Things are about to get especially hairy over on ABC's Big Sky, where there are murders a-plenty, criminals on the run, and more than a little mama drama courtesy of Reba McEntire's Sunny Barnes. This week's episode, "Are You Mad?" certainly delivered in the gasp department, delivering more than a few scenes that left us fully shook. Here are seven moments that we found especially shocking.
Warning, spoilers ahead for Big Sky season 3 episode 12.
Paige is still in play
After (almost) killing Buck Barnes in his murder bunker, a blood-covered and in distress Paige hitched a ride to Sunny's house. (This begs the question: With who? Someone irresponsible, that's who! Call the police, truck driver!) That's where Sunny finds her, clearly in a manic state and clutching a knife. She thinks Sunny set her up with Buck, a conclusion you can see how she'd make, but Sunny seems almost as surprised as Paige that Buck is a bad guy. Paige tells Sunny that she killed Buck—a fact that Sunny doesn't seem incredibly sad about—and Sunny grabs some bear spray to defend herself. That's right about when Jenny and Cassie roll in, too, calming Paige and taking her to the hospital while also putting Sunny in custody.
Paige also comes up later in the episode after Sunny gets Walter released due to Paige's being alive and everything. Walter goes to visit her in the hospital, where she expresses some concern about Buck actually living (again, more on this in a second), and Walter tells her that he'll take care of it. We're undoubtedly headed toward some sort of uber-showdown between Beau, Buck, Walter, and maybe Cormac, and I look forward to the whole shebang.
Buck lives!
As previously mentioned, Paige somehow didn't manage to kill Buck, even though she hit him many, many times with a hammer. In fact, his head seems relatively unscathed, save a little bleeding, though his stabbed leg has seen better days. He's on the run from the cops, having left the bunker, and he's not only killed a man and stolen his truck, but he's also kidnapped Emily and Denise for some reason. I'm not entirely clear why, other than leverage that would somehow let him escape, but that does make things pretty grim for the pair. Buck is a known serial killer who seems to revel in women's pain and torment. I have faith that they'll be okay because Big Sky is many things, but it's not that cruel, but everything will be a little dicey for at least another episode, I should think.
Seriously, why would anyone leave Emily alone?
We had an issue with this last week, and our quibble remains: With Avery in hiding, facing down a terrible crime family and trying to steal $15 million dollars, why would Beau or Carla think it's a good idea to let their teenage daughter, Avery's step-daughter, just roam free? Denise should never have let her run errands, but beyond that, Denise isn't all that capable crime-wise to begin with. It just seems like a very, very stupid oversight on Beau's part to assume that his daughter wouldn't end up as collateral damage, especially given how incredibly stupid Avery is.
Walter is walking away from his mom
Sunny and Walter's relationship was always a little complicated, to say the least. Now that he's out of prison and his family ties are in the open, Walter is choosing to walk away from his mom. He's convinced that she and Buck colluded to make him think he was a "rotten apple" while they themselves were committing crimes, and while there's no evidence that Sunny was really complicit in anything besides a few deaths this season up at the campsite, you can't really blame Walter for wanting to take some time away from his manipulative and needy mom. Reba McEntire's great and all IRL, but her Big Sky character needs big time therapy.
Lyle Lovett is a joy
This one isn't shocking, really, but more like "always good to know." With Lyle Lovett's return to the show as Tex, we're reminded that a) he's a great actor and b) he's pretty darn funny. He gets killer lines this ep, telling Carla he "hand steams and irons all [his] clothes, except [his] silk suit," because "that's best left to the cleaners." He also gets to stand up to big bad Tony, telling him "adios" after it's implied that he kidnapped Emily to get to Avery. "I draw the line at kids," Tex says, and thank goodness. It's about time someone had some scruples over on that show.
There was a shootout and Donno is (maybe) dead!
Avery, Donno, and Tonya Walsh finally went to meet up with Tony, Tex, and the Toronto Triplets, who are not actually real triplets. Avery is demanding to get Emily back, while smooth Tony is trying to work Avery to win all the money. Stupidly, Avery agrees to show him his phone and that he can transfer half of the $15 million, which leads to Tony shooting him and taking his phone. While Avery lies on the floor, presumably dead, Tonya shoots Tony, and a firefight ensues.
Donno rushes Tonya to safety, and eventually, the two Big Sky regulars prevail, only to have it revealed that—gasp!—Donno's actually been shot in the scuffle and is in a very bad way. As he slips into unconsciousness, he tells Tonya, "not killing you was the best thing I ever did," and she lays a big one on him, which we all know he's been wanting for a long time. Tonya yells for medical help as Donno lays motionless on the floor and we're left hoping that he makes it out of the whole thing alive, not just because we love the Donno character, who brings joy and wit to Big Sky, but because we want good things to happen for both him and Tonya, no matter how arguably evil they are. In other words, hang in there, Donno! We're pulling for you!
Buck's a George Strait man
As a delusional Buck hauls his two kidnapping victims to God knows where, he blissfully reminisces about how he and Sunny danced to George Strait's "I Cross My Heart" on their wedding day all those years ago. He says Sunny wore white cowboy boots under her dress, which seems about right, and notes that their wedding was on June 21, the summer solstice. It's all very romantic, really, right up until the point where he calls Sunny and asks, "Are you mad?" She doesn't quickly respond or call the police that we see, which leads us to wonder: Has she been in on this thing the whole time? Maybe there's more than one Bleeding Heart Killer—or maybe those hearts were little valentines to Buck's one true love.
READ MORE: 'Big Sky' Season 4: Everything Fans Need to Know About the ABC Crime Series
