After a nearly month-long break, ABC’s Big Sky returned tonight with “Keys to the Kingdom.” When we last visited our heroes and villains in Helena, Montana, Jenny was walking outside in what appeared to be an ambush. Was Travis really going to turn against her in order to take down the Bhullar cartel? Here’s a recap of what happened next.
Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick) and Sheriff Tubb (Patrick Gallagher) exit the station together, saying goodnight to each other as Jenny heads towards her truck. She notices Travis’ truck parked on the curb and begins walking over. Inside, Donno (Ryan O’Nan) points his gun at Travis (Logan Marshall-Green), alias Stone, and reminds him, “You have a job to do, I’m here to see that you do it.” Travis rolls down the window and Jenny asks what they’re doing parked outside a police station, offering to write them a ticket for loitering. Donno was planning for Travis to convince Jenny to come in the truck and he eyes him with suspicion when that doesn’t happen and Jenny walks away.
Mark Lindor (Omar Metwally) makes breakfast for Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury), having spent the night at her place. What should’ve been a romantic morning is disruptated by a surge of notifications on Mark’s phone from Denise and Jerrie. Cassie mentions that he and Jerrie seem close now and he becomes awkward. Cassie gets the truth out of Mark, that he and Jerrie kissed. He is nervous about how Cassie will react to the news, but she kisses him on the cheek when he tells her he needs to go to the office. Cassie says she will go with him.
That same morning, Jenny comes downstairs after getting ready to find that Travis has snuck in and is waiting for her on the couch. He tells her that he’s been ordered to kill her. Jenny suggests that the line between Travis’ job has become blurred and she asks if this is about his girlfriend. “Kate was my C.I.,” he corrects her (C.I. stands for “Confidential Informant”). Travis blames himself for not pulling her away from Verr Bhullar in time and refuses to make the same mistake with Jenny. He warns her that they will kill her if she doesn’t back off, but Jenny is only insulted by Travis’ concern. “You can let yourself out,” she says, walking away.
Jag Bhullar (Vinny Chhibber) sits on the couch scrolling through photos of Dhruv on his camera roll when Ren Bhullar (Janina Gavankar) enters. She wants to talk about their dad and the trouble he will cause if he kills Jenny Hoyt, saying it will only create more problems if they kill a cop. They both feel that Verr isn’t being honest with them and Ren feels he will only open up to Jag and only if he is cornered. Their conversation is interrupted by Alicia (Constance Zimmer), who enters the living room cleansing the air with sage. Alicia reveals that Verr left town to meet with his offshore banker and that she has a law degree, offering to visit the Sheriff’s Department and put pressure on them to stay out of their business.
Cassie and Mark arrive at Dewell & Hoyt together and Jerrie is initially taken aback. Denise (Dedee Pfeiffer) and Jerrie (Jesse James Keitel) are still looking for Mason’s dad. Cassie believes Richard is out for revenge for the death of his son. A short while later, Mark gets a call to go for a deposition on Wolf’s death and tells Cassie that he doesn’t have an update on Scarlet or Phoebe. After Mark leaves, Jerrie gets a notification about an SUV that matches Richard’s and Cassie goes with her to check it out.
Richard Ford (Dallas Roberts) waits in a truck outside of the Bhullar construction trailer, watching as Tonya (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) pulls up. She enters the trailer and finds Bryce (Travis Hammer) inside looking nervous. When she asks what he’s doing there, he tells her he needs his paycheck. She reminds him that they don’t usually get handed out until the end of the day, but produces his from her bag and hands it to him. A knock on the door stops their conversation and Tonya opens it to find Richard asking for the person in charge. “That would be me, come on in,” she says, letting him walk inside. We see that he has a gun sticking out of the back of his jeans. Something doesn’t feel right and Richard clears up that while Tonya runs the construction business, she is not a Bhullar and that she merely works for them. Bryce recognizes that Richard is not well and draws his gun, saying “Maybe you should just get walking.” Richard nods and exits the trailer. Tonya thanks Bryce for coming to her rescue and asks her to be careful.
When Jenny gets to the Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Poppernak (J. Anthony Pena) tells her that the Bhullar’s lawyer is there and he recognizes her from the raid. Inside Tubb’s office, Jenny listens to Alicia as she accuses them of bullying her clients and presents a cease and desist for the department to stop interfering with the Bhullar family’s real estate and construction projects. Tubb initial declines her request, but she produces a copy of the search warrant Tubb ordered and says she can prove in court that the grounds for the order were unfounded, which would cost him his badge and pension. “I suggest that you think about that when you are reconsidering my friendly request. Thank you for your time.” Alicia leaves with an heir of confidence and in private, Tubb tells Jenny that he wants to take down the Bhullar’s now before they have a chance to block them from investigating. Jenny promises to get him something that can take them down for good.
Cassie and Jerrie arrive at a parking lot and pull up to Richard’s SUV, which has been parked there for more than 24 hours. While there, Cassie asks Jerrie about Mark, saying she doesn’t want anything to be weird. Jerrie promises that she’s fine and that she’s happy that they are together. Cassie asks Jerrie about her visit home and when Jerrie mentions that her dad wanted her to stay longer, she says that her biggest regret is not spending more time with her father now that he’s gone.
Jenny meets with her C.I. Bryce at a gas station, both filling their tanks on either side as he passes her a shipping transport document he took from Tonya’s desk. He doesn’t have answers to a lot of Jenny’s questions and Jenny asks several questions about Tonya and what she does. Bryce asks her to leave Tonya out of this, describing her as “A good person who just needs cash.” Jenny asks Bryce to get proof that the drugs were at the Bhullar ranch. Bryce watches her nervously as she drives away.
