TV Recap: “Big Sky” Season 2 Episode 2 “Huckleberry” Introduces Rick Legarski’s Twin Brother Wolf

Who was the man with the flashlight that killed Big Sam? Why is Ronald being held prisoner by Rick Legarski’s twin brother? Who is the man in the black beanie hat who's been watching Max and her friends in the woods? Maybe we can answer a few of these questions after the second episode of season two of Big Sky, titled “Huckleberry.” Here’s a recap of everything I just witnessed.

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

“Good morning, Ronald. My name is Wolfgang Legarski,” Rick’s identical twin brother introduces himself, preferring his nickname Wolf (John Carroll Lynch). He refers to his deceased brother as “Sloppy and incompitent” and when Ronald (Brian Greaghty) says he was his friend, Wolf tells him Rick only used people and didn’t have friends. “It is my mission in life now to undo all of the evil that he unleashed on the world and that starts with you.” Ronald asks where Scarlet is and Wolf is using her as a reward that Ronald has to earn. Wolf is training him like a dog, referring to himself as the alpha. He slides the plate of eggs and bacon forward, which makes a smiley face on the plate. Wolf tells Ronald he has to ask permission to eat, but Ronald crutches down, promises to kill Wolf when he gets out, and takes a bite. His punishment is a warning poke with a stick. When Ronald takes another bite, he gets knocked back and Wolf grabs the plate and dumps it on the ground. “Bad dog,” he says before locking the door.

Jenny (Katheryn Winnick) takes pictures of the flipped truck, holding an evidence bag with the rock with Harper’s heart tattoo inked on it. Deputy Poppernak (J. Anthony Pena) thinks it was a drunk driver who ran off, but Jenny says the VIN has been scratched off. Searching the backseat, she finds a spot of blood. “Call a tow and get this into the shop.”

Madison (Lola Reid) and Bridger (Jeremy Ray Taylor) are in their kitchen while their parents are at work. He’s worried that the man with the flashlight saw them and wants to go back to the scene of the accident. Madison think’s her brother is overreacting. “Just try to relax, okay? Be cool for once in your life.” A van is parked outside and a man with a beard in a black beanie hat is watching them through the window.

Mark Lindor (Omar Metwally) enters Dewell & Hoytt and makes conversation with Denise (Dedee Pfeiffer) about his psychological evaluation in two days, which could lift his suspension. He’s there to take Jerrie (Jesse James Keitel) gun shopping and Cassie (Kylie Bunbury) calls him into her office. She asks if he has any new information on Cormack Dewey, but he can’t access those files while suspended. Cassie is shaken up about finding a picture of her son in his file and blames herself. “By chasing Ronald, I made my own son a target,” adding that she thinks Dewey was working with Ronald. She has decided to drop the Pergman case to protect her family, but asks Mark to keep working on it and to notify her if any real leads come up.

A white truck is trying to get around the roadblock from the overturned truck Jenny is investigating and she approaches to find Travis (Logan Marshall-Green) at the wheel. He stays in character as Stone, telling her he’s going to be late for work, but there’s a friendly flirtation in their eyes. She gives the command to let him through.

A mysterious stylish woman named Ren (Janina Gavankar) steps down from a private plane and is greeted by a man in a cowboy hat who welcomes her to Montanna. She declines his offer to carry her bags, but asks how much he wants for his cowboy hat. He tells her it’s not for sale and she grabs it off his head, placing it on her own. “Hey, missie,” he calls out, but a man next to the car she approaches withdraws a knife. “Be nice, Donno,” she says to her partner (Ryan de Quintal). Taking off her glasses, Ren says “I see why they call it big kky. It’s like an ocean, it’s a whole vibe.” They’re there to follow their money and find out who has it. She asks for the keys to drive.

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

Bridger stands outside the sheriff’s office, pausing for a moment to read a text from Madison asking where he is before he goes inside. He signs in to report a crime and while he waits, a cop walks by whistling “Oh, Susanna.” He looks at Bridger and says “Something wrong kid?” Bridger remembers the man with the flashlight who shot the driver of the rolled truck whistled just like him and says “No.” In the back office, Jenny is pouring coffee when she’s asked to come speak to a kid who wants to report a crime. She passes the whistling cop, whom she addresses as Harvey (Michael Malarkey). She asks him where the kid went when she finds the waiting room empty. “I guess he must’ve changed his mind,” Harvey tells her.

Max (Madelyn Kientz) arrives home to hear "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles playing at top volume. Her mom Rachel (T.V. Carpio) is dancing in the living room, a bottle of alcohol on the couch. Max is upset because her mom just broke three months of sobriety over tooth pain caused by a need for a crown she can’t afford. Max tells her mom that she has money saved up from babysitting and insists on calling the dentist to make her mom an appointment and paying the $2,000 fee. Rachel tells Max she will pay her back when one of her boyfriend T-Lock’s ideas become a success.

