R.J. DECKER - “Before You Accuse Me” - Emi hires R.J. to re-investigate the murder of a police officer in hopes of exonerating a possibly wrongly convicted man who took the fall. The sensitive investigation puts him at odds with Mel. TUESDAY, OCT. 27 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Dana Hawley) KEVIN RANKIN
RJ Decker Recap for 10/27/2026
The season finale of RJ Decker on ABC opens with the flashback of Officer Bobby Werner’s death. Mel is also there talking about….flan for a pregnant woman named Jessica.
Bobby is on the phone talking about said flan with Mel while buying food….as he gets killed. It is a constant nightmare Mel has as she relives that horrific moment.
RJ interviews the alleged killer Gabriel, who confessed to the crime and then recanted said confession. He tries to explain what happened and how he thinks evidence was planted to pin the murder on him.
RJ tries to figure out what really happened and if the weapon was really used again.
Later on, he talks to Emi about it and vows to try and figure out the truth. Emi then tells him that Mel was involved…..which causes Mel and RJ to get into a huge fight over whether or not he should help Gabriel.
RJ tells Emi that Mel is not a happy bunny, and he has never seen her this mad before. Wish is on a Facebook group for ex-cons to get more information, which proves there is truly a social media group for EVERYTHING these days.
Cue RJ in a lawyer’s officer, where he calls out an attorney named Nick Nolan for his bad AI Spanish skills, which only served to piss off a client.
RJ wants to know who shot Nick’s billboard and Nick says that after thirty years of being a lawyer it could be anyone and who really cares.
The receptionist says she is worried, gives RJ some information and asks if he can please leave his resume? Which is code for leave your number because I want to do more than play lawyer and client tonight.
Mel visits Bobby’s widow Jessica, who says this is having such a negative impact on the lives of her and her daughter Danielle. Mel promises to be there and help in any way she can.
RJ is undercover in a bar, where everyone is in costume. He tries to question a suspect, ends up talking to the wrong guy and causes the real suspect to run like he’s Leader of the Pack on a motorcycle.
The guy gets his cape stuck in a dumpster, falls and after an Avengers joke by RJ is let off the hook….all because he is nineteen and unless he was advanced for his age, wasn’t out killing cops in the middle of the night at nine years old. He was either in bed or if it was Friday night, at home watching Friday Night Lights or Say Yes to the Dress against his will with his sister.
Or if he did do it, maybe he did some sort of Dr. Who time travel.
Apparently, this little darling had the gun for protection since he lived in a sketchy neighborhood and wanted to protect his mom. He ended up moving to a better neighborhood and forgot about the gun until he lost his job thanks to Nick. This all led him to getting drunk and shooting up his billboard.
I am all sorts of confused here. How did he get the gun from the crime in the first place? I am assuming that some sketchy dude sold it to him after the murder?
RJ wants Trudy’s help, but she refuses. However, Harbor Forensics might be able to help….
Katherine brings Mel coffee and wants to help. Mel vents to her about the case, RJ being involved and how it is so stressful. Katherine comforts her.
Emi found Dookie, a suspect in the case. His name Marco but he is dead, so if he is the real killer, the case will be harder to prove. She also wants to know about Trudy and teases him about it while trying not to be jealous.
Harbor Forensics connects the gun to a man named Arthur who died in 1997. They make tracks to find his widow to see why a cop killer ended up with his gun.
She says the gun went missing ten years ago and says she reported it to her grandnephew, a man named Flynn…who was Bobby’s partner….and now RJ’s #1 suspect.
RJ questions Flynn, who left the force after an incident with a shoplifter. Flynn confesses he stole the gun to be a just in case plant gun, which caused a rift between him and Bobby. He says he had nothing to do with him dying but says he was robbed before the murder.
He tried to do his own investigation but got no hits on the prints. At the time, he pretended it was a part of a graffiti investigation….which RJ thinks can help him find the real killer.
Trudy reluctantly helps.
Wish has a lead connecting them to a guy named Grey Worm, who is a former addict who got clean and knew Gabriel. He has an alibi for the night of the murder (in the hospital after an OD) and was questioned by a Latina in a gang on a motorcycle…..and it is none other than MEL!
RJ goes to question Mel….and she says she pretended to be in a gang and did what she had to do to help bring Bobby’s killer to justice……or so it seems. All for nothing, since someone else called in a tip to pin the murder on Gabriel.
She denies actually planting evidence and just doesn’t know why RJ sees her as a bad guy and Gabriel as someone who is innocent.
As RJ talks to Emi about what went down, Mel calls him to say she never planted the hoodie found in the case. The new investigation did lead to new prints. This means Gabriel is innocent, but who is the real killer.
RJ and Mel go to talk to Jessica, and she is a mess when she finds out that Gabriel is innocent….then she finds out that there is evidence to prove that SHE killed Bobby!!!
She is a BLACK WIDOW, having killed her first husband in a car accident to collect his insurance money.
Her prints were in the system since she was involved in her daughter’s school activities.
Gabriel is now going to be a free man if all goes well. His mom is also excited to see him and is doing well in her breast cancer battle.
Mel is so upset about the fact that Jessica wasn’t who she seemed. She and RJ toast in Bobby’s memory. She also promises to get RJ back into Trudy’s good graces.
Jessica calls and wants to know how Danielle’s grandparents got emergency custody of her….and says she doesn’t know who she is without her.
She wonders how Mel will feel if she were in her shoes.
Mel is freaking out as Jessica goes after Katherine and Sofia and the season comes to a close.
About the Author
