WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Walker Episode 7, "Tracks," which aired Thursday on The CW.
One thing that's been especially striking about The CW's reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger is that the new television series has a particularly strong focus on family. Cordell Walker and his family are rocked to their core in the series premiere episode when his wife Emily is murdered, with Cordell and his children fractured as they confront their unresolved grief. And while Walker has come a long way since the premiere in making amends with his children, one character very close to him has just endured her own bombshell revelations about her parentage: Micki Ramirez.
In the immediate aftermath of losing Emily, Walker buried his grief in his work, taking an undercover assignment that separated him from his family for eleven months as he busted a gang of notorious bank robbers. By the time Walker returned to his family, his family -- especially his daughter Stella -- had moved on without him, resentful he had left them to mourn on their own. Since then, Walker has taken the time to be there for both of his teenage kids, from teaching Stella how to drive to being there for his son August on camping trips and other key moments in his high school life.
For Micki, the young Ranger was a partner that always did things more by the book than Walker, ready to prove herself as the first Latina woman on the law enforcement agency after a stint in the Army and with the Texas police force. Offering Walker a pragmatic, no-nonsense perspective, Micki has her partner's best interests at heart as he has to deal with shady friends and her mother, who evaluates Walker on how his mental health is affecting his work performance. However, with Adriana Ramirez back on the scene, Micki discovers a shocking truth about her own mother that is set to change her life forever.
With Adriana arrested for a DUI hit-and-run accident, Micki is convinced her mother is lying about committing the crime, even as she assures her that it was truly her fault. As Micki and Walker continue their investigation, Micki is shocked to discover that Adriana is actually her aunt, who paid off her biological mother to adopt her as her own daughter because Micki's mother had addiction problems. Instead of being born in Texas as Micki believed all her life, the Texas Ranger discovers she was actually born in New Mexico under the name Nina Ruiz; the hit-and-run Adriana was arrested for was committed by her biological mother, with Adriana taking the blame to avoid Micki discovering the truth.
After a relatively slow start, Walker has been delivering plot twist after another as the new series has settled in and found its own voice. Family drama is quickly subsiding for Walker and his family, even as new revelations come to light over Emily's murder. But the real familial shocker comes for Walker's normally well-reserved partner Micki as she learns that her entire life is all just one elaborate lie that is poised to haunt her for the rest of the series.
Walker stars Jared Padalecki, Lindsey Morgan, Keegan Allen, Mitch Pileggi, Molly Hagan and Coby Bell. New episodes air Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.