The Wolves Are Always Out for Blood is the sixth episode of the first season of Big Sky and the sixth episode of the series overall. It was written by Maria Sten and directed by Mark Tonderai. It aired on January 26, 2021 on ABC.
Synopsis[]
After Jenny and Cassie learn the truth about Cody’s fate, they decide to officially team up to track down Ronald; Merrilee grapples with the fact that she didn’t truly know her husband; Helen learns more about her son’s recent activities.
Plot[]
Cassie kicks Legarski's gun away from him. Then she turns her attention to the girls. She tells them they're safe just as Tubb starts coming down the stairs and sees Legarski on the floor. He notices Legarski's fingers are still moving.
Paramedics help Grace out to an ambulance as Danielle and Jerrie follow. Cassie stands outside in a daze. She watches the girls get seen by paramedics. Tubb calls out to her and she tells him there's another one out there. The girls told her there were two abductors and the other one is a trucker. He wants to know what happened inside the bar. She explains about Legarski having a gun and saying he'd shoot her when he got to five. She shot him on four. Jenny runs up to Cassie and Cassie tells her they found the girls, but not Cody. The paramedics bring out Legarski, remarking that he needed a hospital 20 minutes ago. Tubb takes Cassie's gun from her. Cassie explains to Jenny that Legarski was working with someone, a trucker. Tubb sees them talking and says his guys have it from here. He makes it an order. He then asks how they know it's a trucker. Cassie says the girls told her.
Ronald drives past the All-In and coaches himself to breathe when he sees the cops and paramedics.
Legarski is taken into the hospital. They pass Merrilee and tell her he's been shot.
Cody's truck is lifted out of the hole where it was buried. Once it's back down on the ground, Jenny approaches and starts sobbing when she sees Cody's body inside. Behind her, Cassie also starts to cry.
The news reports on Cody's body and the shooting of Legarski. Helen and Ronald watch as a reporter says they're looking for a long-haul trucker in connection to the case. Helen turns off the TV in horror. Ronald says no one knows he's involved except Legarski. He's sure Legarski hasn't told anyone else. And he needs to concentrate right now. The girls can identify him, so he's under some stress.
Grace looks out the window of her hospital room. Cassie comes in and startles both her and Danielle, who was asleep in a chair. Their parents are in the cafeteria. They heard about Cody and are sorry. Cassie tells them the sketch artist is working on the rendering of the truck driver based on their descriptions. They're also working on a profile and hopes the girls might remembering things that could help them. Grace says he doesn't look like a psycho. He is, but he comes off vulnerable and sweet. The other guy, Legarski, was worse and Grace is glad Cassie shot him.
Cassie struggles as she walks down the hall, plagued by memories of shooting Legarski. She makes eye contact with Merrilee.
Merrilee sits down with Cassie. She says either the police and Cassie are right or the police are wrong because Cassie steered them wrong. Cassie tells her the girls identified her husband as their captor. Cassie knows it's hard. Cassie herself just shot somebody. Merrilee feels responsible because they spent their days not noticing each other.
Jenny goes to the door to find Denise there. Denise hugs her and then gives her all Cody's documents from the office. Jenny tells her they're going to have a small, simple service. Denise offers to arrange it all. Denise says that Cody died on a recuse mission and Jenny continued it and got those girls out.
Tubb apologizes to Cassie and says he should have listened to her. She just wants to focus on finding the other guy. Tubb says it's their focus, but shouldn't be hers. He asks if she wants to postpone the conversation, but she doesn't. He asks her about Legarski counting to five and her shooting before he got to five. She admits that Legarski never aimed his gun at her, but he did threaten to shoot her. It was him or her and now she has to deal with that.
Merrilee watches her husband in his bed. Her phone rings. It's Ronald, saying he heard about what happened and wants to offer his condolences. She tells him they don't know yet if he'll recover and abruptly ends the call.
Ronald tells his mother Legarski isn't dead.
