‘Big Sky’ Recap: ‘White Lion’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Thirteen of ‘Big Sky’.
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Over the course of its inaugural season, the ABC series, Big Sky, has worked hard to maintain balance in its storytelling and it is understandable as to why. After all, this is a show that features some pretty twisted subject matter at times and breaking up the ugly stuff with dark humor or endearing moments, makes everything in this series palatable and compelling. But alas, it was only a matter of time before this series embraced the darkness surrounding it, since the villains in this tale are indeed evil and twisted and a writer can only hold them back for so long… and it just so happens that the next episode in this fascinating and wild series, ‘White Lion’, served as the perfect moment for this show to dive into some bleak territory. 
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The kind that saw the Kleinsasser family fall to pieces over the death of Blake. Because dear mother Margaret couldn’t handle the fact that her baby boy was gone in an apparent ‘suicide’ and she sunk to new lows. To the point where she finally told Horst what she thinks of him and that is no small feat when one considers how he treats her on a consistent basis when she shows a spine. But while that alone could have carried this family’s journey in this tale, the story opted to take things one step further, by having Cheyenne step up to the plate for a change and use the leverage she now has over her brother to her benefit. Because she full well knows that with one word she can bring John Wayne down and that led some incredibly terrifying tension between her and JW, since he was running scared in this particular tale. 

But while there was some satisfaction to be found in Cheyenne giving John Wayne the business, and in seeing her talk to Jenny Hoyt about the missing Cole Danvers, the bleakness in this tale continued along by way of Jenny herself. Because she was on an island in this story, since Cassie was pulled away to deal with another matter, we will get to in just a moment. Which meant that poor Jenny had to reconcile the fact that the team more or less failed in their mission. Because Rosie had zero interest in helping her and Cassie out and of course… Blake was gone. And having to reconcile the death of someone that meant a great deal to her, alone, was no easy task and that put Jenny in a tough place mentally, one that she seemed to be slipping deeper into. That is until, a surprise came her way.

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Because after weeks of hemming and hawing about, dear Angela at the sheriff’s office, decided the time had come to spill the beans about what’s been going on in this town, and she delivered all kinds of incredible goodies. Such as proof positive that Blake wasn’t responsible for the attack on Rosie in the slightest, along with some understanding of how and why the Kleinsassers maintain their power. But even this happy moment couldn’t escape the ugly hanging over this tale. Because in the closing moments of their conversation, an angry John Wayne, and Rand Kleinsasser… enacted a wild plan to get Jenny out of the picture. One that involved driving a massive, armored truck into her hotel room while she sat and chatted with Angie, leaving all of us to wonder as to whether or not Jenny and Angie are okay and that is a legit worry. Since this show has made it clear that anyone on this series can die at any time.
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But since we can do nothing more than wait and see in regard to Jenny and Angie, it’s best we put any dark thoughts about them aside for just a moment and discuss Cassie’s journey in this tale. Because she wasn’t present for such chaos for quite the important reason. In that, dear Mary finally recognized Ronald and put in a tip to Dewell and Hoyt about his whereabouts and she was off with Lindor to investigate said tip. And sadly, while they were on their way, bad things went down. For Ronald decided now was the perfect time to use Mary to practice old habits and he tortured and brutalized her at length before finally ending her life and of course… since he is quite the savvy villain, he was able to evade both Lindor and Cassie when they finally arrived and oddly enough, before they could continue their pursuit of him… they had another rough discovery to deal with. Since Mary’s basement has some murder related secrets of its own. Such as the body of what is likely Steve, Scarlet’s former lover and father to her child. 

Yet while that will undoubtedly raise some questions for Scarlet to answer in the weeks to come, what is worse… is that Ronald is back on his game and that really is horrifying to say the least. Because now we were able to see what he’s like without a wrangler and now that he’s had a taste for blood once again, it is only a matter of time before he indulges in his dark ways on a more consistent basis and well, in the end, this really was quite the incredible episode. For this one really did a wonderful job of letting the darkness wash over this tale through and through, and it truly challenged the characters like never before since Jenny has likely never faced these kinds of odds in her time as a private investigator and poor Cassie is on the hunt once again for a monster that seemingly cannot be caught and well, all of these elements, will definitely have us counting down the minutes until next week's episode. So we can learn the fate of Jenny Hoyt and see if Cassie and Lindor inch any closer to bringing Ronald to justice. Until next time.

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