‘Walker’ Season 4 Ending Explained: How Does Cordell’s Story End?

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for the Walker Season 4 finale.

After four seasons on The CW, the Walker, Texas Ranger re-imagining simply titled Walker, has officially concluded its television run. But despite being canceled by the network halfway through its fourth and final season, the neo-Western crime drama managed to land gracefully in its final episode, “See You Someday,” which aired June 26, 2024.

Series star Jared Padalecki has been with the network since its inception in 2005 (back when he starred on Supernatural), and this hour marks the end of that tenure. Thankfully, Walker went out on a high note, and after a considerably dark season, that’s about all we could ask for from the Austin-based drama. Here’s how The CW original series turned out.

“See You Sometime” Closed ‘Walker’ out With Real Heart

It’s been said that, for a procedural about Texas Rangers, Walker is really all about family, and that has never been more true than in the Season 4 finale, “See You Sometime.” The entire episode is framed around Auggie’s (Kale Culley) high school graduation, and acts as a final bookend to where the series began back in 2021. Every plotline is wrapped up here.

Cordell Walker (Padalecki) and Geri Broussard (Odette Annable) are solid as ever, Stella (Violet Brinson) and Auggie have bright futures ahead of them, Bonham (Mitch Pileggi) and Abeline (Molly Hagan) have come to see eye-to-eye on their retirement, and Liam (Keegan Allen) has been ushered into a new position by the Governor of Texas (which just feels very Yellowstone to us).

To say that the Walker family turned out okay in the end might be an understatement, as the show leaves these characters alive and thriving to pursue their next steps.

Written by series creator Anna Fricke and longtime writer Blythe Ann Johnson (with Steve Robin back directing), “See You Sometime” is the best way Walker could’ve ended on such short notice.

Impressively, the heartfelt send-off feels more like a series finale than a season finale despite being penned (and likely filmed) before the CW announced the show wouldn’t be returning for Season 5. The way the Walker family is able to persevere through just about anything is a true testament to their love for each other, and this episode makes it more evident than most.

Call it sappy or maybe overdramatic, but the way Walker closes out feels genuine to the show itself, which has always been a little soapy. There might always be something else on the horizon for this Austin-based family, but no matter what storm comes, they’ll weather it together. As a culmination of all 69 episodes, “See You Sometime” hits every emotional beat we could hope for.

Cordell Walker Finally Comes to Terms With His Mistakes

Perhaps the most important development to come from Walker‘s fourth and final season is the much-needed growth of the show’s main character.

For years, Cordell Walker has walked around with a chip on his shoulder following the death of his wife, Emily (Genevieve Padalecki), but after his near-death experience — and visions of Emily and Matt Barr’s Hoyt Rawlins a few episodes prior — he’s finally recognized his self-destructive patterns for what they are.

Walker has too often gone rogue, burnt the candle at both ends, and put his family and friends on the back burner for the sake of his career as a Texas Ranger.

But after being abducted, missing his children’s biggest accomplishments, and inadvertently causing the death of Detective David Luna (Justin Johnson Cortez), it finally clicks for our hero here: he needs to make some serious changes.

Words are cheap, and Walker knows it. No matter how many times he’s said that he would be better or would change over the past four years, he’s always fallen back into his single-minded obsessive behavior.

But this time, after his actions cause serious harm to those he cares most about, Walker has committed to actually taking the time to work through his issues and change — and it’s about time. Not only does he take very real steps to apologize to Auggie, Stella, Geri, and Cassie (Ashley Reyes) for his erratic behavior (which all go differently, proving that forgiveness is a process not just a one-time action), but he begins to take some very real steps to work harder at being a better the father, partner, and friend.

His decision to take a leave of absence from the Texas Rangers may be shocking, but it’s necessary. If Walker is to actually change, he has to do so away from the job, and he knows it.

Ending the show (whether intentionally or not) with Cordell Walker driving off without his badge only proves how far he’s come. Between his time undercover as Duke to his abduction at the beginning of Season 3, Walker has gone through it over the years. Each season, it seems like he comes out of it with even more baggage.