Travis finds Ren in the kitchen and asks her to try and talk Verr out of killing a cop. She tells him she’s on the same page, but tells him her father rarely changes his mind. Ren tells Stone about Alicia’s visit with Sheriff Tubb and Travis says “She seems like a keeper. Too bad your father has a hard time keeping things.” Ren is visibly suspicious about the comment, calling Stone out for mentioning the waitress in Seattle (Kate) again and questioning why he’s fixated on her. Travis mumbles and Ren tells him to watch his mouth.
(ABC/Anna Kooris)
Sheriff Tubb goes home to feed his cat, taking off his belt and setting it on the kitchen table. As he looks through his cat food options, he hears the floorboards creak and turns around. Richard is in his house with a gun drawn and Tubb reaches for his, realizing it’s on the table. Richard asks Tubb for a name and address so he can confront the Bhullars and Tubb tells him that it’s his job to protect Richard and his family. When Tubb’s cat brushes between Richard’s legs, he looks down and Tubb leaps at Richard, trying to grab his gun. As they struggle, a bullet is fired. Tubb stumbles backwards holding his stomach. He’s been shot and he falls onto the floor. Richard uses Tubb’s cellphone to call 911 as he runs out of the house.
Jenny was showing Cassie the shipping documents she received from Bryce and tells her about Alicia’s lawsuit threat when Poppernak rushes in with the news that Tubb has been shot. Jenny and Cassie rush to Tubb’s house as he’s wheeled out on a stretcher. Jenny asks Tubb who shot him, leaning in to hear him whisper.
In the construction trailer, Ren has given Tonya an expensive leather coat and boots, telling her it’s a reward for her hard work and that sometimes changing out outward appearance can activate internal changes. She wants Tonya to show the world who she is. As they talk, Tonya notices that her stapler isn’t in its proper position on her desk, revealing that she’s a little bit OCD. Tonya also tells Ren about Richard’s visit and urges her boss to be careful.
Jenny tells the entire Sheriff’s Department that Tubb is in surgery and is in good care. “The man who shot him, Richard Ford, is our number one priority right now.” A manhunt has been ordered and Jenny inspires the team to do their best for Sheriff Tubb. Checking her phone, Jenny has a text from Bryce that says “I have something. Meet in 1 hour.”
Ren and Jag are setting up the lab again in the basement. They have a new guy to run the operation, but Jag worries their dad will get to him, too. Ren suggests that maybe it’s time they force their dad out. Jag is scared to try it, but when Ren reminds him that Verr is the one ultimately responsible for the death of Dhruv, it seems to activate courage he didn’t know he had.
Jerrie has received Richard’s text message records and she notices an irregularity from his wife’s phone number, a text that reads “Tango 15 Tell.” Cassie calls Jenny, who is waiting for Bryce at the gas station, and asks if she can join her in talking to Mona Ford. Jenny finally gives up on Bryce and drives away.
We next find out why Bryce missed his meeting with Jenny. Tonya called him to her desk for a meeting, starting by praising his good work and promising to give him more work and more money. But then she mentions the missing shipping manifest and how she found him in the trailer when she got there. Giving a cute cough, Donno steps around the corner with a gun. “The truth and Donno won’t kill you, I promise,” she tells him. Bryce starts to cry as he explains that he didn’t have a choice, that he was busted by the cops. He confirms that it is Jenny Hoyt that he’s working with. Tonya motions for Donno to put the gun down and she tells him she understands that he did what he had to do. She gives him a hug and says “I made you a promise and Dono won’t kill you and neither will the Bhullars.” We hear the sound of a knife cutting through flesh. Bryce steps back, stunned as he looks down at the knife in his chest. “I hired you and that makes you my responsibility,” Tonya says as Bryce collapses to the floor. Donno lets out a satisfied grunt. “I thought it would be harder,” Tonya confesses. “Some people are just naturals,” Donno beams.
(ABC/Anna Kooris)
Cassie and Jenny visit Mona Ford (Laurel Harris) and ask about the texts she sent. Mona is hesitant to talk, but when Jenny tells her that Richard shot Sheriff Tubb, she opens up, revealing that she was the one addicted to drugs and that if Richard knew, he would blame her for Mason’s death. The coded texts were her way of getting more pills, a habit she picked up after a horseback riding fall four years ago. Richard doesn’t know and Mona promises to give Jenny the information for her dealer, but begs her to keep it from her husband.
Mark races into Dewell & Hoyt in a rush and Denise asks him what’s going on. He received a lead on Scarlet and Phoebe, with a bank’s security camera picking up both of them in Idaho. Jerrie insists that she go with Mark.
(ABC/Anna Kooris)
Jag leaves to pick up Verr from the airport, planning to talk to his dad on the ride back. Stone asks Ren about the manifest leak and she reveals that Bryce was working with the police and that Tonya killed him. “My little girl is all grown up,” she brags. Ren tells Stone that in light of this information, he has been assigned to help Tonya and Donno rearrange the shipments. The camera follows Stone as he leaves Ren’s cabin where he immediately calls Jenny and tells her that Bryce is dead. Headlights pull into the driveway and he ends the call, approaching the driver’s window and asking if they’re lost. He is greeted by a gun pointed at his face. “I’m here to meet Verr Buhllar,” Richard says.
We will have to wait until next Thursday, May 12th, to find out what happens next when Big Sky returns with the penultimate episode of Season 2, titled “Family Matters.”
A concerned Jenny searches for Travis while Scarlett, desperate to protect her daughter, Phoebe, makes an unexpected phone call that could change the course of more than one life. Elsewhere, tensions rise at the Bhullar ranch when Jag finds out the truth about his father and Travis’ identity is revealed, leading Alicia to advise Veer it may be time to step down.