The Waterfront Episode 6 Recap: Harlan Goes Too Far, Belle Breaks, and Peyton Burns

 

It turns out drug running is extremely stressful, and our guy Cane is not handling it well at all. Photo: Dana Hawley/Netflix

In a series already drowning in secrets, violence, and emotional landmines, The Waterfront somehow found a way to go darker, meaner, and messier. Episode 6, “Pouring Gasoline on the Problem,” doesn’t just hint at the Buckleys’ spiraling downfall—it practically tosses a match into the oil drum. From near-immolation to a screwdriver through the skull, this week’s episode is an escalating symphony of chaos that doesn’t let a single character off the hook.

Let’s start where we left off: Peyton Buckley, almost literally going up in flames in front of her home. Thankfully, she survives, but the trauma is palpable. The gasoline stink still lingers in her hair, and she’s nervously clutching a handgun like a new appendage. The assault wasn’t just a scare tactic; it was a warning—a clear message from Clyde Proctor that he’s done playing nice. And Harlan knows exactly who sent it.

What does Harlan do? He storms into the sheriff’s office, demanding answers, only to be met with Clyde’s smug indifference. Clyde suggests Harlan take a step back and reconsider his resistance to meeting Grady, the drug kingpin pulling strings behind the scenes. Then, in an absolute power move, Clyde strolls into the Buckleys’ restaurant and directs his threats toward Belle, who he’s decided is actually the one in charge. He lays it out: get in line, or your family starts dying.

Belle’s not naive, but she is strategic. She understands what this game is: survival, not pride. She doesn’t want to prove anything to Clyde; she just wants to keep her family breathing. She tells Harlan to make peace, to play nice, to smile through gritted teeth if it means keeping the sheriff’s bloodlust in check. But when Harlan pushes back, unwilling to play the puppet, that’s her limit. She’s already put up with his side-flings, accepted his love child, and gone above and beyond to keep the family intact. But this? This unwillingness to choose survival over ego? It’s too much. So Belle does what any woman on the brink might do—she texts Wes.

Her rendezvous with Wes is more awkward than passionate, but Belle’s not looking for romance. She wants escape, validation, a moment that’s about her. She leaves that hotel room with regret etched across her face, but the quiet satisfaction of having reclaimed some control. She deserves this, even if it’s fleeting.

Meanwhile, Harlan continues to barrel down the path of self-destruction. Instead of diplomacy, he captures the two thugs who attacked Peyton and tries to force Cane to beat them within an inch of their lives. Cane refuses, clinging to his last shreds of morality while his father mocks him for being “soft.” Cane’s unraveling is hard to watch—his panic attacks, his desperate search for calm in the eye of a storm, his quiet plea for normalcy. And instead of going to Peyton, the woman who was nearly set on fire for simply being married to him, he turns to Jenna, his ex-flame and emotional security blanket.

Jenna and Cane’s afternoon of drinks and gentle vulnerability is heartbreakingly beautiful if you momentarily forget the surrounding hurricane of drugs, violence, and betrayal. Cane calls her his “one sweet distraction,” which might be the most honest thing anyone has said on this show. But distraction or not, reality comes roaring back. Peyton confronts Cane with raw, open pain—she needed him, and he wasn’t there. He promises to try, and when she collapses into his arms sobbing, it's a gut punch of a scene.

And just when you think things can’t spiral any further, Harlan delivers. He follows Belle’s instructions—sort of. He goes to Clyde’s garage under the guise of a peace offering. But this is Harlan Buckley, and he doesn’t do peace. He pitches a deal: let him run the operations, keep Clyde’s hands clean, maintain his cut. It’s insulting. Clyde knows it. And so, in true Waterfront fashion, the conversation escalates into a full-blown fight. When Clyde pulls a gun, Harlan ends it with a screwdriver to the face. Straight through the jaw, into the brain. It’s brutal, messy, and final. Clyde’s dead. And Harlan? He immediately starts having another heart episode. Because of course he does. The Buckley train doesn’t stop—it just derails harder every time.

And all this happens while subplots boil just under the surface. Bree helps Marcus access GPS logs from the drug boats, but the evidence is still too weak to justify an arrest. Marcus, fresh out of rehab, is nearing the edge again. And Bree? She’s accidentally flirting with Shawn, who—plot twist—is probably her half-brother. Because yes, The Waterfront really is that show.

And what about Wes? He’s smooth, generous, and suspiciously perfect. There’s no way he’s not hiding something.

As for Jenna’s husband, Scott? He’s already skipped town because he “doesn’t do sick people.” Which might be the least sympathetic excuse on television. We’re not rooting for infidelity here… but if Cane and Jenna happen to kiss next episode, we’ll understand.

This episode is a turning point. With Clyde dead, the Buckleys are no longer dealing with threats—they’re creating them. There’s no more playing defense. The war is coming, and it’s coming fast. The flames didn’t consume Peyton, but something tells me they’re just getting started.