REVIEW: Big Sky, Season 1 Episode Eight 'The End Is Near'

 REVIEW: Big Sky, Season 1 Episode Eight 'The End Is Near'

In my previous review I mentioned how I was unsure this season could carry on for more than one more episode. It seemed as though things were already reaching an end, and yet there were still another nine episodes to go. Just how could that number of episodes be filled when they were within breathing distance of catching the kidnapper?

Well this episode answers that question immediately, as Ronald (Brian Geraghty) escapes Merilee's (Brooke Smith) house before Cassie (Kylie Bunbury) and Jenny (Katheryn Winnick) even make it upstairs. How he actually makes his escape makes little sense, as it requires him to move inexplicably fast in order to jump out of the open window, get in his car and drive a considerable distance across the open road, all without anybody seeing him or hearing the noise of his vehicle. It all feels very convenient, and requires a very big suspension of disbelief.

The remaining scenes with Ronald are, thankfully, much better and demonstrate a lot of promise for the season's future direction. The scenes where we see how he has completely lost sanity are quite unsettling to watch, as he smashes plates on the floor, screams through metal bars and sings If You're Happy And You Know It whilst pouring gasoline in his attic. It's very reminiscent of the iconic cinematic thriller The Shining, as we see this man completely lose his mind.

If you thought Ronald couldn't get any more unlikeable in Big Sky's first season, then boy were you wrong. For in this episode he not only murders his mother's priest Father Ted Maynard (John Kapelos) but keeps a young child locked in a cage - paper boy Erik Westergaard (Evan Whitten). Kidnapping adults is bad enough, but doing it to children is just a whole other form of evil. It shows some powerful intent by the writers to demonstrate how much this man has fallen too far down the path of lunacy. Ronald has lost all traces of humanity, and we really do love to hate him here.

Especially when you see how much it affects Erik's poor mother Rachel (Sara Canning). The woman is totally distraught as she informs the detective agency about her missing child, and Sara Canning delivers a truly gut-wrenching performance. You really feel the grief and worry that she is feeling towards her son, and see the desperation etched across the face as she hopes he will be okay. She conveys this image of a frightened woman so effortlessly, and her performance really draws you in.

Back at the hospital, Rick's (John Carroll Lynch) lawyer Penelope (Karin Konoval) appears once again, and I really love this character. She has this really engaging quirkiness about her, whilst at the same time coming across as this really quite corrupt lawyer. When she mentions to Rick about the polygraph and how she won't let the court see the results if they aren't what they want, it shows just how immoral this lawyer truly is. She knows this man is guilty, but she will still try everything in her power to get him released.

The implications of Rick's inability to remember are fully addressed in this episode, and it's really interesting to hear. When Cassie and Jenny are told that if the polygraph proves he can't remember, and we learn that would mean he'd essentially get off scot-free, it's a shocking thought for sure, and demonstrates just how scenarios like this must be quite a punch to the gut when there's a possibility of justice not being served.

It's weird, given how memorable Rick's encounters with Cassie and Jenny in early episodes of the season were, to see him fail to recognise the pair when they both pay him a visit on separate occasions. It feels almost wrong somehow, but then I guess that's kind of the point. It's supposed to feel wrong, and it's just a further way of solidifying how much he truly doesn't remember. When we see him fail to recognise the protagonists, we know he can't be the true Rick anymore, and it's a great way of further reinforcing the implications of Rick's brain injury to the audience, in a clear and straightforward manner.

Overall, despite its poor start 'The End Is Near' is a great instalment in Big Sky's first season. This episode finally addresses just where the show goes now that the kidnapped girls have been found, and does a brilliant job at demonstrating Ronald's further descent into madness. This is a man who has fallen too far down the path of lunacy, and it's clear that there's no way back for this deranged truck driver now.

For those of you who follow the Whovian TV posts, ITV have removed the Alexander Armstrong documentary The Queen And Her Cousins, so instead I will be watching Celebrity Juice at 10pm on ITV2, followed by episode six of Bates Motel's second season 'Plunge' at 10:50pm. The Graham Norton Show was also pulled from its Monday listing with still no word on when it will air, so whether I will be able to watch that on Friday remains to be seen.

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What are your thoughts on Big Sky's eighth episode? Let me know in the comments section.