There’s a new sheriff in Big Sky Country, and he looks awfully familiar.
Big Sky Season 2 Episode 18 introduces us to Beau Arlen, Tubb’s replacement, played to perfection by Jensen Ackles.
The newbie spends time with Cassie and Jenny throughout the hour, and while he’s a little rough around the edges, he’s going to fit in just fine with the girls.
Beau Arlen has a thick drawl and an interesting sense of humor, and from his first interactions with the ladies to the last, you can tell at the very least they’re intrigued by the newcomer. He seems to be the exact opposite of Tubb, though, like his predecessor, he takes an immediate liking to Jenny.
Jenny: I think Travis is going to kill Veer Bhullar. And I need to stop it.
Beau: You mean we? We. You, me. Deputy Popcorn. The team.
Jenny’s crusade to save Travis has been a season-long endeavor that has done nothing but leave her teary-eyed and tired. Travis had a score to settle with Veer, and he was never going to stop, no matter his feelings for Jenny.
And while Jenny may have been in love with Travis, the man wasn’t capable of giving Jenny much back because he’s completely twisted up in his revenge and the ghost of Kate. Though perhaps she’s not such a ghost after all.
I had a feeling that Ren was going to turn on her father after the events of Big Sky Season 2 Episode 17. Veer made his bed at that time, and he had to live in it. He chose to save himself over Jag, and it’s a decision you can’t come back from.
Knowing that your own father would leave you to die understandably has Jag completely closed off to his father. But while Jag’s anger is palpable, the same can’t be said for Ren, who appears more heartbroken than anything else.
The Bhullar storyline all season has surrounded Ren and her feeling like she was never going to gain the respect of the men in her life simply because she was a woman. And she’s fought every minute she’s been in Montana to change the narrative around her ability to lead this family.
But even after deciding to overthrow Veer, it’s not like she suddenly stopped caring about him. There’s no doubt she loved her father and always has. It’s been devastating to her that he’s constantly placed Jag above her when it’s crystal clear that she’s the one who’d make a much better boss.
The idea to let Veer die probably wouldn’t have ever entered her mind had Veer not made it known that he would always put himself above his children.
It’s a pretty wild turn of events because Veer is a terrible man, but I never quite saw it coming to this. The Bhullars are killers, sure. And their twisted family dynamic is in desperate need of counseling, but parental assassination didn’t seem like an option a few hours back.
Of course, nothing goes as planned on Big Sky, and Travis doesn’t even execute his long-awaited plan to kill Veer because he backs off his pummelling for a few seconds after Veer drops the bomb that Kate is alive.
Now, do we actually believe him? This is a man that tried to gaslight his son just prior, and now when faced with certain death, he’s suddenly going to offer up the truth? It played out like a last-minute hail mary, but just putting that little inkling of hope into Travis’s mind had him spiraling even further.
Travis needs a lot of help, and he definitely shouldn’t be out roaming the streets, but in the end, Jenny couldn’t help herself where he was concerned. Love will make you do crazy things!
She’s tried for so long to help him, and letting him go both physically and metaphorically was Jenny’s way of doing that. Because in the end, this has always been about Kate more than Veer. If she really is out there, finding her will hopefully help Travis put together the pieces of himself that he’s lost on his revenge tour.
And hell, maybe he actually will turn himself in one day. Though, my money is on this being the last time we’ll see Stone/Travis in the streets of Montana.
Circling back to Veer real quick, his death coming at the hands of Jag was a complete full-circle moment. He left Jag to die, and now Jag was able to make sure he would never be in that position again.
Jag and Ren came a long way throughout Big Sky Season 2, and their bond was genuinely a highlight. But now that it’s just the two of them, will they be able to sustain their newfound partnership without a common enemy?
My money is on yes because Jag has grown exponentially, and must understand that Ren is the better leader. And that being the case doesn’t mean that he’s not a valuable piece of the operation.
Even with Veer gone, Jenny and company will still be coming after the cartel, so they will need all hands on deck.
Elsewhere during the hour, Cassie still had the lingering syndicate and Scarlet situation. And of all the ways to end Scarlet’s stories (for the time being, at least), this wasn’t the one I expected.
When Ronald was alive, Scarlet placed him above all else. She loved Phoebe in her own way, but she was never doing right by her daughter, which continuously put her in horrifying situations.
Realizing that the syndicate wasn’t going to stop, Scarlet took a step back for once and tried to do a semi-decent thing by getting the hard drive to Cassie and letting Phoebe go.
You’ll never be safe. There are so many more of me.
Humbert [to Scarlet]
Phoebe has always deserved better than Scarlet, and leaving her with Cassie was her way of finally acknowledging that she would have hopes for a better future in the care of someone else. A life on the run, constantly looking over your shoulder, was no way to live.
At first, I almost wondered if Cassie would take Phoebe in, but it makes the most sense for her to get far away from Montana and start a whole new life with her family. And the notion of Cassie and Mark continuing to check in on her and making sure she’s safe is a fitting end to Phoebe’s story.
She was ultimately just collateral damage in Ronald’s horror spree, and this is the best possible outcome for her.
Unlike the Big Sky Season 1 finale, there were no major cliffhangers here, and that’s a GREAT thing. We all know this show loves a good shocking moment, but it was nice to see every smile in the end. There’s still work to do, but it’s also okay to take a moment and just be glad you’re alive to get to that work later.
The hour did a great job of solidifying Mark and Cassie as the Big Sky “it” couple and the show will only be better for it. They have tremendous chemistry, and they bring out different sides to each other that we rarely get to see.
As I’ve said before, Cassie lights up when she’s around Mark, and his nervous energy is never cuter than when he and Cassie are together.
There will be more bumps along the way, but these two deserve something good right now, and hopefully, they get it.
The final will also be notable for all the amazing Cassie and Jenny content, who will always be the backbone of this whole operation. Here’s to more Cassie and Jenny girl time in Big Sky Season 3, cartel drama, and maybe even some smiling along the way!
Odds and Ends
- I knew Alicia was sneaking! Getting Veer to sign over Power of Attorney was a smart play, as she could see the writing on the wall. At the very least, it ensured that she could walk away from the family alive and compensated.
- Deputy Poppernak, with 3 P’s, is always the MVP of any scene he’s in, but none more than when he declared himself Team Hoyt! Same, Deputy!
- We will never be free from the syndicate, but if they’re here to stay, let’s have Cassie and Jenny at least work on it together next season.
Lucky for us, more Big Sky is coming our way! And after closing out this season on a high note, it’s exciting to think about where things can go next.
Drop me a line in the comments with your thoughts on this installment and your hopes for next season!
And while we wait for that new season, make sure you watch Big Sky online via TV Fanatic!
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.