In the first season of Walker, Texas Ranger Cordell Walker (Jared Padalecki) returned home after a lengthy undercover assignment. His wife had been murdered, and he needed some time away, but now he was back to reconnect with his family and get back to more standard policework along with new partner Micki Ramirez (Lindsey Morgan). At the same time, Cordell continued to look for answers in his wife’s murder. By the end of the season, Walker got an admission from the person who fired the fatal shot that killed his wife. However, he was killed while being taken to court to testify, in a shot that seemed to be meant for Walker. A new threat had arrived in town, the Del Rio crime syndicate, and Micki agreed to go undercover to investigate. However, in the closing moments o the season, we saw that someone had a hidden camera set up in Walker home and was watching Cordell with his children.

The second season picks up 3 months later. Micki (Lindsey Morgan) is still away on her undercover mission, and it’s starting to take its toll on her relationship with boyfriend Trey (Jeff Pierre). Meanwhile, the Walkers are excited to see who their new neighbors are going to be, but are disappointed to discover that its actually their former neighbors, the Davidsons, who have returned to town. The Walkers and The Davidsons have a dark history with one another, and have been feuding for years. Abby Walker (Molly Hagan) certainly isn’t happy to see her old rival Gale (Paula Marshall). Gale’s daughter Denise (Amara Zaragoza) is the town’s new District Attorney, and she has her own sordid past with Cordell. Liam Walker (Keegan Allen) is upset and humiliated that he has been replaced and demoted to A.D.A., and he doesn’t really trust Denise. Also new in town are Denise’s supportive husband Dan (Dave Annable) and their teenage son Colton (Jalen Thomas Brooks).

The history and ill relationship between the Walkers and the Davidsons becomes a big part of the season, causing some rifts at each generational level. Though there is, of course, a bit of a Romeo & Juliette type situation that starts to form between Stella Walker & Colton Davidson. We also get some flashbacks of Young Walker (Mason Thames), giving some glimpses into Cordell and Denise’s past. The season also sees some cast changes, with Odette Annable moving from recurring to series regular, so there’s more of Geri and the bar. And, unfortunately actress Lindsey Morgan announced her decision to step away from the series early on, so fans must say goodbye to Micki Ramirez shortly into the season, though she could come back at some point. However, Walker quickly finds himself with a new new partner, Cassie Perez (Ashley Reyes), a Texas Ranger from Dallas. As much as I enjoyed and will miss Micki, I also quite enjoy Cassie, what she adds to the series, her chemistry with Cordell, and the fun way she is introduced.

I never really watched much of the original Walker, Texas Ranger series back in the day, so I can’t really comment on the differences, but I have been enjoying this reboot. The series has this great blend of action, character drama, and humor, mixing case-of-the-week storylines with longer story arcs and mysteries. There is also this great family aspect to the series, with the interactions between the various generations of Walkers at the family ranch. I also enjoy the way the series allows all of its characters to change and evolve over the course of the season.

CBS Home Entertainment has only released the second season of Walker on DVD, despite the series airing in HD on The CW. However, the first season was just released on Blu-ray last month after initially only getting a DVD release last year, so it’s possible they could decide to release this season on Blu-ray in the future as well. That said, the series still looks very good on this DVD release, with a very clean, colorful, and satisfying picture. It’s just missing that little extra clarity that you get with the HD resolution. The audio track provides clear dialogue and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to put the viewer in the middle of the action sequences.

The second season’s 20 episodes are spread across 5 discs, with two overlapping discs on either side of a clear, standard-sized DVD keepcase, and one disc on a tray in the middle. The discs include a small selection of bonus material, including 7 minutes of deleted scenes, and a fun 9-minute gag reel. There is no slipcover or digital copy included.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (13:54:27)

• All 20 episodes of the second season:
  Disc 1 (2:45:43): “They Started It”, “The One Who Got Away”, “Barn Burner”, “It’s Not What You Think”
  Disc 2 (2:48:53): “Partners and Third Wheels”, “Douglas Fir”, “Where Do We Go From Here?”, “Two Points for Honesty”
  Disc 3 (2:46:49): “Sucker Punch”, “Nudge”, “Boundaries”, “Common Ground”
  Disc 4 (2:47:07): “One Good Thing”, “No Such Thing As Fair Play”, “Bygones”, “Champagne Problems”
  Disc 5 (2:45:55): “Torn”, “Search and Rescue”, “A Matter of Miles”, “Something’s Missing”
• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes (7:19)
  Collection of 8 deleted scenes from 6 of the season’s episodes. Scenes can be found on the discs with their related episodes.
  • “They Started It” (:55) – 1 scene
    At dinner, Walker is distracted by memories of a fire in a barn when he was younger.
  • “Douglas Fir” (1:22) – 1 scene
    Liam confronts Walker, who doesn’t want to accept that Dan may not be innocent.
    
  • “Boundaries” (1:40) – 2 scenes
    Denise watches video footage of Walker and his mother; Cassie drives a drunk Dan home as he vents about the sad state of his life.
  • “One Good Thing” (1:07) – 1 scene
    Cassie finds a drawing of Walker in her desk, Captain James gives her some words of encouragement.
  • “A Matter of Miles” (:49) – 1 scene
    Captain James talks to Cassie about investigating Miles.
  • “Something’s Missing” (1:26) – 2 scenes
    Stella and Colton talk about their feuding families; August takes photos as Abby cleans up from the graduation party.
• Gag Reel (9:23)
  Laugh along with the cast as they flub their lines, miss their marks, crack each other up, curse (bleeped), deal with traffic noises & rogue boom mics, dance, and just have fun on set.

Final Thoughts:

In its second season, Walker continues to be a fun, action-packed series that finds a nice blend of case-of-the-week and season-long story arcs. The second season brings in some great new characters, introducing some interesting new dynamics, and delving into the Walker family’s past. The DVD release looks and sounds great, but it’s a little disappointing that there is no Blu-ray option, especially since the first season was just released on Blu-ray last month. The discs contain a small but entertaining assortment of bonus material. The release comes recommended for anyone looking for a fun action/cop series with a little more character drama.