White Lion

Horst and Margaret argue over Blake's death

**White Lion** is the thirteen episode of the first season of *Big Sky* and the 13th episode of the series overall. It was written by Elwood Reid and Morenike Balogun and directed by Christina Alexandra Voros. It premiered on April 27, 2021 on ABC.

## Synopsis

Cassie and Jenny hear that a body has been discovered on the Kleinsasser ranch and, fearing the worst, Jenny takes the investigation up a notch, but the Kleinsassers have a plan of their own. Meanwhile, Cassie teams up with Lindor to follow a hot lead on Ronald, who, suspicious that his whereabouts have been revealed, decides to do some damage control—or perhaps just damage.

## Plot

John Wayne is horrified by what he's done. From her hiding spot, Cheyenne watches as John Wayne runs away, then goes to check on Blake herself, but can't rouse him. She takes the belt buckle, then drags Blake's body out of the hole.

Jenny tries to convince Rosie to come forward with her story, but Rosie knows it's no use. She already tried changing her statement at the sheriff's office, but the sheriff talked her out of it and said there would be repercussions. Rosie knows the Kleinsassers would do worse if she came forward with the truth. Cassie says they believe her and will help her. A noise outside alerts Rosie that her dad has returned and she tells Jenny and Cassie to leave. Gil Amaya comes in and Rosie tries to explain why they're there, but he doesn't want to hear it and tells them to leave. He tells them they can help by leaving. He knows what the Kleinsassers are capable of. He worked for them for 25 years and knows they're ruthless. Jenny knows Blake didn't do it and knows Gil knows as well, but Gil knows there's no point. Rosie begs her father to tell Jenny and Cassie. He refuses, to Jenny leaves her card, saying she hopes he changes his mind.

John Wayne returns and finds Blake's body gone. He knows someone else knows.

John Wayne leads Horst and Rand to Blake's body, which is splayed out out in the open. He claims he just found the body like that. It's below a spot where Blake used to like to sit and drink. Rand takes Blake's boots off, saying it's bad luck to die with your boots on. Horst questions them if they saw anything and they both deny it. Horst says he's going to call the sheriff.

Al shows Ronald a truck, saying it'll last him until retirement if he's not forced to switch to hydrogen or electric. He's selling the truck because he can't sit ten hours a day anymore due to sciatica. Al allows Ronald to climb up inside, saying Ronald will feel the scream of the open road. Inside the cab, Ronald looks at a picture of his mother and insists that he's changed, that he's a good boy now and has found a woman who understands him. He reacts as though his mother is speaking to him and eventually hides the picture.

Cheyenne looks up the missing persons poster for Cole Danvers, then gets up to look at the white lion poster, growling. She hears a wail outside and goes to investigate.

Outside, Horst announces to Cheyenne that Blake is dead as Margaret cries down at his feet. Horst says they don't know what happened, but Margaret says she knows and so does everyone else. She slaps Horst and tells him he killed Blake. Horst says Sheriff Wagy is coming and might be able to shed some light, but that doesn't change the fact that Blake is gone. Margaret blames Horst. Horst orders Cheyenne to take care of her mother.

Jenny still hasn't heard from Blake, but wants him to know about Rosie. Cassie says Rosie won't be any help. She wants them to hand over what they know to Blake's lawyer and leave town. Jenny doesn't understand why everyone is so afraid. Cassie explains that it's a small county and the Kleinsassers have been running things. Cassie reminds Jenny that Blake told them to leave. Jenny says Cody was never afraid of anything. He just charged at things. Jenny misses him every single day. Cassie says when Andrew died, she didn't get out of bed for a week. Then her dad showed up, said he was moving in. Then he made her breakfast, gave her a list of chores, and told her to get on with her life. Jenny answers a call from Denise, who tells them she picked up something on the scanner. A body was found on the Kleinsasser ranch, a possible suicide. Jenny knows it's Blake. Blake wanted to tell her something and now he's dead. Jenny starts to get dressed, but Cassie reminds her that if she goes to the ranch, they'll kill her. Jenny says she'll go see the sheriff instead. When Cassie reminds her that's also a bad idea, she says she'll go talk to Angela, who definitely knows something. Cassie asks Jenny to let her know when she leaves.

Sheriff Wagy says he'll write it up however Horst wants as Blake's body is removed. Horst says it was a suicide. Wagy gives his condolences to Margaret, who is insistent that Blake didn't kill himself. She makes him leave. The three remaining siblings watch from a distance as Horst hugs Margaret and Cheyenne tells John Wayne quietly that he can thank her later.

