American Rust: Broken Justice Season 2 Episode 5 Recap & Review

Light Me Up

American Rust: Broken Justice Episode 5 begins with the FBI and Harris discussing how to progress the case with Vic and the lighter still missing.

Grace tracks Steve Park down and hands him her gun to analyse, then reiterates that she has nothing to hide. She also tells him she knows he released the video of her attacking Herlitz. Elsewhere, Burgos visits the professor who was having an affair with Mrs. McKenna, interrupts her lesson, and detains her. She confronts her about the CCTV footage of her with Liam McKenna prior to the bombing that killed him. 

Harris searches Vic and Cynthia’s house to find clues as to where Vic might’ve gone. However, he is interrupted by somebody arriving at the apartment so he hides until the person leaves. Turns out it was Fisher, as Harris sees him walking away from the apartment building.  

Grace tries to make it up with Park and visits him at his home. She asks him what the latest is with her firearm and Park confirms it wasn’t the one involved in the murders. He tells Grace he wants to show her something and takes her down to the basement to show her his crime scene model. Park gives her an ultimatum: Help me bring in Del Harris and he’ll leave her out of it. If she doesn’t help him, he’ll bring them both down. Grace tells him she has a lot to think about. 

Harris and Gurgos interview the professor and she admits she met Liam McKenna once, and that he’d found out about the affair and threatened her. She insists she wasn’t involved in his murder, but also doesn’t think his wife did it either, but states that she’d told her she had a plan for them. 

Elsewhere, Burgos confronts Harris about his seemingly cosy weekend with Vic, despite what she told him about his violent tendencies, but Harris can’t fully explain the real reason for befriending Vic as it would blow his cover in the FBI investigation into the brotherhood. 

Grace calls Harris to tell him a woman at a bar saw Vic before he disappeared, and says he left her a number that ended up being Grace’s instead of his own. 

Isaac bakes Russell a cake and takes it to him at his residence, but his wife answers the door, leaving Isaac heartbroken. 

The episode ends with Harris arriving at the bar and speaking to the woman who last saw Vic alive and had called Grace. He then goes searching in the woods for Vic and discovers a shallow grave, which he digs up, and discovers Vic’s dead body. He turns around to discover Gurgos is there after tracking him down to the location, and she wants answers to what is going on. The episode cuts to Fisher finding the bug in the lighter and listening to what has been recorded. 

The Episode Review

It’s the halfway point, and things are getting murkier in the morally corrupt world of American Rust, with sophomore season proving to be a worthy successor to the debut run.

The new additions to Season 2 are all compelling characters, with the original characters receiving satisfying expansion to their backstories. It’s storytelling at its finest, proving that the Americans really are the best around!