Hello, Big Sky “Pilot”!
Back in February I heard about Big Sky when I read an article from Deadline announcing that Ryan Phillippe was one of the actors cast. I love Ryan Phillippe. I’ve had a crush on him since I was a teenager, and he is still hot. Yes, I know he is not the only one in this but that’s what drew me in initially, okay? I’m not going to lie, when I first saw the trailer, I wasn’t sold on it. I said “meh, I might pass on this.” Let me just say, I am so glad I decided to give the first episode a go because whoa!
Here is the premise of the show:
Private detectives Cassie Dewell and Cody Hoyt join forces with his estranged wife and ex-cop, Jenny Hoyt, to search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. But when they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken.
The Big Sky “Pilot” came in and smacked us right in the face. So much happened in one hour, so let’s unpack.
The setting
Before I get into all the crazy, I have to take a minute to acknowledge the setting of this show. The Big Sky “Pilot” takes place in Montana, and it is beautiful. From the moment the show opens, you’re shown gorgeous mountainous views and green trees. It looks like such a peaceful place to be. What I love most is that it’s a character in it’s own way, but it doesn’t take away from the actors. During the day everything is beautiful but when the sun goes down, it becomes an ominous dark place with long windy roads that lead to the middle of nowhere, and it’s scary.
Girl Code
Okay, so the Big Sky Pilot opens with Jenny Hoyt sitting in the local diner and she’s obviously pissed off about something. She places an order but before it arrives, she abruptly leaves. In the next scene we see detective Cassie Dewell dancing and singing, around her office just enjoying her morning. An angry Jenny storms in and confronts Cassie to ask if she’s been sleeping with her husband Cody.
Cassie looks stunned but doesn’t say anything initially. Her silence is all the answer Jenny needs. Cassie tries to explain that she thought Jenny and Cody were no longer together. See the thing is, Jenny and Cody are having marital problems, so naturally Cassie assumed that meant Cody was fair game. I get it, we all know the girl code that you don’t hook up with your besties ex, however, this argument comes in at the beginning so it’s unclear whether or not she and Jenny are actually good friends or not. What we do know is that Cassie and Cody are partners at what is revealed to be the Dewell and Hoyt Detective Agency.
To be honest with you, Jenny coming in like that confused me. Like I said, it was unclear if they were good friends or not because there was no buildup of them being friends to then having Jenny find out about Cassie and Cody. It only gets worse when Cassie later confronts Jenny at a bar and the two get into a fist fight literally to the tune of Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man.” I mean, is Cody’s dick that good that these two women are ready to fight over it? Be mad at Cody, not each other.
“Working on Things”
Cody and Jenny are supposed to be working on things, I guess. At least that’s what she says to him when she shows up at his house. These two clearly have some issues, what kind is yet to be seen. Like I said, this episode was fast going and that includes giving us backstories to relationships. Seeing Cody and Jenny talk to each other just left me with questions that we didn’t get answered. Why did they break up? Why is Jenny no longer a cop? Was she half of the detective agency before Cassie? I wasn’t surprised when they ended up in bed together. It was a pretty cliché moment and it made me dislike both Cody and Jenny in that moment.
Cody doesn’t know what he wants, but what I do know is he wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants everything to just be normal but how can things be normal when you slept with your partner? Also, telling Cassie that them hooking up basically didn’t mean anything wasn’t cool. Cassie had every right to be pissed off. Whether she told Cody she wasn’t looking for anything or not, he needs to man up and if he still wants Jenny, then he shouldn’t be having sex with Cassie.
That Truck Driver
Ronald is an unassuming guy who gets belittled by his mother for being a truck driver. She’s embarrassed by him and doesn’t hesitate to let him know that his profession is not one of meaning. It’s mean, and his hurt makes you feel for him. He’s a lonely guy and you feel sorry for him until he gets to a truck stop and picks up “Michelle,” who I recognized as Jerrie, one of the diner patrons from early in the episode.
Michelle AKA Jerrie is kind to Ronald, and they have a little heart to heart. Ronald is weird though, and something just feels off about how he looks and talks to her. That’s confirmed when he incapacitates her with a stun gun. It was one of those moments you were sort of expecting but when it came, it was still one that made you jump.
