This week’s episode of Big Sky: Deadly Trails feels like a major turning point, which may be because it’s the penultimate episode of Season 3. “Are You Mad?” is the title of the 12th episode, but are you mad that the season is almost over? Let’s recap.
(ABC/Anna Kooris)
Sunny Barnes (Reba McEntire) arrives home to find the front door ajar. “Buck?”, she calls out. There are drops of blood on the floor. Moving inside, she sees a bloody handprint on the wall. Calling for Buck again, she is startled to find Paige (Madalyn Horcher) covered in blood and holding a knife. Sunny asks Paige what happened to her and Paige accuses Sunny of sicking her “psychotic husband” on her. “Where is he?”, Sunny asks. “He’s dead, and I’m going to do the same thing to you,” Paige declares as she lunges at Sunny, who dives for a can of pepper spray and uses it to keep Paige away from her. Just then, Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick) enters with her gun, commanding Paige to drop the knife. Paige breaks into tears as she follows Jenny’s orders.
Sheriff Beau Arlen (Jensen Ackles) calls his daughter Emily (Cree Cicchino) from his office, finding that his daughter is walking back to Dewell & Hoyt with her hands full of drinks and lunch for Denise and Cassie. Deputy Moe Poppernak (J. Anthony Pena) brings Beau a folder with all of the information he found about the man who was trying to abduct Avery. His name was Winston Turner and he’s been linked to a syndicate up in Canada. Poppernak asks Beau how Avery would be connected to this man and Beau tells him about the $15 million. Poppernak believes this syndicate won’t stop sending people until they get the money back. Madge Crowder (Melissa Chambers) enters and tells Beau that Jenny found Paige at the Barnes residence and that she’s on her way ot the hospital, but Sunny has been brought in for questioning.
In a hotel room, Jenny asks Paige what she remembers about the place Buck to her to. All she knows is that it was underground in the woods. When she got out, she ran as fast as she could and didn’t look back until she reached the interstate and flagged down a driver. Jenny asks Paige why she went after Sunny instead of calling the police. Paige believes Sunny was in on it, which confuses Jenny. Paige gets frantic and then says something that alarms Jenny. “He had hearts in jars!” Paige tells Jenny they looked like trophies from other victims.
Beau goes to interrogate Sunny, who asks if her husband is dead. Beau tells her they haven’t been able to locate the place he took Paige to for confirmation. He asks Sunny what she knows about the Bleeding Heart Killer. “Nothing,” she says, seemingly in disbelief. Beau tells Sunny that Paige is accusing her of knowing all about it. “I tried to help her by keeping her safe from the people that she took the money from,” Sunny defends herself. Beau asks Sunny if she thinks Buck is capable of these accusations. “I don’t know what to think anymore, except I do think it’s time I call my lawyer,” she tells him. Beau pleads that time is running out, but Sunny decides to clam up. Before Beau exits, she asks him to let Walter out of jail since the crime he pled guilty to, murdering Paige, has been proven false. Beau tells her no, but she tells him Walter may be able to help find Buck. “Let me see what I can do,” Beau decides.
Inside Dewell & Hoyt, Denise (Dedee Pfeiffer) is in shock as she pins up the wanted details for Buck Barnes, who she knows. Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury), however, is not surprised, having felt like Buck was up to something when he lied about the burned Suburban. She takes out the map she made of all the heart carvings in the woods and notes that the highway where Paige was picked up is near them. Denise theorizes that the hearts may be a treasure map to the underground bunker Paige was kept in. Emily asks if Sunny could help them find it. “She lawyered up and claims to know nothing, so her focus is on proving Walter’s innocence,” Cassie shares. “And now that Paige showed up, he’s gonna be released.”
In his motel room, Avery (Henry Ian Cusick) leaves a voice message for Carla reaffirming his love for her and Emily. A man (Angel Rosario Jr.) with a gun steps out of the shadows and tells Avery that phone calls like that typically means it’s over. Avery asks if he’s there for the money and the man tells him it’s too late for that, listing off all the ways he’s about to torture Avery before delivering him to his boss. “There’s just one thing you haven’t thought of yet,” Avery confuses the man. “And what’s that?”, he asks. “Me,” comes a voice behind him. Donno (Ryan O’Nan) beats the man to death with a pair of hammers.
Cassie fills Cormac (Luke Mitchell) in on everything going on with his father. “I should’ve seen it,” he says, blaming himself. He remembers a hunting trip with Buck when he was 10 years old. He woke up in the middle of the night and saw his dad staring at a patch of dirt in a trance. The next morning, Cormac looked closer at the patch and his father warned him not to go near it because something bad happened there. Cassie tells him not to be hard on himself, that he was a child then and his father fooled a lot of people. She suggests he go home, but he wants to help. Cassie shows him the map she made of the hearts in the trees. He notices a few that are missing and she plots them with his help. She lets him stay in her office as she heads out, encouraging him to feel all of these emotions and not bury them away.
