Big Sky 1×04 “Unfinished Business” lived up to its name because by the end of the episode, nothing was accomplished.
Let’s unpack it all!
I will Do What Is Necessary
Big Sky 1×04 “Unfinished Business” opens with Trooper Rick hearing a report on the radio about the three missing girls while Ronald is at home watching the Sullivan girls’ mother on TV pleading for help to find them. This makes him extremely angry because that means people are searching and they could eventually figure out that he and Ronald are responsible. It gets even worse when Rick finds out that Ronald’s mother asked him if he is responsible for the missing girls. It’s definitely an odd question to ask, so Rick is confused as to what Ronald is doing at home that would make his mom suspicious enough to ask that particular question.
He and Ronald meet up to go over the plans to move the girls to a place in Canada and tensions are high. They are starting to turn on each other and its obvious they don’t trust each other at all and clearly never have. That becomes clear when Ronald tells Rick that he will do what is necessary and that he has his own insurance policy that is designed to create a trail that leads right to Rick if anything happens.
I think Ronald may a bit craftier than Rick, he said he would do what is necessary and he does exactly that. Ronald shows up at the shop that Ricks wife Merilee owns, and he flirts with her, if you could even call it that. Ronald’s flirting is borderline creepy, and I cannot even believe Merilee fell for it. He invites her to some weird Taxi Dance that older people go to and she accepts. I have no idea what his endgame is with inviting her out, but I feel bad for her because she’s being manipulated by him for his own personal gain.
Stop And Cry Some
Cassie is a quiet person, and we got a deeper glimpse into her life and what motivates her. Her dad knows her better than anyone and as the two of them have breakfast, he questions her about Cody and their relationship. He asks her if she loves him, but she doesn’t answer. Cassie tends to shut down when she feels her emotions starting to build up and her dad let’s her tells her that it’s okay to stop and cry some. Later in the episode she has a flashback of her time with Cody and she starts to break down and cry. When her dad comes in, she immediately tries to conceal it, but he knows.
Cassie has known so much loss in her life and it started when she lost her mother to suicide at the age of eleven. She then lost her husband in Afghanistan. All of that has made her put up walls to keep her emotions locked in and she uses her work as an escape. As her father tries to get her to open up she shuts down again and tells him she has to head off to work to meet up with Jenny.
Justified Concerns
Cassie and Jenny are now working together to find out if Rick had something to do with Cody and the missing girls. Jenny also enlists the help of Sheriff Walter Tubbs from Lewis and Clark, to assist them in questioning Rick about Cody. He is hesitant because he doesn’t believe an officer could be involved but he agrees when Jenny reminds him that Cody is also an Officer, and he deserves help. Back at the agency, Cassie and Jenny decide to put an illegal tracker on Rick’s car because it’s the best option they have. Denise tries to convince them that it’s a bad idea because they could all get in serious trouble if it’s found. Jenny and Cassie are out of ideas and this is the best plan they have. As they look at footage from the truck stop where Jerrie was last seen, they believe they may have found a suspect in trucker Brad Gunther because he fits the profile. The two devise a plan to go undercover and bust him.
Sheriff Tubbs calls Rick in and questions him about being the last one to see Cody. Rick immediately goes on the defensive and in a dark turn, he goes on a racist rant about Cassie and black people complaining about cops. He tells Tubbs that Cassie is responsible for what’s happening to him right now and that it’s open season on the badge, which is why a black person bringing concerns is getting attention. I mean it was a really bad rant and I was in complete shock listening to him.
It was clear that Sheriff Tubbs was in shock as well, and I think Rick’s rant only hurt his attempt to claim he had nothing to do with Cody going missing. Tubbs was asking him some simple questions and Rick just started getting worked up. That’s pretty suspicious.
Okay, back to Jenny and Cassie’s undercover operation. It was complete shit show. Jenny blew that to bits. It started off okay when she first hopped in the truck but then when she flashed her badge at trucker Brad and told him she was going to take some stuff for DNA and all that, it just went downhill. Brad demands to see her badge again because he doesn’t believe she’s a real cop and he’s right because she’s an ex-cop. The bust or whatever, was just so bad because they really had no plan. I chock it up to pour communication on her and Cassie’s part. They needed a better plan because the one they came up with was pure shit. Thank God they had the tracker on Ricks truck though because that did pan out.
Cassie and Jenny ask Denise about the tracker and Denise tells them that it showed Rick spent a significant amount of time at an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere, so they head there to see if it leads to Cody or the three girls.
Show Your Work
After being shot in the leg by Rick in “The Big Rick” Grace is developing an infection and is extremely ill. She’s got a high fever and needs to get to a hospital. I won’t even get into the maggots that Grace had Danielle and Jerrie place on it to eat the bad tissue. They think this may by them some time in getting trafficked because nobody will want them, especially Grace if they are sick. Ronald and Rick can’t risk being caught so each tries to play doctor by cleaning it with peroxide and injecting her with an antibiotic. I’m not sure how well any of those things will work because she still has an open wound but, only time will tell.
All three girls are still waiting for someone to rescue them, so it hurt tremendously when Cassie and Jenny actually show up and find the place where they are being held but are unable to see or hear them underground. Grace heard the floorboards, so she immediately tells Danielle and Jerrie that it has to be help because Rick and Ronald never come back at night. They start yelling and making as much noise as they can, but it is to no avail because Cassie and Jenny don’t hear them. As the girls continue to yell right under Cassie’s feet, she looks around and says, “I feel like I solved a math problem but can’t show my work.” She knows they are close but Jenny tells her they need to go before Rick decides to pop up, so they leave. I wanted them to find the girls so bad, but I knew they wouldn’t because that’s not how things work in shows like these.
I really hope they are found in the next episode.
Other Thoughts
- It says something about the world when most of the women who have gone missing along the stretch of highway where the Sullivan girls were pulled from, are indigenous yet, there doesn’t seem to be too much concern for them.
- If Ronald had dumped his bowl of cereal on my head the way he did to his mother, I would have slapped the shit out of him.
- I’m still on the fence with Denise and whether or not she’s on Rick’s side or on Cassie and Jenny’s.
- I can’t get over trucker Brad picking up a prostitute then asking about her hygiene because it’s important to him and his family. Dude, your family must not be that important if you’re having sex with prostitutes.
- Merilee should not have taunted Rick about going out dancing. He is unhinged and I’m scared for her.
- I have a bad feeling about what Rick is going to do to Merilee with that hammer. Is he going to go Misery on her and bust her feet so she can never dance again?
