Tamal Kundu
In the gray and somber world of ‘American Rust,’ Buell police chief Del Harris’ (Jeff Daniels) investigation slowly spirals out of control in episode 7. Billy (Alex Neustaedter) fights to survive in prison. Isaac (David Alvarez) descends into the depth of trauma after being beaten. Grace (Maura Tierney) finds herself becoming overwhelmed by the issues she faces in her personal and professional life. Meanwhile, Lee (Julia Mayorga) joins the public defender’s office. Here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘American Rust’ episode 7. SPOILERS AHEAD.
American Rust Episode 7 Recap
Episode 7, titled ‘Blue Mountains,’ starts with Billy. Still being held at the Farmington Tri-County Prison, Billy discovers that his roommate has “SS” tattooed on the back of his neck, which can only mean that he is a neo-Nazi. As one of the new additions to the prison population, he feels isolated, observed, and terrified. When his public defender Rachel White comes to see him, Billy refuses to meet her, making his roommate realize that he is protecting someone.
The inmates arrange a fight between Billy and another new resident. Billy initially avoids it by staying inside his cell the entire day. But that night, the inmates get him and his opponents out of their cells with the help of some guards and force them to fight each other. Billy ultimately wins the bout and earns the respect of his fellow inmates.
After arriving at her work, Grace discovers that Gelsey has hired someone to speak to the workers about the negative aspects of unionizing. She marches into Gelsey’s office and accuses him of burning her car, about which her boss genuinely doesn’t seem to have any idea.
After being completely shut out by Billy, Rachel visits Grace to ask her to talk to her son the next time she goes to see him. Later, Lee shows up at the public defender’s office, asking for a job. Rachel recognizes her, and Lee convinces her to let her join her team by revealing that Billy is in love with her. Elsewhere, Isaac enters a mall, with the homophobic slur still spray-painted on the back of his hoodie. Reeling from his earlier encounter, he falls to the floor, begging the mall security not to beat him. One of them seems to realize what has happened and comes to Isaac’s aid.
Meanwhile, Harris continues his search for Bobby Jesus, whose fentanyl-mixed cocaine makes its way back to Buell. Trent, a rising football player at Billy’s old school, buys some of it from the new local dealer for himself and his girlfriend. Later, at a house party, he overdoses. Harris breaks into Jackson’s (Dallas Roberts) store and discovers a long list of people to whom the latter has been selling fentanyl-based drugs. Harris and Steve later find out that not one person mentioned in the list is alive.
American Rust Episode 7 Ending: Is Jackson Selling His Drugs to Bobby? Is Trent Dead?
Yes, Jackson, an authorized pharmacist, is selling his drugs to Bobby. It turns out that Chuck was right when he told Harris that there must be a large supply of fentanyl for Jackson, who is then passing it on to Bobby to mix it with cocaine. Harris learns from Tom that Novick, who sold him drugs before Bobby, tried to get him to buy cocaine laced with fentanyl. That night, Harris cuts the power supply to Jackson’s store and breaks in. He finds a list of patients to whom the other man has been supplying fentanyl.
Yes, Trent is dead. After snorting what he believes to be just cocaine, he immediately loses consciousness. Harris and Steve arrive at the scene before the paramedics and unsuccessfully try to resuscitate him. The following morning, they visit a nearby nursing home where one of the patients mentioned in the list is supposed to live. They discover that all the names in the list belonged to deceased residents of the nursing home.
Jackson evidently has been bringing in about 2,000 opioid pills with falsified patient information and then giving it to Bobby. Steve wants to arrest Jackson immediately. But Harris wants to find the dealer who sold the drug to Trent, and through him, he believes that he can get to Bobby. This causes friction between him and Steve, with the latter pointing out that Harris is only doing this so he can arrest Bobby for drug dealing and homicide so that he would be a terrible witness against Billy. Steve is correct, of course. He is perhaps one of the most morally grounded characters in the show. But then again, he can be so because he doesn’t have anything personal at stake with this investigation.
Read More: Is American Rust a True Story?
