‘Big Sky’ Recap: ‘Heart-Shaped Charm’

Written by Emily Auskaps

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 206 of ‘Big Sky’.
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As Jenny scrambles to her feet, Travis has his gun trained on Cassie, who in turn has her gun pointed at Deitrich and Smiley. Cassie implores Travis to drop his gun and she and Jenny will go. Deitrich demands to know why the two women were following them. Cassie tries to explain it away as a bit of girls’ night fun that got out of hand, suggesting they all walk away and blame the alcohol. Deitrich insists that Cassie lower her gun, and Travis assures her no one will be hurt. Reluctantly, Cassie complies. Deitrich and Travis tell Cassie and Jenny to leave. They walk back to the bar, after Cassie quickly unloads the gun and sets it on a nearby vehicle. Jenny gives Travis a long, dirty look as she passes him. Smiley can’t understand why they didn’t shoot them, so Deitrich points out the security camera overhead and tells him it’s not the place to execute a cop.
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The next morning, Harper notices the familiar van is again parked across the street from her house as she exits her front door. She goes over and knocks on the window, waking the man they previously referred to as “The Creeper.” She climbs into the passenger seat and thanks him for saving them. He gruffly tells her they shouldn’t have even been there in the first place. Harper wants to know why he’s helping them, but he tells her that’s his business. Harper opens the door to leave but pauses, thanking him again. He warns her they won’t stop looking for them, she tells him she knows. Once Harper is gone from sight, it is apparent that the man in the van is badly wounded from his encounter with Harvey, still bleeding from his wounds.

It is apparent to Cassie’s father that the previous night was more of an adventure than just tequila shots when they meet in the kitchen at the coffee maker. Before he can ask her more about that, she notices a keychain on the counter and asks him about it. He says he thinks their babysitter must have left the keys; he had found them in the cushions of the couch. Cassie grabs the keychain with a knowing look on her face and tells her dad she needs to go.

Max is obviously surprised to see Cassie at her door, and Cassie apologizes for showing up unannounced and produces the keychain from her pocket. The look on Max’s face turns to relief, she had been looking for them. Cassie asks her about the charm that Max had gotten for herself and Harper. Max claims it’s a silly thing from school, lots of people have them and it simply means she’s single. Cassie seems to know Max is lying as she hands over the keys, but before she can say more, T-Lock appears from within the house. Max introduces him as her mom’s boyfriend Tracey, and Cassie as the woman for whom she babysits. T-Lock immediately corrects her and invites Cassie in for a smoothie. Max abruptly leaves, saying she needs to meet friends. T-Lock again invites Cassie in, but she declines and bids him good day.

The teens meet at their hang out, where Harper confesses that she can’t find her keychain but hopes she can still find it. Max worries she might have dropped it at Harvey’s because of the way that Cassie was looking at her own keychain and thinks Cassie might know something. Madison thought Max said Cassie was cool, and maybe she could help them. Bridger scoffs that it’s way too late for that and they are in it alone. Harper is hopeful that they’ll figure it out together, but no one looks convinced.
Cassie finds Lindor sitting at Jerrie’s desk when she gets to Dewell and Hoyt. Lindor and Denise had just been discussing Wolf Legarski, his creepy identical appearance to Rick, and that Jerrie had found an address for Wolf before she left. Lindor jokes with Cassie that he’s taking over Jerrie’s desk, then adds, “Kidding,” when she says nothing. Cassie matter-of-factly informs him that she could use him and that they should go to lunch.

As Jenny and Travis sit in her truck, he asks her if she’s okay. She tells him she’s fine other than the hangover she’s nursing, but she is quite upset that he pointed his gun at Cassie’s head and told Deitrich that she’s a cop. Travis assures her it would have been worse if Deitrich had found out that he’s not really Stone. He tells her that they need to slow down, he can’t have another encounter like they had last night.

T-Lock calls out to Max the moment she returns home. He and her mother are sitting at the table together. T-Lock looks incredibly smug as her mom tells her they need to talk. Max instantly realizes that her mom has told T-Lock everything she had confessed. Max implores her mother that she promised not to tell him, how could she? Her mom tells Max that T-Lock will turn it over to the police, he will call anonymously from a payphone. Max is incredulous at the stupidity of the plan, so T-Lock threatens to make her tell the cops instead. Resignedly, Max tells him about the bag of drugs. T-Lock asks if she also found money. Max admits to finding some money but says she spent it all getting her mom’s tooth fixed. Far too eagerly, T-Lock asks about the location of the drugs which Max tells him are at a friend’s house. He wants the drugs here, now, claiming that Max is in danger as long as she has them. With a slithery smile, he promises to take care of everything. Max rolls her eyes as she leaves the table.

