‘Big Sky’ Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: “Wakey Wakey”

Big Sky Season 2 Episode 1
Kylie Bunbury and Jesse James Keitel in ‘Big Sky’ season 2 episode 1 (ABC/Michael Moriatis)

ABC’s Big Sky season two episode one picks up just minutes after the season one finale. The first season ended in a shootout between mercenaries freeing Ronald Pergman from police custody and Jenny Hoyt, Cassie Dewell, Sheriff Tubb, and assorted officers. U.S. Marshal Mark Lindor was critically injured, Sheriff Tubb was shot in the shoulder, and Jenny took a bullet to the chest during the melee.

Before Jenny passed out, she urged Cassie to hunt down Ronald.

Season two episode one, “Wakey Wakey,” finds Jenny (Katheryn Winnick) at the hospital in critical condition while Cassie (Kylie Bunbury) chases after Ronald. Unfortunately, Cassie can’t catch up to Ronald and he’s able to escape Helena, Montana.

Days later, Jenny’s out of the hospital but still in poor shape. She relives the shooting as she changes her wound’s bloody dressing.

A few of the second season’s new players put in their first appearances as we get a quick introduction to high school student Max (Madelyn Kientz), her best friend, Harper (Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson); Max’s mom, Rachel (T.V. Carpio); and Rachel’s boyfriend, Tracy (Arturo Del Puerto) – or as he likes to call himself, “T-Lock.” It’s obvious Max doesn’t like Tracy, and the whole family vibe is uncomfortable.

Max and Harper stare back at the house as they prepare to take off on their bikes. Both girls think T-Lock is creepy and cringy, and they laugh as they notice him peering out the window. (After just 10 seconds on screen I have to agree with the girls.)

Elsewhere, a drug deal goes bad and the guy delivering the product only gets a fleeting glimpse into the backseat of a truck before he’s shot in the back. The shooter methodically wraps up the dead body as though he’s done this before.

Jenny shows up at Sheriff Tubb’s office and reveals she’s decided to take up his offer. She wants to return to law enforcement and Tubb (Patrick Gallagher) offers her the position of Undersheriff.

Over at the detective agency, Cassie, Denise (Dedee Pfeiffer), and Jerrie (Jesse James Keitel) are certain Scarlet’s in cahoots with Ronald, however, the Feds believe she’s an innocent victim. Cassie wonders why Scarlet and her daughter would have disappeared at the same time as Ronald if that’s the case.

Jenny pops in to see how they’re doing and gets wrapped up in a hug by Cassie. Neither Cassie nor Jenny have heard any updates on Ronald, and Jenny suggests maybe it’s time for Cassie to focus on other cases. Denise also wants Cassie to catch up on other cases, but Cassie’s fixated on Ronald. She can feel he’s still alive and won’t let him escape unpunished.

Jenny and Cassie agree to meet for a drink later at the bar.

After Jenny leaves, Mark Lindor (Omar Metwally) shows up to announce he’s adopted a dog. He’s still debating what to name him – the choices are Rudy or Jim. Cassie’s standoffish and wonders why he’s there, given the fact he’s been suspended. It turns out Mark’s got important info on Scarlet. He’s gotten his hands on footage from her neighbor’s bird cam and it shows State Trooper Dewey escorting Scarlet into an SUV. The video is from the same day Ronald escaped.

Both Cassie and Mark think the trooper’s in on it and Mark suggests they take a “totally suspended, non-official capacity” look at him.

They check out Dewey and watch from their car as he does a little gardening. Cassie grows impatient and wants to question him, but Mark isn’t sure that’s the right move. The state police might get mad they’re questioning one of their own.

Cassie doesn’t listen and instead confronts Dewey (Andreas Apergis) in front of his house. Mark quickly joins her as Dewey insults the sloppy work she did in letting Ronald get away. They demand to know why he picked up Scarlet and he claims his superiors thought she was in danger. Mark points out that at that exact moment Ronald was in custody and not a danger to anyone.

Instead of answering their questions, Dewey issues a warning. “You should be careful, Miss Dewell,” says Dewey. He adds, “Ronald is gone. Scarlet is gone. Best to leave it. They are watching you…me…everything.”

As they drive away, they discuss their impressions of Dewey. Mark’s sure he’s dirty but not sure he has Scarlet. They both agree he’s somehow connected to Rick Legarski.

On a lighter note, Mark gives Cassie the honor of naming his dog and reminds her she still owes him a drink. Cassie doesn’t remember owing him anything, and Mark says he’ll stop asking if she says she doesn’t want to go out with him like she means it.

Cassie decides Jim the Dog is the perfect name for Mark’s new furry family member.

Jenny and Cassie have a drink at the bar and Cassie fills Jenny in on the footage she saw of Scarlet. They decide that discussion is for another time. Instead, Jenny wants to discuss her future. She reveals she’s leaving the detective agency but not cashing out of the business.

Cassie mistakenly believes she’s walking away from Ronald and all that, but Jenny assures her that’s not what she has planned. She’s taken the job as an Undersheriff and asks Cassie if she’s okay with that. Cassie just wants her to be happy and understands why Jenny’s decided to return to law enforcement.