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

When Cassie arrives at work, she meets a new prospective client named Tonya (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), who is a waitress at a diner. Her boyfriend Sam Teskie (aka Big Sam) is missing. “I’m worried something bad happened to him.” Cassie accepts the case and gets her forms to fill out so she can begin her investigation.

Wolf has let Ronald out of his holding pen and instantly sees him plotting his escape. He uses his stick to warn him, advising him against his plan and then tackling Ronald to the ground when he resists. “It will be easier if you accept your position in the pack,” Wolf tells him. Ronald asks what happens if he decides not to be in the pack. “Then you don’t deserve to live.”

Ren tries on a dress at a store that sells guns, knives and cowboy attire. She asks Donno if she looks hot or not and he is reluctant to say those words. She tells him he looks “Like a pedo or a serial killer” and picks out a blue shirt for him to try out. She is explicit with her language and loud, prompting the clerk to ask her to keep her language family friendly. She condescends that a store selling guns and knives isn’t family friendly, picking up a blade. When he tells her that’s a big blade for a little woman, she stabs it close to his hand, throws some money on the counter and leaves with Donno, taking the dress, blue shirt and knife.

Jerrie has passed her Private Investigator exam and Denise celebrates by decorating her desk. Cassie asks Jerrie what she thinks of Big Sam and she points out that he seemed to live above his means. She suggests they ask Jenny for a warrant to search his phone. Max enters Dewell & Hoytt in response to a text from Cassie because she was nearby. Cassie asks her to babysit Kai on Tuesday and to ask him how school’s going since he doesn’t answer those questions well when she asks. Max looks down at Cassie’s desk and sees a photo of Big Sam, her face changing. “Do you know him?”, Cassie asks, which Max denies. “I thought you recognized him. He’s missing.” Max is awkward about it as Cassie asks if everything’s okay at home. Max says yes and leaves.

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

Wolf brings Ronald to an area where two women are gardening, telling him he wants Ronald to know what he’s working for. One of the women is Scarlet (Anja Savcic) and as Ronald steps forward, the other woman stands up with her spade pointed at Ronald’s girlfriend. “Seems like Scarlet’s already found her place,” Wolf tells Ronald. We see Scarlet whisper to the other woman (Romy Rosemont) that she wants to talk to Ronald, but she is told she can’t. Wolf takes Ronald away to get cleaned up.

Mark and Jerrie are out at a restaurant with giant margaritas and Jerrie asks why he wanted to have dinner with her. He wants advice on how to get Cassie to open up to him. “You have to remember it’s not about you,” she tells him. “Cassie’s got walls, high ones… Maybe don’t try so hard, let her come to you.”

Max and her friends sit around the Ridge having just learned that Bridger tried to tell the cops. “It was definitely the guy who shot the other guy,” he says about Harvey. He doesn’t think the officer recognized him and while the conversation unfolds, we see that the man in the beanie hat is watching them. Following the spirit of confession, Max reveals that she dipped into the money to help her mom, which also causes distress among the friends. Harper (Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson) is the voice of reason and Max reveals that she brought $2,000 for each of them to make it even. Harper suggests they wait a couple months and if nobody comes looking for the money, they evenly split the rest. They agree that they should get rid of the guns. We see the beanie hat guy again, who has a knife in his hand.

As Max and Harper walk home, Harper invites Max to her house to show her something. She grabs her friend’s hand for a moment, but they are interrupted when the man in the beanie hat gets out of a fan and yells “I saw you,” running after them. They freak out and run and Max quickly stops to shoot pepper spray in his face.

Jenny pulls up to a motel and texts Travis, who doesn’t reply. She checks herself in the mirror before heading up to the second floor and approaching his door, hearing another woman’s voice. Taking a step to the window, she sees him through the curtain sitting on the bed as the woman he’s with bends down to kiss him.

Ren trims roses in a stylish house as Harvey assures her that he cleaned everything up. She asks about the truck and he tells her he can’t get it out of police possession. “So they’re going to find something and we’re going to have to deal with it,” she confirms, but Harvey disagrees. Ren accuses Harvey of taking the money and drugs and asks him for Big Sam’s address. He tells her he went to high school with Sam’s girlfriend Tonya, who is a good girl who knows nothing. Ren doesn't take his word for it as she asks Donno to join her in finding Tonya. “Word of advice,” Harvey says. “If you think you can just blow into town and start making messes, it ain’t gonna go well. This is Montana.”

