WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Big Sky Season 1, Episode 4, "Unfinished Business," now available on ABC.
ABC's Big Sky focuses on antisocial trucker Ronald (Brian Geraghty) working under Montana state trooper Rick (John Carroll Lynch) to kidnap women and ship them off to Canada as part of a human trafficking ring. Unfortunately for them, snatching Danielle and Grace was a huge mistake. Private investigators Cassie and Jenny are now hot on their trail, especially since Rick killed another investigator, Cody, thinking he was covering up tracks. In the latest episode of the series, "Unfinished Business," Rick and Ron's relationship begins to fray, and their villainous civil war takes a very dark and personal turn.
With media coverage surrounding the case growing, Ron's mom pressures him at home, as she suspects he had a role in Danielle and Grace's disappearances. When he tells Rick this, the trooper flips out, because he's already trying to deal with Cassie snooping around, and he can't help but ream out the inept Ron for nabbing the girls. They usually take those they think won't be missed, so Rick thinks Ron's messed up big time, calling him a liability.
But as the argument heats up, Ron makes clear Rick is doing the same thing his mom does; they're underestimating him. He's much smarter than he looks, and he isn't anyone's lackey. At this point, the death threats are more subtle than overt, but clearly the two don't trust each other. And things almost getting violent means the relationship is coming to its end.
But Ron has something else up his sleeve, as later on he seduces a cashier at a shop where he goes to buy quilts. Ron romances her, realizing she's despondent, and when he gets her to go dancing with him in the night, he impresses her big time, making the older woman feel loved, confident and beautiful. However, the episode reveals this woman Merrilee, Rick's wife, who's unhappy with their marriage. She sees Rick as negligent, not realizing what he's up to, and this proves how conniving Ron is, making contingency plans in case he's betrayed.
Merrilee comes home later that night and admits to her husband she went dancing with a mystery friend and isn't having an affair, but with his pride wounded, the egotistical Rick walks up the stairs with a hammer as she sleeps in their bedroom. The preview for the next episode hints he'll kill her. However, he's a suspect in a missing persons case, and this might draw unwanted attention, so it's unclear if this will actually happen. Either way, Ron is preying on their insecurities, and Rick has no clue his partner is capable of such manipulation. Rick definitely shouldn't have pissed off Ron or threatened to pin everything on him, as the truck is a lot more capable than he at first seems.
Big Sky stars Katheryn Winnick, Ryan Phillips, Kylie Bunbury, Brian Geraghty and Valerie Mahaffey. It airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.