Let It Be Him

Cassie, Denise, and Jerrie help search for Ronald

**Let It Be Him** is the ninth episode of the first season of *Big Sky* and the 9th episode of the series overall. It was written by Jonathan Shapiro and directed by Michael Goi. It premiered on February 16, 2021 on ABC.

## Synopsis

While knocking on doors and searching for clues, Cassie unexpectedly comes face-to-face with Ronald, which puts her in danger and triggers her memory from the pair's prior meeting. Elsewhere, not feeling like she can trust her husband, Merrilee makes a life-changing decision that puts both her and Rick's fates into her own hands.

## Plot

Ronald steps out onto his front porch with three staples still in his forehead.

He pulls Father Maynard's car into a tent in his yard and covers it.

While Erik sits in the cage and watches Maynard's dead body, Ronald works at the desk. Erik asks if Ronald is going to kill him. Ronald says Erik asking that annoys him and he can be unpleasant when he's annoyed. Erik knows Ronald killed Maynard and his mother. Ronald tells him to shut up. Erik asks if it's smart to be soldering when there's gas everywhere. Ronald is angry and gets up to tell Erik so.

Merrilee comes home and goes upstairs. She looks at the standee of her husband. She remembers Legarski singing happily as he walked around their house.

As Ronald wraps Maynard in a sheet, Erik asks if he knows about the serial killer who killed 93 people. He got away with it because he kept killing people no one cared about. But people care about Erik, especially his mother. Ronald tells him to shut up. Erik says if he kills a kid, he'll never even make it to trial. Ronald pulls a gun on Erik and tells him not to say a word.

Legarski is haunted by Jerrie and several other women as he lies in his hospital bed. He tells himself it's a dream and then apologizes to the women, saying it just got out of hand. He wakes suddenly to see Merrilee standing over him. She asks who he was apologizing to. He claims he doesn't know. Penelope then comes in and says the doctors say he's doing better. Merrilee says he was apologizing in his sleep, so maybe his conscience is back if not his memory. Penelope asks to talk to Merrilee.

Out in the hall, Penelope asks Merrilee where she stands, with her husband or not. She can work with either, but she needs to know. Penelope lays out her plan for his defense. It could lead to him being free after treatment. Merrilee says she's on her own side.

Denise goes to the door of Mr. Smith and shows him a picture of Erik, whom she says delivers Mr. Smith's paper. He asks if Denise is Erik's mother and she says she isn't. Mr. Smith says he must have been there that morning because he got the paper and holds it up as proof.

Jane calls to her mom, asking if they got the paper for that day. Sosa is there, showing her a picture of Erik.

Tubb shows the picture to Joe, who slams the door in his face after saying they canceled their subscription months ago because it's fake news.

Next, Cassie goes to Ronald's door and asks if he's seen Erik. He says he thinks he saw Erik this morning, but it might have been yesterday. He's not sure. Cassie can't see that he's holding a gun in his hand, hidden by the door. Cassie asks if she can see Helen, but he says that's his mother, but she's away. If Cassie leaves a number, he'll have his mother call. Cassie leaves him her card and he wishes her luck finding Erik. After he closes the door and Cassie starts to walk away, she has a sudden realization that Ronald is the man she passed as he was leaving Merrilee's shop.

Cassie says if it's him, they need to get back to his house and set up a perimeter. Denise says Jenny called Tubb to confirm. Denise says he's a ghost. Ronald Pergman brings up no social media. His mother has one, though, mostly church, cat, and clean house. She finds a picture of Ronald with his mother and Jerrie says it's him for sure. Cassie leaves to go  meet Tubb. Denise asks what Cassie wants her to tell Rachel when she arrives. Cassie says to keep her there and that she may need to hold Rachel's hand.

Ronald looks out his window, then sits down to tape a taser to a rod.

Ronald takes the taser downstairs. He tells Erik he's out of Erik's range now, but Erik isn't out of his. He tells Erik to drop the taser and kick it out of the cage. Erik tells him to go to hell. Ronald presses the taser to the cage, shocking Erik, but Erik still refuses, so he does it again. When that doesn't work, he swings the cage around the room with Erik still in it.

Jenny tells Cassie she kind of hopes Ronald doesn't surrender and she has to kill him. Cassie says it's not as much fun as she thinks. They join Tubb and his deputies as he gives instructions. He tells them to assume he's armed and dangerous. They'll give him a chance to surrender, but then will enter if he doesn't take it. Jenny asks about the FBI, but Sosa says they don't have time to wait for FBI. She asks if Tubb is going to take responsibility for Cassie and Jenny. He says they're deputized and has everyone gear up.

Rachel wants to go to the ambush. She wants to know what the plan is exactly, but Denise doesn't know. Denise says the goal is to get in the house and rescue Erik if he's in there.

