Big Sky
Big Sky Midseason Finale Review – A Thin Layer of Rock (310)
And the plot thickens.
I was hoping for some kind of resolution surrounding Big Sky’s core mystery, but the writers are incredibly good and complicating and twisting things into one giant, beautiful mess.
I don’t know why I was expecting anything straightforward from them—these are the same people that gave us the convoluted Ronald Pergman storyline. They thrive on the suspense.
And honestly, I’m kind of grateful for it because I want to know how far they can take it. How messy can it get?
Big Sky Season 3 Episode 10 brought all of the drama to a head, intensifying the danger for everyone involved, and then leaving us hanging for the next month or so.
It kicked off with an unexpected alliance between Paige and Sunny, and as you know, enemies become friends fairly quickly when they both have something the other needs. In this case, Paige offered to help Sunny get Walter out of jail if Sunny helped her gain access to her journal. And in order to do that, Sunny needed to rope in Tonya and Donno as she knew that they were after the money Paige stole. And while those two didn’t have the journal, they knew how to get it, and when Tonya heard that she could get a cut of $15 million, well, her eyes lit up brighter than a Christmas tree.
This is a group of shady characters that go where the wind blows, and none of them have any loyalty. Their word is as good as nothing, and yet, they all have no choice but to trust each other. Tonya and Donno agreed to Sunny’s deal, which likely wouldn’t sit well with Tony, the man that hired them to find Paige and Luke, but that’s a problem for a different day.
Right now, they were faced with a missing Paige once they arrived at Sunny’s camp. It definitely seemed as though she ran away again—a classic case of cold feet, one might say—but the truth is, she was discovered by Buck, who, as we know (but no one else does) is the Bleeding Heart Murderer. There’s no way Buck would pass up on the chance to claim his next victim, especially someone like Paige, who caused a world of headaches for their “happy-go-lucky” camp.
It’s getting increasingly harder for Buck to keep up his charade, so I’m just waiting for the day that he slips up. His true colors are beginning to show as he got super jealous and suspicious of Sunny, who kept Paige’s return a secret from her husband. He feels like he’s losing his hold over her, which isn’t ideal for a man who likes to be in control.
But now with Paige missing, Sunny’s life is on the line as Tonya and Donno didn’t take too kindly to the unexpected hiccup. My guess is that while Sunny doesn’t know about her husband’s past, she’s not overly trusting of him either. Everyone has to look out for themselves in this world, so she’ll likely figure out that something isn’t right.
Of course, Cassie has pieced together that Sunny is Walter’s mother, so she arrived at the house right as Buck had Paige tied up in the attic. In the final scene of the episode, we saw him open the door, but he’ll likely just feed Cassie whatever story he needs to so that she goes away. Cassie has always followed her gut, however, and it’s very evident that she knows something is off. I hope she keeps digging and eventually finds Paige before it’s too late.
She knows that Sunny and Buck lied about Walter, so what else are they lying about? It can’t be a coincidence that all of these murders happened near their camp.
I love that Cassie and Beau found the Walter connection by doing some actual PI work. The records didn’t pinpoint Sunny as the birth mother, but when they found the girl from the house fire that Walter claimed to “save” when he was a child, she recalled Walter’s mom having the most beautiful red hair, which gave them the final piece of the puzzle. Unfortunately, instead of going right to interrogate Sunny, Beau was pulled away by a concerning call from Carla, who was worried after Avery went rogue. Sigh. We could’ve had them… we could’ve had them. If they had visited the ranch or Sunny right after speaking with Madeline, they may have been able to prevent Paige’s kidnapping. Timing—what a funny thing.
And if there was any doubt about Sunny’s connection to Walter, Cormac confirmed that it was his half-brother. Cassie understandably has some trust issues—she dealt with Ronald, after all—but there’s no reason for her to distrust Cormac. He’s been very forthcoming with information, even if he needed a beat to process the whole “Walter is your brother” bombshell. And he made sure to underscore that no matter what happens with his parents and Cassie’s investigation, he’s his own person. Poor Cormac knows this is going to get really ugly, he just doesn’t know exactly how ugly yet.
