth, and then he dies in the hospital after telling Walker and Trivette he got his meth from Deke Trumbull. Alex discovers Scranton should never have been issued a commercial trucker license to begin with not only in Texas, but nationwide, due to his extensive history of traffic violations and minor drug convictions.
  • The Raptors destroy a rival methamphetamine lab and gun down the people responsible.
• Bad Guy Bar: The Lonestar Bar, where the Raptors have called their hangout.
  Gage: And it is a nasty joint, Walker, I'm telling you-- two Texas Rangers are gonna stick out like sore thumbs.
  Walker: Yeah, you're right. But a couple of bikers from out of town won't.
• Big Bad Ensemble: The Raptors are an outlaw biker gang working for a drug dealer named Darby. The biker gang creates crystal meth that is 99.44% pure. It's one thing to have distributed them to unqualified truckers across Texas, but now plan to distribute them nationwide, maybe worldwide.
• Bulletproof Vest: Standard issue for all cops. Lampshaded by Trivette and Trooper Freels when the latter wears one when he agrees to pretend he is shot dead by Gage and Sydney during their covert operation in the Raptors in order for them to pass their initiation and gain access to their meth lab.
  Freels: This bulletproof vest worked, but it sure does hurt. (gets back up after being shot)
  Trivette: It hurts a lot more without one.
  Freels: I hear that.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Vander, a trucker who wanted meth from Deke Trumbull, witnessed the Rangers arrest him. He shows up near the end of the episode at the rest stop on Bluelake Highway and recognizes Gage through his disguise and tips off Bolger to who he really is, blowing his and Sydney's cover. Walker and Trivette recognize Vander when they stop him at the checkpoint after he gets his meth from Gage, and it's not long before the two Rangers realize he (Vander) blew Gage and Sydney's cover and they are in trouble.
  Gage: Hey, Walker! (he and Syd have apprehended Trumbull before he could escape) Look who we caught sneaking out the back!
• Collapsing Lair: After Sydney and Gage's cover is blown, Grangus leaves her to die in his meth lab while he and the other bikers escape, but Walker and Gage make to the lab just in time to free her. Gage had already freed Sydney after Walker beats down Grangus, but the Rangers weren't about to let him die in the blast.
• Death of a Child: The daughter in a family of three killed by Boyd Scranton was around 5-8 years old.
• Dressing as the Enemy: Gage and Sydney pose as outlaw bikers— former Demons named Nails and Ronnie, respectively— to get initiated into the Raptors.
• Faking the Dead: When Gage and Sydney are about to be initiated into the Raptors, Trooper Freels is asked to assist in the covert operation and fakes his death in order for the two Rangers to pass the initiation. The plan works, because Freels wore a bulletproof vest, which he lampshades after the ruse, otherwise, he would've been Killed Off for Real.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Darby is not fought after Gage and Sydney have their cover blown by Vander, but he does join the bikers behind bars after Walker and Trivette intervene.
• His Name Is...: Subverted. Walker and Trivette interrogate Boyd Scranton in the hospital after he is busted for possession and being under the influence of crystal meth, which killed a family of three, and demand to know where he got the meth from after Troopers found it in his rig. Before he flatlines, he tells Walker Deke Trumbull was the supplier.
• If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: Gage and Sydney have to commit a big-time crime to pass their initiation into the Raptors so they can gain access to their meth lab. They're able to avoid causing real trouble by having a cop stop them and pretending to kill him, which is good enough.
• Implied Death Threat: After Deke Trumbull is arrested by the Rangers, he refuses to talk, at first, because the Raptors will likely retaliate against him, but he'll end up being killed anyway even if he refuses to cooperate. He tells them where he got his meth, but refuses to testify against them.
• The Infiltration: Occurs in both the main plot and the B-plot, though the B-plot had triggered the main plot.
  • The main plot has Gage and Sydney pose as outlaw bikers to gain the trust of the Raptors to bust up their meth lab, but have to pass rigorous tests to access it. Among them includes killing a State Trooper, but he luckily survives, considering he wore a bulletproof vest.
  • The B-plot has Trivette going undercover at a Texas DPS office in Colby as an unqualified commercial driver license applicant named Givens in order to ferret out a corrupt DMV employee who is illegally issuing trucker licenses, especially to Boyd Scranton, who had a history of traffic violations and minor drug convictions.
• Just in Time: Have Walker and his allies failed to take down the bad guy and save their victims? Usually not! This shows up in both instances when Gage and Sydney's cover is blown. Bolger threatens to shoot Gage dead, until Walker and Trivette intervene and arrest him, Doc, Darby and the other bikers and dealers. Walker and Gage then hurry to the meth lab to save Sydney before Grangus could kill her by blowing it up, and while the former is busy duking it out with Grangus, Gage had to break off the leg of a table Sydney was cuffed to with her own handcuffs to free her seconds before the lab blows.
