‘Big Sky’ Recap: ‘Happy Thoughts’

Written by Emily Auskaps

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 210 of ‘Big Sky’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Ronald, Scarlet, and Phoebe have stolen Wolf’s old Chevy truck and made it to a motel in the middle of nowhere. Ronald is wounded and Phoebe wants nothing to do with him or his scheme to go live in a cabin in Alaska. Phoebe has matured a great deal during her time away from her mother, and she seems far less trusting of her mother’s judgment now. Ronald tells her that he will protect Phoebe and her mom, to which she retorts that he will not, for she had a dream that he dies. None of his dreams ever came true, is his dejected response.

Scarlet gets them checked in to the motel, then helps Ronald onto one of the beds. He is wrapped in a bloodstained blanket and struggling. Scarlet checks his wound, and her face belies the severity of the damage, despite her assurances that she will fix him up. She and Phoebe leave Ronald to go for supplies to clean and bandage his wound.

Nearly the moment Scarlet walks into the drugstore with Phoebe, she begins conspicuously dropping items from the shelves into her purse instead of the basket she’s carrying. Phoebe is obviously displeased and demands to know why her mother is helping Ronald. As Scarlet tries to explain that Ronald is family, she is confronted by the store’s security guard, who has been observing her the entire time. He demands to see inside of her bag. Scarlet attempts to flirt with him, but he’s still keen to see inside her purse. Realizing she’s cornered, Scarlet pulls out a blade and presses it to the security guard’s gut. Threatening to scream or stab him in the balls, she tells him she really needs these things. He’s smart enough to read the wild look in Scarlet’s eyes and lets her go. Phoebe seems shaken by the exchange.

As Scarlet pulls Wolf’s truck to a stop back at the motel parking lot, Phoebe is startled by a revolver sliding into view on the floor at her feet, which she brings to her mother’s attention. Scarlet reminds Phoebe the truck belonged to Wolf, who is a mean man, and she shoves the gun into the truck’s glove box.

About this time, Scarlet notices the door to their motel room is ajar, and orders Phoebe to wait in the truck for her. Inside the room, she finds Ronald on the floor in a heap with a dead housekeeper. When the unsuspecting woman came in to clean the room and found him lying in a blood-soaked blanket, she merely offered to call him an ambulance. Instead, with surprising strength and violence, considering Ronald’s injuries, he attacks, subdues, and kills her.

Scarlet quickly goes about hiding the body before getting Phoebe and telling her they need to go to a new motel. Scarlet tries to feed her daughter a story about this motel lacking a pool and pancakes, but Phoebe notices a foot sticking out of the closet and is obviously concerned. Scarlet simply insists they need to get to the truck and helps Ronald make his way there. Once again, they are on the run, with Ronald still desperately needing medical attention.

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Meanwhile, Ren is now the owner of the ranch Cassie’s father, Joseph, was going to buy thanks to his murder, a happy coincidence for Ren and her plans. Ren lays everything out for Tonya: how her family imports a substance called 4-ANPP from Delhi to Canada and then makes it into large amounts of fentanyl. Their biggest problem is in getting the drugs across the border into the US. Ren tells Tonya that she is going to set up a new manufacturing and distribution hub in Helena, and already has a chemist lined up. The only piece of the puzzle Ren is missing is transportation. Tonya eagerly volunteers that she may know someone and sets off to make arrangements.

As Tonya is leaving, in strides Jag and Dhruv. Jag belittles Ren’s plan and warns her not to tell their father about it. About this time, Jenny and Poppernak arrive to arrest Dhruv and Jag based on Bridger’s witness statement that they were the ones who shot his karate instructor. Jag is incredibly smug and immediately lawyers up. That doesn’t stop Jenny from telling him she has an eyewitness and needling him about the power dynamic with his sister.

Jenny is shocked, however, when she pays a visit to the Ryan home to show Bridger photos of Jag and Dhruv to confirm their identity. Bridger recants his entire statement, and now claims not to have a clear recollection. It is instantly apparent to Jenny that someone has gotten to them and threatened them, especially when she spots a bunch of packed suitcases lined up and ready to go. She implores Bridger to tell the truth and assures him she will protect him, but his lawyer parents have had enough and insist she be on her way.

It was Ren who made sure that neither Bridger nor his family wanted to continue their involvement, thus getting her brother and Dhruv released from police custody, but only Dhruv is gracious enough to thank her. Ren tells Jag she knew her brother to be lazy and unhinged, but she didn’t think he was straight up stupid. Jag excuses shooting up the dojo as something their father wanted in pursuit of the return of his money. Ren informs Jag she's done with what their father wants.

When Tonya returns from her successful bid to secure transportation for the cartel, she finds Jag alone. Tonya remains coy and vague, and Jag compliments her on her loyalty. He then sweet talks her into believing that he and Ren are partners, gently leading Tonya to share Ren’s plans in detail.

Only Jag and Dhruv are waiting on the tarmac when the private plane carrying Veer Bhullar and his girlfriend arrive in Helena. It quickly becomes clear that Ren has no idea her father is coming to town. As the four ride from the airport, Veer informs his son that he is aware of his run-in with the local sheriff. This takes Jag by surprise. He tries to save face by telling his father he has a plan. His father demands to know his exact plan. Jag proceeds to spell out Ren’s plans for the cartel in Helena, stealing it right out from under her. Veer seems pleased with the idea.

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While all this has been going on, Cassie has convinced Lindor that his hunch about Wolf Legarski somehow being linked to Ronald Pergman is a lead they should pursue. Together, they drive out to the ranch. During the drive, Cassie receives a call from Denise. Jenny has managed to confirm that the identity of the RV thief was indeed Ronald, and an APB has been issued for him. This is proof that it was Ronald who killed Joseph at Dewell and Hoyt.

​Upon arrival at Wolf’s property, Lindor warns Cassie this will not be a friendly visit. Alarm is further raised by the absence of the animals and even more so by the bloody handprint on the doorframe. Guns drawn, the two enter the house. They notice the odd assortment of items on a table, one of which is Ronald’s precious cereal, Cocoa Chunks. Wolf emerges from the back of the house. Despite appearances at the end of the previous episode, Scarlet and Ronald didn’t manage to kill him after all.

Guns still drawn, Cassie and Lindor tell him they know that he had Ronald there. When he asks how, they refer to the box of cereal, causing Wolf to curse it. They demand to know where Ronald has gone. Wolf replies that if they want his help, they ought to start by lowering their guns.

It is clear that Scarlet and Ronald are as dangerous as they’ve ever been, and it’s scary to picture what the pair are capable of should they become trapped. Pressure will likely only increase on them as they are driving a distinctly noticeable stolen truck, and an all-points bulletin is out for Ronald. The wildcard in this is Phoebe, who seems more independent with each passing day.

It’s also clear that the violence in Helena is likely to escalate with the arrival of yet another member of the Bhullar cartel in town. Ren seems to have had it with playing second fiddle to her brother and is most certainly plotting something additional for her family. It seems to be a question of when, not if, the next bodies drop.

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