S03.E10: A Thin Layer of Rock

[AnimeMania]

Jenny and Beau investigate the untimely disappearance of a missing groom from a wedding while Cassie enlists the help of Denise and Beau’s daughter Emily to unravel the lies surrounding Walter and Sunny Day Excursions. As the truth is revealed, Cassie finds herself in more danger than ever and Sunny makes an unlikely alliance to save her family. Then, a deadly attack at the diner changes everything.

Premiere Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2022      10pm     ABC

[Dowel Jones]

Say, isn't that dinosaur on the Dutton Ranch property?

I don't know when this was filmed, probably awhile back, so I'm guessing that Jenny's Fleetwood Mac tour tee shirt was coincidence rather than intention.  We should have an entire thread devoted to her tee shirts.

"Aim at the big part of the leg."  Don't ever change, Donno.

[SueB]

- Well, thank goodness Emily is okay. That preview last week had me worried.  
- Paige has gone soft on Walter a bit.  Like, for real. 
- Avery, Avery, Avery - you are making so many mistakes.

- Beau touching Jenny’s hair.  Well, that was a moment.  Will he admit it?  IDK   Jenny hightailed it out of there quick  

- Woman scorned Murderer - no sympathy for the bride on my part.  The groom may have been manslaughter but the bridesmaid attempt was premeditated.

- Buck is OFF THE RAILS.  Im not adding Paige to the future dead just yet. She is a survivor.

Beau did seem happy with his family in his airstream   That made me happy   

 

[saber5055]

Donno saying "It's hard out here for a pimp" made me literally LOL.

Now all of a sudden the show is writing a Beau/Jenny romance when there hasn't been even the hint of one all season. Alrighty then.

Still, Beau continues to be the worst acted character this season. And this is said from a hard-core SN fan.

Carla wears skirts while trapsing around Montana. Do any women wear skirts when they aren't at work or going somewhere nice? I mean, my grandmom did but that was 1950.

Only more Donna can save this season IMO! Lots more Donno.

[SueB]

27 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Still, Beau continues to be the worst acted character this season. And this is said from a hard-core SN fan.

Hard disagree.  But individual tastes differ.  

[AstridM]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

Donno saying "It's hard out here for a pimp" made me literally LOL.

Now all of a sudden the show is writing a Beau/Jenny romance when there hasn't been even the hint of one all season. Alrighty then.

Still, Beau continues to be the worst acted character this season. And this is said from a hard-core SN fan.

Carla wears skirts while trapsing around Montana. Do any women wear skirts when they aren't at work or going somewhere nice? I mean, my grandmom did but that was 1950.

Only more Donna can save this season IMO! Lots more Donno.

Yes, lots of women do. 🤷‍♀️

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, SueB said:

Hard disagree.

LOL! Your avatar also disagrees!

[ahrtee]

4 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Still, Beau continues to be the worst acted character this season. And this is said from a hard-core SN fan.

I would say Jenny is the worst-acted character, followed by Sunny.  Also on the bottom would be Buck, Emily and Beau's ex (whatever her name is).  I'd put Walter there, too, except he's good at what he does, which is being creepy.  It's just too one-note for me.

On the top is, of course, Donno, with Cassie and Cormack as runners-up (at least they usually change expressions to match whatever situation is happening).  I think Beau is doing as good a job as he can, considering the nonsense they have him spouting/doing.  Acting can only save a bad script if there's something to dig out from underneath, and there's nothing much there.  JMO.

[MAK]

What exactly happened in this episode to further the mystery? Except for Paige going from the frying pan into the fire, we don't know anything more than we already did.

How dumb is Paige? Did she not realize her stuff is now evidence and in police custody as part of the investigation?  How did she manage to steal $15 million? Why was she still out in the woods? Was that the only place she thinks she can hide out?