Sosa says once they're breached, her guys will go upstairs while Tubb's guys go downstairs and the basement. Jenny and Cassie are with Tubb, who tells everyone to be sure of their targets as there's a hostage in there. He leads a motorcade up to the house.

As Ronald creeps around his house, officers surround it from outside. Tubb gets out of his car with a megaphone.

Ronald goes outside and gets Erik out of the cage.

Officers prepare to breach. Tubb calls for Ronald to surrender. They wait several moments, but he doesn't comes out after two additional warnings, so they enter. The deputy who uses a battering ram on the front door gets shot as he enters. They see that Ronald had a shotgun rigged. While Tubb calls for a medic, the others enter the house. Tubb warns that there may be other traps. They start searching the house. Jenny finds stairs to the basement and goes down.

Cassie notices some suspicious metal boxes and smells gasoline. She figures the place is rigged. Tubb and Sosa start evacuation. Cassie calls for Jenny, who says she's downstairs.

Jenny sees an unconscious figure in a blue jacket chained to the floor and goes for rescue, saying she found Erik. As the box nearby sparks, Jenny works to break the chain so they can evacuate.

Jenny carries the body outside, and the house blows up behind her. When she puts the body down, she sees that it's not Erik, but Helen. They realize Ronald and Erik are still inside or this was a diversion.

Rachel and Jerrie watch on the news that a deputy was shot, but is expected to recover. Denise is on the phone and tells Rachel there is no evidence that Erik was in the house, but they still don't know where he is.

Cassie is angry with Jenny for risking her life and tells her never to do it again. She doesn't want to have to tell Justin she's never coming home. There was no one inside the house and they think Ronald took Erik out a basement window. He must have recognized her and escaped. Tubb says Helen was dead long before they arrived. He dressed her as Erik to throw them off. Tubb also tells them that Ted Maynard missed his afternoon service and was last known to be headed to the Pergman house to visit Helen.

Merrilee watches Legarski drum his fingers. Penelope comes in to check on Legarski, who is acting oddly. Merrilee explains that in his mind, it's 1967 and the Red Sox keep winning the pennant. Penelope tells Legarski that the police are after his accomplice. She shows him a picture of Ronald and asks if he knows him. He says he doesn't, but starts drumming his fingers faster. Penelope says a little memory here could come in handy because if he might know where Ronald has Erik, they can use that information as leverage. She asks if he has any idea where Ronald might go. Merrilee reminds Legarski that Ronald has a child. Legarski drums his fingers as he says he doesn't know who the man is. Merrilee knows he's lying and that he knows. He looks at the picture again, but then goes back to talking about baseball.

Denise tells Cassie that a neighbor saw Ronald parking a car down the street that morning, but she can't find any other cars owned by Helen. Cassie asks Denise to find out why Maynard came to see Helen.

Denise asks Jerrie if she's had any luck. Jerrie says it's weird to see Ronald in the picture because he looks so sane. Denise says Jerrie might know him better than anyone. Rachel asks for anything she might know. Jerrie says he had issues with his mother, but she didn't peg him as a killer, especially of a child. Rachel asks what if he's desperate.

They realize Ronald can't have gone very far in the time. Cassie didn't see his rig when she was there and it'd be hard to go on foot with Erik. Sosa asks what the priest drives.

Ronald drives a Tesla down the road.

Cassie and Jenny drive around. They're looking for the black Tesla. Police are checking all Teslas. Jenny says people go where they know and Cassie realizes that's the interstate for a trucker.

Merrilee sits on the floor and looks up at the standee. She remembers Legarski singing and dancing her around their kitchen as she cooks. In another memory, he's half-singing, half-humming "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." She asks what's bothering him, but he says he's find.

Ronald sings as he drives. He stops the car at the end of the road and gets Erik out of the trunk. He says if Erik's nice, he can ride in the front like a big boy. He puts Erik in the front seat and tells him to put on his seat belt. Then he gets back in the driver's seat and drives off.

Rachel, Jerrie, and Denise watch another news report which names Ronald. Rachel starts crying and wonders why Ronald would do this. Denise says they're doing everything they can. Rachel just wants her son back. Jerrie tells her not to lose hope and says she really doesn't think Ronald will hurt Erik.

Jenny and Cassie see a Tesla that's been pulled over. Ronald is not the driver. They get a call from Tubb, who is in a helicopter looking for Ronald. Sosa asks Tubb where he thinks Ronald's going. Tubb says he's probably not heading for Canada because the Tesla won't have the range. A smart animal would stay put and wait for the hunter to pass, but Sosa thinks he's running. The fastest way to Canada is a straight shot up the interstate.

Jenny and Cassie catch up with the Tesla on the road. Sosa tells her to keep her distance because they're 20 minutes away. Tubb says for them to follow him and not try to catch him. The helicopter goes to their location and he says he can see them. Cassie pulls her truck alongside the car, but Tubb tells her to fall back. Tubb says in a high-speed chase like this, all their options are bad.

