Del Harris, after the incidents that took place in American Rust season 1, moved to Pittsburgh and joined his old department once again. There was a time when Del had run away from Pittsburg because he didn’t want to be a part of the so-called brotherhood, but after the killings in West Virginia, he knew that it was better if he stayed away from Buell for some time. Del became fond of his colleague, Angela, and he really respected how sincerely she did her job. It reminded him of his colleague, Steve Mark, who was once quite close to him, but after the killings, he made it his life’s goal to find evidence against Del. So, let’s find out what kind of conflicts Del Harris has to face in his professional life and if he is able to get past them.
Spoiler Alert
Why was Vic murdered?
Vic was one of the members of an unofficial Pittsburgh police department group, aka the brotherhood, where these so-called law-abiding officers didn’t mind carrying out extrajudicial killings whenever they felt the need to. As stated in the article for American Rust season 1, Del Harris was also a part of it, but later, he came to Buell because somewhere, he felt guilty, and he got scared of the consequences that his actions could have. But things changed after Chuck came back and asked Harris to return his favor. Back in the day, when the accused, whose case Harris was investigating, got acquitted by the court, Chuck made sure that he went after him and killed him. Now Chuck wanted Del to do a similar thing for him, but the latter told him very clearly that he wouldn’t get involved in any such illegal activity. Chuck killed the boy he was after, and after that, he shot himself dead right in front of Harris’ eyes. Vic Walker was one of the most active people in the group, and he was also known for his unpredictable tendencies. Vic was in a relationship with a woman named Cynthia, who was also a police officer, and she worked in the same department as him.
Cynthia was in an abusive relationship, but she never tried to do anything against it. It was not her fault, as she found herself stuck in a loop. A lot of times it happens that when a victim is stuck in that kind of situation, they have to assess a lot of things, and many times they just can’t think rationally. Angela Burgos saw what Cynthia went through, but she knew that unless and until the victim decided to speak for herself, she wouldn’t be able to help her cause. I didn’t understand why Cynthia had such a strong hope that one day, Vic would become a better man when all he did was make her do things according to his whims and fancies. Cynthia always felt that, no matter what, Vic was a good man deep down. Once, Vic sent her his picture with one of the dead bodies and he threatened her that she would meet a similar fate if she didn’t adhere to his commands. Probably, that was Vic’s sick way of cracking a joke, but when Angela saw it, she became even more paranoid. Angela’s sole intention was to save Cynthia, but it didn’t pan out as she expected it to. Angela committed a huge blunder by going to Ramon Fisher and informing him about the messages that Vic had sent. Fisher knew that in their group, there was no scope for this kind of recklessness. Fisher went and killed Vic, and for the longest time, Cynthia didn’t have any clue what happened to him. Fisher even gave orders to get Angela killed, but considering Harris was on her side, she got saved.
Why did Billy decide to join the army?
Billy suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and he was clearly not feeling well. He got these flashes from the past, where he was beaten by the other inmates in the prison. His parents were there for him, but still, they were not able to help his cause. Even his friends Isaac and Lee made sure that they didn’t leave his side, but Billy had become his own enemy. He started drinking more, and he did things in a rage that he was not proud of. It was as if he wanted to act recklessly, and he was ready to do anything to push everybody away from him. Billy went and got intimate with a girl he was dancing with at the bar. Isaac saw him doing that and later confronted him, too. Isaac told Billy that, though he was not going to tell Lee anything, he expected him to reveal the truth to her. Billy created a huge scene during the party that Grace had organized after she got a divorce from Virgil. Billy didn’t understand the need to celebrate divorce, and he ended up giving a sarcastic speech that embarrassed his parents and then later ended up vomiting on the table itself. Once Virgil and Isaac put him in bed, he started crying in that inebriated state.
The entire sequence in American Rust Season 2 told us how conflicted he felt from within. Billy was not at peace from within, and he felt like he was losing himself. He told Virgil that he didn’t want to work with him because he wanted to join the army. Billy wanted to make a fresh start, and he was very sure that he didn’t want to stay in his hometown. He knew that if he stayed there, he wouldn’t be able to get rid of his trauma. Billy didn’t have a very happy childhood. He was neglected by his father, and he never got the love and affection that he craved. Billy decided that he would propose to Lee for marriage before leaving for the army academy, but yet again, he was disappointed when she didn’t turn up on time. Lee went to New York, and she met her ex-husband there. They both got intimate, and Lee lost track of time. When she finally left, she left her mobile at Alejandro’s house, so Billy wasn’t able to contact her. Something would have still happened between them if Lee hadn’t met her fateful end. Billy came back to his hometown to attend Lee’s funeral. Billy was still in very bad shape, and probably in season 3 (if there is one), he would be able to leave his regrets, bury his traumas, and look at the brighter side of things.
