The fourth episode of The Lowdown commences with a glimpse into Dale's life, where he had always been the supporting actor to his brother's leading role. While Dale was content with this status quo, his parents were not. Their strained relationship seemed to have spilled over into the present, affecting the brothers in ways that are yet to be fully unraveled.
Francis and Lee continue to delve into the letters, where they discover a chilling tale of Dale confronting a pair of assassins with a gun, a night before his demise. Lee realizes this coincides with the skinheads' claim of "messing up their job," and it also explains the hat left on the front lawn.
As Dale heads upstairs to share this with his wife, she claims to have slept through the whole incident, her lack of reaction speaking volumes about her detachment from the situation. A week prior to this incident, Dale wrote a letter about hitting Donald for the first time. Despite visiting his sibling with peaceful intentions, wanting to resolve the Indian Head Hills fiasco, it spilled over when Donald mentioned that the house didn't belong to him. We are led to believe this is about the house, but later on, we find out there's an extra layer to this story. More on that shortly!
Dale suspected an affair, putting Betty Jo squarely in the middle of this messy web. Before they can continue reading further, Samantha returns to pick up Francis. Sam also reveals to Lee that Johnny has asked her to marry him, leaving Lee stunned and heartbroken given his affection for his ex-wife and her acceptance of Johnny's proposal. Lee continues on his quest for answers and soon learns that Donald's lawyers are seeking a restraining order against him, meaning if he goes anywhere near the Washberg family, he's going to wind up in jail.
Before this order is issued, Donald finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place as he tries to resolve his affair situation. Marty knows that he needs to sort this mess out himself and can't just throw money at Betty Jo and hope it will go away. Similarly, Donald won't leave MaryAnn (nor can he afford to piss her off) given how important she is to his campaign.
Lee encounters Betty Jo and decides to loosen her tongue with a barrage of tequila shots, ensuring they are thoroughly inebriated. It works, and as Lee opens up about Samantha's impending marriage to Johnny, Betty Jo spills the beans on Pearl, leading to a passionate encounter between them.
Lee is invited back to the Washberg mansion where Betty Jo divulges the fateful night's events. As she was napping on the sofa, Dale pulled the trigger in his office. Surprisingly, Betty Jo has also retained Dale's gun, which is loaded. This is enough to lift the veil of denial, if only slightly. Lee confronts Betty Jo with what he knows, including the hit on Dale's life and the affair. Betty Jo admits that she initially didn't believe Dale given his paranoia. What ultimately broke Dale, however, was the revelation that Pearl was not his daughter – she was Donald's. This explains the punch earlier and could be what led to the brothers' fight.
Betty Jo was initially smitten with Donald but a golden boy involved with a "small town slut" (her words) was never going to work. So Betty Jo found solace in Dale and they got together. However, the feelings never truly left for Donald and they kept up their affair in secret. But tellingly, Pearl is unaware of the truth about her father.
Meanwhile, Allen shows up at rehab, explaining that he's been two years clean but struggling to maintain his sobriety. He drops off some food at Blackie's house, where he learns of Lee's previous visit and inquiries.
Lee stays the night at the Washberg estate and rises early to explore the place. Among the various belongings is a rather colorful painting. But as he leaves, Donald arrives and notices him go.
As this is unfolding, Allen is shot through the neck and eventually crashes his car on the road. The assassin leaves him for dead and disappears, seemingly proving that Allen is just another cog in this vast and complex machine.