Cassie is still following the car. Jenny says the Tesla could run out of juice, but they may not have time for that.

Merrilee goes to see Legarski again. She tells him she's been reminiscing about their marriage, their vacations, the drives they took just to be together. He tells her that's nice. She reminds him of the songs he used to sing. He would always sing "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" when there was a problem to solve. He starts to sing the song. Merrilee says the song is about killing. Then there's "If I Had a Hammer." She knows Legarski was planning to kill her that night she woke up to him hovering over her with a hammer. He killed Cody Hoyt and the fisherman. She was next. She pulls the hammer out of her bag and says she was a problem and the hammer was his problem-solver. Legarski says he doesn't like her tone. She has a hard time with him killing two people and thinking about killing her and going free. That's awful. She starts to sing and changes the lyrics to suit their situation. Legarski's heart starts racing as he says it's her menopause talking. She says that was the wrong answer as it means his memory is back. She swings the hammer and starts hitting him. The heart monitor starts racing and then flatlines. Hospital personnel race into the room and find Merrilee calmly sitting on the bed next to Legarski, who is dead and splattered with blood. Merrilee sings, "I don't know why she married the fly."

Jenny and Cassie are still following the Tesla. Jenny tells her to pull alongside the car so they can check to see if Erik is still alive. Cassie speeds up and Jenny looks into the car to see Erik alive in the passenger seat. Then she has to swerve to miss a car stopped on the side of the road. Tubb tells them Tesla can't shut it down remotely and they can't shoot out the battery as it's in the bottom of the car. They can't wait for the juice to run out as they're five minutes from traffic. They can't use spikes because it can flip the car. Jenny tells Cassie to pull alongside the car so she can shoot he tires out. Cassie does and they see that Maynard's body is behind the wheel. The car is on autopilot. They tell Tubb about Maynard. Sosa heard about something like this in California with a drunk guy who fell asleep. They stopped the car by getting in front of it. The car will stop to keep it from running into anyone. Cassie speeds up and pulls her truck forward. She has to swerve to avoid from wreckage in the road, which turns her truck around, so she's facing the Tesla. They scream as the Tesla approaches, but it comes to a stop inches from the bumper. Tubb orders the helicopter to land as Cassie and Jenny check on Erik and Maynard. Cassie tells Erik it's all over. Erik says he wants his mom and Cassie says they'll take him to her. Jenny asks if he can tell them anything about the man who took him and Erik says he jumped out of the car at the bridge. Erik can't believe he's not dead. Sosa takes him to call his mom. After he's taken away, Tubb tells Jenny and Cassie that he just learned that Merrilee killed Legarski. Jenny says that's some kind of justice. It's not the kind Cassie was looking for. And there's been no justice for Ronald. He's still out there. Cassie promises they're going to find him and Jenny agrees.

Erik is happily reunited with his mother. She's sorry she didn't believe Erik. Rachel doesn't know what to say to Cassie and Jenny, doesn't know how to thank them. Cassie accepts a hug from her, while Jenny goes to a handshake before leaving. Erik says Jenny's cool. Cassie says Jenny's not into taking credit and the best ones never are.

Merrilee is arrested and led out in handcuffs, still with Legarski's blood on her face. Penelope walks beside her. Then Legarski's body is removed from the room.

A montage of Helen, Cody, and Legarski plays.

Ronald drives away in his rig.

## Cast

* Jenny Hoyt
* Cassie Dewell
* Ronald Pergman
* Denise Brisbane
* Jerrie Kennedy
* Helen Pergman
* Rick Legarski
* Merrilee Legarski
* Walter Tubb
* Penelope Denesuk
* Ted Maynard
* Elena Sosa
* Rachel Westergaard
* Erik Westergaard
* Mr. Smith
* News Reporter
* News Reporter #2
* Joe
* Jane
1/19
### Starring

* Katheryn Winnick as Jenny Hoyt
* Kylie Bunbury as Cassie Dewell
* Brian Geraghty as Ronald Pergman
* Dedee Pfeiffer as Denise Brisbane
* Jesse James Keitel as Jerrie Kennedy
* with Valerie Mahaffey as Helen Pergman
* and John Carroll Lynch as Rick Legarski

### Guest Starring

* Brooke Smith as Merrilee Legarski
* Patrick Gallagher as Walter Tubb
* Karin Konoval as Penelope Denesuk
* John Kapelos as Father Ted Maynard
* Sharon Taylor as Elena Sosa
* Sara Canning as Rachel Westergaard
* Evan Whitten as Erik Westergaard

### Co-Starring

* Beau Daniels as Mr. Smith
* Kate Gajdosik as News Reporter
* Michael Meneer as News Reporter #2
* Joel Stephanson as Joe
* Ziyana Vasaya as Jane

## Trivia

* This episode scored 4.14 million viewers.