Alrighty folks, Big Sky is back! We have now reached season two of this wild show and episode 2×01 ‘Wakey Wakey’ brought us an entirely new story and a host of new characters.
Let’s get this review started.
In the finale of Big Sky season one, we left off with Cassie and Jenny being ambushed in a trap as they attempted to catch Ronald. Jenny got shot and Ronald was able to escape with his cray cray girlfriend Scarlet. Episode 2×01 picks up with the aftermath of that event and then immediately leads us into the six months after.
Jenny is still recovering after nearly being killed in the ambush and it’s made her re-evaluate her priorities in life. Her son is off to college now and she is wanting something more. That something more includes a change in her career. One of the surprising moments was Jenny approaching Sheriff Tubbs to join the police force once again.
Jenny misses the badge and the power it gives but most importantly, she is looking to be part of the changes needed in policing in general. Being part of Dewell and Hoyt was important to her, but she feels her impact can be even bigger on the force. It also seems like she’s finally starting to move past her grief over Cody (more on that later). Jenny seems happier than she was before despite her periodic bouts of PTSD which is to be expected after almost dying. I’m happy to see her smiling a bit more.
My girl Cassie is still struggling. Once again, she has thrown herself into her work but not the kind of work that pays. She’s consumed with the guilt of letting Ronald get away after she let her anxiety get the best of her mid-chase. Denise and Jerrie have been giving her other cases to work on but they are just piling up as she continues to try and track Ronald down. The saving grace for Cassie is honestly Mark Lindor who we got to know last season.
Mark is a nice guy and he’s really working to get Cassie to let down some of those walls she has up. It was cute to watch him try and get her to go on a date with him. I think these two really work. He’s also pretty useful in helping her with trying to figure out where Ronald is. Cassie has been trying to find Scarlet because she is one of her strongest leads to Ronald’s whereabouts. Both Scarlet and her daughter just coincidentally happened to disappear at the same time as Ronald.
Lindor brings her a copy of the outside camera footage from Scarlet’s place that showed her getting into a vehicle with State Trooper Cormac Dewey. Of course, Cassie wants to track him down and Mark tags along. Cassie is determined to get Ronald even if it endangers her own life. After seeing Dewey, he gives her an ominous message to just let Ronald and Scarlet go and that “they are watching.” I have no idea who “they” are but apparently Dewey’s warning was spot on because he ends up killed in a rather gruesome way and Cassie finds a file with some photos of her and her son Kai. Someone is definitely watching her, and I honestly have no guesses.
Cassie and Jenny’s friendship is still going strong which I love, and I enjoyed seeing them just have a drink and chat about things other than work for once. The topic did come up about Jenny joining the force again though. She had to let Cassie know she wasn’t returning to Dewell and Hoyt. What I found to be one of the most important things in this episode was hearing both Cassie and Jenny’s take on what it meant to them to wear the badge. For Jenny, being on the police force represents something good. Cassie has a different perspective though.
Cassie got very candid with Jenny, and we learned a little bit about why she left the force in the first place. As a black woman, Cassie’s experience on the police force is not the same. One of the quotes that stuck out to me was her saying “I felt like I was buying into a system designed to discriminate against me.” That was such a real and vulnerable moment and one that was needed.
Jenny needed to hear that to understand why it meant more to Cassie to work as a private eye. Doing that job, she is in control, and nobody is calling the shots but her.
What’s good about this first episode of season two is that it did what it was supposed to do and introduced us to all the new players in the series right away. We also got a murder in the first five minutes of the show because this is Big Sky, and the twists always deliver a punch. This season of Big Sky centers on a group of teenagers; Max, Harper, Madison, and Bridgers. All four of the kids are witness to a car accident and a murder. And to top it all off, they grab a bag from the car that has some drug money in the amount of $500,000 inside of it. Obviously, that was a very bad idea, and we know the consequences are going to be bad.
Just to give a bit of info on the kids, Max lives with her mom and her trash boyfriend Tray who goes by the douchey nickname T-Loc. He’s a creeper who makes me extremely uncomfortable especially the way he looks at Max and her friend Harper. Also, who the fuck takes babysitting money from a teenager? Max’s mom is so oblivious, and I don’t even know how the hell she ended up with Tray in the first place. I need that backstory because I don’t get it.
Max babysits Cassie’s son Kai so that relationship is already set in place for what’s to come because clearly, at some point she is going to need her help.
The only person that understands what Max is going through is Harper. Unlike Max, Harper is living with a stepmom she doesn’t like so they bond over their parental issues and their home life. I do think there may be something more going on between these two than friendship which I picked up on during a sweet moment when Max was tattooing Harper’s wrist.
Max and Harper’s friend Madison and her brother Bridger are two characters I’m still trying to figure out. While we know something about Max, I still hope we get some background on Harper, Madison, and Bridgers because it will help us to better understand why they want to keep the money. They all think it will change their lives, but I don’t really think they are thinking about just what kind of danger they are in now.
When the kids witnessed the accident and murder, someone was watching in the woods, because of course there is always someone watching in the woods. Max did something that I don’t think was smart which was hiding the bag inside of the shed outside of their house. Sooner or later, “T-Loc” is probably going to find it and shit will hit the fan.
Someone else we got introduced to is Travis an old flame of Jenny’s. While out at the bar with Cassie, Jenny has a run in with Travis who we previously told you would be played by Logan Marshall Green. He’s working undercover in the drug world as “Stone.” He’s a hottie to say the least and man oh man, his photos did not do him justice because I have found my new eye candy this season.
Remember I told you Jenny seemed to be moving past her grief? Well, she did that a couple times with Travis (Insert winky emojis). Hey, you know what they say; “the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.” It’s unclear how involved Travis is with the drug dealers who were killed or if he knew anything about the money that is now gone but, I’m willing to bet he knows something because that town is pretty damn small, and I don’t think there are that many drug dealers floating around.
Big Sky always ends with a twist and episode 2×01 ‘Wakey Wakey’ was no different. We found out where Ronald is and well, it’s not good. Or, depending on how you feel about Ronald, you may think it’s a very good thing. Turns out, in a shocking twist, Sheriff Legarski’s twin, yes, remember in the last season there was mention of a twin? Well, his twin brother who we don’t know the name of, somehow kidnapped Ronald and has him held captive in his animal coop. Apparently, John Carroll Lynch is a popular guy if the writers chose to bring him back as his twin. I’m still not sure how I feel about it.
Other Thoughts
- Jenny sure had a lot of energy for someone healing from a life-threatening gunshot wound.
- Also, Jenny if you want to wear the badge, you gotta wear the police uniform too.
- So, hanging out in the dark in the woods, giving each other tattoos is how teens like to have fun nowadays huh?
- Why is it always so dark on this show during the night scenes? I get it, they want us to feel the scariness of what’s in the dark but my goodness, I can’t make out what’s going on half the time.
- Hey kids, when you witness a car accident and someone tells you to grab a bag of money, don’t do it. You pick up the phone and dial 911. Oh, and if you don’t have service, find a spot where you do!
- Logan Marshall Green is hot and dare I say this cheesy line, “a STONE-cold fox.”
- John Carroll Lynch is great but seriously, did we really need to bring him back as a twin brother? I mean… WHY? And what is up with that long ponytail?
Big Sky airs Thursdays on ABC.
