‘Big Sky’ Recap: ‘The Wolves Are Always Out for Blood’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the midseason premiere of ‘Big Sky’.
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Normally, crime dramas come to a close in a pretty standard manner. Wherein our intrepid and heroic sleuth has figured out how to rescue someone that is in dire need of their help, or they’ve cornered the criminal in question. Allowing for a tense and satisfying showdown to take place. The kind where the hero and the villain exchange powerful words before finally settling the matter in an epic and violent fashion. Where the hero is of course victorious and reflective before the pages run out or the screen fades to black, and for a time it seemed as though that particular type of ending was going to take place on the ABC series, Big Sky.
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For when we last settled in to enjoy this powerful show, Cassie Dewell had cornered Trooper Rick Legarski in the basement of the All In Bar whilst he was preparing to hand the women Ronald captured, off to their new owners, and of course, after spending a few minutes exchanging tense words… Cassie opened fire and dropped Legarski. Leaving us to wonder where this story was headed next now that the women were safe and thankfully, the midseason premiere wasted no time in answering that. For ‘The Wolves Are Always Out for Blood’ immediately picked up after that fateful bullet entered Legarski’s skull and well… you don’t get more of a traditional ending than that. Because those brave women were off to the hospital to heal their physical wounds and Trooper Legarski was barely alive and in custody, meaning that justice could finally be served.

But going by the book and ending this story in a traditional manner, simply wouldn’t be this show’s style. Not after it spent most of the first half of its inaugural season, shaking up all the tropes that the crime drama tends to offer and once the dust settled and the investigation into Trooper Legarski’s twisted side hustle began, is when this show opted to explore something that definitely isn’t handled enough in this genre, specifically, the fallout of the villain’s actions. A feat that this episode accomplished, in part, by allowing for Jenny and Cassie to grieve over the man they both loved. Because at long last, Cody’s body was recovered by the police and that brought forth painful closure for both women and it was quite powerful to see them grieve and try to figure out a way forward without Cody, when they held so much hope in their hearts that he was going to be okay, and the gravity of what Legarski and Ronald have done, didn’t end with Cody’s funeral. 

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Because Merilee Legarski, was left holding the bag for her husband’s actions and had to deal with perhaps the most difficult journey of the night. After all, she was still Rick’s wife, ‘till death do them part, and she had to reconcile the fact that she didn’t know anything about her husband’s actions in the slightest and that those he hurt, more or less blamed her for what happened and understandably so. For their pain needed to go somewhere and she was the easy victim for that kind of ire and to her credit, she handled all of this with kindness and grace. Even going so far as to disarm Jenny when she tried to unload her fury and pain on Merilee for what happened to Cody and this was perhaps, the best sub plot of the night. Simply because this made for some powerful and realistic and original moments, since we rarely see how the loved ones of a criminal, handle the news that their beloved is a monster. 
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But while it was quite powerful to see everyone take a moment and breath and grieve and ponder upon what comes next, there was only one major issue left unresolved from this incredible and breathtaking rescue. In that, Ronald Pergman was still out there, and he was in a hurry to hide his involvement in this whole matter. Which motivated him to not only alter the appearance of his truck in order to keep law enforcement off of his back, but he also made a grand attempt to break into the Legarski home. For Rick has a secret room full of records that could put him away forever and while he wasn’t successful in getting to those records in this particular tale, it is only a matter of time before he makes another attempt to get them ad it won’t be long before he returns to the spotlight. Because that note on Jerrie’s door is an indicator that he’s still lurking about and biding his time, and that is a terrifying prospect indeed.

In the end however, this really was quite the impressive midseason premiere when all is said and done. Because not only did it wow us by moving the case along in a dynamic and unexpected manner, since a great deal of us believed that those poor captive women would be hidden away for a good long time, but it also did a phenomenal job of providing the viewer with original storytelling and an outright sense of impending danger. Because it really was quite refreshing to see the fallout of Rick and Ronald’s actions and see the characters grieve and mourn and try to heal since that gives them incredible depth, and it really is chilling to know that Ronald is still out there and scheming and well, all this premiere does, is leave us eager to enjoy more of this incredible series. So that we can learn exactly how Jenny and Cassie are going to hunt down a cunning monster, one that is now as dangerous as they come… since Ronald will likely do whatever it takes to keep himself and his creepy mother, safe. Until next time.    

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