Ren knows Travis is a cop, Sheriff Tubb and Jag are in the hospital, and Scarlet is back in town, staking out Cassie’s house! That’s a snapshot of how things looked at the end of last week’s episode of Big Sky. Ready to find out how Season 2 wraps? Here’s a recap of the season finale, titled “Catch a Few Fish.”
Scarlet (Anja Savcic) and Phoebe (Zoë Noelle Baker) enter a bus station, with Scarlet looking around cautiously. She leads Phoebe to a bank of lockers and pulls out a key, opening one and removing a small hard drive inside.
Ren (Janina Gavankar) and her father Verr (Bernard White) visit Jag (Vinny Chhibber) in the hospital. Jag is understandably afraid of his father, telling him that he tried to have him killed. Verr calmly explains that he was actually walking away to get help for his son, but Jag doesn’t believe him and neither does Ren. “All that talk of family was just a lie,” she tells him. Verr reminds Ren that he’s in charge, kissing Jag on the forehead before leaving the room. Alone, Jag warns Ren to be careful, but she confidently tells him she has things handled.
Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury) parks her truck outside of the community center for another group therapy session. She passes an SUV with legs sticking out under the hood and the man underneath yells “Hey, boots,” sliding out. When he sees that it’s a woman, he apologizes, but Cassie disproves his stereotype by looking under the hood and telling him exactly what’s wrong with his car, which is leaking oil. He introduces himself as Beau Arlen (Jensen Ackles) and when Cassie says her name, he’s already heard of her. She asks if he’s in law enforcement and he reveals that he was in Houston and is now semi-retired, but got called in as a favor. Cassie deduces that he’s the new acting sheriff that Tubb called in and tells him good luck with her old partner Jenny. He laughs and says he can handle her, which makes Cassie smile knowingly.
Denise (Dedee Pfeiffer) works at her desk at Dewell & Hoyt when Mark Lindor (Omar Metwally) arrives looking tired. He rushed back to Helena after learning that Scarlet called Cassie, leaving Jerrie in Idaho to work with local law enforcement on tracking Scarlet down. Mark had tasked Denise with looking into his theory that the syndicate that Ronald Pergman and Rick Legarski worked for had Wolf Legarski murdered. She hands him a scanned copy of the driver’s license of the EMT on duty in the ambulance when Wolf died, a man named Julian McGill. He hasn’t shown up to work in a few days and doesn’t answer the phone when she calls.
Cassie visits Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick) at home and tells her about Beau. Jenny is optimistic that he will be able to help her find and save Travis. Since Travis is seeking vengeance on Verr for the death of his girlfriend Kate, Cassie suggests that Jenny stop him by arresting Verr.
Verr stands outside of the hospital waiting for Ren. A silver truck pulls up, Travis (Logan Marshall-Green) is at the wheel. Verr gets in the passenger seat and realizes Ren isn’t getting in. His attention turns to the driver when he hears a click, finding himself at the other end of a loaded gun held by Travis. Looking back at Ren, Verr notices that she has tears in her eyes. “I love you, daddy,” she says as she pats the side of the truck, signaling Travis to drive away.
At the Sheriff’s Department, Beau introduces himself to the team, saying that he’s just there to help the team “Catch a few fish.” Deputy Poppernak (J. Anthony Pena) introduces himself and offers to take Beau fishing one day. Jenny walks in during the middle of the meeting. “Well, you must be Miss Hoyt,” Beau says. “And you must be the new temporary sheriff,” she responds, asking to speak to him in private. In Tubb’s vacant office, Beau makes the mistake of calling Jenny “Darlin’” and says he meant it simply as a fun nickname, trying to put everyone on the team at ease. Beau has already been filled in about the Bhullars and Travis and tells Jenny he has experience taking down cartels in Texas. “I think Travis is going to kill Verr Bhullar and I need to stop him,” Jenny says. “You mean we,” Beau responds, following Jenny to join her.
(ABC/Anna Kooris)
Cassie and Mark ring Julian McGill’s doorbell but there’s no answer. Noticing that the backyard gate is swinging, they go around back and find patio furniture, a table set for dinner. Proceeding closer, they find a plate shattered with uneaten food on it. Cassie notices a boot hanging out under a tarp on top of a pile of firewood. Mark pulls the tarp away and there lies the dead body of Julian McGill.
Scarlet and Phoebe enter a seed and feed store to shop when they spot Humbert (Brian Landis Folkins), the man from the syndicate whose been on their trail. They try to sneak back out of the store, but the door chimes when they exit and he sees them, rushing out after them. Scarlet leads Phobe into a barn full of supplies behind the store and they hide as Humbert enters to look for them. Scarlet jumps him from behind and stabs him, sending him to the ground. “You’ll never be safe,” he promises, blood leaking from his mouth. “There are so many more of me.” Scarlet gives him a fatal stab and tries to get Phoebe to come with her, but Phoebe refuses to go and says she doesn’t want to live like this anymore.
Ren has returned home to find Donno (Ryan O’Nan) making dinner, pouring herself a glass of wine as she reveals that she just sent her father to his death with Travis. Donno doesn’t like the plan and Ren is wrestling with herself over her decision, but Donno is excited when she tells him he can take care of Travis once Verr is out of the picture. They’re interrupted by a knock on the door. Jenny enters with Beau and a warrant for Verr’s arrest. Ren gives Donno the signal to get rid of them, but Beau catches it and gives Donno a punch to the kneck that sends him to the ground coughing. Ren tells Jenny that Travis has Verr and Jenny asks what for. “I think you know,” Ren says. Beau threatens to arrest Ren, who pulls out her phone. “You want him? Go for it.” She shows them the coordinates of Travis’ phone and Jenny takes a photo of it as they race out the door.
