In a previous episode, Betty Jo had assured Lee that beneath the surface of Dale and Donald Washberg's apparent land dispute, there was a deeper, more personal conflict—one that revolved around Betty Jo, Pearl, and the humiliating ways in which a family's golden child could demean their black-sheep little brother. Even last week, as we learned of the preposterous real-estate deal that would propel the cash-strapped Washbergs into prosperity, I believed Betty Jo's words to Lee, as far as she was aware.
My excitement peaked when, in the closing moments of "Old Indian Trick," Betty Jo revealed her cunning equal to that of the men around her. Following a phone call from Lee, who had "alerted" her to a secret version of Dale's will that would disinherit her and Donald, she reached out to Frank Martin, a dodgy business associate of her deceased husband's brother. This was not a shock response but a calculated decision to switch to plan B—to ally herself with a powerful player who had much to lose.
Despite the episode's big reveals—and there were more than just the existence of a second will—"Old Indian Trick" lacked the frenzied energy of The Lowdown's previous installments, which relied on playful antagonism between Lee and those he roped into helping him. This week, however, Lee enlisted Deidra, a bookshop employee whose only real problem with Lee was his low-key uncoolness. Their tour of Indian Tulsa included the Indian store, where Lee bought an ill-fitting suede fringe coat from a welcoming salesperson, and the Indian community center, where he was innocently nicknamed "Custer." Lee was so uncomfortable with his own whiteness in these contexts that he ceased being his pushy, nosy, relentless self. The end result was that no one disliked him, and Lee's day passed without much friction—which didn't make for blistering TV.
It was Donald who took the wilder ride this week. After dragging Lee to the infamous cookout at the end of the last episode, he let the Tulsa truthstorian go free after delivering a black eye (for sleeping with his girl, Betty Jo) and a threat (if you don't leave my family alone, these cops in my pocket might find you in a ditch somewhere). But in trying to dissuade Lee from further investigating Dale's death, he let slip a new lead: according to Donald, Dale killed himself because—bear with me here—he was in the thrall of a gay Native American "street person" artist. But even if Lee hadn't recently been handed a sketch of Dale by a stranger who met Donald's exact description, he would never have heeded the warning. Warnings were like fuel to a guy like Lee, who couldn't wait to go home and add the words "Mystery Indian. Maybe gay?" to his murder board with a piece of string and a pushpin.
Nonetheless, the Lee situation is neatly tucked away, and Donald is ready to hit the campaign trail once again, with Marty now doubling as chauffeur and security detail. Their whistle-stop tour kicks off at a quaint church named "One Well," aptly named after the LLC that offered the Washbergs a jaw-dropping sum for Indian Head Hills. Donald, oblivious to the connection, barely bats an eyelid when it becomes clear that Pastor Mark—played by Oklahoma's own Paul Sparks—hasn't invited any parishioners to this meet and greet. Marty's first act as head of security is to allow the candidate to climb into the flockless pastor's camo-festooned side-by-side, disregarding the rifle mounted just below the vehicle's roll bar.
Mark insists on giving Donald a menacing tour of the One Well compound, which overlooks Indian Head Hills. But wait, there's a twist! Mark is the mysterious buyer who's been losing patience with the Washbergs. The money he's offering Donald isn't just a bribe; it's a lifeline for his congregation of recently paroled skinheads—men like Allen, who can help the brotherhood wrest control back from the tribes. He's building a homeland for militant, racist lunatics on the very same parcel that made the Washbergs kings of Oklahoma in the first place. And in doing so, he'll funnel money into Donald's campaign and restore the Washbergs to the top of the Oklahoma food chain. A vote for Washberg is a vote for whites.
Later in the episode, Frank shows up at the church to confront Mark for having the audacity to contact Donald directly. Donald is now having second thoughts about the deal, though in reality, he never seemed sold on the "too good to be true" deal when Frank asked him about it last week. Like Donald, Frank doesn't seem to understand that the game has changed. Mark drags Frank out to the hole where he buries the bodies of men who break covenant with the One Well army—men like Blackie, Berta, and Allen—with his highly armed flock surrounding him, including Jimmy, who murdered Allen in broad daylight. Mark isn't asking to buy the land anymore; he's demanding it.
Flustered and afraid, Frank runs home to call his "46" buddy, Trip, to kill the deal with this "unhinged" pastor, but Trip is the one bankrolling Mark's whole operation. "We are at war in this country," Trip reminds Frank, who seems like a JV racist accidentally called up to a team of true believers. If he doesn't end up at the bottom of Mark's "stankhole," I'll be shocked. Mark needs Trip's money and Donald's deed, but what use is a middleman who can't line things up?
