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‘Longmire’ Season 5 Release Date Announced: Will Walt, Vic End Up Together? [Spoilers]

By Aric Mitchell
Published on: 10:04 PST, Aug 26, 2016

Longmire Season 5 will hit Netflix on September 23 in one binge-worthy bloc, and it now appears that the show could be capitalizing on one of the books’ biggest subplots.

In a new teaser photo leaked to the press via Instagram, Sheriff Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor) and his crass deputy Vic (Katee Sackhoff) appear together.

And by “together,” the implication is “together together.” There are actually several photos with more than a few flirty poses, but it’s hard to tell which photos are supposed to be Robert and Katee and which ones are Walt and Vic.

Here’s why this is significant.

As anyone familiar with the Craig Johnson novels on which Longmire is based knows, the “will they or won’t they?” angst of those first two novels finally pays off in a sexual tryst in Philadelphia as Sheriff Longmire seeks comfort in Vic when dealing with a brutal attack on his daughter.

The show — first on A&E, now on Netflix — has dabbled in the books’ plots throughout its 43-episode run, but it has also departed enough from the norm to keep both casual and crossover fans guessing.

Season 4 even teased a potential romance with Vic confronting Walt directly about being together. He promptly shut her down.

It’s an interesting dynamic with Walt and Vic if you watch the series, because while Sheriff Longmire clearly cares for Vic, he has not bitten on any hint of romance and has even rebuffed what could be seen as some of her flirtations along the way.

It’s a bit of role reversal that has endeared Sheriff Longmire to audiences because it casts him more in a fatherly and caring light, considering the significant age difference between he and his deputy.

Crossing that line in Season 5 could be off-putting to some fans of the show, but it would not be out of line with Johnson’s original vision.

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However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it would be “in line” with what has been established on the series so far.

To understand why a Walt and Vic romance may not be right for the series, it’s important to draw distinctions between the Longmire of the book and the one in the series.

When viewers first meet Walt Longmire on Season 1, Episode 1, he is clearly bothered by the passing of his wife.

Mrs. Longmire suffered from terminal cancer, but as audiences discover in subsequent episodes, that wasn’t her cause of death.

The mystery surrounding her demise is what drives Sheriff Longmire through the first three seasons and into the beginning of Season 4 where the plot is finally tied up.

In the books, Walt is the dutiful husband and stays by his wife’s side until her actual cancer-caused death. There is no ongoing mystery there, and from some of Walt’s thoughts, it appears that he isn’t too broken-up over her passing.

That’s not to say that he welcomed her death. Just that the passion and romance had died long before she did, and the two spouses pretty much tolerated one another.

Also, the Walt of the book has a libido that hasn’t shown up too often in the series.

But what do you think, readers? Is it time for Walt and Vic to explore their relationship together in Longmire Season 5, or is this one case where a show and its inspiration should be kept separate? Sound off in the comments section below.

[Image via Netflix]

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