Big Sky (1×05) A Good Day to Die Review

For our review of the last episode of Big Sky, click here.

Synopsis: Jenny and Cassie feel as if they’re closing in on Legarski, but they’re racing against the clock as he and Ronald prepare to move the girls. (CTV)

*Spoiler Alert*

This week’s fall finale brings a complicated mix of feelings for how its narrative played out. On one side, the development of Legarski’s character from within his marriage, the ongoing struggle of his sanity and his roots in the human trafficking trade helps to create a lush character study for an actor that excels in this realm (as seen in his episode of The Walking Dead among many other roles); however, this is undone by the rest of the show’s narrative, its glossing over of important topics and the inevitable cliffhanger that creates a huge and almost unsolvable problem for this season going forward.

First off, the glossing over of important topics is in reference to the one line of dialogue for missing indigenous women. That is the deep-rooted issue that happens throughout North America and yet the show decided to focus on two all-American sisters. Of course, we knew that this would happen because this wouldn’t become widespread American news if it was focused on missing indigenous women. It had to use this teen girls as the catalyst for the story. Unfortunately, its lack of relating it to the bigger issue beyond a slight reference seems like a slap in the face to those who have struggled with this very real problem.

Then there’s the issue with the narrative as a whole. The series has struggled mightily with its pacing through its first four episodes and A Good Day to Die is no different. No one truly feels like a protagonist in this story as the constant jump between subplots makes it hard to develop any of the characters enough to create an emotional connection with the audience. Cassie and Jenny are secondary characters to this story, the de facto law enforcement trying to save the victims. And yet the victims themselves don’t even feel like protagonists of their own stories, but merely a catalyst to create conflict in the lives of their captors.

Which leaves Legarski and Ronald as the villainous pseudo-protagonists of the series. The receive the most screen time, the most development and backstory so it makes sense. Big Sky, having been expanded from 10 to 16 episodes already looks like it may be renewed by ABC making this story more than a limited series. With that in mind, the human trafficking issue would seem to be the driving force of this series going forward making its law enforcement characters expendable to keep the operation running. And yet, that is the opposite of what Big Sky does.

In its anti-climactic, unsurprising cliffhanger, the show decides to have Cassie in a standoff with Legarski with the result being a bullet in the State Trooper’s head. This gets rid of the single most developed and interesting character on the show, and the biggest villain it has revealed so far, before the half-way point in its season. It leaves Ronald leaderless and the girls rescued leading its audience to wonder what could possible happen in the remaining 11 episodes to keep us intrigued. With its strongest aspect gone, it needs to sift through its indecisiveness to solidify what type of show it wants to be and fast.

Detective’s Report

• Where does the season go from here?
• Why is Ronald the way he is?
• What will happen to Ronald?

What did you think of “A Good Day to Die”? Was it an effective fall finale? Let me know in the comments below!

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Dylan Phillips