Re: The Jerky Standoff — A Bitter Flat Postmortem

The cast reconvenes after 'Tail of Chaos' aired to debate what actually happened at Bitter Flat. Rusty arrives convinced he can salvage the episode as a tragedy about historical integrity; Molly arrives wearing the tin star and refusing to apologize; Oreo arrives still chewing jerky he smuggled back through the wagon. What starts as a victory-lap recap cracks open when Esme — who stayed home — quietly admits the bowl-humming cutaways scared her more than anything the boys did in 1863, and Molly finally lands a thought that makes Rusty stop defending the standoff and admit he was never really protecting history, he was protecting his own narration.