Big Sky S03 E05 Recap: Flesh and Blood

 Air Date:  Wednesday October 19/22

On October 19/22, Big Sky’s episode 5 “Flesh and Blood” aired on ABC, and before we recap this episode, lets touch on a few things;  Paige is alive!  Is she a captive or not?  It doesn’t seem all that clear yet.  At first glance I would say no, but what would happen if she tried to leave?  Cormac doesn’t seem to know anything about his half-brother Walter and Sunny and Buck are determined to keep it that way.  The tension between Beau and his ex-wife Carla seems palpable.  Cassie and Cormac have discovered the dead body of Mark Woodman.  Cassie is convinced that his death is foul play.  Things don’t seem to be cooling off between Cassie and Cormac, so a romantic turn isn’t out of the question yet.  There is no news yet about Jenny’s mom and the stolen 30K.  Emily continues to be suspicious of Luke.  Avery is still an unknown.  Why did he go snooping in Paige’s tent to begin with?  Now that he has, he knows more then he has let on, until now.  Does he really want to help Luke, or is there some sinister motive behind his interest in Luke and Paige?  Its unclear what Tonya and Donno will do upon learning what Luke and Paige have stolen.  Will they deliver them to the crime boss who hired them, or double-cross?

Episode Recap

ABC Big Sky-Walt kisses Paige’s Hand

The episode opens with a scene at Walt’s cabin between him and the missing Paige.  He claims he saved her life.  Walt has told Paige that Luke was coming after her with a rock to bash her head in.  We saw Luke pick up that rock up in episode two, so it sounds like he may have tried it.  Walt also tells Paige that Luke is no good for her and that he has already “moved on.”  We know this is true when we saw Luke and Mary together in the episode after Paige went missing.  She asks Walt if he would accept a mission to retrieve her things from the camp and he agrees to do so.  My guess is she is going to ask Walt to retrieve her bag, but we know that Sunny buried it after taking the gun.  Walt tends to her injured leg and kisses the back of her hand.  He seems completely smitten with Paige.

We see Beau shopping for a motorcycle for Emily.  The salesman helping him steps outside to see a man messing with one of the bikes and is stabbed with a screwdriver.  Beau chases after him and gets the licence plate of the truck he jumped into.

ABC Big Sky-Jenny Cassie and Mark

In last week’s episode, we know that Cassie and Cormac found Mark, the missing backpacker.  The coroner is at the scene where they found him.  Jenny is there and they look at the body.  Jenny notices the wood carved figurine in Mark’s shirt pocket and shows Cassie.  Cassie confides in Jenny about the strange man she saw on the side of the road in a blue and white Suburban with a tarp covering something in the back.  Cassie said she got strong Ted Kaczynski vibes about him.

New campers arrive at Sunny Day, and we can see its Carla, Beau’s ex-wife, and Tonya and Donno.  Sunny greets them and then chats with Cormac where he shares the news about the dead backpacker that he and Cassie found.  She tries to warn Cormac off of any pursuit he may have of Cassie, but he doesn’t seem to heed his mom’s warning.  I think we get a pretty good indication that Sunny now has Cassie in her sights as a threat to Walter, and perhaps even Cormac.

Beau and Poppernak know that the getaway truck is registered to a Sam Dillard.  They split up so Poppernak can look for the truck on the lot, and Beau goes to chat with the lot Manager.  As Poppernak finds and questions a female mechanic named Heather, Trent comes up behind him and puts a gun to his head.  Poppernak is taken as a hostage.  Beau sees the truck drive by as he chats with the Manager and calls out to Poppernak.  Little does he know in this moment that Poppernak has been abducted.

ABC Big Sky-Mark’s Personal Effects

Jenny shows up at the office of Dewell & Hoyt and hands over the backpackers’ personal effects and Cassie thinks they should be held as evidence.  She is convinced this is foul play.  The timing points out that his parents were sent the email picture after Mark died and his phone is not with his things.  Denise says this sounds like the old bleeding-heart murder case from 20 years ago.  Mark Woodman’s parents are set to arrive soon.  The coroner has ruled his death an accident.  Jenny suggests that Cassie just stick to the facts till they know more.  Jenny gets the call from Beau that Poppernak is missing.

When Mark Woodman’s parents arrive, Cassie shares that his death has been ruled an accident, but that she doesn’t believe that.  She tells his parents that she will continue to investigate if they want her too.  His parents share that Mark was an experienced backpacker and has trekked some of the most dangerous places in the world but up until now he always came home safe and sound.  Cassie asks his parents about the wood carved figurine they found on Mark, and they’ve never seen it – this isn’t something Mark would have kept.  Cassie swears she will find out what happened to him.