Apparently Sunny/Buck/Cormac/Walter are long time residents of Helena. If Buck is the Bleeding Heart Killer, did he get his victims like the kidnapped sex trafficking syndicate?  (That would be a nice tie in to the earlier seasons and a chance to bring back Jerry and Mark.) Or are all his victims out-of-state loners like that don't keep in touch with anyone, so no one reports them missing in Montana?

Guess we're getting Jenny's Mom back. 

6 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Still, Beau continues to be the worst acted character this season. And this is said from a hard-core SN fan.

Having watched S1and S2, I am very sorry to say that, IMO, the leads Jenny and Cassie, continue to be the worst acted characters. Haven't seen the actresses in anything else, and watching them on this show will not make me watch something just because they are in it. 

I think it's more the writing than the acting. They seem to delve more into the villains not the main leads. Like what's going on with Jenny and Cassie's home life?  Why are they both empty nesters all of a sudden. This episode is the first time I think Jenny mentioned her son. 

As for Beau, he seems to written as a periphery character. We see hints of something more, but Beau never actually goes there.

Again, blaming writing more than actors.

[thuganomics85]

Figured the bridesmaid was going to factor in as soon as they kicked things off by randomly having her talking and dumping exposition to Poppernak, but I figured she was going to be the actual killer, so they at least fooled me on that one.  Feel bad for Skyler/the bride's dad because I don't see her getting out of prison any time soon.  Even if they could chalk up killing her fiancee to a crime of passion, she clearly planned out how she was going to kill the bridesmaid.  I also got to learn that apparently the dino fossil game is no joke!

Kind of fun seeing them split things up a bit by pairing Jenny off with Poppernak and having more Cassie/Beau scenes this go around.  Still wish we actually got more of Jenny/Cassie as a duo like we use to back in season one.

So, it certainly looks like they're pushing for a possible Jenny/Beau pairing, which if that's the case then Beau better watch himself.  The survival rate for Jenny's love interests has not been high to put it mildly.

Avery's probably going to make things worse for himself.  Hell, considering the way he was around that gun, he's probably going to end up shooting himself on accident.

Sunny's probably regretting aligning herself with Tonya and Donno right now, heh.

Buck's just going full psycho right now, I see.  But if anyone could make it out in one piece still, it would be Paige.

Personally, I think the acting is fine all around, even if the writing does let them down at times.  Some fare better than others; I think the likes of Luke Mitchell and Ryan O'Nan have stood out this season and while I could argue Jensen Ackles might be coasting, I've been enjoying his one-liners and dad jokes; but I've seen much worse out there (still miss Janina Gavankar though.  She really shined last season.)  Again though, I think it's more on the writing than the actors themselves.  This is the show after-all that even made me not enjoy John Caroll Lynch at times and he usually always bats 1000.

[Whimsy]

18 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Now all of a sudden the show is writing a Beau/Jenny romance when there hasn't been even the hint of one all season. Alrighty then.

It doesn't feel sudden to me.  Actually, I've seen it pretty clearly for awhile, so much so that when Jenny makes jokes about Beau liking Cassie- with NO evidence/actions backing that up- I get confused.  Especially when they have a storyline with Cassie and Cormac flirting, etc.  It seems like deflection to me.  

[Myrelle]

4 hours ago, Whimsy said:

It doesn't feel sudden to me.  Actually, I've seen it pretty clearly for awhile

Me too!!

And it's the best part of this show for me even though the slow burn seems interminable after this one.

I SO! wanted to see more between them but then Emily amd Carla showed up. DRAT!

I'm hoping that once he knows they're safe from Avery and his ever dubious machinations, he'll be ready for Jenny, especially because she's clearly ready for more with him, and frankly, I can't imagine anyone not being ready for  Beau Arlen to sweep them off their feet.

I saw a very interesting interview with Elwood Reid the other day wherein he said that Beau is a "gentleman" and because of that and he also being Jenny's work superior, he would most certainly be prone to thinking twice about a romance with her, extreme sparks or not-and there's clearly been extreme sparks as far as this viewer is concerned. 

