‘Big Sky’ Recap: ‘A Good Day to Die’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the winter finale of ‘Big Sky’.
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When we last settled in to discuss the fascinating new ABC series, Big Sky, the situation was quite grim. Because despite Cassie and Jenny’s best efforts to find the missing women, they were simply unable to do so, despite being mere inches from them whilst investigating the shed. Leaving all of us to wonder as to whether or not Cassie and Jenny’s intrepid and bold quest to find them would succeed in the slightest, since Grace and Dani and Jerrie were mere hours away from being handed off to a new bidder and would likely never be seen again. But rather than keep us in outright suspense and let this issue drag on for weeks on end, the midseason finale of this dynamic new series was quick to address the fate of these poor unfortunate souls.
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For ‘A Good Day to Die’ immediately picked up where last week’s harrowing tale left off, which allowed for the audience to experience quite the intense tale, one that made it seem as though the bad guys were going to win this round. A feat that was set up, by having Cassie and Jenny go head-to-head with their foe in an epic manner. Because once again, Rick was spending time out at the shed with Ronald, mainly because dear Ronnie had come to discover that someone had arrived at the shed the night before and with Trooper Legarski’s truck resting in that location once again… Cassie and Jenny realized that now was the time to strike. Especially after Cassie came to discover that the blueprints for this old place, included a basement. 

But the instant Hoyt Private Investigations and the Sheriff’s office arrived at the remote shed to start their investigation, is when things went south for our heroes in this tale. Because the container in the basement was as empty as could be and Rick of course caused a giant scene in regard to the whole operation and made Jenny and Cassie look like fools. All because he put two and two together when it comes to the tracker and had Ronald move the ladies to The All In Bar before everyone arrived and well… his plan to discredit and embarrass, definitely worked. Because Sheriff Tubb was livid over how this whole thing went down, and he even went so far as to arrest Jenny for criminal stalking once the State Trooper’s office raised a stink about the matter.

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To complicate matters further, Rick moved up the timeline on the pickup, forcing Ronald to prep the trio for transport, which led to the most powerful moments of the night. Because Grace and Dani and Jerrie were quick to beg for their lives and their future, and they really did make every effort to try and reason with Ronald and Rick and that was unsettling for certain. Because of course, they were unable to reach their captors, and the fear and terror that they expressed as the eleventh hour closed in, made this entire sequence as hopeless and as bleak as it can get, since truly… it seemed as though evil was going to win and this trio of innocents would disappear from the face of the earth. And that’s when the story surprised us one more time. 

Because while Jenny was cooling her heels in jail, Cassie still pondered upon ways to get Legarski to admit to his involvement in this mess and that motivated her to visit his wife, to try and learn more about Rick and his habits and this visit paid off in spades. For Merrilee was quick to point out that Rick was a true creature of habit, one that never deviated from his daily routine and that helped Cassie to realize that everything that happened at the shed was a ruse and that a man that met her a bar more times than she could count, out of habit, would likely make use of that place in more ways than one. An epiphany that allowed for Cassie to find Rick with the ladies at The All In Bar and that led to a showdown for the ages. One where Rick left Cassie with no choice, but to put a bullet into a Montana State Trooper.

If anything, this was simply… a breathtaking episode when all is said and done. Simply because it was full of tension and worry and intense moments from beginning to end. For this little cat and mouse game between Jenny and Cassie and Rick and Ronald, basically put us on the edge of our seats as we waited with bated breath to see whether or not the trio could be saved and well… this was definitely a brilliant way to close out the winter segment of this series. Largely because this finale did just enough to satisfy the audience by putting Dani and Grace and Jerrie in safe hands, but it is also brilliant, because it figured out how to leave us hungry for more. Because we actually don't know if Rick survived that bullet or not, and whether or not Cassie and the ladies are actually safe. Since the buyers are near and backup is on its way. Plus, Ronald is still out there and feeling empowered and well, we're all dying to know the answers to these burning questions. But thankfully, we don't have to wait too long for resolution. For Big Sky returns on January 26, 2021 and it will be quite interesting to see where this story takes us next, after that powerhouse ending. Until then.

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