Cassie rides her horse out in a field. She stops suddenly and imagines Cody watching her, asking her if she shows off because she's a cowgirl or if she became a cowgirl because she showed off. Either way, he likes it.
Denise comes into the office to find Jenny frantically writing on a board where she has hung profiles of long-haul truckers. She has 27 of them, narrowed down with information from the girls. She has a friend checking to see if vehicle registrations match. Denise says this isn't where she should be, but Jenny feels it's where she needs to be. The trucker is still out there and she needs to be strong for Justin. At home, she just wallows. Denise says you don't survive emotions best by running away from them. Jenny knows that Denise took care of Cody and Denise says that they took care of each other.
Tubb's men rip up the Legarski home. Merrilee says if he were hiding something in the house, wouldn't she have found it. Tubb says they have to be sure.
Ronald paints his truck blue and puts a new plate on it.
Merrilee talks to Nurse Holt, who tells her that her husband is still alive, which is promising. Holt asks what kind of music he likes. It's good for brain injuries. He likes Frank Sinatra. High Hopes. He's a bit of a dork.
Jerrie works at the diner. Jenny comes in and starts talking to her.
Outside, Ronald takes pictures.
Jerrie gives Jenny condolences, as she heard the man they found dead was Jenny's husband. Jenny asks Jerrie how she's doing.
Ronald pulls his truck forward and prepares to take more photos.
Jerrie says she's okay, considering she thought she'd be dead by now. If Cody hadn't come looking for them, she's not sure she would be. Jenny says she's the best chance they have at finding the trucker and she needs Jerrie's help. Jerrie says she'll help Jenny with whatever she needs because her husband came to find them.
Ronald takes a few more pictures and then looks through them.
Merrilee sits by Legarski's bedside as High Hopes plays on a CD player. Jenny comes into the room and asks Merrilee if they can talk. Merrilee says it's not a good time, but Jenny asks anyway how well she knew her husband. Jenny then tells Merrilee about Cody, her own husband who was last seen with her husband and then found dead with a bullet in his head that her husband fired. Merrilee doesn't know how to respond. She can say she's sorry, that she didn't know her husband well at all, but mostly, she just wants to keep saying it's not a good time. Merrilee starts to cry and Jenny says she couldn't have come. Merrilee tells Jenny she's sorry for her loss. Jenny hands Merrilee her knitting and leaves the room.
Ronald comes home to find his mother watching news of the search for the trucker. The reporter says they're searching every inch of the Legarski house for evidence. Helen turns off the TV. She reminds Ronald that he said Legarski kept records. She's worried they already have his name. Ronald says they used burner phones, but Legarski has a secret room, a safe room, behind his master closet. His records are in there. He has to get into the Legarski house. Helen asks how he could do that with the police all over the place. Ronald says if they get his name, they'll just come pick him up. He has to get into the house and he will.
Jenny carries a box with Cody's ashes and leads a crowd of mourners out into a field. Justin holds the box as she opens it and releases some of his ashes into the wind. Cassie jumps as several of the mourners line up and fire into the air.
The preacher thanks everyone for coming to the funeral. He asks Jenny to come up and say a few words. She says Cody was a rascal, a great father, and a real pain in her ass most days.
Merrilee goes home to her bedroom, where her floor is ripped up. On her bed, there's a pile of picture frames. She pulls one off the top. It's of her and her husband and the glass is cracked.
Ronald climbs out of his truck and quietly makes his way up to the Legarski house.
Merrilee calls the hospital and is put on hold.
At the funeral, a band plays and people dance. Jenny is stocking drinks and Cassie offers her help. Cassie is awkward around Jenny and admits she doesn't know how to be around Jenny. Jenny says there isn't a script for either of them. Jenny knows Cassie's been through this before and presumes she could help. She asks Cassie where to start. Cassie has no idea what she should do. But she tells Jenny not to push everyone away like she did. As Jenny walks away, Grace comes up to Cassie and asks if she has any news. Cassie says she doesn't, but they're on it. She tells Grace to focus, rest, and heal. Grace says she'll rest when she's dead. She wants to sit down with the sketch artist again because she knows she can do better.