I only hope that we will actually get to see the fire spring to life between them before the end of the season, no matter what it brings and holds for them and for all of the characters on this show, for that matter. I'm actually invested in all of their stories, and this, in spite of the often silly writing.

Can't wait for Big Sky to return and I'm so glad that it will return right after the new year starts.

12 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I think the acting is fine all around, even if the writing does let them down at times

Agreed. 

And as for Mr. Ackles, I recently read that if anyone needs to see his amazing range they only need to look back to the role that he took on right before Beau,  and the one immediately after finishing up on Supernatural-Soldier Boy from The Boys-the poster child for masculine toxicity in that universe and the complete opposite of Beau Arlen.

I further think that he might or could appear to be "coasting" to some in this role because the role seems to be very like Jensen, himself, IRL, which is unknowable by anyone but his family and close friends, but even if that is indeed the case, that's the character the writers wanted and wrote to and it's all fine by me, especially after his taking on that truly very demanding one previously. 

And the real proof of his acting ability to me is that so many want to see him back in BOTH! roles.

I can't even begin to guess what's coming up next on this show for any of the characters-and honestly?-I find that so refreshing in tv these days, so I'm counting down the days to Jan. 4th.

Edited December 9, 2022 by Myrelle

[Pondlass1]

If you want to get away with murder, do it in Montana I guess.  But I’m just forever thankful to the Big Sky wardrobe and hairstyle departments. We Jensen fans have had to live through layers and layers of flannel and then a green superhero suit. He looks spectacular and it’s an easy gig. 

[yourdreamer]

I was hoping this episode would tie up the Sunny and Paige and Beau’s family storyline and then move to the mystery of the groom’s death and the dinosaur dig. No such luck. I was interested in the bride’s father as a new character. I never get nice things from this show. 
 

I do want to see Walter and Cormac together, discussing their family and lives. 

[Nick24]

I've come to the conclusion that Cassie might be deliberately trying to get herself killed. She went to Sunny&Buck's. At night. Alone. Again. 

Maybe she's been suffering from some heavy depression which could explain her reckless behavior.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Nick24

[Nick24]

18 hours ago, Myrelle said:

I SO! wanted to see more between them but then Emily amd Carla showed up. DRAT!

Well, the writers do know how to make us want to get rid of some characters, don't they?😄 I sincerely hope that they're not trying to reunite Beau and Carla. Just no. One big NO.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Nick24

[Msample]

23 hours ago, Pondlass1 said:

If you want to get away with murder, do it in Montana I guess.  But I’m just forever thankful to the Big Sky wardrobe and hairstyle departments. We Jensen fans have had to live through layers and layers of flannel and then a green superhero suit. He looks spectacular and it’s an easy gig. 

 You think this show is bad, check out YELLOWSTONE. That “train station” has more than a few bodies….

[BornToDie]

While I’m not interested in Beau and Jenny becoming any sort of couple, I’m not opposed to some sexytime.  Jensen’s characters on his other shows didn’t get the opportunity to get hot and heavy much at all, so I would be okay with a little one-time action.  The episode was fine, but again with the stupid secondary storylines that suck up so much of the show.  I also thought the bridesmaid was the murderer, but the writers pulled the gotcha on that one.  The green screen in the scene where Carla was driving while talking to Avery was just bad.  I’m not sure how she couldn’t have figured out he had a gun because I think he had her on speakerphone, but Carla kept going on and on cluelessly.  With the number of murders and strange happenings going on in the town, I’m thinking there’s another Hellmouth (a la Buffy the Vampire Slayer) nearby? 

[CrazyDog]

I can't believe I thought Buck was a sweet old man at the beginning of this season, lol. Well done to the actor. 

On 12/8/2022 at 3:14 PM, saber5055 said:

Donno saying "It's hard out here for a pimp" made me literally LOL.

That, and Sunny looking him at like WTF. That was hilarious. Donno is this show's MVP.
 

