‘Big Sky’ Recap: ‘Huckleberry’

Written by Emily Auskaps

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 202 of ‘Big Sky’. 

​We begin where we left off, in the holding pen where a disheveled Ronald takes in the face of his captor, Big Rick Legarski’s twin brother Wolfgang. He greets Ronald cheerfully and asks if his brother had ever mentioned him. Ronald snarls back that his ‘friend’ did mention having a degenerate hippy for a brother. Wolf chuckles, tells Ronald that Rick had no friends, and shares that he has made it his mission to undo everything evil his brother did, including helping Ronald to conquer his urges. Ronald demands to see Scarlet, a privilege he is informed that he has not yet earned. Wolf then presents the plate of eggs and bacon on the floor at the door of the pen. He tells Ronald he needs to ask permission before he can eat, to which Ronald responds by glaring back, promising to kill him, and defiantly biting a piece of bacon. Wolf pokes him with the massive stick he’s carrying as a warning and again tells him to ask permission to eat. After yet another bite from Ronald, he knocks Ronald off his feet and onto his back with said stick, picks up the plate and unceremoniously dumps its contents to the dirty floor. “Bad dog,” he admonishes.

Later, Ronald emerges from the shed that encases his pen into daylight and immediately eyes the rack of sharp tools and implements that hangs along the outside of the shed. Wolf notices straight away and warns him against his plan. Again, he pokes Ronald with his sizeable stick. Ronald stares straight into his eyes and grabs the stick, only for Wolf to easily flip him onto his back on the ground again. Ronald is instructed that he is currently less than a dog and must learn his place in the pack.
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Ren blows into town on a private plane, accompanied by her lackey Donno. She blows off the offer of the gentleman that greets her on the tarmac to carry her bag but does want his cowboy hat. When he refuses to sell it to her, she simply takes it right off his head and struts away. He protests and makes to follow her when Donno flips open a switchblade to make clear that the hat is no longer his. Ren demands the keys to the waiting SUV from Donno, and looks out at Montana for the first time, taking in the scenery as if she is surveying her new kingdom.

At the scene of the truck crash, Jenny and Deputy Poppernak find no driver, and Poppernak suggests that perhaps a drunk simply stumbled away from the scene. That is until Jenny notices the VIN has been removed and there is blood in between the cushions in the backseat.

The siblings discuss their situation with the drugs, money, and murder in the modern kitchen of their well-appointed home. They debate back and forth, but again agree to just wait and see for now. As they talk, the same lurking individual with the hoodie and beanie from the Ridge, sits in a van, observing them from outside.

Lindor, days away from being reinstated, stops by Dewell and Hoyt so he and Jerrie can go gun shopping for her. Before they head out, he ducks into Cassie’s office under the guise of discussing the Ronald Pergman case, but without access to the files, he has little new to report other than the state police are doing their best to hinder the investigation. Cassie, clearly still shaken by the discovery of the photos of herself and her son, tells Lindor to keep her updated, but that she, for the safety of her family, is done chasing Ronald.

Bridger, ignoring a text from his sister, marches into the sheriff’s station to report the crime they witnessed, without the knowledge or consent of the others. He’s dismissed by Poppernak and the woman manning the front desk goes to look for someone else to take his statement, telling him to sign in and have a seat. As he waits, Bridger hears a hauntingly familiar tune being whistled, the tune the man who shot Big Sam was whistling that fateful night. The deputy catches him staring and asks if there’s a problem, to which Bridger shakes his head no and assures him there is none.

Jenny is summoned to take Bridger’s statement, but he is nowhere to be found when she walks the waiting area. She asks the whistling deputy, Harvey, if he knew where the boy had gone. Smiling, Harvey replies that perhaps he changed his mind.

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Max returns home to find her mom blasting early sixties music and dancing away in the living room. It is obvious that her mother has been drinking, after supposedly being sober for three months. Her mom tells her the relapse is due to the pain in her tooth, so Max insists on paying for the crown procedure she needs, claiming she has saved up her babysitting money.
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Back at Dewell and Hoyt, Cassie finds a young waitress, Tonya, nervously waiting for her in her office. Tonya’s boyfriend, Sam Teske aka Big Sam, is missing and she wants to find out what happened to him. She tells Cassie that Sam was coming to pick her up the night he disappeared, then suddenly she never received another call or text from him. Cassie agrees to take the case.