But with Geri there to ground him, he’s proven that his most recent trauma won’t swallow him up like those previously. Instead, he proves the old adage true, “Whatever doesn’t kill you does make you stronger,” and boy is that the perfect way to describe what the characters go through on this show.

 Walker finally learned how to give its main character a break, and it turned him into a hero genuinely worth rooting for in spite of his flaws. It was a long road to get here, but “See You Sometime” promises that, even though Walker is ending, this is only the beginning of Cordell’s new lease on life.

‘Walker’s Finale Launches a New Era for the Walkers and the Texas Rangers

The rest of the Walker family is left in good shape here, too. We’ve mentioned how Bonham and Abeline have handled their own marital squabbles, and Auggie and Stella (both blissfully unaware of what their future holds) have overcome more than most, but there’s a new Walker on the horizon. It seems likely that Geri will become a bonafide Walker herself soon enough.

After drawing out the Walker/Geri romance for the vast majority of the show, Cordell teases the audience with the knowledge that he is planning to propose to Geri at some point during their summer road trip.

This alone is a major turn for Walker. It proves that (although she’ll always be with him), he’s moved on from grieving his wife, hoping to be a new man who can make Geri as happy as she ever could be. Of course, the Walkers aren’t the only characters that the series has us rooting for…

In the final episode, Captain Larry James (Toby Bell) was pleased to offer Cassie Perez the coveted lieutenant position she’d been gunning for most of the season. After a hard year and the tragedy of David Luna’s murder, it’s a win that Cass desperately needed.

Not only does she deserve this promotion (she’s incredibly qualified), but this is the track that James originally wanted Walker’s last partner, Micki Ramirez (Lindsey Morgan), to follow when she first started on the force.

In many ways, Cassie has succeeded Micki in every respect, going further and beyond what the Walker writers may have originally intended for her. She may share some threads with Micki, but over the years, Cassie has come into her own and really proven that she’s the best fit for this job. Though it might not be the perfect ending for Cassie — she and Walker are still working through their issues following Luna’s death — it’s the best the show could do on such short notice.

On the other hand, Trey Barnett (Jeff Pierre) has taken the news well that he’s been passed on for the promotion, with the promise from Captain James that he’ll get there sometime in the future. Because of Cass’ promotion, Trey is Walker’s newest partner, making him the fourth to take on the role after James, Micki, and Cassie.

Hopefully, his tenure will last a bit longer. For a character who was originally introduced as Micki’s love interest and Auggie and Stella’s mentor, Trey has proven his worth to Walker time and again as the character with the most creative potential. He might not have made lieutenant now, but we don’t doubt he will one day.

And how could we ignore those brief hints at the underlying chemistry between Trey and Cassie? Their connection was teased last season, too, and though the series finale doesn’t act upon it, Walker leaves us with the hope that one day these two might be more than just friends.

“See You Sometime” Proves ‘Walker’ Didn’t Need To Continue (but We Wish It Had)

But the way Walker ends is really what makes it. After everything he had been through with the Jackal, Walker extends an invitation to his children to do one last family road trip, with Geri tagging along. As “See You Sometime” comes to a close, we see the Walker clan drive off on their next adventure following Walker’s self-imposed (and extended) leave of absence from the Rangers.

It’s taken a while, but the four of them finally feel like a family unit, and with the promise that Walker is going to propose to Geri, soon they will be. On their way out of town, they pass by the new neighbors sub-leasing on the Davidson’s land, with Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek revealed to be the new, white-clad tenant.

Though Walker ends on this slight cliffhanger, teasing more mysterious (and cultish) happenings in the future, the real heart behind this impromptu series finale is knowing that Walker, Geri, and his kids are all going to be alright.

The truth is that Walker‘s ending is immensely satisfying. Not only is every major emotional arc completed, but everyone’s story concludes with a tinge of hope, reminding us that their story isn’t over, even if the show is ending.

Walker was a series that prided itself on balancing intricate Texas-based mysteries with the drama of a big family, and an episode like this feels like the best way to celebrate such a lofty ideal.

“See You Sometime” wraps up the entire Walker narrative, and though it’s easy to wish for more adventures with these characters (especially in the wake of that final teaser), it feels like a definitive finish on its own.