Sunny greets Walter (Seth Gabel) as he walks out of jail a free man, but he doesn’t want to get in her truck. She tells him it’s safe, that everyone knows he’s her son now, but he’s furious with Buck for hurting Paige. “You were right about him,” Sunny pleads. “I should’ve listened to you. You’re free now, and so am I.” She begs him to get in the car so they can make a plan for their future as a family.
Police dogs search the woods as Cassie, Jenny, and Beau follow the hearts on the map. The dogs lose the scent and Jenny thinks that must mean they’re close. Just as Denise predicted, the map leads them to a bunker and they approach with their guns drawn. Beau tosses an explosive down the hatch and there’s no noise in response to it, so he proceeds down. In the bunker, they find bloodstains and the jar of trophy hearts, one of which is marked Blaire. But there’s no sign of Buck.
We see Buck (Rex Linn) limping through the woods, his face a bloody mess and his left leg hard to walk on from being stabbed. He collapses in a clearing and is saved by a barking dog named Lulu. Her owner, a man named Gabriel (Ryan Jason Cook), rushes to Buck’s aid, bending down to check if he’s alright. Buck asks Gabriel if he has a truck and Gabriel tells him it’s a quarter mile away, offering to help him there so they can take Buck to a hospital. Instead, Buck pulls Gabriel down, puts him in a headlock, and snaps his neck. Lulu barks as Buck rises, calming her down and setting her on Gabriel’s dead body. “Everything’s gonna be alright,” Buck lies to Lulu as he limps away with Gabriel’s keys.
Shortly after, police tape surrounds the clearing where Gabriel’s body was found. Jenny called Gabriel’s sister and has determined that his truck and rifle are missing. The forensics team believes the blood on Gabriel’s body belongs to someone else and Cassie is sure it’s Buck’s. Cassie’s hunch is that Sunny must know something and she wants to go back and talk to her. Jenny questions how far Buck can get given his injuries.
Buck quietly enters a truck stop, grabbing a trucker hat off a rack and putting it on his head to cover his bloody face. He picks up a tube of superglue and takes it to the bathroom where he bites on the cap and grunts in pain as he glues his stab wound shut.
Walter examines a mantle in the Barnes home, looking at family photos that don’t include him. Sunny enters with a bag she packed that includes a cell phone and new clothes. Walter is upset that he’s not in any of the family photos and in response to Sunny’s claims that they had to hide him for his protection, he says she knew Buck was bad all along. No, I knew about the drinking, but I thought your father had moved past that,” Sunny says. In a rage, Walter replies “He’s not my father!” He calls her and Buck bad apples who turned him into a monster and reminds her that he saw Buck the night Blaire was murdered and Sunny wouldn’t listen to him. “Buck’s dead,” Sunny tells her son, desperate for him to stay. “Cormac won’t even speak to me, so it’s just you and me, Walter.” Walter tells Sunny he doesn’t need her anymore. He gives her a hug, grabs the bag, and says “Goodbye, mama.”
(ABC/Anna Kooris)
Carla (Angelique Cabral) has been followed to a dry cleaner by Tex (Lyle Lovett), who waits in his car and talks on the phone to Tony (West Liang), who orders him to wait for his word. We see that Tony is sitting outside of Dewell & Hoyt on the other end of the call. When Carla exits, she approaches Tex’s car and tells him she knows he’s following her. “Just know that our next stop is to visit my ex-husband at the Sheriff's Station,” she warns him. “I hope you have a nice day,” Tex says, tipping his hat. Carla returns to her car, and we see that she looks panicked.
Inside Dewell & Hoyt, Emily and Denise are in the back room tending to some files and talking about placing a dinner order since it’s going to be a long night. Denise offers to go and Emily warns her about a creeper who complimented her order when she ran out for lunch. Denise asks to be called if Cassie returns while she’s out, but she doesn’t get the chance to leave. The power goes out. The back door is blown open. A hand with a gun enters the frame, causing Emily and Denise to freeze in terror.
Jenny and Poppernak pay Sunny a visit and she asks if they found Buck’s body. Jenny breaks the news that it appears Buck is still alive, but she won’t say anything else. They give Sunny orders to contact them if Buck contacts her and share that a police car will be watching her house all night for her protection.
Walter visits Paige in her hospital room, and she seems genuinely happy to see him. She asks him why he was going to spend his life in jail for her, and he says the bad guys would’ve never stopped looking for her if they knew she was alive. He holds her bandaged hand and Paige asks him if Sunny set her up. “I don’t know,” he shakes his head. Paige is upset that she didn’t actually kill Buck, but Walter tells her not to be afraid anymore. “I’m going to take care of this,” he promises as he gets up to leave. Paige begs him to stay, but he keeps talking, saying “Don’t you worry.”