Later, Denise has gone wild decorating the office to celebrate Jerrie passing her P.I. exam. Cassie and Jerrie discuss the Sam Teske case, having found him to be self-employed and living well beyond his apparent means. Max pops in to see Cassie, as she was nearby when she got a text. She agrees to babysit for Cassie when she spots the picture of Big Sam in a file lying open. She is spooked by the image, and Cassie implores her for information, telling her that the man in the picture is missing. Max claims ignorance.

Once again at the farm, Ronald is allowed to see Scarlet, at a distance, for the first time. He shouts to her and begins to run, but a woman gardening next to Scarlet brandishes a sharp trowel and a look that stops him in his tracks. Wolf tells Ronald he is getting a glimpse of what new privileges he might earn, and that Scarlet has already settled into her place there. Scarlet and Ronald hold each other’s gaze for some time, and one can only imagine what those two twisted minds could be thinking.

That evening, the group of teens meet in the dark. Bridger admits to attempting to report the crime only to realize that someone who works for the sheriff committed the murder. Max confesses to using $2000 to buy her mom’s dental work. They all begin to argue, their previous agreement to simply wait and see having already fallen apart. Harper diffuses the situation, stating that they at least now know they can’t possibly go to the cops. Max gives each of the teens $2000 of their own to make amends to the share she took, and everything seems copacetic for now. Except that they are again being watched by the same man in the van.

As Harper and Max walk home together, he exits his van and begins to follow them, telling them he saw them. Harper yells at him to leave them alone, Max sprays him in face with pepper spray and the girls sprint off.

Deputy Harvey meets with Ren and Donno that night, telling them that he took care of evidence at the scene of the truck accident as best he could. Ren is unsatisfied, especially since the drugs and money are still missing. She asks Harvey about Sam Teske’s girlfriend, who Harvey is quick to defend. He offers to take care of her but is dismissed. Ren tells him that she and Donno will handle it from here.

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The next morning, Travis appears at Jenny’s door as she is preparing to head for work. He demands to know why she showed up the night prior at his motel room. She jokes about him catching her and he very seriously reminds her that her presence could have blown his cover. She seems to have an intimate understanding of the nature of undercover work herself. They settle things, and she tells him she needs to go continue investigating the crash involving a truck with no VIN. Travis mentions that there is a missing drug shipment that may have some connection to her accident.
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Poppernak tells Jenny that they are still waiting on the results of the blood found in the truck as she slowly circles the now impounded vehicle. She climbs into the driver seat, turns the keys in the ignition, fiddles with a few buttons and switches, and voila, a smuggling compartment pops open, revealing a hidden gun.

Jerrie has discovered that Sam had purchased two one-way tickets to Cabo booked for the night that he disappeared. Cassie goes to ask Tonya about it at the diner where she works. Tonya anxiously tells Cassie that it’s complicated and that she can’t talk now without risking being fired, but it’s clear she doesn’t want to discuss it. As Tonya goes to tend to one of her tables, we see that Ren is sitting at the counter also waiting to see Tonya. Ren and Donner order pie and tell Tonya that they are old friends of Sam Teske, which terrifies Tonya.

The next time we see her, Tonya is hurriedly packing a suitcase when there is a knock at the door. She opens the door with chain engaged to find Ren and Donno. They bash the door open and Donno immediately begins tearing thing apart while Ren demands to know where Tonya has her drugs and money. Tonya pleads ignorance so Ren cold cocks her in the face, rendering her instantly unconscious.

To no one’s surprise, when T-Lock learns that Max paid for her mother’s crown, he is very keen to know where she got the money. Upset, she meets with Harper outside her house. Max tells her about T-Lock’s suspicion of the money, and the fact that Cassie had a picture of the man they saw killed because she is investigating his disappearance. Harper talks her down from sharing any of this new information with Madison and Bridger. She also convinces Max that instead of disposing of the drugs, they could sell them, through someone Harper knows. Max is rightfully concerned by this plan, but Harper warmly reassures her with a kiss. However, that night as Max tries to sneak away into the dark, T-Lock catches her and pries the small bag out of her hands. He grins menacingly as he holds out the baggie of white powder.

Jenny meets Cassie to discuss a warrant when they discover that the missing boyfriend Cassie is looking for is also the owner of the gun found in the wrecked truck’s secret compartment. They decide to pay a visit to Tonya together, but when they arrive at her place, it is completely trashed, and Tonya is nowhere to be found.

As Ren and Donno drive through darkness, Ren glances over her shoulder to reveal Tonya is bound and gagged in the backseat. She is quickly coming to the realization, that she is grave peril.

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