That felt an awful lot like the calm before the storm.
Big Sky Season 1 Episode 6 was the aftermath of the first half of this season, which saw three women fighting for their lives, two psychopaths trying to cover their tracks, and two women doing their best to put aside their differences to solve a haunting case.
But while the girls are safe now and Rick is no longer a threat (sort of), the case is far from over.
After the events of Big Sky Season 1 Episode 5, it seemed fairly obvious that Rick was dead, right? Well, not so fast.
Rick not dying is the kind of curveball this show seems to live for. His death would have given Ronald a little peace of mind knowing that he couldn’t bring him down with him, but now he has to worry about Rick, on top of the girls, and whatever information Rick may have stored away about him.
Considering Montana’s entire state is on his trail, one would think Ronald would get out of town. But no, he’s decided to keep on living his everyday life apparently, while making some minor changes like changing the color of his truck.
Grace and Danielle will eventually go home, but Jerrie is still very local, and he runs a significant risk sticking around and keeping tabs on her. And trying to threaten her isn’t really the play, as it just lets Cassie and Jenny know that he’s still hanging around in plain sight.
Speaking of Jenny and Cassie, this was the hour we’ve been waiting for since the end of the pilot, as the girls finally learned Cody’s fate and started to solidify the tentative partnership they’ve been forming since the day the girls disappeared.
Jenny and Cassie have a lot more in common than they would ever want to admit. They’re both strong-willed, a little hot-headed, loyal, and committed. All those qualities make them great detectives, and it’s what led them to Rick in time.
They’re both ready to jump back into work as a way to push forward, but hopefully, they allow themselves time to grieve Cody’s death as well.
You know, Cody died on a rescue mission. And it wasn’t in vain. And you continued that mission. And you got those girls out. Remember that.
Denise [to Jenny]
We’ve gotten more insight into Cassie and Cody’s relationship than that of Jenny and Cody’s, but regardless of that, these are two women who loved a man that was brutally taken from them. And even solving this case isn’t going to take away that pain.
Cassie has to deal with the trauma of the shooting on top of everything else, and it often feels like, at times, she’s mere seconds away from breaking down completely. When they allow the two women to exist and relate to one another instead of competing, they are some of the brightest spots of a given installment.
There were many emotional beats this hour, a nice change of path from the frantic first couple of episodes.
It would have been nice to check in with Jerrie, Danielle, and Grace more and see how they were doing, but that wasn’t really in the cards. Maybe in the future, we’ll get to spend some more time with them to see how they’re adjusting to their new reality post kidnapping and confinement.
But while we didn’t get much time with the girls, we were afforded time to deal with Cody’s death and check in with Merrilee.
Merrilee: I feel responsible.
Cassie: This is not on you.
Merrilee: It is. At least some. We spent our days not noticing one another. Day after day after day. Imagine my capacity to not see somebody.
Merrilee is an intriguing study because, on the one hand, you want to scream at her for not seeing the signs, but in the end, what’s done is done, and she did not seem to know the man she was married to.
It’s kind of scary to think about marrying a literal monster and having no idea until he’s shoot in the head and all his secrets come bubbling to the surface. Cooking, cleaning, and sleeping next to him every night, not knowing that he was kidnapping young women and selling them off like they were objects, not people.
And that’s to say nothing of the fact that Rick was also a killer.
Both scenes Merrilee shares with Cassie and Jenny were emotional and done right, with Cassie was a bit more gentle and Jenny angry and understanding. Rick’s crimes aren’t on Merrilee.
Now we wait to see how Ronald manipulates the situation with Merrilee to get what he wants.
Helen is fully in on everything now, which seems like a terrible decision, but Ronald appears to be running low on options. He has no one, and even though he has delusions of murdering his mother daily, she makes a better ally than an adversary.
So, what’s his next move going to be? He needs to get rid of any connection to Rick, and that starts with scamming his way into the Legarksi house, it seems, but then what?
Jenny and Cassie aren’t going to rest until they solve this case, and with the girl’s help, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before Ronald is brought to justice. But Ronald is unhinged, and they need to get to him before he harms anyone else.
Ronald isn’t a killer, but when your back is against the wall, there’s no telling what you’ll do to survive.
Odds and Ends
- Ryan Phillippe alert! He came in the form of a vision in Cassie’s psyche as she was out horseback riding. Cody will be a looming specter for however long this series stays on the air, and it’s cool the show continues to incorporate little snippets of him here and there to remind us of that.
- Who is Jimmy, and why was he so weird with Jerrie? Jerrie is a gem, and if she’s skeptical of this man, then so am I.
- The soundtrack continues to be excellent, and the girls singing a little Neil Young, not entirely in key, was a sweet moment to honor Cody.
- Tubb means well, but he doubted the ladies and then had the nerve to look exasperated when Cassie told him what happened with Rick. This better not be something that comes back to bite her.
- I still have my eye on Denise.
Alright, guys, welcome back from the short hiatus! I can’t wait to hear what you guys thought about the winter premiere.
Were you surprised Rick wasn’t dead?
What’s Ronald’s next move?
Are you as worried about Jerrie as I am?
Leave all your comments down below, and make sure to watch Big Sky online via TV Fanatic so that you can join the conversation!
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.