Donno makes breakfast for Ren while she muses about her brother Jag, and his impulsivity. She relates it to the way they built Lego fortresses as children: Jag would simply destroy his if it wasn’t perfect or a piece wouldn’t fit, throwing days of work down the drain. As Donno places a plate in front of Ren, she recalls being able to see and solve problems instead of smashing everything. Donno asks about Deitrich, and with a grin, Ren tells him she has an idea she thinks he’ll enjoy.

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Seated across a table from one another in the bar for lunch, Lindor is curious why Cassie wants to pick his brain. She shows him the photo of Harper’s keychain from the scene of Harvey’s murder and tells him that her babysitter has an identical charm on her keychain. Lindor suggest it’s a coincidence, but Cassie is certain that Max is lying about something. Lindor asks if she’s shared this with Jenny, Cassie has not. He jokes about Jenny breaking down her babysitter’s door guns blazing, and Cassie confesses she is finding Jenny 2.0 quite different.
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Lindor tells Cassie he is still hunting for Ronald, and that he’s going to visit Rick’s brother Wolf, that he has an address, but Cassie says to leave her out of it and that she’s the same Cassie she’s always been. Lindor doesn’t buy it, presses her to confess something. He seems surprised when she admits that every time, he had asked her out she should have said yes. He chuckles that she didn’t say yes, to which she replies that she is saying yes now.

Back at their hangout, the teens are appalled by the plan involving T-Lock and the drugs. Max doesn’t trust T-Lock, at all, she tells them, but he was going to force her to go the cops. Max then reveals that she told T-Lock only about the bag of drugs and the accident, not about the bag of money. She also didn’t tell him that anyone else is involved with her. Relieved, Harper assures her that they are all in this together and Madison agrees. Max just wants it all to be over, Harper says they’ll turn over the drugs to T-Lock, but at least they’ll still have the money.

Travis is at the motel’s vending machine when he receives a text from Smiley. Smiley knows he’s screwing Jenny and Travis is now Smiley’s bitch. He rushes back to his room upstairs, latches the door and turns to find Donno with a gun pointed at him.

Cassie finds Max walking through town and calls her over to her truck to talk. Max tentatively approaches the passenger side window. Cassie asks her pointedly if Max heard about the cop that was killed in the woods. Max replies that she heard about it on the news. Cassie tells Max that a keychain with a charm like hers was found at the crime scene which Max agrees is weird but reminds Cassie that she still has her keychain. Cassie implores Max to tell her if she knows anything, that Max can talk to her. Max defiantly declares she had nothing to do with it and strides away.

Music plays in the background as Ren pours herself a glass of wine, while Donno sits holding Travis at gunpoint. She asks Travis how it is to be a lapdog for Deitrich, having to stay loyal while living in fear. Travis plays dumb, telling her she should talk to Deitrich which Ren retorts isn’t an option, as the only thing Deitrich hates more that women is women asking questions. She wants to know if Travis would die for Deitrich but he claims not to know what she’s asking. Ren is becoming fed up, telling Travis she didn’t think he was a dumb cowboy. Travis swears to her that Deitrich doesn’t have her drugs or money. Ren is disappointed with this response from Travis, telling him she thought he was smart as well as cute.

Max carries a bag to the kitchen table. “Big bag,” T-Lock brilliantly observes. Max agrees, taunting him that it’s probably worth lots of money. Max listens to her mother and T-Lock’s assurances with an eyeroll and then unceremoniously tosses the bag onto the kitchen table and storms away. T-Lock unzips the bag and sees that it’s loaded with drugs. By the look on his face, it’s apparent that he’s plotting something.

Ronald and Scarlet are bickering in the garden over where she had gone during the previous night when Agatha interrupts them and insists, they go with her immediately and that she’ll explain later.

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Lindor’s jeep is approaching the property at that moment. Inside the vehicle, Lindor removes his US Marshals badge and grabs his gun. Jim the Dog, who has made the trip with him, is in the passenger seat. Lindor begins to walk the grounds with Jim on a leash. He hasn’t made it far when Wolf appears behind him, carrying his big stick. Wolf greets him and welcomes him to Holy Wolf Ranch.
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Meanwhile, Agatha forcefully shoves Ronald into the shed, Scarlet complies more easily. Agatha instructs them not to make a sound. Ronald, realizing someone is there, begins to yell and pound on the wall of the shed. Agatha swiftly initiates the choking mechanism of Ronald’s collar. Scarlet rushes to his side. As Scarlet looks at Agatha in fear, Agatha releases the collar and apologizes for using it, but this is the last warning. She locks Ronald and Scarlet in as he gasps for air.

Lindor’s ruse for coming to Wolf’s property is that he’s a roofer with a troubled dog who happens to be such a fan that he’s come to seek Wolf’s assistance. As they walk, Wolf continues to probe Lindor’s story and observe him closely. Wolf doesn’t think Jim the Dog seems troubled at all, nor is he buying Lindor’s story. As they near the shed, Jim begins to bark. Wolf continues to question Lindor, now shouting questions over Jim’s increasingly loud barking. Jim continues to bark until Wolf commands him quiet and to sit. Jim instantly obeys. Wolf informs Lindor dogs aren’t the only creatures he can read.

