‘Will Trent’ Channels ‘The Neverending Story’s Artax Moment

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for Will Trent Season 3 Episode 16, “Push, Jump, Fall.”]

There are multiple moments of reckoning in Will Trent‘s latest episode, but one will undoubtedly get audiences of a certain age reminiscing about a cult classic movie moment.

While Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen) grapples with the death of her abusive mother by turning to the bottle, and Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) reluctantly makes preparations in case his brain tumor — and still-unscheduled surgery — becomes fatal, Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) is still dealing with his guilt over the shooting death of the teen Marco.

While Angie and Michael get to the bottom of a falling death, Will and Faith (Iantha Richardson) are tasked with tracking down a barrel rider who has stolen an aging horse, with a body in her wake. They don’t believe she is responsible for the murder, but they need to find her to get to the bottom of the grisly scene.

While camping in the woods, Will confesses to Faith that he’s still damaged by the death of Marco, who died by Will’s bullet after a self-defense shot ricocheted and hit the 14-year-old boy. (He’s been seeing a therapist of sorts who has asked him if he wants to live, and we don’t get to hear a reply.) Will tells Faith about how his little brother came to visit him with a gun in his backpack, with the intention of killing him in retribution. Faith, like the spiritual healer he sees at the beginning of the episode, tries to use words of kindness to help — “God doesn’t judge us by our worst actions,” she tells him. “We’re always going to make mistakes. But the goal is not to be perfect. The goal is to be good. We help people, Will… We’re going to keep stacking on those good deeds because that is the only thing that is in our control.”

After they find the rider, Bernadette, Will determines that the horse has been poisoned by the ranch owner’s decision to traffic drugs through the animal’s insides. It’s then that the person who’s been tracking them starts opening fire, and they have to get the upper hand on him, which Faith does. Will is then asked to lead the very ill Pancake to a vet, and along the way, the animal begins to slow down.

He hugs the horse and tells her, “Hey girl, I know you’re not feeling well, all right? But we need to keep going, okay? I want you to see Ms. Bernadette again, okay? So what do you say huh girl? Can we do that? Can you find the strength?” After he takes some of the healer-prescribed “optimism drops” and shares them with the animal, he feels pretty good. The vibes don’t last long, though. The horse eventually falls from fatigue, and Will channels The Neverending Story‘s Atreyu with Artax scene — minus the quicksand — to plead with her. “You can’t give up now. C’mon girl. You’re okay… Please please be okay. You listen to me Pancake, you and me, we’re going to make a deal, all right? If you live, I live… We’re going to get through this because we’re choosing to be alive, okay? We’re choosing to be alive.” Millennials will certainly know the trauma of this pop culture reference, but fortunately, the ending isn’t quite as bleak this time.

Elsewhere, Angie tells Michael she’s going to go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and he says it’s time to fill his kids in on his health concerns. Only one of them makes good on their commitment. After Michael fills in his family, his son offers to give him a ride home from the hospital after his surgery, and Cooper plies him with a well-developed list of questions. Meanwhile, Angie toasts to her dead mother with a glass of straight gin and throws her mom’s ashes into a toilet (which she instantly regrets) before pouring out her drink, too, and saying the “cycle stops” with her. Unfortunately, that also fails to get a follow-through because she’s then shown getting in the middle of a fight with a squabbling couple at the bar, and she winds up being attacked by both parties.

This isn’t over for any of them by a long shot, but Will does seem to end the episode with a spot of optimism (whether it’s medication-based or not).

On a brighter note, Amanda (Sonja Sohn) gets the line of the episode when, after Faith jokes that she needs to call the fashion police, she says, “I’m already here.”

Will Trent, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC

If you or someone you know has addiction issues, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration‘s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or dial 988. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.