It turns out murder kind of runs in the family when it comes to Sunny Barnes & company!
We already know Sunny will do whatever she has to do to protect her family, and Big Sky Season 3 Episode 6 taught us that Buck would do anything to protect Sunny and the life they’ve built together.
And if that means another missing camper? Well, then, that’s precisely what has to happen.
Sunny and Buck had a plan to ship Walter off again, hoping this would allow them to move forward and get rid of at least one of their problems. Torching the truck was also a part of that plan, but they’ve failed to account for Cassie Dewell and her incredible investigation skills.
It’s obvious that Sunny and Buck have perfected a public persona that allows them to be super low on the suspect list. They’ve got big smiles and gee-golly attitudes that make it hard to see them as the kind of people who would lie, cheat, steal or engage in any tomfoolery.
Cassie seems to believe their on-the-fly story about selling the truck, but she’s also been working long enough to know that anyone is capable of anything when pushed to the limit.
And with Walter’s composite sketch soon floating around, there will only be increased pressure on Sunny and her hubby, who will also be dealing with covering up another death.
Buck has been pretty lowkey since we met him, and while he and Sunny seem to have a pretty transparent relationship, he hasn’t been totally on board with Sunny’s shenanigans. But he wants to preserve their life, not wanting Walter to ruin things for them and jeopardize the family he and Sonny have built with Cormac.
So, it’s not surprising to see him plunge that knife into Mary’s back because if we’ve learned nothing else over the beginning of this season, it’s that Buck and Sunny are a team. And if Mary posed a threat to them, then she had to be dealt with swiftly.
But now, what do they do? Mark is dead, and while he wasn’t a camper with them, it’s still a death in those woods. And Paige left under very mysterious circumstances.
Will they claim that Mary just up and left out of nowhere? Maybe blame it on Luke deserting her for the likes of Donno and Tonya?
Whatever they decide to do, there’s no way the suspicion surrounding that camp doesn’t continue to rise, and at that point, you have to wonder why these people aren’t packing it up and calling it a day. There are only so many strange occurrences you can ignore before it just becomes silly.
Cormac truly does seem on the outside looking in, but I’m beginning to wonder, is there a point where they’ll have to let him in, and could this be that point?
They can lie to the campers and Cassie all they want, but Cormac is already getting the sketchy vibes from them, and considering how big they are on family, wouldn’t it behoove them to bring him in instead of pushing him out?
Sunny: Tell me. You and Cassie got something, something going on?
Cormac: No.
Sunny: You need to work on your poker face.
I’m all in on a Cassie and Cormac romance, but as the pressure increases on his parents, it will likely place them on opposite sides.
For his part, Walter spends this hour trying to help Paige get her journal back and also going toe-to-toe with Donno in a battle of the sociopaths.
We know that Walter killed his adoptive parents, but getting a bit of the backstory surrounding it is not really a game-changer, but it does make you wonder. We still need a lot more information about where Sunny fits in here, how they reconnected, and everything else, but it’s clear that Walter does operate somewhat from a place of protection.
It’s still unclear what exactly went down in the woods and how Paige came to be in Walter’s cabin, but he’s now trying to help her, almost as if he’s her knight in shining armor or something. If he wanted to hurt her, he would have done that by now.
He’s much more interested in trying to save her above all else, in his own twisted way that involves imprisonment but protecting nonetheless.
Everything that’s happening in the woods feels like it’s on a collision course, with each week ramping up the tension. And this is all happening while we have little insight into the whole bleeding heart mystery.
I’m ready to figure it out already, but I’m also enjoying the ride so much that it’s hard to complain.
The case of the week was another solid one, if not a bit impractical, that took the importance of collector’s items to a whole new level.
Beau, Jenny, and Poppernak team-ups really are the highlights each week, and they always add that perfect amount of humor into whatever mystery they find themselves in.
Here their hunt for a Trans-Am ended up being much more fun than it had any right to be. There were a lot of twists, and frankly, Mickey fooled me, so I can see why Jenny and Poppernak didn’t pick up on anything right away.
Beau, ever the wise one, gets a bad vibe from the man posing as the owner of the last Trans-Am, and he gets a ride around the neighborhood on the hood of the car for his troubles.
Poor Beau finds himself in all kinds of wild situations each week, and we may have to start a spreadsheet of what new thing happens to him while working a case. There’s no way that back will be a hundred percent anytime soon.
There was a rather intriguing and wholly welcome Jenny Hoyt is a goddess vibe circling throughout this hour, and if this is all so we can get to the eventual Jenny and Beau pairing, then I’m all for it.
Beau: So, really, you’re never gonna date a cop again?
Jenny: Why? Would it break your heart?
Beau: Oh, you wish.
From the cop laying it on thick to Mickey, who was dripping in charm, Jenny had her fair share of suitors that day! And Beau got to witness some of it, and while it wasn’t like he was jealous or anything, he did have something to say about Jenny’s no cop dating rule.
And first of all, good for Jenny to make that rule, even if I struggle to see her sticking to it. After everything that happened with Travis, she definitely needed time to herself. And the idea of jumping back into a relationship with a cop and the complications that can arise there can not be all that enticing right now.
But she and Beau have that thing between them, with the flirty banter and the knowing looks that tells me something is brewing there. And I most certainly do not hate it.
Odds and Ends
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On a show with Walter and Donno walking around with killer eyes, why is Avery trying to out-sketch them? He is hiding something, and he’s hiding it from Carla, and whatever it is can not be good. I bet he is jealous of Beau because HELLO, but we know he’s straight lying to his wife, and I need to understand why.
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Donno and Tonya trying to fit into this campsite is hilarious. They’re barely pretending to be there for a reason beyond being weird and stealing Luke away.
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Big Sky has no business being laugh-out-loud funny, but when Beau tried to sit down in that chair and when his eyes lit up when he realized he was in the same room as a signed Mickey Mantle card, I cracked up. That kind of subtle comedy is right up Jensen Ackles’s wheelhouse.
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When are we going to meet the people who are after Luke and Paige? Those have to be the next campers at some point, right?
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I believe Sunny and Buck said that Cormac doesn’t know about Walter, but does that mean he doesn’t know he’s his half-brother or that he’s never seen him before? Because considering how terrible Walter is at hiding, I find it hard to believe Cormac has NEVER laid eyes on him before.
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I miss Cassie and Jenny scenes. They throw us a bone here and there, which is much appreciated, but I miss seeing them together for more than a few minutes of information dumps.
Things are heating up as we approach that inevitable midseason! With so many moving parts, I’m curious about what fascinates you most!
So, please drop all your comments down below and come back here to watch Big Sky online, so you don’t miss the action!
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.