High Desert season 1 episode 6 recap & review: A Nod Is Not a Hello

Open Go TV / June 7, 2023 / Reviews

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In episode 6 of High Desert, Peggy works on finding out whose finger the dog threw up while she gets pulled into Bob’s trouble. The episode is streaming on Apple TV+.

Recap

The collector who is threatening Bob’s life for the money he is owed is named Arman and his daughter’s name is Heather. They visit Bob once more and ask him once again when he will get their money.

He says that he’s got a buyer through Peggy so Arman wants to know who Peggy is. Meanwhile, Peggy is at Pioneertown helping Bruce get a security contract with the place. Owen says he’s not interested but Peggy says she already spoke to his mother about it.

She later shows Bruce the fingernail and says she’s certain that when they get it tested, it’ll be confirmed as Dona Scarborough’s. Bob keeps calling her to convince Arman that he’s telling the truth but she keeps ignoring his calls.

Peggy takes the nail extension off the severed finger and takes it to Tina, the woman who owns the nail salon next to the Gattchi’s tanning place. She then goes next door to use the washroom and has a little chat with Nick Gattchi before offering him a lollipop and then taking it back once she has his DNA on it.

Peggy visits Carol to discuss the case. Carol sees Cooper stealing her car and sneaking out with her friends but doesn’t say anything. She does show Peggy pictures that Cooper clicked of the cheating wife she was asked to surveil.

She goes back home and sees a reminder for her urine test at the treatment center to get a refill of her medication. She calls in to see if Mary, the woman she sees regularly, is there and heads over when she finds out that it is Mary’s day off.

When she gets there, Mary shows up because she was doing some paperwork and Peggy leaves because she knows she’ll test positive for opioids. She hits up an old contact of hers for a fix but he was arrested a while ago.

Bruce and the kid are installing security cameras in Pioneertown when Peggy walks in to take some of the Keurig cups for herself. She has a spiky exchange with Brenda who asks if it’s because she’s been going out with Roger.

Owen tells Peggy that she must premiere her play on President’s Day weekend and that he’s made some changes to her script with Ginger’s help. Peggy sits down with Ginger and momentarily hallucinates an image of her mother before telling Ginger to go back home.

Peggy listens to a voicemail from Bob who says that he’s got a prescription of Oxy he’s willing to give her if she shows up at his house. Peggy rushes over there and is immediately grabbed by Heather and tied to a chair next to Bob.

Arman and Heather are right up in her face but Peggy isn’t phased and reveals that she knows exactly who Arman is, where he lives, and the parole situation surrounding Heather.

She insists that her contact, James Katchel, will buy Bob’s painting and is even ready to send a 250 thousand dollar deposit in 2-3 days. Peggy is let go and when she reaches home, she gets a Facetime call from Katchel.

She shows him one of the forgeries she stole from the tanning salon and he says he is interested but will have to negotiate it in person. Tina goes over to Nick and tells him that there is something suspicious about Peggy so Nick gets one of his men to go find her.

He goes to the toilet to take a leak and notices the painting from there missing.

Review

Unfortunately, High Desert hasn’t been able to maintain the intrigue in the series and each episode is quite forgettable. There are multiple sub-plots running simultaneously and all of them feel half-baked.
With such overstuffed episodes, it’s predictable to see some issues fall by the wayside such as Peggy’s issues with her siblings who have barely showed up since the first episode. Even Ginger has played a very minimal part and is just another body on the screen.
Carlo Rota is perfectly suited for the calm yet terrifying gangster role and he’s one of those character actors who can produce quality when given strong material but he isn’t provided enough opportunities here.