‘Big Sky: Deadly Trails’ Recap – ‘The Bag and the Box’

Written by Emily Auskaps

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 306 of ‘Big Sky: Deadly Trails’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Despite burning the blue and white Suburban in a field, Cassie is still able to get the VIN off the engine block the next morning and trace it back to Sunny’s husband, Buck. Cassie is greeted by Cormac when she arrives at camp and tells them she too has seen the hearts carved into trees.
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Sunny is annoyed to see Cassie when Cormac shows her to their tent to ask about the truck. Sunny shoos away Cormac before insisting on staying for Cassie’s conversation with Buck. Buck tells Cassie that he’s had many vehicles over the years due to their family business and tells her he sold that truck ten years ago, though he can’t recall who bought it. Cassie seems skeptical, while Cormac has been listening to this exchange from outside the tent.

Avery and Emily annoy Carla by again discussing Luke over breakfast. Avery thinks Luke must be out hiking with Mary, the girl he’s been spending lots of time with since Paige went missing, but Emily tells him that Luke is off with the newly arrived couple, Tonya and Donno instead. Carla is miffed by their obsession with Luke but glad at least they’re bonding.

Tonya and Donno force Luke to return with them to the last place he saw Paige before she disappeared. Luke does his best to recall details, he did sustain a head injury, and assure the pair Donno’s continued threats with his knife are unnecessary. He knows his best chance of survival is to work with them. Tonya calls off Donno and then questions Luke about the $15 million journal that Paige had. He tells her the journal contained a seed phrase, equivalent to a long password, needed to unlock an account. Luke knows the words, but Paige never let him know their order.

Tonya and Donno also want to hear more about the flashing light he saw in the woods that night, but he can’t recall anything helpful. Donno notices one of the carved hearts then, and muses that perhaps someone Luke never saw took Paige that night.

At Dewell and Hoyt, Cassie, and Denise share information over lunch. Cassie has decided to have a composite sketch done of the creepy guy they saw driving the blue and white Suburban after having no luck searching records of the truck. Denise wants to share what they’ve found so far on wannabe detectives’ message boards because she’s convinced the dead backpacker is related to the Bleeding Heart murders in some way, Cassie consents to this.

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Walter is once again watching his mother’s camp when he is surprised by Donno. Donno informs Walter that he’s been watching him watching the camp. Donno asks Walter if he lives in the woods, and Walter steps closer, showing Donno his knife. Donno is obviously not the slightest bit frightened. The two seem to share a strange understanding of one another and a kind of empathy. Donno tells Walter that strange and dangerous are his superpowers. He leaves Walter with the parting advice to be quieter when sneaking around camp; Donno heard him five minutes ago.
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Paige’s disappointment at Walter’s failure to find her bag is forgotten the moment he tells her that someone dangerous is looking for her. Paige completely freaks out at the idea that the people she and Luke stole from have found her. Walter tries to calm her down which confuses Paige. Walter explains that in addition to never hurting her, he won’t let anyone else hurt her either. She has him wrapped around her little finger.

Not long after an observation by Emily to Avery at the archery range about poor Mary being ditched by Luke for the odd couple, Mary is jogging by herself in the woods despite being expressly warned to use the buddy system. During a pause, she notices an article of clothing, then a trail of women’s clothes leading to a leopard print bag with P tag attached. It’s Paige’s bag, Mary recognizes it immediately.

Confused by her discovery, Mary soon encounters Sunny and Buck. Mary is frantic to show them what she’s found. Buck starts to go, but Sunny insists on accompanying Mary. Sunny is nonchalant as Mary leads her to Paige’s bag, but Mary is musing wildly aloud to Sunny that Luke must have buried Paige’s bag in the woods and an animal unearthed it.

Then Mary has a thought that gives her pause. She recalls that Sunny told everyone that she had heard from Paige and that Paige had made it home safe. Sunny says it must have been Luke using Paige’s phone to throw everyone off. Mary is momentarily satisfied until she remembers that it was Sunny who went to Paige’s tent after Luke got back to camp, that Luke couldn’t have had time to get her bag before that. That’s after Sunny gave it away by heading directly toward the bag’s location undirected.

Mary is growing more suspicious by the second, beginning to panic when Buck appears behind her, spooking her even more. Mary begins to scream for help, but her cries are cut off when Buck plunges a knife into her back. Sunny catches her body as the life slips from Mary.

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