Ronald gets to Scarlet's place and sees a car outside with a doll in the backseat. He goes inside and hears Mary and Scarlet talking about him. Scarlet just thinks Mary is jealous of her, but Mary is insistent that she recognized Ronald from somewhere. Scarlet says Ronald isn't like Steve. Ronald then reveals himself and asks who Steve is. Scarlet brushes it off. Mary tries to take a picture of him and Scarlet, but he stops her, citing concerns about deep fakes. He relents only when she agrees to get into the picture. He forces Mary to get in between himself and Scarlet and says when three people are photographed, they say the middle one will die first.

Jenny asks Angela to see the sheriff, but Angela says it's not a good time. When Angela is cagey, Jenny asks what happened at the ranch. Angela says there was an accident and confirms it was Blake. Angela holds up a note indicating they'll talk later, while she says out loud that she can't tell Jenny anything. Wagy approaches and tells Jenny she should go back to Helena. He claims the Kleinsassers don't have anything on him, but they take care of their own. There's nothing more to see. Jenny quietly tells Angela they'll talk tonight.

Cheyenne pours Margaret a drink. When Margaret asks for more, Cheyenne asks if she's taken any pills. Cheyenne doesn't have any and says she's done with them. She asks her mother if she remembers painting her nails all different colors. Cheyenne liked them sparkly. Blake would tell her how beautiful they were and let him paint her toenails. It was their little secret. And Margaret used to tell Cheyenne she could be whatever she wanted to be when she grew up. She tells her mom not to cry anymore because it won't change anything. John Wayne comes in and asks Cheyenne for a word privately.

Cheyenne follows John Wayne outside, where he asks her what she's doing. She kicks him and tells him she's done listening to him. She knows he killed Blake and will tell everyone unless he starts listening to her. He taunts her, but she isn't scared.

Ronald, Scarlet, and Phoebe sing as they drive. Scarlet asks him to drop Phoebe off first and then her. He says she's on the way and then asks what her sister wanted. Scarlet tries to brush it off, but tells him Steve is Phoebe's dad and he's long gone. They stop to drop Scarlet off, but Scarlet realizes she's forgotten her phone. She decides just to make do without it for the day. As he pulls away with Phoebe, Ronald sees a text from Mary on Scarlet's phone saying Arthur isn't who she thinks he is and telling her to call Mary.

Jenny tells Cassie that Blake is dead. She thinks Angela wants to talk, but she seemed scared. Jenny's not sure what to do next. Cassie hugs Jenny and tells her to get what she can out of Angela. Cassie tells Jenny that Mark called and Denise got a tip about Ronald, so she's going with Mark to check it out. Jenny wants to stick around to hear what Angela has to say.

Ronald goes to Mary's house. She tries to refuse him entry, but he forces himself in, saying he thinks he made the wrong first impression and wants to try again. He pulls out his taser.

Ronald calmly eats a bowl of cereal while Mary struggles under the blanket he has her wrapped in. He finds the dolls she has everywhere disturbing. he had a GI Joe when he was a child, but his mother used to lock it away every time he made the doll do something impure, calling it the "Bad boy box." It sounds harsh, but she had good intentions. He asks Mary about her intentions. He holds a knife to her face and cuts a hole in the blanket. He asks who else she told about him. He threatens Scarlet and Phoebe when she resists him. She says she didn't tell anyone else, so he goes to check her search history. He sees that she's looked up Dewell & Hoyt Private Investigations. He's upset that she lied. She says no one picked up. She left a voicemail, but didn't say anything, just asked them to call her back. She tells Ronald he's a monster. When she won't stop saying that, he starts stabbing her with his knife.

Rand and John Wayne dispose of Cole's skeletonized body. John Wayne tells Rand that Blake was going to tell people what Rand did to Cole, what their dad did, everything that's happened at the ranch. But John Wayne has Rand's back. He tells Rand to put the bones in the barrel. Rand sniffs one of the bones, saying he'll bury it somewhere special. John Wayne tells him it's stupid and throws the bone in the barrel. John Wayne tells Rand that Cheyenne's been running her mouth. He wants Rand to watch her, but not do anything yet. When John Wayne isn't looking, Rand hides a bone in his jacket.

Cassie comes into Dewell & Hoyt. She asks if the tip is credible, so Denise plays it for her as Jerrie and Mark listen. She has a feeling it's genuine. They listen to Mary's message, which says she thinks she knows where Ronald is. Denise is convinced that Mary has seen him. Cassie and Mark leave to go check it out.