Carla enters Beau’s office shaking about being followed. She tells him about a weird voice message she received from Avery, which makes the hair on the back of Beau’s neck stand up. He asks Carla if she’s heard from Emily. She hasn’t heard from her all morning.
“I’m back,” Cassie hollers to the back room as she returns to Dewell & Hoyt to find the front office empty. She notices that the room is illuminated only by the natural light shining through the windows. “Denise? Emily?” She notices that Denise’s computer screen is dark and the power is out. Beau calls her and she answers, telling him the office is dark and nobody’s there. “Something’s not right,” Beau says. Hanging up, he tells Carla to stay there and keep her phone on, rushing out to look for Emily. Shortly after, both Beau and Jenny are at Dewell & Hoyt where they’ve realized a circuit breaker was intentionally cut, so there’s no surveillance video of the abduction. Beau believes it was the people after the money and orders Jenny and Cassie not to do anything without his clearance as he rushes out alone.
Beau barges into Avery’s motel room, furiously telling him that Emily has been abducted. Avery seems genuinely upset and tells Beau that he’s meeting Tony tonight to make a deal. ‘WHERE’S MY DAUGHTER, AVERY?”, Beau yells, pressing his ex-wife’s husband against the wall. Beau wants to attend the meeting, but Avery says it would be bad for him to bring law enforcement. Beau changes the plan, Avery will wear a wire and he will be close by listening in. Avery swears that all he wants now is for Emily to get home safely. “Then you better start listening to me and do exactly as I say,” Beau warns.
Denise’s phone was ditched half a mile from the office, so she’s untraceable. Poppernack received a call that someone matching Buck’s description was spotted leaving Four Corners Market as Beau arrives and heads into his office. Jenny tries to comfort him as he starts to break down and cry. She tells Beau that she has his back, whatever he wants to do. He tells her he wants to see what happens at Avery’s meeting.
Shortly after, Beau and Avery enter the Blue Fox Dinner to speak with Donno and Tonya (Jamie-Lynn Sigler). After informing them that Emily and Denise are missing, Beau asks them to provide backup for Avery as planned. Tonya asks what’s in it for them and Avery offers them all of his share of the money. “You’ve got yourself a deal,” Tonya smiles as they shake hands.
(ABC/Anna Kooris)
Avery enters the Boot Heel with Tonya and Donno behind him. Tony is there with Tex and three other men, the Toronto Triplets. “They’re not real triplets,” Donno announces, already familiar with them from Canada. “Where’s my daughter?”, Avery asks. “Where’s my money?”, Tony replies. Tonya announces that Tony only gets half the money and only if Emily is returned safely. Tex stands up when he hears that Emily was abducted, telling Tony he draws the line at kids and leaves the bar. Tony tells Avery he’ll only tell him where Emily is if he proves he has the money ready to be transferred. Avery holds up his phone and shows the transfer that simply awaits the press of a button to complete. “Wow, you must really love that girl,” Tony says as he draws his gun and fires multiple shots into Avery’s chest. Tony picks up Avery’s phone to complete the transfer, but before he can press the button, Tonya shoots Tony. The triplets open fire on Tonya and Donno, who duck behind a table turned on its side. Donno gets up and takes out the triplets, but not before a few bullets enter his body. He falls to the ground. “Help!”, Tonya cries as she bends down over Donno, who is bleeding profusely, his eyes glazing over. “Not killing you was the best thing I ever did,” he says to Tonya, who cries as she kisses him, begging him to stay with her. Beau, Jenny, and Poppernak burst through the doors and Beau sees Avery’s body. He notices that Tony’s chest is moving and grabs him. “Where is my daughter?” he asks Tony, shaking him by the collar. “I don’t have her,” he gasps, “it was someone else…” Beau asks who as Tony’s breathing stops. “Buck has them,” Beau realizes aloud.
We see Buck driving down the interstate singing along to “I Cross My Heart” by George Strait. He talks to the backseat about how this was his and Sunny’s wedding song. We see that Denise and Emily are tied up in the backseat of the car, their mouths duck-taped shut. They try to scream, but he warns them to keep quiet as he pulls out a phone and makes a call.
Sunny looks out the window at the police car parked outside. Her phone rings from a blocked number. “Buck, is that you?”, she asks. “Are you mad?”, he answers her question with another question. It’s hard to tell how Sunny feels in this moment.
Big Sky returns next week, January 18th, with “That Old Feeling,” which happens to also be the season finale. Here’s a taste of what’s to come.
With Denise and Emily’s lives on the line, Jenny and Beau are determined to bring the Bleeding Heart Killer to justice, no matter what it takes. Meanwhile, Cassie uses her connections to pin down their possible location; and Sunny makes a fiery decision that will change her family forever, but will it all be enough to save the ones they love? Find out on the season finale.