Back to Avery—he made a huge mistake by trying to renegotiate with Tony after promising to give him the $15 million after cracking the seed phrase. I think Avery means well and assumes that he can protect his family this way, but he has no idea who he is messing with. These are skills assassins. By making the call, he angered Tony and put a target on his family’s back, not to mention, his own. However, the truth is, Tony was likely always planning on killing Avery even after he got the money, so maybe Avery is playing it smart and buying himself some more time. Either way, I don’t see this ending well for him, and I don’t know why he didn’t just seek out Beau’s help, to begin with.
Carla may be worried about him, but there’s no way she’s going to want to be with him after everything is said and done. Carla’s concerns about her husband right back into the arms of her ex-husband, Beau, who would obviously do anything to protect his family. While I don’t think there’s anything romantic going on between them, there’s a comfort level that’s hard to ignore, and it was a bummer for Jenny to witness as she just got came around to the idea of having feelings for Beau. She knows that he still loves his wife, and when she sees them together, she realizes that she can’t come between this happy family if there’s even a small chance of a reunion. Once Carla decides she no longer wants to be with Avery, will she try to make things work with Beau? Or will she push him to make a move on Jenny because she knows that they would make a good couple?
The chemistry between Beau and Jenny is undeniable. The way he moved the hair away from her face, I mean, that wasn’t nothing—you don’t do that to someone you don’t to someone unless you have feelings for them. It made my heart skip a beat. I’m sorry Carla, but I’m fully rooting for Beau and Jenny to get together by the end of the season. They make a great team, both personally and professionally. And it’s about time that Jenny found someone decent to make her heart flutter again. Lord knows she’s had terrible luck with men, but she actually found a good guy this time—a guy that made her rethink getting married again in the future. My petition for the series is to keep Beau and Cormac around for good… please don’t do us the way you did with Mark Lindor!
Speaking of weddings, Jenny was pulled into a case with Poppernak, whose off-duty wedding turned into a crime scene when the groom turned up dead. The investigation may have taken us away from what was going on in Helena, but I didn’t mind it this time because the case was exciting, even if it was a bit of a stretch that the whole murder mystery revolved around dinosaur fossils.
Poppernak likely didn’t expect to arrest his longtime family friend that day, but it turned out to be a crime of passion with the bride, Skylar, as the killer. After the groom Austin asked her to sign a prenup, she realized that he was in a romantic relationship with her friend, Natalie, who was also working with him at the dig site.
Jenny’s eventful day wasn’t over, however, because after she managed to save Natalie from death, arrested Skylar, and left Beau’s place, she came home to find her door broken and blood all over the floor. We have no idea what transpired in her living room, but she screamed out “mom,” which explains why she kept trying to reach her daughter throughout the day.
The last time we saw Jenny’s mom, she was striking up a deal with Tonya and Donno, who have spent most of the season involved in the Sunny Day Camp drama, so what happened?
The cliffhanger, along with the revelation that Buck kidnapped Paige, will keep us wondering until Big Sky: Deadly Trails resumes on January 4, 2023. See you then, Cravers!
Big Sky ended on a high note on Wed, Jan. 18, wrapping up a whirlwind season filled with murder, mystery, and deception.
And naturally, fans are already craving more, especially as each season of the series delves into a new storyline centered in Helena, Montana, and involving Dewell & Hoyt’s Cassie Dewell and Jenny Hoyt.
Unfortunately, ABC decided not to renew Big Sky for a fourth season.
In terms of ratings, the series kept steady with 2.4 million viewers and a 0.2 demo, which seemingly wasn’t enough to convince the network despite a very dedicated fan base and some A-list actors joining in the third season, including Reba McEntire and Jensen Ackles.
The third season wrapped up many lingering storylines, giving fans closure to the mystery plaguing the season, however, there’s always more to explore when it comes to the dynamics between the core characters. And something tells me, there’s no shortage of criminal activity in Helena.