• Karmic Death: Boyd Scranton, an unqualified trucker who somehow got around his disqualification despite numerous traffic violations and minor drug convictions, dies in his hospital bed after he kills a family of three after getting high on the Raptors' crystal meth, though not before he tells Walker and Trivette where he got it from.
• Molotov Cocktail: The Raptors blow up a rival methamphetamine lab with these in the prologue.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Boyd Scranton was quite remorseful for killing the family after colliding with their minivan while he is interrogated in his hospital bed by Walker and Trivette.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Both the Demons and Raptors are outlaw biker gangs. Gage and Sydney's cover were two former Demons who managed to escape from justice in Southern California in an effort infiltrate the Raptors and bust up their meth lab.
• No Ending: Nothing else happens after Walker and Gage take down Grangus and save Sydney from a fiery fate in the Raptors' lab. They do, however, bring Grangus in for arrest, however.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • After he takes Trivette's picture for his phony trucker license, Earl, the corrupt DPS Driver License Division employee, has this when Trivette presents his Texas Ranger badge, revealing his true identity, and tells him he needs a picture of him, too. By that, he means a mugshot.
    Trivette: Hey, Earl. (presents his Ranger badge, and the surprised look on Earl's face comes up) I think I'm gonna need a picture of you, too.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Gage and Sydney's cover as outlaw bikers are Nail and Ronnie, respectively, who were previously members of the Demons biker gang, as noted by the fake tattoo. A trucker named Vander, however, recognized Gage through his disguise near the end of the episode, putting his and Sydney's lives at risk.
• Race Against the Clock: After Sydney and Gage have their cover blown, Grangus uses Sydney's handcuffs to restrain her to the leg of a table in the meth lab and sets it to blow sky-high in about two minutes. Walker and Gage arrive Just in Time, and while Walker is busy beating down Grangus, Gage has to free Sydney before she is enveloped in the explosion. Gage has to remove the leg of the table Sydney is cuffed to to free her. At the same time Gage frees Sydney, Walker had just given Grangus the finishing blow, but they weren't about to let him die in the explosion.
• Self-Destruct Mechanism: Grangus mixes up some dangerous chemicals in the meth lab when he leaves Sydney to die in there after her and Gage's cover is blown, but Walker and Gage save her in time.
• Shout-Out: During the prologue, Grangus has this to say to the rival meth lab before he blows it to smithereens and kill its cooks:
  Grangus: Little pig, little pig, let me in, or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!
• Special Guest: Steve "Sting" Borden as Grangus (the leader of the Raptors), Larry Hankin as Doc (the Raptors' meth cook), Patrick St. Esprit as Darby (The Aggressive Drug Dealer who hired the raptors for his trafficking operation), Todd Tesen as Bolger (Sergeant-at-Arms for the Raptors) and Adam Vernier as Texas DPS Trooper Freels.
• Staged Shooting: While Gage and Sydney are infiltrating the Raptors gang, they and Walker and Trivette have Trooper Freels do this in order for the former two Rangers to pass their initiation and gain access to the meth lab. Lucky thing Freels wore a Bulletproof Vest!
• Stuff Blowing Up:
  • In the prologue, Boyd Scranton, en route to Cincinnati, kills a family that broke down on the road; the mother and child were inside the minivan while the father was changing a tire. After Scranton gets his supply of crystal meth from Deke Trumbull, his judgement becomes impaired and his vision becomes blurry, upon which he hits their minivan, causing it to go up in flames. The family was prepared and left out flares to signify a breakdown. Walker and Trivette show up the next morning and get the full details from Trooper Freels, triggering the investigation.
  • Also in the prologue, a rival meth lab is blown to smithereens by the Raptors after they raid it and destroy it with Molotov Cocktails.
  • When Vander blows Gage and Sydney's cover, Bolger decides to kill Gage while Grangus deals with Sydney. Walker and Trivette stop Bolger from killing Gage in time, and while Trivette apprehends him, Darby and the rest of the dealers, Grangus leaves Sydney to die in the meth lab, but Walker and Gage arrive in time and free her before the bomb goes off. In addition to freeing Sydney before the lab blew up, they didn't want Grangus to get killed, neither.
• "Wanted!" Poster: Subverted since no actual poster is involved; Walker presents a photo of Gage and Sydney wearing their biker gear to Bolger when he shows up at the Lonestar Bar and interrogates him, upon which he crumples up and eats the photo, then spits it back out when Walker socks him in the gut.
• We Will Meet Again: When Walker shows up at the Lonestar Bar with a photo of Gage and Sydney in their biker attire, asking Bolger if they've ever seen them before, this exchange between the two occurs:
  Walker: (hands Bolger the photo) These are the only two I'm interested in.
  Bolger: Nope. Ain't seen 'em. (takes the photo, crumples it up and eats it) What, you got a problem with that?
  Walker: Actually... I do. (beats Bolger in the gut, making him spit up the photo) Now I got to go all the way back and get another picture.
  Bolger: You and I are gonna meet again.
  Walker: I'll look forward to it.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: It is unknown of what happened to Deke Trumbull after he was apprehended at the start of the episode.