They toast to remaining partners.

Jenny stays at the bar and grabs one of the rowdy guys who’ve been playing pool. She claims to know him but he’s rude and drunk, and he acts like he’s never seen her before.

Cassie returns home and apologizes to Max for keeping her so late. She offers the babysitter a ride home and Max accepts. They talk about her mom’s new boyfriend and she calls him a “creepy, jobless loser.”

T-Lock interrogates Max as soon as she walks in the door and takes part of her earnings. “We’re building a future together here,” he says. “Everyone has to pay their way.”

Harper texts Max and asks to meet up at The Ridge in 10 minutes. Max sneaks out and meets up with her friends, one of whom – Madison (Lola Skye Reid) – has brought her little brother along to provide security. Max spotted a weird guy in a van last time they were at The Ridge, which is in the middle of nowhere, and little bro Bridger (Jeremy Ray Taylor) is there to make sure they’re safe.

(Max’s suspicions are correct. We catch a quick glimpse of someone hiding in the bushes watching the teens.)

Travis (Logan Marshall-Green), the rude dude from the bar, shows up at Jenny’s door in the middle of the night. He apologizes for earlier and says he didn’t want to blow his cover. She invites him in for a drink and it turns out he’s been undercover trying to bust a drug ring for the past six months.

Travis was a friend of Cody’s and he apologizes for not reaching out after he was murdered. They catch up on life, and Jenny explains her son’s just gone off to college. Travis reveals he did settle down for a while but she broke things off via post-it note. Jenny laughs which causes her wound to hurt and she yelps in pain. Travis heard about her injury but thinks she’s looking fine. The conversation turns flirty and then transitions to hot, passionate kissing. There’s a history between these two characters, and the chemistry between Winnick and Marshall-Green is red hot.

Meanwhile, up on The Ridge the teens are goofing around, applying temporary tattoos, and tossing rocks when they hear a truck on the road below crash and then tumble down the embankment. It turns out the dead body that was wrapped up earlier in the episode isn’t 100% dead. He sits up and attacks the driver (the man who shot him in the back), causing the truck to spin out of control and crash.

The kids hurry down the embankment and find the driver in horrible condition but still alive. They don’t have any cell service and can’t call for help. Suddenly, another vehicle is heard up on the road and the injured driver tells the kids to take the bags from his truck and hide. He’s sure the person who’s now approaching them will kill them if he sees them anywhere near the truck.

The teens do as instructed, although they’re not sure why he wanted them to take the bags.

The stranger approaches, assesses the situation, and shoots the injured driver in the head while the kids watch from a nearby hiding place.

The foursome run back to the car with the bags. They finally check out what they contain and are shocked they’re full of drugs and money. They debate whether they should call the cops since they’re guilty of taking the bags from the accident scene. On the other hand, they did witness an execution.

Max decides they should hide the bags and decide what to do later.

Max takes the bags home and hides them in a shed.

Big Sky Season 2 Episode 1
Madelyn Kientz in ‘Big Sky’ season 2 episode 1 (ABC/Michael Moriatis)

The following day Cassie brings Jerrie along on a stakeout. Cassie notices there’s a broken window at Dewey’s place and his back door is open. Jerrie warns her not to go in, but Cassie wants them to take a look around.

Reluctantly, Jerrie pulls out her gun and follows Cassie into Dewey’s house. They find him dead in a chair in his living room, a pair of gardening shears sticking out of his throat.

The teens return to The Ridge and have a heated discussion about what to do next. Max counted the money and it came to $500,000 exactly. Harper thinks that much money could change their lives and she’s sure the cops will never link them to the accident. Bridger thinks it’s too risky, and Max is sure they’re too deep into this to bring in the cops now.

The man who hid in the bushes watching them is also eavesdropping on this meeting. The teens hear something but don’t realize they’re not alone.

Jenny reports to her first day on the job and refuses to wear a uniform. She’s sure she doesn’t need one to command respect. As she’s busy setting up her office, Tubb asks her to go check out an accident off the highway. It could be a fatality, and Jenny heads off with Deputy Poppernak (J. Anthony Pena) who Tubb describes as a real talker.

Tubb didn’t exaggerate as Poppernak keeps up a running monologue that includes details on the local bird population.

Jenny walks the accident scene and spots one of the rocks the kids tossed which has a drawing of a heart that matches the tattoo Max gave to Harper.

The truck landed on its hood not far from the highway.

Back over at Dewey’s place, an investigation’s underway into the state trooper’s murder. Mark arrives and Cassie assures him she never mentioned his name. Cassie reveals she and Jerrie did a short search of the house before the sheriffs arrived and located a folder that contains a photo of her and her son.

As episode one comes to an end, the scene changes to a cabin in the middle of the woods. Cages with dogs, cats, goats, and chickens are spread out in the yard while inside the house, a man dances around the kitchen while cooking breakfast. He carries a plate of eggs and bacon outside and sets it down outside a locked door. He removes the lock and says, “Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey.”

Ronald (Brian Geraghty) is chained up inside the room and his jailer appears to be Rick Legarski’s twin!