On 12/8/2022 at 3:14 PM, saber5055 said:

Now all of a sudden the show is writing a Beau/Jenny romance when there hasn't been even the hint of one all season. Alrighty then.

I agree, while there may have been some friendly flirtation here and there, I thought the show would actually keep them platonic. That being said, especially if JA only signed on for a season, it seems 100% obvious to me that Avery is going to bite it (or go to jail), and Beau and Carla will reunite in some sense. The whole season has focused on Beau and his love for his family, and really still having a thing for his ex. And I think Jenny sees it too. I think that little moment between Jenny and Beau is all that will happen.

And really, Beau didn't even seem bothered by his ex showing up at that moment, and Jenny taking off. He's all in with his fam.

(Probably lucky for him, given Jenny's general experience with the men on this show.)

I still love Pops. Now he and Jenny would be cute, ha. He's a good guy.

The case of the week was OK - all I could think when the guy at the dig showed up was "that's Alden!" - from The Walking Dead.

I'm glad Cormac was truly in the dark regarding all things Walter - he and Cassie are sweet together. Just wait until he hears what dear ol' dad is up to.

[Semiglued]

On 12/9/2022 at 10:16 PM, Pondlass1 said:

If you want to get away with murder, do it in Montana I guess.  But I’m just forever thankful to the Big Sky wardrobe and hairstyle departments. We Jensen fans have had to live through layers and layers of flannel and then a green superhero suit. He looks spectacular and it’s an easy gig. 

He really does look fantastic. I’ve been watching from the beginning but was starting to lose interest until he joined. 

[mrsbagnet]

22 hours ago, CrazyDog said:

I still love Pops. Now he and Jenny would be cute, ha. He's a good guy.

I want Pops to get some backstory or home life or something. He's the only character we don't know about outside of work.

[roamyn]

Can we get a love interest for Donno?

I actually felt a tad bit saddened for Walter.  Abused, made to live in hiding/o social interaction, used for others machinations, accused of killing Paige, Mary, Mark.  If he and Madeline had just gone to the authorities aft the fire, Walter would’ve gotten either a lengthy probation or just a few years.  But Sunny put the kibbosh on that and probably destroyed her son’s life.

Avery isn’t gonna make it out of this season.

Is Cassie an idjit?  Why did she not bring Cormac with her to Buck & Sunny’s?!  I could see Cormac killing Buck to protect Cassie.

Emily was a much more normal teen this episode.  I foresee Beau & Carla getting back together and moving back to TX at the end of the season.

The bridesmaid was played by S15 Lilith.

And still no mention of the poor, dead ranger.

[tennisgurl]

"Aim for the big part of the leg." Donno and Tonya continue to steal the show this season, they're a great comedic double act. I hope that they can continue to team up with Sonny, her reactions to their weirdness have been great.

I have been catching the Beau/Jenny vibes since he was introduced when they seemed to be flirting and his ex got jealous when she met Jenny for the first time, so I am not surprised that they are possibly going there. Some of that might depend on how long Jensen wants to stay, Jenny and Cassie do not have much luck when it comes to romance. 

I feel bad for Walter, he seems more deeply troubled than really evil. If he and his adopted sister had been able to tell the authorities what really happened they would have probably been understanding of why he killed his adopted parents and he could have gotten the help he needed. Instead his birth mom grabbed him and, while she might have meant well in a weird way, just made him worse by leaving him in live in the woods like a stray dog you feed sometimes. 

I guessed that the girl Pops was talking to would play into the wedding murder, but I thought that she would be revealed to be the killer. Nice to see more of Pops, I really like him. 

I think the acting on this show is just fine, although some actors are more naturally charismatic than others, but sometimes the writing is so lousy, especially with the characters so frequently making such stupide choices, that its hard for the actors to make it work. Really Cassie? Go check in on the guy you think might be a killer alone at night in the middle of nowhere?