Jenny meets with Cheyenne. Jenny asks about Blake, but Cheyenne is firm that he fell. Jenny offers to exchange information and Cheyenne agrees. Jenny tells Cheyenne that Blake didn't hurt Rosie. It was John Wayne and Rand. In exchange, Cheyenne gives Jenny the name Cole Danvers.

Mark tries to make small talk as Cassie drives them. He asks her about his kid, but she thinks he's prying. She asks him to tell her something about himself instead. He tells her that he lost someone and thinks he could have prevented it. It's the kind of thing that eats you alive. He lost everything and then he kept driving until he ran out of road. There was a poster on the wall where he was staying that said, "Death smiles at us all. All we can do is smile back." The poster saved his life. Cassie tells him Kai's dad was named Andrew and he died in the line of duty overseas. Mark says he lost his sister, Maria. A man named Richard Middleton confessed to taking her from a mall parking lot. Mark had sent her into the store and was waiting for her. She never came back and he knew something had happened. They never found her body. He thought Cassie should know.

Ronald sings as he cleans up Mary's house. He tells one of the dolls that they keep a clean house and shows the doll that he's cleaned his mess. There's a knock at the door.

On the porch, Cassie and Mark wait. They note that Mary's car is there.

Ronald drags Mary's body away as Mark peeks in through the curtains. He and Cassie go around to the back, but the door is locked. Ronald hides as they peek in.

Jenny gives Denise the name Cole Danvers and learns that he was listed as a missing person, but it was dropped as he was an adult. Denise asks Jenny to give her a few more hours and she'll do a more thorough search. She asks if Jenny is coming back and Jenny says she is tonight and asks Denise to check on Justin.

Cheyenne comes back to the barn. John Wayne asks where she was and if she said anything. Rand saw her talking to Jenny. Cheyenne denies saying anything but says that might change depending on John Wayne. John Wayne grabs Cheyenne by the neck. She goads him, but he finds he can't kill her. He removes his hands and she leaves. John Wayne says they need to go see Jenny Hoyt.

Cassie says Mary's phone is going straight to voicemail. She thinks they should go get something to eat and then come back. Mark peeks into the house and sees all the dolls. They notice one is on the ground and that gives them probable cause. He kicks the door open and they enter. They search the house and find a basement.

In the basement, they look around. They find a chest freezer with a lock. She also has the boxes from her dolls. Mark breaks the lock on the freezer and they find a body wrapped in plastic. It wasn't Ronald as that body has been dead for a while. Mark says he'll call it in.

Jenny hears a knock at the door and lets Angela into her room. Angela is scared. She was careful to make sure the sheriff didn't see her. And Earl at the front desk, who also works for them. Angela gives Jenny proof that the sheriff knew that what happened to Rosie wasn't an accident and that Blake didn't do it, but covered it up. Jenny asks if Blake killed himself. Angela doesn't think so, but Wagy called the coroner and had him write it up as a suicide. Jenny says they found Gil and Rosie. Angela says they won't help, but Gil knows all kinds of things the Kleinsassers want to keep hidden. Jenny asks why everyone is so afraid of the Kleinsassers. Angela says she needs a drink first and pulls out her flask.

Ronald rives away with Mary's body and one of her dolls.

Jenny and Angela share a drink and Angela asks Jenny to promise to protect her. Jenny says she'll do whatever she can. They're startled by lights coming through the window and then by a truck driving into the room.

## Cast

* Jenny Hoyt
* Cassie Dewell
* Ronald Pergman
* Denise Brisbane
* Jerrie Kennedy
* Horst Kleinsasser
* Mark Lindor
* Cheyenne Kleinsasser
* John Wayne Kleinsasser
* Rand Kleinsasser
* Gil Amaya
* Rosie Amaya
* Sheriff Wagy
* Scarlet Leyendecker
* Angela
* Blake Kleinsasser
* Margaret Kleinsasser
* Mary Leyendecker
* Phoebe Leyendecker
* Al
1/20
### 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
* and Ted Levine as Horst Kleinsasser

### Guest Starring

* Britt Robertson as Cheyenne Kleinsasser
* Kyle Schmid as John Wayne Kleinsasser
* Ryan Dorsey as Rand Kleinsasser
* Carlos Gomez as Gil Amaya
* Michelle Veintimilla as Rosie Amaya
* Sebastian Roché as Sheriff Wagy
* Anja Savcic as Scarlet Leyendecker
* Rachel Colwell as Angela
* Michael Raymond-James as Blake Kleinsasser
* Michelle Forbes as Margaret Kleinsasser

### Co-Starring

* Jaycie Dotin as Mary
* Zoë Noelle Baker as Phoebe Leyendecker
* Peter New as Al

## Trivia

* This episode scored 2.69 million viewers.