And just like that, Big Sky brought another absolutely bonkers season to a close.
Big Sky Season 3 Episode 13 picked up with the hunt for Buck (Rex Linn), who kidnapped Denise and Emily and was holding them hostage as leverage.
The whole kidnapping storyline with the women trapped in a trailer was reminiscent of Big Sky Season 1, bringing everything full circle and subtly reminding viewers of what drew us to this series in the first place.
Buck sent us all on a frustrating goose chase. The old man had nothing to lose, which made things all the more difficult, but there’s no denying that the unhinged man who was also badly injured should’ve been taken down way sooner. It was annoying to see him wield the upper hand just as it was tiring to see him overpower person after person who got in his way or tried to stop him. Killing one innocent bystander was fine, but in his state, he shouldn’t have been able to overpower Walter or Beau.
Though, I guess when you have the streak of a cold-blooded killer, it’s different. Buck went off the deep end, and there was no bringing him back. And with the way he was just snapping necks left and right, you’d think this was an episode of The Vampire Diaries.
Buck thought he was playing the long game, but he underestimated Sunny. He tried to manipulate her by using the love that they once had for each other, but it didn’t work. While she was his blind spot, Sunny no longer saw him as the man she married—all she saw was a liar who broke her heart in unimaginable ways. He was convinced that she was on his side after everything he’d done—it was evident when he told her to “shoot them” right before she shot him in the heart. Poetic.
The thing about Sunny is that she always has a plan. It wasn’t a smart plan throwing Walter to the wolves, but I guess she felt as though she owed him this much. And when she realized that Buck was like a cat with nine lives, she knew the only way to make sure he never hurt anyone again was to take the shot, even if it meant that she’d spend the rest of her life in prison. Honestly, something tells me she’s going to really thrive there. She’s resourceful and not above getting her hands dirty.
Sunny may have been fed up with Buck for lying to her and turning her against Walter (because he knew exactly who Buck was), the last straw was when Buck bashed Walter’s head and nearly killed him. At that point, Sunny knew that he was unpredictable and she’d never be safe, despite his promises that he’d never hurt her. If that was true, he wouldn’t have messed up their lives and attacked her boy.
No one even blamed Sunny for what she did as both Jenny and Cassie acknowledged that they’d likely make the same choice if they were in her shoes. Sunny may have been questionable throughout the season, but she came through when it mattered.
Buck and Sunny left behind a trail of victims—thankfully Emily and Denise weren’t included—but the biggest one had to be Cormac. Not only was his whole life a lie, but he found out that his father was one of the worst serial killers of his time, found out that he had a brother, and lost both of his parents in one fell swoop.
BIG SKY: DEADLY TRAILS – ÒThat Old FeelingÓ Ð With Denise and EmilyÕs lives on the line, Jenny and Beau are determined to bring the Bleeding Heart Killer to justice, no matter what it takes. Meanwhile, Cassie uses her connections to pin down their possible location; and Sunny makes a fiery decision that will change her family forever, but will it all be enough to save the ones they love? Find out on the season finale of ÒBig Sky: Deadly Trails,Ó WEDNESDAY, JAN. 18 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. (ABC)
JENSEN ACKLES, KATHERYN WINNICK
And he was crucial in helping Cassie locate Emily and Denise by leading her to a cabin where he used to camp with his dad. It’s a chilling thought to know that Cormac was present for so many of his father’s crimes as a child without even knowing it.
If it hadn’t been for Cormac, however, there’s a huge possibility that the women would’ve never been found. I know that in many cases, loved ones don’t get such good news, but I’m glad Beau didn’t have to endure the pain of losing his child. He went through a father’s worst nightmare when Emily was kidnapped, feeling as though he failed to protect his daughter, and it was painful to watch him feel so helpless.
While I don’t think that Beau was in the right headspace to make his romantic feelings known to Jenny, the series has been playing the “will they or won’t they” game the whole season, so I wish we got some kind of moment. However, it’s understandable that Beau simply needed time to process; he was in a fragile place and needed a friend more than anything.
He went through a rollercoaster of emotions, which were topped off by Carla’s announcement that she’s returning to Houston and taking Emily with her. It’s a bummer to lose Emily because I feel like she was such a great intern for Dewell and Hoyt, but it makes sense that her mother doesn’t want her to have anything to do with it after what transpired.
Plus, the fact that he has no plans to reunite with his wife may just be the sign we need that he’s considering pursuing something romantic with Jenny. And the hand holding definitely solidified their feelings. Both of them deserve happiness, so I’m hoping they find it with each other.
As for Cormac, it’s a good thing he had Cassie in his life, who seemingly even got his mom’s blessing as she asked the detective to “keep an eye out on her son” while she was in prison. Cassie was also on hand to support him when he finally met his half-brother, which is likely a moment Sunny dreamt of for quite a long time. Walter didn’t end up being this season’s monster as we all thought in the begging, but there’s still something off about him. It takes a monster to be able to identify a monster, and I’m not convinced that Walter was completely innocent. The series also gave Paige closure as she popped into the hospital to “thank” Walter for allowing her to escape this hellish nightmare and giving her another shot at life. She’s one of the few that made it out semi-unscathed.
Since the series tackles new mysteries each season, they also put to rest Tonya and Donno’s storyline. The good news is–Donno lived. The bad news is that he’s in a wheelchair, which kind of feels like necessary karma for all the terrible things he’s done. And still, I have a soft spot for him, and his cozy friendship with Tonya has been the highlight of the season. They weren’t exactly pivotal to the storylines, but I’m glad the writers saw value in them and did their best to keep them around. They’ll always have a presence in Helena, so it’s wise to keep them looped in. And they may just be the richest people in town now that Tonya managed to cap the $15 million! I hope they finally hit pause on their life of crime and actually just live.
And that’s that, friends. Cassie and Jenny are Helena’s monster slayers, bringing justice to the worst of the worst like Ronald Pergman and Buck Barnes.
What did you think of the season?