This Is Why We Don’t Road Rage
Teenage sisters Danielle and Grace are on a road trip from Colorado to Montana in hte Big Sky Pilot. The reason for this road trip is that Danielle is driving to see her boyfriend Justin, who is Jenny and Cody’s son. Grace and Danielle are having the time of their lives on their trip until they have a run-in with a truck driver who is, you guessed it, Ronald. He cuts the two of them off and it pisses Danielle off so what does she decide to do? Follow him on a long windy road in the middle of the night to pass him up. Bad Move.
Road rage is always a bad idea. Danielle and Grace battle with Ronald on the highway and she is able to pass him up after a few near-misses. Listen, if a truck cuts you off, let that asshole go. You do not chase them down to pass them up and yell, flip them off or whatever, stay the fuck back. Danielle is dumb. Grace is literally telling her not to do it, and she does it anyway. She feels gratification that she succeeded in teaching the truck driver a lesson but that is short lived. Earlier in the day they received a call from their mom to check in, and she warned the girls to keep an eye on the engine light of the car. First of all, why the hell would you even take a road trip when your car’s engine light has been coming on? If that isn’t a bad idea I don’t know what is, and shame on their mom for even letting them go like that.
Danielle and Grace end up having car trouble and guess who ends up stopping for them? Ronald the truck driver. Grace immediately knows this isn’t good, but Danielle despite panicking, thinks he may be forgiving and let bygones be bygones to assist them. Wrong. Ronald is crazy and we already know he does not like to be embarrassed especially by women. He stuns both Grace and Danielle and tosses them in the back of his truck.
Let’s Work Together
Cody and Jenny’s son Justin calls them to ask for help in locating Danielle. He knows something isn’t right because he hasn’t heard from her since earlier in the day. Because Jenny is a former cop, Cody convinces her to work with him and Cassie to figure out what may have happened. Can we say awkward? This is why we don’t mix business with pleasure. These three have to put all the petty shit aside in order to do their job because lives are depending on them.
Fight for your life
When Danielle and Grace come to inside the truck, they discover Michelle wrapped up in plastic. They believe she may be dead, but Grace begins administering CPR and she wakes up. All three of them trick Ronald into believing he killed her and Michelle stabs him in the neck with a comb. I am so upset by this moment, because he is able to get the drop on all of them and once again he uses that damn stun gun to knock them all out.
They all wake up later to find themselves chained up in an unknown location inside of an old truck cab unaware of what Ronald has planned for them. Whatever it is, it definitely can’t be good.
That Creepy Ass State Patrolman
There is no shortage of creeps in this show and Rick the State Patrolman is just as creepy as they come. From the moment he appears in the show, something doesn’t feel right. Maybe it’s the fact that he asked a tourist about his conjugal habits with his wife, or that he uses the term “Easy Peasy” like it’s going out of style.
Cody reaches out to Rick to help with the investigation of the missing teenage girls and he offers without hesitation, because that’s just what he does. Rick is overly solicitous, and he just rubs you the wrong way. His motive becomes clear when right before he and Cody are about to head into town to talk to people about the missing girls, he shoots Cody at point blank range. Seriously, I was shocked a lot while watching this episode, but this was the biggest what the fuck moment ever. I audibly gasped and my jaw dropped.
After Rick shoots Cody, he calls Ronald to let him know he’s been sloppy because people now know that a truck driver has been the one kidnapping young girls. I have no clue what Ronald and Rick’s relationship is, but it’s clear they are working together.
Final Thoughts
- Did they really bring my man Ryan Phillippe in this show just to kill him off in the Big Sky Pilot? Why the hell is he on the poster if he was going to get killed in the first episode?
- Seriously, I do not see any way Cody survived that shooting.
- I’m not sure how I feel about Jenny right now. She’s not on my list of favorite people at the moment.
- Cassie deserves better.
- Again, I say, who lets their teenage daughters take a road trip without making sure their vehicle is in working order?
Agree? Disagree? What did you think about the Big Sky “Pilot”? Share with us in the comments below!
Big Sky airs Tuesdays on ABC.