While Cassie and Cormac finally made things official, fans were likely hoping to see a bit more romance for Jenny and Ackles’ Beau. The show has been toying with their chemistry, sparking a “will they or won’t they” debate, but when it finally came down to solidifying their relationship, they left it open-ended.
When TV Insider asked Ackles if he’d return for a fourth season, he explained, “I don’t know. They haven’t even picked up the show yet for Season 4, so I don’t know if anybody’s coming back for Season 4 yet. That’s above my pay grade.”
However, he added, “But if they do decide to pick up a Season 4 — which I would hope they would, I think the show’s really great, and I think it’s got a lot of story left to tell — I don’t know. They had me for one season. They were probably like, well, let’s just bring him in for one, and we’ll see how it goes, and then we’ll go from there. So they’re waiting to hear what happened with the show, and then they’ll probably talk to [showrunner] Elwood [Reid] and try to figure out what to do with the characters, those that are returning and those that they want to return.”
It was fun while it lasted, I guess. Keep the good times rolling by reading our review of the Big Sky Season 3 finale right here.
And just like that, Big Sky brought another absolutely bonkers season to a close.
Big Sky Season 3 Episode 13 picked up with the hunt for Buck (Rex Linn), who kidnapped Denise and Emily and was holding them hostage as leverage.
The whole kidnapping storyline with the women trapped in a trailer was reminiscent of Big Sky Season 1, bringing everything full circle and subtly reminding viewers of what drew us to this series in the first place.
Buck sent us all on a frustrating goose chase. The old man had nothing to lose, which made things all the more difficult, but there’s no denying that the unhinged man who was also badly injured should’ve been taken down way sooner. It was annoying to see him wield the upper hand just as it was tiring to see him overpower person after person who got in his way or tried to stop him. Killing one innocent bystander was fine, but in his state, he shouldn’t have been able to overpower Walter or Beau.
Though, I guess when you have the streak of a cold-blooded killer, it’s different. Buck went off the deep end, and there was no bringing him back. And with the way he was just snapping necks left and right, you’d think this was an episode of The Vampire Diaries.
Buck thought he was playing the long game, but he underestimated Sunny. He tried to manipulate her by using the love that they once had for each other, but it didn’t work. While she was his blind spot, Sunny no longer saw him as the man she married—all she saw was a liar who broke her heart in unimaginable ways. He was convinced that she was on his side after everything he’d done—it was evident when he told her to “shoot them” right before she shot him in the heart. Poetic.
The thing about Sunny is that she always has a plan. It wasn’t a smart plan throwing Walter to the wolves, but I guess she felt as though she owed him this much. And when she realized that Buck was like a cat with nine lives, she knew the only way to make sure he never hurt anyone again was to take the shot, even if it meant that she’d spend the rest of her life in prison. Honestly, something tells me she’s going to really thrive there. She’s resourceful and not above getting her hands dirty.
Sunny may have been fed up with Buck for lying to her and turning her against Walter (because he knew exactly who Buck was), the last straw was when Buck bashed Walter’s head and nearly killed him. At that point, Sunny knew that he was unpredictable and she’d never be safe, despite his promises that he’d never hurt her. If that was true, he wouldn’t have messed up their lives and attacked her boy.
No one even blamed Sunny for what she did as both Jenny and Cassie acknowledged that they’d likely make the same choice if they were in her shoes. Sunny may have been questionable throughout the season, but she came through when it mattered.
Buck and Sunny left behind a trail of victims—thankfully Emily and Denise weren’t included—but the biggest one had to be Cormac. Not only was his whole life a lie, but he found out that his father was one of the worst serial killers of his time, found out that he had a brother, and lost both of his parents in one fell swoop.
BIG SKY: DEADLY TRAILS – ÒThat Old FeelingÓ Ð With Denise and EmilyÕs lives on the line, Jenny and Beau are determined to bring the Bleeding Heart Killer to justice, no matter what it takes. Meanwhile, Cassie uses her connections to pin down their possible location; and Sunny makes a fiery decision that will change her family forever, but will it all be enough to save the ones they love? Find out on the season finale of ÒBig Sky: Deadly Trails,Ó WEDNESDAY, JAN. 18 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. (ABC)
JENSEN ACKLES, KATHERYN WINNICK
And he was crucial in helping Cassie locate Emily and Denise by leading her to a cabin where he used to camp with his dad. It’s a chilling thought to know that Cormac was present for so many of his father’s crimes as a child without even knowing it.
If it hadn’t been for Cormac, however, there’s a huge possibility that the women would’ve never been found. I know that in many cases, loved ones don’t get such good news, but I’m glad Beau didn’t have to endure the pain of losing his child. He went through a father’s worst nightmare when Emily was kidnapped, feeling as though he failed to protect his daughter, and it was painful to watch him feel so helpless.
While I don’t think that Beau was in the right headspace to make his romantic feelings known to Jenny, the series has been playing the “will they or won’t they” game the whole season, so I wish we got some kind of moment. However, it’s understandable that Beau simply needed time to process; he was in a fragile place and needed a friend more than anything.
He went through a rollercoaster of emotions, which were topped off by Carla’s announcement that she’s returning to Houston and taking Emily with her. It’s a bummer to lose Emily because I feel like she was such a great intern for Dewell and Hoyt, but it makes sense that her mother doesn’t want her to have anything to do with it after what transpired.
Plus, the fact that he has no plans to reunite with his wife may just be the sign we need that he’s considering pursuing something romantic with Jenny. And the hand holding definitely solidified their feelings. Both of them deserve happiness, so I’m hoping they find it with each other.
As for Cormac, it’s a good thing he had Cassie in his life, who seemingly even got his mom’s blessing as she asked the detective to “keep an eye out on her son” while she was in prison. Cassie was also on hand to support him when he finally met his half-brother, which is likely a moment Sunny dreamt of for quite a long time. Walter didn’t end up being this season’s monster as we all thought in the begging, but there’s still something off about him. It takes a monster to be able to identify a monster, and I’m not convinced that Walter was completely innocent. The series also gave Paige closure as she popped into the hospital to “thank” Walter for allowing her to escape this hellish nightmare and giving her another shot at life. She’s one of the few that made it out semi-unscathed.
Since the series tackles new mysteries each season, they also put to rest Tonya and Donno’s storyline. The good news is–Donno lived. The bad news is that he’s in a wheelchair, which kind of feels like necessary karma for all the terrible things he’s done. And still, I have a soft spot for him, and his cozy friendship with Tonya has been the highlight of the season. They weren’t exactly pivotal to the storylines, but I’m glad the writers saw value in them and did their best to keep them around. They’ll always have a presence in Helena, so it’s wise to keep them looped in. And they may just be the richest people in town now that Tonya managed to cap the $15 million! I hope they finally hit pause on their life of crime and actually just live.
And that’s that, friends. Cassie and Jenny are Helena’s monster slayers, bringing justice to the worst of the worst like Ronald Pergman and Buck Barnes.
What did you think of the season?
Big Sky is pulling out all the stops for its two-part season finale.
This season has been a beautiful mess, with one intriguing and twisted mystery after the other.
And somehow, they had us all thinking that Emily and Denise were kidnapped by the men coming after Avery. Oh, how naive of us.
The series pulled off the mother of plot twists, shocking even Beau Arlen himself, when it was revealed that the kidnapper was Buck Barnes.
Of course, Buck would survive the whole ordeal with Paige. I was naive to think that she had succeeded in killing an evil man.
While Paige managed to get herself to safety, so did Buck, and when Jenny, Cassie, and Beau finally located the bunker in the woods, it was Buck-less.
They did, however, find themselves completely disturbed by the hearts in jars, proving once and for all that Buck is the Bleeding Heart Murderer.
Sunny was shocked to learn all about her husband’s dark side, or, at the very least, she wanted everyone to believe she was shocked. But somehow, I’m not buying it. I don’t believe that she didn’t know anything about it, especially when Walter revealed that he told her that he’d seen Buck the night of Blaire Lucan’s murder.
Who would have thought that after everything, Walter would’ve turned out to be the normal one? Upon finding Paige alive at Sunny’s wielding a huge kitchen knife and covered in blood, the police released Walter. And while he didn’t kill Paige, didn’t they find out that he did murder his foster parents? How was he able to walk free? And what about Luke? Are we just going to forget about him? My guess is that Buck also killed him, but why hasn’t that been made clear?
Walt realized that this whole time, his mother made him feel like he was different and dangerous when in reality, she and Buck were the rotten apples. He said his goodbyes, which didn’t sit well with Sunny, but I doubt that their paths will diverge for long as they’re both going to be motivated to find Buck now that they know he’s alive.
BIG SKY: DEADLY TRAILS – ÒAre You Mad?Ó Ð Jenny, Cassie and Beau uncover the truth about the Bleeding Heart Killer, but before justice can be served, chaos breaks out. AveryÕs involvement with TonyÕs crime family escalates to a standoff; Emily and Denise are put in grave danger; and despite her recent revelations, SunnyÕs family ties continue to pull apart. As Cassie, Jenny and Beau work to clean up the mess, the killer is still on the loose, ensuring no one is safe on ÒBig Sky: Deadly Trails,Ó WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. (ABC/Anna Kooris)
HENRY IAN CUSICK
Walter will want revenge for what Buck did to Paige, while Sunny, well, I have no idea what card Sunny is going to play now. She’s always been loyal to Buck, but she’s also a force, so I feel like she might finally do the right thing once she realizes Buck kidnapped the Sheriff’s daughter.
Throughout all of this—and while injured—Buck still managed to kill another innocent victim. Gabriel, much like the Mark the hiker, was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was heartbreaking to see his dog, Lulu, whimper and stay behind with the body after witnessing such brutality.
But for now, enough about Buck as he’s going to be the star of the second half of the season finale.
The first half tied up the whole $15 million/Avery storyline with a bloodbath. Avery, Tonya, and Donno showed up for their meeting with Tony, but things took quite a nasty turn. Avery should’ve known better than to get into bed with a bunch of reckless criminals, but by being greedy, he sealed his own fate. There was no way he was going to get out of this alive. He was constantly in way over his head, and as Beau explained, he thought he was smarter than everyone else, which was his biggest flaw.
The moment he gave up his control of the money, Tony shot him dead. Rest In Peace, Avery.
Avery wasn’t the only one who let greed get the best of him as Tonya’s money-hungry ways led to Donno’s untimely death. I know that Donno was a terrible person who killed people for a living, but god, his death was a gut punch. He went out in a blaze of glory. How is it possible that the sweetest love story coming out of season 3 was between Tonya and Donno? The kiss broke my heart!
In the end, they all lost.
Other Notable Moments
- Jenny put her full support behind Beau to help him find his daughter. Her feelings for him are evident, even though this definitely ins’t the right time. However, with Avery out of the picture and Beau going the extra mile to protect his girls, does Jenny stand a shot against Carla?
- Carla truly is a boss babe. She may have been terrified, but she didn’t let on in the slightest when confronting her stalker.
- Cormac finally found out the truth about his family, and I feel for that boy. His whole life has been a lie, he has a half brother he never knew about, and his dad is a serial killer. And now that he knows it, it jogged a traumatizing memory of when he was a kid and sort of witnessed his dad commit the crimes. He’s going to need a lot of therapy.
- I really bet all those people wished they’d never went glamping.
It’s unclear why Buck kidnapped Denise/Emily, though it definitely seems like he’s not even doing anything with a purpose anymore. He kills for the thrill of it—and he found two people that would motivate everyone to hunt him down.
Will they get to Emily and Denise in time? Will Buck finally get what’s coming to him? The second half of the season finale airs next Wednesday!
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