As the sun painted the sky with hues of gold and crimson, Lee embarked on a daylong odyssey through the unspoken enclaves of Tulsa's African American community, where white men were welcomed but not quite invited—the Indian store, the Indian community center, and finally, an Indian housing project. His quest led him to Chutto, the man believed by Donald to have played a role in Dale's tragic demise. It was Deidra, with her keen insight into the local tapestry, who whispered the name into Lee's ear—Chutto, a figure of sufficient notoriety in Tulsa's Indian circles. The Indian store sold his portraits, but Lee didn't want to stroll in as a white man seeking moccasins. So, he lavished Deidra with a time-and-a-half pay to accompany him, transforming him into a white man with a cultural guide in tow.
Had Lee chosen the more financially prudent path, he would have sent Deidra on her own mission of discovery. Instead, he indulged in hand games at the Indian center while Deidra did the legwork, ultimately uncovering that Chutto resided at Whispering Pines, an apartment complex. When Lee knocked on the door, it was answered by Arthur, Chutto's frail grandfather, a character played by Graham Greene—the most recognizable First Nations actor in Hollywood—shortly before his passing. Perhaps due to Arthur's dementia or the general perception that all white men blend together, especially those in boots and scruffy attire, he mistook Lee for Dale, a man he knew was no more.
As Lee tentatively probed Arthur for information about his connection with Dale, Chutto, played by Mato Wayuhi, burst through the door—a bold move considering he had sought Lee out initially. On the porch's threshold, Chutto explained how he met Dale outside a gay nightclub where Dale timidly asked for a portrait. For the first time in The Lowdown, we witnessed a flashback of Dale not authored by Dale himself. In Chutto's eyes, Dale was as peculiar but more reticent, quieter. Their friendship blossomed—a curious alliance between two worlds.
In the end, Dale turned out to share more common ground with Arthur than anyone else. The older men indulged in board games and reminisced about the good old days when Oklahoma was but a vast expanse of ranchland. Arthur revealed a shocking twist: by an extraordinary coincidence, the Indian Head Hills parcel that paved the way for the Washbergs' fortune once belonged to Arthur's family. Nathaniel Washberg had killed Chutto's grandfather's grandfather and used the dead man's thumb to "sign" the deed posthumously in his favor. Touched by Arthur's tale of dispossession, Dale crafted a new will that would return his shares of Indian Head Hills to Arthur and Chutto. Before his passing, Dale had asked Arthur to keep it hidden—and that's where the secret will remains now: tucked away in the old man's drawer.
Lee can scarcely fathom the perilous predicament these men find themselves seated in. His counsel is to arm oneself with legal counsel. Yet Chutto perceives nothing but a tangled web of complications in the will, a document that Donald will undoubtedly contest, perhaps even Betty Jo. Dale did not intend to shatter his family's tranquility – he sought a means to escape the burden of his white guilt. These, one might presume, are the "ideas" that Donald accuses Chutto of instilling in Dale's mind. But if Donald already knows of Dale's moral dilemma concerning the land at Indian Head Hills, it is likely that news of it has reached Betty Jo as well.
"I'm on the run," Betty Jo whispers to the Sunyata receptionist at check-in, early in the episode. Sunyata, the upscale, cultish wellness retreat Lee suggests as Betty Jo's hideaway – a sanctuary where Donald Washberg and his thugs on the police force cannot find her. "Men are trying to kill me," she adds, dressed as if she had just stepped out of a Ralph Lauren catalog. The receptionist's skepticism is understandable, yet I wouldn't be surprised to learn that many Sunyata guests share similar backstories, albeit more figuratively. What purpose serves an expensive Buddhist retreat in the Osage Hills for, if not white women seeking to reclaim their lives?
Lee offered Betty Jo an escape when she needed it, and this week, he provides her with a path forward. After leaving Chutto's abode, he calls Betty Jo on her contraband phone, recklessly setting off a chain reaction that will undoubtedly bring Chutto face-to-face with the trouble he sought to avoid. Betty Jo calls Frank, who may in turn call Trip, who will inform Mark of a minor issue that needs resolving at Whispering Pines.
Mark will not hesitate to send Jimmy to take care of it, and Trip will feel grateful to have someone like Mark, with his muscle and connections, do his dirty work for him. But in Mark's world, power does not reside with politicians like Donald or even the wealthy like Trip. Power is the willingness to live by one's code, regardless of the means or the consequences. They may not realize it yet, but Trip and Donald now work for Mark.