Later that day, Denise delivers a visitor to Cassie – Cormac.  He said he was happy to get her call.  She tells him that she saw a creepy man in a blue and white suburban truck and wants to know if Cormac has seen anything.  He says no.  She then shows him the carved figurine that they found in Mark’s pocket.  He said he’s never seen it before, but he has seen the red heart carved on the foot before.  He tells Cassie it is carved into a number of trees in the forest around the camp.

Next, we see Cassie in the woods with a flashlight, looking for those carvings.  She finds one and then sees fire in the distance.  She goes towards it, and she can see the suburban burning.  We can see Walt watching her, as she watches the truck burn.

Case of the Week

ABC Big Sky-Poppernak Abducted

Jenny shows up at the truck lot and Beau tells her what happened.  They find Pop’s phone and radio.  They wonder if Pop was taken to cover up something bigger than attempted bike theft.  Back at the station, Beau assembles the troops.  They discover that the old guy who owns the truck is the grandfather of Trent Dillard, who has a record.  They cross check the lot logs with open crimes and discover that bank robberies occurred every time the truck was taken out of the lot.

While en route to the bank, Heather tells Trent that she is not happy that he has taken a cop as a hostage.  She wants to let Poppernak go.  Trent says its too late for that and said she will have to prove she is tough enough to do this job.  Heather’s boyfriend Wyatt opens the back of the truck.  He vouches for Heather and suggests they get on with the bank job.  It’s obvious that Trent would have no trouble killing Poppernak.  When they show up at the bank threatening Pop’s death to coerce the bank clerk, she gives up her security badge and safety deposit master key, and Trent shoots her.

Trent is a loose cannon and after they pilfer the contents of many safety deposit boxes in the vault, he tells Heather he is done with her and attempts to shoot her.  Before he can do that, Poppernak closes the vault door, saving her.

ABC Big Sky-Beau Comforts Jenny

Beau tries to reassure Jenny that Poppernak will be okay and gives her a hug.  Madge comes to tell them that Green Meadow Savings and Loan hasn’t picked up their calls.  Beau and Jenny head over to the bank and once they arrive, they hear a motorcycle revving and decide to split up.  Beau goes after Trent riding Heather’s bike and Jenny stays in the bank looking for Poppernak.  She gets everyone out of the bank and finds the clerk Anne who was shot and calls an ambulance and back up.

In continuing to search for Poppernak, Jenny finds the pass key and security badge on the floor outside the vault and opens it to find Heather and Pop inside.  Heather has a gun on him and threatens to shoot if Jenny does not meet her demands.  She wants a way out.  It turns out that Heather’s motive to steal from the bank is because her mother cut her out of her inheritance.   For Heather, this is about revenge on her mother.

Jenny does everything she can to meet Heather’s demands.  Jenny says the car is on the way, the plane is on standby and it’s going to take time to get the

ABC Big Sky-Beau chasing Trent

money she wants.  She did everything Heather wanted so she should let Pop go, but she says no – not until she is far away from the bank.  Jenny tells Heather not to let her mom ruin the rest of her life.  She realizes that Jenny is just placating her and none of her demands are going to be met.  She hits Poppernak in the back of the head and he goes down.  A scuffle ensues with Jenny who hits her across the face with a metal safety deposit box and puts her in cuffs.

While all this is happening, we see the ongoing chase between Beau and Trent.  Beau sees the truck and knows that is where Trent will go eventually, so he doubles back and waits.  Trent pulls into the back of the truck expecting Wyatt to speed away, but Beau comes around with his gun pointed on Wyatt.  Trent knows he’s been caught and puts his hands in the air.

Once the case has been resolved, Pop, Beau, and Jenny are at the bar.  Pop describes the bad guys as people just being scared.  He said he was glad that Beau and Jenny came for him.  They tease him that he’s fired.  He gets up to go get beers for them all.

Beau asks Jenny how she is holding up.  She says the whole ordeal has made her think of her Mom.  Beau said that “all we can do is our best but at the end of the day all relationships have to be a two-way street.  Even blood.  Maybe, especially blood.”  She says she likes his cowboy wisdom.  Beau accepts the compliment and suggests they get drunk.  They toast to family.

Deadly Trails Saga

ABC Big Sky-Sunny and Buck

In tracking the goings-on at the Sunny Day Excursions camp, we see a few developments.  Buck and Sunny have words.  He knows about the dead backpacker and suspects Walt is involved.  Sunny says no.  She believes that Walt was trying to help him.  Buck said that Cormac was never to know anything about Walt, but things with Walt seem to be closing in and Cormac is bound to find out.  Sunny says they will cross that bridge if necessary.