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

The next morning, Jenny finishes her coffee as Travis knocks on her door. “Why’d you come by the motel last night?” He says she could have blown his cover, then adds that what she saw was just work. The woman he was with is the front for a case he’s been working on for 6 months. He says they should lay down some ground rules. “Rules? That doesn’t sound like much fun,” Jenny flirts as Travis offers to make it fun. She tells him she has to get to work and he asks if she’s still investigating the truck accident. When she tells him the VIN was missing, he says it might intersect with the case he’s on. “I’ve heard about this missing drug shipment. That truck? I dunno. If I were you, I would poke around.”

Jerrie discovered that Big Sam had two one-way tickets to Cabo booked on a credit card for the night he disappeared and makes Cassie aware. “Either he left with someone else or she’s not being entirely truthful,” Cassie says, asking Jerrie to call Jenny to get a warrant to search his phone.

Deputy Poppernak tells Jenny they haven’t gotten a match back from the blood as she looks over the truck again. She tries to start it, but it won’t turn over. Twisting the volume dial, she hears a click and a smuggling compartment opens, which has a gun inside. Using gloves, Jenny passes it off to get checked for fingerprints.

Cassie goes to the diner Tonya works in to ask about the tickets to Cabo. “It’s complicated,” the waitress says, adding that she can’t talk there. While Tonya serves other customers, we see that Ren is sitting at the counter a few empty stools down from Cassie. She asks for advice on which pie to get and Cassie recommends huckleberry. She then asks for advice on a place to have her nails done. Cassie confesses to not being the best person to ask, but suggests Jodie’s Salon. “Gosh, you’re a godsend,” Ren says as Cassie leaves and Danno arrives to sit next to her. Tonya comes to take their orders and after requesting two huckleberry pies a la mode, she tells Tonya that they’re old friends of Sam and want to ask her some questions. Tonya looks nervous.

Jenny enters Dewell & Hoyt to look over the missing person’s case for Big Sam, revealing that Sam is the person the gun she found in the abandoned truck was registered to. She’s also looking for him and Cassie offers to take her to meet Tonya.

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

T-Lock (Arturo Del Puerto) and Rachel are in the living room when Max comes home. T-Lock calls her in and says “Your mom feels so much better after getting that crown.” He got ice cream but Max says she has homework and begins to head upstairs. He follows her, asking her to wait up. Out of Rachel’s earshot, he asks Max where she got the money.

Tonya is in her apartment frantically packing a bag when someone knocks at her door. She opens it a crack with the chain on and it’s Ren, who knocks it open. Tonya begs them not to hurt her as Ren asks “Where is it?” Tonya doesn’t know what she’s talking about and gets punched in the face, which knocks her out. Donno begins flipping her furniture upside down.

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

Max stands with Harper on a balcony freaking out because she doesn’t think T-Lock believes that she got the money from saving up from babysitting. She also tells Harper about the photo of Big Sam on Cassie’s desk. Harper takes Max’s hand and tells her that nobody knows anything. Max brings up the stalker and Harper dismisses it as a crazy homeless guy. Max wants to tell Bridger and Madison’s parents, but Harper reminds her that they’re lawyers and would protect their kids, but not the two of them. Max begins to cry and asks Harper to help her dump the drugs. Instead, Harper wants to pass them along to her coworker, who would sell them and give them a cut of the profits. Harper suggests they get him a sample tonight. Max worries they could get hurt and Harper says “You’re cute when you’re scared.” She leans in and kisses Max, which makes her smile.

Max emerges from the shed with a small sample of drugs and heads to her bike when T-Lock comes out of the house shining a flashlight. He asks what she’s doing and notices that her right hand is balled in a fist to conceal something. He asks what’s in her hand and Max refused to show him. He grabs her hand, forces it to open and sees the bag of drugs.

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

(ABC/Michael Moriatis)

On the way to Tonya’s apartment, Cassie and Jenny discuss the possibility of Tonya knowing about Big Sam’s involvement with drug trafficking. “If she knew who was after him, why would she hire me?” When they get to Tonya’s apartment, they find the door ajar and the place ransacked with nobody home. They come to the conclusion that Tonya has been taken.

Ren drives, with Donno in the passenger seat. She asks him to buckle up his seatbelt, which he didn’t do because it scratches his neck. In the backseat, we see Tonya is tied up with duct tape over her mouth.

ABC’s Big Sky will return on Thursday, October 14th, at 10/9c. The next episode is titled “You Have to Play Along,” but ABC hasn’t released a description for it yet. My hunch is that it’s referring to something Wolf says to Ronald, but you never know. I didn’t think that the title of this episode, “Huckleberry,” would be based on a seemingly throwaway line about a pie order, but maybe it becomes relevant later on. Stay tuned to find out.

Alex Reif
Alex joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and has been a lifelong Disney fan. His main beats for LP are Disney-branded movies, TV shows, books, music and toys. He recently became a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA).