Brothers - Episode 2, "The Hunt" - Review & Recap
⚠️ Spoiler Alert: This review may contains spoilers. ⚠️
If the premiere of Brothers was about establishing the wonderfully dysfunctional relationship between Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, Episode 2 is where the show really starts having fun with it.
The seed has officially been planted.
Ma Mac told Woody that she knew his father, Charles Harrelson.
Woody understandably wants some clarification on exactly what "knew" means.
Unfortunately, Ma Mac isn't interested in providing it.
When Woody confronts her again, she brushes the whole thing off as a drunken conversation and tells him he should leave it alone.
Yeah.
That's definitely going to happen.
Meanwhile, Matthew has problems of his own. He announced to the families that he plans to run for Governor of Texas, which leads to one of the funniest new additions. Gwen Hillcrest Barnes-Davies, played by Lisa Gilroy, steals the show.
Matthew meets with Gwen to interview her about potentially running his campaign. At least Matthew thinks it's an interview.
Gwen seems to think it's her first day on the job.
She walks into the meeting with the confidence of someone who has already been hired, has reorganized the office and is wondering why everyone else hasn't caught up yet.
She's rude.
She's blunt.
She's brutally honest.
And she's hilarious.
Most of that brutality gets directed toward Matthew's wife, Valentina, played by Natalie Martinez.
Valentina explains that Matthew and their son Wyatt are going hunting the next morning because it's a McConaughey family tradition and a rite of passage for 16th birthdays.
Gwen listens for approximately three seconds before completely tuning her out.
Her response?
She's going to find Valentina someone who can help her tell stories better.
Ouch.
Then she notices Valentina's outfit and decides she's also going to find her a stylist because she's wearing a dress made out of jeans.
BRUTAL.
I loved it.
Gilroy manages to play Gwen as someone who is completely obnoxious while simultaneously making you understand exactly why Matthew might want her running a political campaign. She has absolutely no filter, and that makes her an immediate comedic weapon for the series.
The episode's other major storyline begins with Wyatt receiving a rifle for his birthday.
Matthew couldn't be more excited.
Wyatt could.
A lot more.
Woody, meanwhile, is horrified by the entire concept. We learn more about his desire to protect all living things and how deeply he's passed those beliefs onto his daughters. As far as Woody is concerned, his girls would never intentionally kill another living creature.
That assumption is about to get tested.
The next morning, Matthew wakes Wyatt by scraping antlers together near his head.
Because apparently that's how McConaugheys say good morning with a hunt in mind.
They load up the truck and prepare for their big father-son hunting expedition when Olive suddenly announces she's coming along.
I know this is fiction, but I've got to give Matthew credit here.
He takes it surprisingly well.
There's a little sarcasm over Olive joining what was supposed to be a father-son rite of passage, but Matthew ultimately accepts it and welcomes her aboard.
Then Kai joins them too.
Again, Matthew keeps his cool.
I'm honestly not sure I would have.
So what started as Matthew taking his son on a traditional McConaughey hunting trip is now
Matthew taking Woody Harrelson's environmentally conscious daughters hunting.
This should go well.
While his daughters unknowingly head off on a mission that could potentially end with them killing something, Woody starts digging deeper into his father's past.
He visits the bar where he believes Ma Mac met Charles Harrelson.
It's also the same bar where Woody had his first drink, and apparently puked on the pool table that very same day.
The place is definitely presented as one of Charles Harrelson's old haunts, but nobody seems to remember anything useful about Charles or Woody.
Or at least that's what they tell him.
Because as soon as Woody leaves, the bartender makes a phone call.
Someone wants to know Woody Harrelson is asking questions.
And suddenly the funny little mystery about whether Woody and Matthew might share a father feels considerably more dangerous.
Back in the woods, Matthew is having the time of his life.
The girls are mostly hanging back and talking. Wyatt looks considerably less enthusiastic than his father.
In fact, the poor kid is mostly hoping the deer will go to heaven while writing in his journal.
Matthew doesn't seem to notice.
He's completely immersed in the tradition, telling Wyatt stories about previous generations of
McConaughey men and their hunting successes while tracking a deer through the woods.
Then Woody discovers his daughters went hunting.
He loses his mind.
Woody races into the woods just as Matthew has finally gotten Wyatt into position. The deer is in his sights. Matthew is overflowing with fatherly excitement.
Wyatt hesitates.
Luckily.
Because Woody suddenly jumps directly into the line of fire.
Matthew grabs the gun before Wyatt can accidentally shoot him.
Woody is pissed.
Matthew is pissed.
The kids have absolutely no idea what the hell is happening.
And this is where Brothers completely works for me.
I don't have any brothers. I grew up with two sisters.
But through marriage, I inherited a family with three brothers.
For the last 26 years, I've witnessed some weird shit brothers do to each other.
And fighting? Oh yeah. Brothers fight.
Sometimes it's serious. Sometimes it's ridiculous. Sometimes they're screaming at each other over something that sounds insane to everyone else in the room, and five minutes later everything is fine.
Watching Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey play a heightened comedic version of that dynamic is becoming one of my favorite things about this series.
Matthew dismisses the kids and tells them to take his truck home.
He and Woody will find their own way back.
Which means we're now trapping two furious grown men together.
Excellent decision.
The argument continues in the car. Woody is outraged that his daughters might have killed an animal. Matthew is outraged because Woody could have been killed.
And then Brothers delivered what might be one of the funniest moments I've seen on streaming in quite some time.
I'm not telling you what happens. Yes, I know I routinely warn people that my reviews contain spoilers. But this one is too good. You need to experience it.
Full disclosure: I was under the influence of a gummy when I watched it, which may have enhanced the experience.
I'll leave that particular viewing decision up to you.
But I laughed my ass off.
Once everyone gets home and Matthew sees the effect the hunting trip had on the family, he actually does something I appreciated. He admits he was tone-deaf. The tradition meant something deeply personal to him, but that didn't necessarily mean everyone else needed to experience it the same way.
Ma Mac, of course, has a slightly different assessment. She basically looks around at the traumatized family and concludes that everyone has gotten very soft. God bless Ma Mac.
Meanwhile, Woody desperately needs a moment of peace.
He tries to find some solace with a joint when Olive interrupts him. Woody begs her to go easy on him. He's had a really bad day. Instead, we get one of the episode's sweetest scenes. Woody acknowledges that he didn't handle Olive's breakup with her fiancé in Episode 1 particularly well. Father and daughter finally get the conversation they needed. It's a genuinely warm moment that reinforces something I really like about Woody's characterization.
He's a mess.
But he's trying.
He doesn't always know what to say. His instinct is often to escape conflict rather than deal with it. But when he's forced to confront his mistakes, there's a good man underneath all that chaos. Father and daughter are good.
Unfortunately, Woody's day isn't over. Not even close.
Woody receives a call from the bar. Someone apparently has information about his father. Come back and they'll talk. Woody arrives to find the place completely empty.
Nobody behind the bar.
Nobody waiting for him.
Nothing.
Then—
WHAM.
Beer bottle to the head.
Woody wakes up tied to a chair with a Houston phone book strapped to his chest. And that's when we meet the Travis brothers. TJ Travis, played by Jeff Kober, and Carl Travis, played by Barry Corbin.
Can I take a minute to appreciate these two?
I grew up seeing Kober on China Beach. That was definitely more my parents' choice than mine, but he's one of those actors I've recognized every time he's popped up over the years, including more recently on The Pitt.
Then there's Barry Corbin. Some people probably know him from Northern Exposure. Others might remember him from The Ranch. Me? WarGames. I will forever picture Corbin as General Beringer opposite Matthew Broderick. He was imposing, funny and fantastic.
Seeing Kober and Corbin show up together as these two old-school Texas brothers was an absolute treat.
And their explanation for kidnapping Woody is even better.
Charles Harrelson owed them money.
Woody points out that his father didn't exactly "skip out" on the debt. The man spent the rest of his life in federal prison. The Travis brothers don't care. A debt is a debt. Woody reluctantly asks the obvious question. How much? $1,800.
Woody is understandably furious. YOU HIT ME OVER THE HEAD WITH A BEER BOTTLE FOR $1,800?!
Well... That was $1,800 in the 1970s. Add decades of interest and we're now looking at somewhere around... $180,000.
That's a little different.
Woody tells them he doesn't have the money.
They don't believe him.
That's when they explain the Houston phone book strapped to his chest. If they shoot him through the Houston phone book, the book should be thick enough to prevent the bullet from going all the way through him. Keep screwing around, though? They'll switch to Beaumont. It's a much smaller phone book.
Now Woody is listening.
It's such an absurd threat that it perfectly encapsulates what Brothers is becoming. The situation is genuinely dangerous, but the comedy never disappears.
Before things get worse, the door opens.
Ma Mac. With a shotgun.
She tells the Travis brothers to let Woody go. Immediately.
And suddenly we have a whole bunch of new questions.
How does Ma Mac know these guys?
How much does she know about Charles?
Why was she able to walk into this situation and take control?
And what exactly happened all those years ago?
As they're untying Woody, TJ accidentally fires the gun directly into him.
Turns out the Houston phone book works.
Thank God they hadn't switched to Beaumont.
Ma Mac scolds the brothers, gets Woody out of there, hops onto her motorcycle and once again tells him to leave all of this alone.
Sure, Ma Mac. No problem. We'll just forget the secret relationship with Charles Harrelson, the mysterious bartender, the kidnapping, the $180,000 debt, the Houston phone book, the attempted shooting and the two elderly Texas gangsters who apparently know you well enough to listen when you point a shotgun at them. Nothing suspicious here.
Episode 2 is where Brothers really clicked for me. The first episode established the premise and gave us the wonderful chemistry between Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. The second starts expanding their world while showing just how bizarre this fictionalized reality can become.
More importantly, the "Are Woody and Matthew really brothers?" question isn't carrying the show. It doesn't need to. I'm much more entertained watching these two behave like brothers than I am concerned about whether a DNA test eventually proves they are.
The hunting trip gives us Woody and Matthew at their funniest and most ridiculous. Olive gives Woody a chance to show some heart. Gwen Hillcrest Barnes-Davies brings an entirely new comedic energy. And the Travis brothers push the Charles Harrelson storyline into territory I absolutely did not expect.
Then there's Ma Mac. What the hell does this woman know?
Two episodes in, Brothers has become exactly the kind of comedy I hoped it would be: ridiculous without being stupid, heartfelt without becoming overly sentimental, and just grounded enough in reality that you occasionally have to remind yourself that most of what you're watching is fiction.
The chemistry is there.
The mystery is getting stranger.
The family dynamics are getting better.
And apparently Houston phone books can stop bullets.
I cannot wait to see what happens next.
Check out the trailer for Brothers, now streaming on Apple TV:
