‘Big Sky: Deadly Trails’ Recap – ‘A Brief History of Crime’

Written by Emily Auskaps

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 303 of ‘Big Sky: Deadly Trails’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
​
This episode sees Jenny’s past finally catching up with her. After expressly forbidding her mother, Gigi, from running her gold mine grift in Montana, a dead body on the Mooney brothers’ ranch leads Jenny to realize that her mother must be in town. Gil Mooney is dead after trying to get revenge on the people who scammed him out of his money using a gold mine ruse. The moment Ivan Mooney mentions Starlight Mining, a look of knowing flashes over Jenny’s face. The scheme he describes is her mother’s signature grift. After confirming Ivan’s innocence in his brother’s death, Beau learns from Jenny that she found a record for a guy arrested under suspiciously similar circumstances in Idaho with Jenny’s mom.
​
Beau and Jenny head to the motel where Gigi always stays when she’s in town, and sure enough, there she is. Gigi seems thrilled to see Jenny, while Jenny is wary and repeatedly demands to know what brings her to town this time. Gigi claims she is there for revenge, as the man she was arrested with in Idaho, Harold Gardiner, has stolen her life savings and taken her grift. Despite Jenny’s warnings prior to their meeting, Beau offers to work with Gigi to catch Harold though Jenny clearly doesn’t think it’s a good idea.

Despite Jenny’s valiant efforts to remain cold and skeptical towards her mom and her reappearance, Gigi appears at Jenny’s door that night and sweet talks her way in. Her mom makes her pineapple dump cake, an old family favorite, and plies her with sweetly reminiscent stories over dessert and a bottle of wine.

Things seem to be going swimmingly the next day for Beau and Jenny as they pose as a newlywed couple looking to make an investment. They meet with Harold, receive his pitch, sign the contracts and hand over the money. As they shake hands, Beau and Jenny make their arrest. There is a struggle between Beau and Harold’s muscle, but Jenny and Beau are shortly able to gain the upper hand. No sooner than things seem handled, bullets begin to whiz about the place causing chaos. Ivan has shown up seeking pay back for his brother’s murder.

Beau races outside after Ivan while Jenny pursues Harold to the roof. More struggling ensues, but Jenny apprehends Harold again. As she zip-ties his hands, he recognizes her as Gigi’s daughter and assumes that Gigi’s put her up to this. “Gigi always comes out on top, doesn’t she?” he laughs. A look of dread washes over Jenny’s face and she races back inside to find the $30 grand in cash issued to her by the county is gone. Her mother has played them.

---

Jenny and Beau find Gigi’s hotel room vacated, Jenny’s in disbelief, not at her mom’s actions but the fact that she fell for her lies again. Beau assures Jenny, they’ll get her, but Jenny is despondent.

Meanwhile, at camp, things are getting more and more complicated for Sunny. Her attempts to keep Walt hidden from the world are compromised by the disappearance of Paige, who has not made it back to camp. Emily isn’t the only camper suspicious of Luke and his story. Despite his becoming completely lost in the woods, he claims Paige simply decided to go home. His unlikely story is backed by Sunny, who reports that Paige’s things are no longer in her tent. Of course, it was Sunny who removed them, not Paige.

Sunny pays a visit to Walt at his place and instructs him to move the body of Mark, the missing hiker, much farther away. Walt tries to comply, but while transporting Mark’s body, the engine of his ancient Suburban blows and he is forced temporarily to the side of the road. Who else should encounter him but Cassie and Denise, on their way to the hiking trails to check a hunch of Cassie’s regarding the missing hiker.

Sunny is livid when she returns to see Walt and learns what had transpired. She tells Walt that he is a disappointment.

Speaking of disappointment, we see Gigi knock on a door marked private, carrying the bag of money she stole from Jenny. Tonya and Donno greet her, and she steps inside.

---

Powered by JustWatch