Buck wants the whole story about the backpacker and Walt’s involvement.  Sunny relents and explains it all to him, how Walt brought the injured backpacker to her.  There was nothing anyone could do to save him.  Buck doesn’t believe that and brought up the death of Walt’s adoptive parents again.  Sunny said those people weren’t worth saving.

Buck wants to know if Walt did something to Paige.  He continues to worry that Sunny is unable to see that Walt will bring trouble down upon them and all they built together.  When Sunny asks what would Buck have her do?  He suggests they let the law handle it.  Sunny said no because Cassie saw him driving the truck when he was transporting Mark Woodman’s dead body.  Her idea is to move Walt far away.  Buck says you already tried that once, but this time Sunny says Walt won’t have a choice.

ABC Big Sky-Tonya Donno Emily Luke

At the camp, Emily approaches Luke.  She said she has been thinking about the person in the woods.  Luke says if you are smart you will stay out of it.  Emily takes it as a warning but still wants to know more.  Luke says Paige is no innocent but is interrupted by Tonya and Donno.  Emily says she is on this trip with her stepdad and mom.  Luke is with his girlfriend, but she had to go home.  Looks like Sunny is watching them.

At one point Luke walks into his tent to find Tonya and Donno are inside.  They ask him about Paige.  Luke says she went home, but they say they know otherwise.  Luke tells Tonya and Donno that he knows what they’re looking for and that he doesn’t have it.  He said that Page took it.  She took the 15 million.  It looks like this sum of money surprises Tonya.  She warns Luke that he better stay in the camp, or else!

Carla, Avery and Emily are sitting in one of the tents playing a card game.  Carla asks Avery to go fly-fishing with her the next day.  Carla then asks Emily about her conversation with “that boy Luke.”  She wants to know what is going on.  Emily says she is just after information on his missing girlfriend for her podcast about relationships.  Emily tells her mom she isn’t sure that Paige made it home.  This really upsets Carla and she urges Emily to stay away from Luke.  Avery tells Carla not to get ahead of herself.  Emily thinks Luke was going to share something important before they were interrupted.  Carla wants to tell Beau about this.  Avery disagrees with her.  He said he insisted on a panic room and museum grade security at their home, because he worries.  If he thought there was anything to be concerned about, he would sound the alarm.

Later in the evening, Sunny and Buck are in their tent.  Buck knows he has to burn the Suburban to get rid of the blood and DNA evidence left behind when Walt tried to move Mark’s body.  Him and Sunny hear a noise and Buck looks outside and sees Walt lurking around outside in the trees.

ABC Big Sky-Avery talks seed phrase with Luke

Elsewhere in the camp, Avery walks into the shower tent where Luke is washing his hands.  Avery says these words; Once. Destroy. Hazard. Forever. Midnight. Risk.  When Luke asks him what he is talking about, Avery tells him he was an early investor in Ethereum, so he knows a seed phrase when he sees one.  Luke doesn’t seem to understand what he’s talking about.  Avery challenges him.  It’s a code that opens up a crypto account.  Avery says that he saw Paige’s journal, and her gun.  Avery claims the reason why he was looking through Paige’s things in her tent is because he has a step daughter to think about, and now his wife is here.  He tells Luke that if he is in any kind of trouble, he should tell him.  He claims he can help, but Luke lets on that there is nothing to tell.

Cast

Questions

1. Cassie is zeroing in on the heart-shaped carvings in the forest trees around the camp. This links to the old mutilation case.  What is going on with this?  Is Walt the one who murdered that girl so long ago?
2. Who is the crime boss who has hired Tonya and Donno to capture and deliver Paige and Luke?
3. What does Avery have to do with Paige and Luke?  Why the secrecy if he knows about the seed phrase?
4. Emily keeps pushing the foul-play agenda regarding Luke and Paige. Luke has warned her off, telling her she has no idea what she is dealing with, but we know now that Paige is alive.  Does Emily’s persistent poking at the Luke/Paige situation put her in danger?
5. What is the back-story on the murdered adoptive parents of Walt?
6. Sunny stole Paige’s things and buried them. She told Emily that Paige safely got back to New York.  If Paige is found, Sunny will be exposed as a liar.  Is Paige in danger from Sunny as well as Walt?
7. Who sent the old selfie pic from Mark’s phone to his parents?
8. Still no word on Gigi or the 30K she stole. Where is this story arc going?

Each week look for the following:

• This week’s episode recap.
• The case of the week.
• The Deadly Trails saga.
• New Questions.
• Cast Grid

Watch ABC for the next episode of Big Sky Deadly Trails, this Wednesday October 26^th at 10 pm.