(ABC/Anna Kooris)
Cassie arrives home to find her front door ajar. She pulls out her gun and begins searching the house, discovering a blonde girl eating cereal at her table – Phoebe. She puts the gun down and rushes over to ask where Scarlet is when her phone rings from a blocked number. “You were right,” Scarlet says, “Phoebe deserves more out of this life.” Scarlet tells Cassie that Phoebe’s iPad contains the contact information for a relative in Michigan. “I am asking you mother to mother, please make sure that Phoebe ends up in the right hands. Better hands than mine, anyway.” Cassie begs Scarlet to do things the right away and turn herself in, but Scarlet instead tells Cassie that there’s something for her in Phoebe’s backpack. Scarlet tosses the burner phone out of her window and drives away. Cassie opens Phoebe’s backpack and finds the hard drive Scarlet retrieved from the locker at the beginning of the episode, which says “Milton” on it.
“I guess this is it,” Alicia (Constance Zimmer) says to Ren in the living room. Ren announces that she is taking over the organization and wants Alicia to share everything she knows as her father’s financial advisor. Alicia holds a folder, pulling out a document and passing it to Ren, revealing that Verr gave her power of attorney over the business. Ren is shocked and Alicia reveals that it was easy to get Verr’s signature, she just told him it was insurance paperwork for Jag and he didn’t even look at what he was signing. She gives Ren two options: Become partners or buy Alicia out. Ren chooses to pay Alicia to get out of the business.
Verr asks Travis what he’s doing as they drive and Travis reveals that this is about Kate Garcia. He parks his truck and leads Verr to a storm door in the middle of a clearing, the same one where Travis once let T-Lock go. “She deserved better,” Travis says with fury as Verr tells him that what happened to Kate was Travis’ fault because he made her his informant. “I did nothing but care for her,” Verr says calmly, describing her as a sad waitress before he introduced her to a better life. Travis asks what Verr did to her body. “So many things,” Verr responds. Travis hits him on the side of the head with his gun, knocking Verr to the ground. Travis climbs on top of him and begins punching Verr’s face. “She’s still alive,” Verr coughs.
Jenny and Beau race down the highway to Travis’ location, finding his truck and running out to stop him from killing Verr. Travis Punches Verr as he demands to know where Kate is. Jenny fires a warning shot to get him to stop and she pulls him off Verr while Beau checks his pulse, which is weak. As Jenny handcuffs Travis, he tells her that Kate is still alive.
Beau asks Jenny to return Travis to his handler at state, suggesting that she take him out for a beer and a cheeseburger on the way. On the drive, Travis tells Jenny that he was going to kill Verr, but the thought of Kate being alive pulled him back. “How do you know he wasn’t lying?”, she asks. “I don’t,” he confesses. Jenny pulls her truck over and unlocks Travis’ handcuffs. “What are you doing?”, he asks. “Go find her,” she tells him, adding that she trusts him to turn himself in when he’s done. Travis gets out of the truck and Jenny watches him in her rearview mirror as she drives away.
Phoebe watches an old Tom & Jerry short while Cassie and Mark talk in her kitchen about the hard drive. Cassie tells Mark that Child Protective Services is involved to help transfer Phoebe to her relatives in Michigan and that she will be checking in on her as a promise she made to Scarlet.
Verr sleeps in a hospital bed, handcuffed to the side rail. Jag enters quietly and closes the shade. As he gets closer, Verr opens his eyes. “My son,” he whispers. Jag yanks the pillow out from under Verr’s head and hesitates before slamming it over his father’s face. His heart monitor indicates an increased heart rate that then slows down to a flatline as he murders his father. The door opens and Ren enters, escorting Jag out of the room.
Tonya (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) supervises Alicia’s exit from Ren’s house, asking the lawyer where she’s going. Alicia is off to London, offering to take Tonya with her and saying she reminds her of herself. “I’m good right here where I was born and raised,” Tonya says. “Careful you don’t die here,” Alicia warns as she gets in her car and is driven out of the Bhullars' lives.
At Dewell & Hoyt, Cassie and Mark look over Denise’s shoulder as she opens the hard drive on her computer. All of the files are encrypted and Mark offers to take it to headquarters for help accessing the files. Jenny arrives and Cassie offers to take her out for a drink to catch up.
At the Boot Heel, Cassie and Jenny clink beer glasses while thinking about how crazy each of their days were. Beau enters and notices them, approaching with a cheesy Casablanca quote about all the bars in all the world. They laugh and ask him to start over. He backs up and acts as if he’s approaching for the first time, offering a round of tequila. As he sits down to join them, he asks Jenny about Travis, seeming to know what happened. She asks him what they will do if the state asks what happened. “If they come asking questions, I’ve got your back,” he promises. Their shots arrive and they clink glasses together. “Welcome to Montana,” Cassie says as they slam them back at the same time.
ABC has already given Big Sky the greenlight for a third season. Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of the Bhullars and it seems like Beau will stick around for a little while. Reba McIntyre is also confirmed to be joining the cast as the matriarch of a family of back-country outfitters. The show moves to Tuesday nights next fall and we will be covering all news related to Big Sky, including a Season 3 premiere date, as the new season draws closer. In the meantime, if you can’t stand a few months away from your favorite residents of Helena, consider spending the summer reading the books that inspired the series by C.J. Box.
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