Who killed Liam and Sue? And why?
At the beginning of the series, we saw that a man named Liam was murdered when somebody sent a parcel to his house that had an explosive hidden inside it. Liam’s wife, Nell, became the first suspect, but she told Angela and Del that she didn’t have anything to do with the bombing, and she was shaken as well as others because of it. Angela and Del got to know about another woman with whom apparently Nell had an extramarital affair. That woman was taken into custody, but there, too, the dots didn’t join, and both Angela and Del knew that they were missing out on some piece of information.
But suddenly, Nell confessed in front of the law enforcement authority that she was responsible for killing her husband, and Del and Angela both didn’t realize how she had a sudden change of mind. In a scene before that, we saw that Nell burned the documents of the Allegheny testing center that gave a safety certification regarding drinking water. In reality, Landwill Construction was bribing Nell, the owner of Allegheny Testing Centre, to keep the fact that the water was not safe hidden from public view. But after a period of time, Nell got even more greedy, and she threatened the Landwill Company to give her more money if they wanted her to keep her mouth shut. That’s when Russell Wolfe got a parcel delivered to Liam’s house that got him killed. Sue Herlitz had gotten to know about this fraud, and she was going to file a suit against the company for fraud and various other violations. That’s when Wolfe made sure that he removed Sue out of the way, and it helped his cause when the video where Sue was having an argument with Grace got leaked into the media. People thought that Grace had a strong motive to kill Sue, but in reality, it was Wolfe who was acting on behalf of the people he worked for. At the end of American Rust season 2, Nell hung herself in her cell, as she could not bear the pain of how nothing worked out in her favor, and she lost everything due to her own faults.
Did Del Harris confess to his crimes?
In American Rust season 2, we got to know that even Chief Bolt was a part of the brotherhood, something that both Angela and Del hadn’t seen coming. Angela and Del were both lucky that they were still alive as Fisher and other officers didn’t have any intention of leaving them.
When Del met Ramona, he realized that even Lee knew about the water scam and that’s how he realized that she could be Wolfe’s next target. He rushed to Lee’s office to ask her boss about her whereabouts, but she was nowhere to be found. As stated earlier, she didn’t have her mobile phone on her, which was why neither Billy nor Del were able to contact her. Del called Steve, and he told him to go to Lee’s residence as soon as possible, as her life was in danger. He told him that he would confess to his crimes if he went and helped out Lee. Steve was almost declared a lunatic by his own department, as he was just not ready to agree that Del and Grace had no involvement in the murder of Bobby Jesus and Jackson Berg in the first season of American Rust.
Steve reached Lee’s house, but Wolfe had already killed Lee by then. Wolfe came down and shot at Steve and his colleague, Hannah. Steve counter-fired, and he was able to get the better of Wolfe and ultimately kill him. Just then, Del arrived at the crime scene, and he was distraught when he found out that Lee was dead. Del confessed to all his crimes, and told Steve that he was right all along. But that was when Grace arrived out of nowhere and shot Steve dead. Grace had intuitively gotten to know that Del was stuck in some kind of trouble. She heard his voice on the phone, and she felt that something was not right with him. Hannah, who was still breathing, saw it all happening in front of her eyes. Del and Grace left her alive and escaped from there after making sure that they destroyed all evidence that could prove their presence there. So basically, even after confessing, Del’s crime never came to light.
Did Billy kill Ramon Fisher?
During the FBI operation, when Chief Bolt was exposed, every member of the brotherhood, apart from Ramon Fisher, either got killed or got arrested by the FBI. Fisher was able to escape, and the authorities weren’t able to find him till the very end.
American Rust season 2’s ending revealed that Hannah was still alive, so it is possible that in future she might inform the authorities about what Del and Grace had done. Del Harris got a promotion, and he was made the sheriff of Fayette County. We saw that Billy, Isaac, Grace, and Del were having dinner together when suddenly a laser pointer was aimed towards them. Billy noticed that, and so he immediately went out to find out who it was. We got to know that it was Ramon Fisher who was keeping an eye on the family. It is probable that Billy actually killed Fisher, and even if he didn’t, Fisher wouldn’t be able to hide for a very long period of time. The entire law enforcement machinery was searching for him, and he knew that sooner or later, he would be put behind bars. It would be interesting to see where the narrative leads us if the makers plan to come up with another season of American Rust.