As Max and Harper meet to walk Harper to work, Cassie watches from a distance. She witnesses Max and Harper kiss twice and walk off holding hands.

Travis is now hanging by his wrists which are tied together above his head. Donno has apparently been beating him with a large hardcover book for some time now. Ren talks about how she had been certain that she could simply “Mean Girl” the hell out of Deitrich, Travis tells her she’s insane. Resigned, she signals to Donno. He drops the book and opens a long case that contains a weapon with a long, curved blade, serrated on one side. As Donno moves toward Travis, Travis breaks out into hysterical laughter. Ren turns her chair back to face them and also laughs, speculating they have popped his brain. Still laughing, Travis informs Ren that Deitrich doesn’t give a damn about him, for her to think that she’d have to be dumber that her fatass lackey Donno. Pleased by his turn in attitude, Ren knew that Travis would make a good “Mean Girl.” Travis tells her that Smiley is Deitrich’s nephew and his blind spot, that Smiley has been skimming for months. Smiley may have been working with Big Sam to rip her off. Ren smiles, and politely requests an address as Donno finally cuts Travis down.

That evening, T-Lock approaches Smiley and nervously asks to speak to him alone. T-Lock hands Smiley a small bag of the drugs. Smiley eyes it and demands to know where it came from. T-Lock tells him never mind that, and there’s plenty more to be had. Smiley grabs him and accuses him of stealing from them. T-Lock of course denies stealing. Smiley tells him his boss will kill them. T-Lock suggest that they could give the drugs back to the boss or better yet sell it themselves. T-Lock swears he’s the only one who knows about the drugs.

Later, Smiley calls T-Lock from home after snorting a sample of the drugs, to tell him he’s in and to meet tomorrow at his place.

Wolf, Lindor, and Agatha are seated around the table in Wolf’s house as Jim the Dog lays calmly nearby. Agatha offers coffee, Wolf suggests tea, Lindor politely declines both. Wolf says it’s rude not to partake and Agatha excuses her husband, as he is sensitive when it comes to the subject of his brother. Lindor explains that he is a US Marshal looking for Ronald Pergman. Wolf knew that Ronald worked with his brother but is insulted when Lindor insinuates he knew more. Agatha explains that Wolf is ashamed he didn’t help his brother. Lindor wonders what Wolf could have done. “I could have fixed him,” Wolf says.

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Lindor finally agrees to coffee, and as Agatha is in the kitchen fixing, he notices a box of Ronald’s favorite cereal sitting there.
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The drugs are still on Smiley’s counter when Donno busts in his door. Donno and Smiley struggle and fight with each other as Ren casually strolls in. When it become obvious that Smiley is getting the upper hand and choking out Donno, Ren drops Smiley with a single stab to the back with a knife.

As Smiley’s body lays on the floor with the knife still in it, Donno tears the house apart, finally finding the bag of drugs Smiley got from T-Lock hidden in a terrarium. Ren immediately recognizes it as their drugs. Ren concludes that Deitrich has had their drugs and money the whole time, that he killed Harvey, and lied to her face. She is too busy plotting her revenge to take her brother, Jag’s call and hits ignore. Jag is incensed and tells a large gentleman named Dhruv that they are going to Montana.

Cassie stops by Rosie’s that night to order a coffee to go from Harper. After a little small talk, Cassie leaves carrying the coffee cup by its lid. Once out of sight, she slips the cup into an evidence bag.

This time Travis is there to answer when Jenny comes calling at his motel room. Her anger quickly turns to concern when she realizes he’s injured. Without going into detail, he tells her that he is under the wing of the dragon, which Jenny knows means he’s now in with the cartel.

Jenny is helping him ice his bruises when Deitrich shows up pounding on the door of the motel room. Travis jumps up, closing his shirt to hide the bruising from Donno, as Jenny, against her better judgment, hides next to the bed. Deitrich grabs Travis’s gun from the dresser and forces him out of the room at gunpoint. Deitrich is taking him to see Smiley to clear the air.

As Harper is taking out the trash in the alley behind Rosie’s, she notices the van is parked there. She rushes over and finds the man who saved them bleeding and in terrible shape. He begs her for help.
Wolf bids Lindor and Jim the Dog goodbye at Lindor’s jeep with a handshake. Wolf warns him to be careful of the curves in the road in the dark and watches suspiciously as they pull away. Down the road a bit, Lindor stops his vehicle, something obviously chewing on his mind.

In the dark, Lindor skulks around the property with his gun drawn. He eyes the house lit up in the distance as he creeps toward the shed.

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