Jenny says it's time for Cody's favorite song. The band starts playing Harvest and she sings along. She struggles and eventually stops singing. She asks for help. Cassie goes up and starts singing. Jerrie then joins them on the stage and sings with them. The crowd applauds.
Jenny walks into the office to find Cassie making notes on the board. Cassie tells her that Grace is coming in. Even though the cops told them to stand down. Jenny says she googled what to do at the funeral of the guy you slept with and it doesn't say to go up and sing with the widow. She never thought Cassie would be the one helping her through this. Cassie says maybe Jenny could help her. She can't run the place alone and is in need of a new partner. She wants Jenny to take Cody's place and work with her. Jenny takes a marker and starts telling Cassie what Jerrie told her about the trucker's truck. He has a hidden compartment in his truck for trafficking. They pledge to find him.
Jerrie is walking home when someone starts following her and calls out to her. She starts moving faster and turns. The man follows her. Finally, Jerrie finds herself face to face with the man. It's Jimmy, who knows her. She's upset with him for following her like that. He just wanted to check on her. She says she fine. She tells Jimmy to go home. He says she can still talk to him, but she thinks those days are over and walks away.
Jerrie goes home to find a note that says, "YOU DON'T LEARN," taped to her door. She remembers Ronald saying that to them.
In the hospital, Merrilee sleeps by Legarski's bed. His heart rate starts to increase and then his eyes open.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Katheryn Winnick as Jenny Hoyt
- Kylie Bunbury as Cassie Dewell
- Brian Geraghty as Ronald Pergman
- Dedee Pfeiffer as Denise Brisbane
- Natalie Alyn Lind as Danielle Sullivan
- Jesse James Keitel as Jerrie Kennedy
- Jade Pettyjohn as Grace Sullivan
- with Valerie Mahaffey as Helen Pergman
- and John Carroll Lynch as Rick Legarski
Special Guest Star[]
Guest Starring[]
- Brooke Smith as Merrilee Legarski
- Patrick Gallagher as Sheriff Walter Tubb
- Gage Marsh as Justin Hoyt
- Jeffrey Joseph as Joseph Dewell
- Gabriel Jacob-Cross as Kai Dewell
- Camille Sullivan as Joanie Sullivan
- Chad Willett as Robert Sullivan
- Alessandro Juliani as Dr. Wang
Co-Starring[]
- Tanya Champoux as Nurse
- Dakota Daulby as Jimmy
- Kate Gajdosik as Female Reporter
- Trevor Lerner as Cowboy Preacher
- Michael Meneer as Reporter
- Nisreen Slim as Nurse Holt
- Sara Vickruck as Female EMT
Music[]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Bad Man" | Blues Saraceno |
|
| "Barstool" | Chelsea Dawn |
|
| "High Hopes" | Frank Sinatra |
|
| "Spirit in the Sky" | Chris Gelbuda |
|
| "Harvest" | Cast (Katheryn Winnick, Kylie Bunbury, and Jesse James Keitel) |
|
| "Home Again" | Delta Spirit |
|
Trivia[]
- This episode scored 3.84 million viewers on first airing.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Behind the Scenes[]
See Also[]
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A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
| Big Sky: Season 1 | ||||||||||
| "Pilot" • "Nowhere to Run" • "The Big Rick" • "Unfinished Business" • "A Good Day to Die" • "The Wolves Are Always Out for Blood" • "I Fall to Pieces" • "The End is Near" • "Let It Be Him" • "Catastrophic Thinking" • "All Kinds of Snakes" • "No Better Than Dogs" • "White Lion" • "Nice Animals" • "Bitter Roots" • "Love is a Strange and Dangerous Thing" | ||||||||||