S03.E11: Super Foxes

[Guest]

Quote

When Gigi finds herself at the mercy of a twisted local family, Jenny and Cassie work to intervene, but a twisted game threatens everything. Elsewhere, Sunny and Paige each come to a shocking realization about Buck, and Beau puts it all on the line for his family.

Airing 1/4/23

[shelley1234]

I'm not sure what I just watched.   I thought I must have missed some episodes because this weird cult thing with Jenny and her mom came out of left field.  

I was only keeping with this show for Jensen Ackles and now that doesn't seem like reason enough.  

Time to delete this show off my dvr.  

[BornToDie]

I’m not sure what the writers were smoking either with that whole odd family cult who make Jenny and her mom play a do-or-die game of cornhole storyline.  Where did all the kids come from?  And then one of the girls says something to the old woman and she just stops everything and lets them go free?  I really don’t care about Jenny and her mom at all, but obviously there were loose ends to tie up.  I will watch the last two episodes but when a network reduces the number of episodes, that doesn’t seem like it’s a good sign of renewal.  

[Dowel Jones]

I was half expecting the old woman to be a second cousin Legarski, or maybe Ronald. 

I think the little girl was just relaying a message from Cassie, behind her, saying something to the effect of  "This is the largest handgun in the world and will blow your head clean off, so you gotta ask yourself, do I feel lucky? Or should I let the blond woman go?"

"I would breed the meanest foxes with the smartest foxes, and then wait for the fox hunters to come along, and...."  Donno for the win, once again.

I hope Emily has the sense to say something to Denise when she gets back to the office with the coffee.

Well.  Paige is not to be messed with.  It's been awhile since I've seen a hostage do the right things when he or she is threatened.

[thuganomics85]

At first, I thought we were going to see this show's version of Mags and the Bennett clan from season two of Justified (one of my favorite seasons out of all television!), but since this is Big Sky, it naturally took things even future with them being some kind of cult that kidnaps and recruits children, I guess?  Or where they all just the main lady's grandkids?  And when they aren't simply killing folks and feeding them to the pigs, they actually have taken the time to create a deadly game of corn hole for the kids to enjoy (since one of them was the one that suggested it)?  But the weirdest thing about all of it was how casual everything was.  Because in this world, that's only a minor oddity compared to the normal batshit insanity.

While this show has never been on the ball with its law enforcement stuff, Jenny seemed to be at an all time low with how she kept getting outmaneuvered or had someone get the drop on her.  She is lucky as hell that Cassie is apparently smarter at least.

Paige certainly seems to be at the top of the list when it comes to hostages on this show actually doing the smart thing.  But I'm wondering just where Buck exactly took her too and if won't be so easy just to walk back.  Plus, while Buck should be totally dead after those big smacks with the mallet, I've seen enough to know to wait and see if he's really done for.

The scene with Cormac and Sunny seem to be hinting that both of them know that Buck has some kind of darkness to him: if not him being an actual serial killer.

You know Jensen Ackles was probably enjoying himself getting to do the "twist around and shoot" scene with that henchman/Avery's kidnapper.

Continue to be on Team Tonya and Donno.  Especially Team Donno and his Future Army of Super Foxes!

Sinister Lyle Lovett is back!

[mythoughtis]

The Children of the Cornhole felt like jumping the shark.
Jenny is one of the most incompetent police officers anywhere.   In addition, no one would be up to strutting their stuff at the police station after being knocked for a loop and then almost dying at the hands of Ma Kettle. Whatever t-shirt Jenny was wearing was bouncing a little too much.   
 

The plots are getting way too convoluted. 

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by mythoughtis

[ahrtee]

Anybody else think the Benders?  Maybe this was Ma Bender who'd decided long ago that her menfolk were too stupid to live and so took off to Montana.  

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by ahrtee

[ahrtee]

21 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

The scene with Cormac and Sunny seem to be hinting that both of them know that Buck has some kind of darkness to him: if not him being an actual serial killer.

Apparently Buck just becomes a (random) serial killer when he drinks (20 years ago when he became the bleeding heart killer?)  Without drinking, he has to have a reason to kill, like whats'er'name the camper.  And I guess drinking makes him like to take his time to play with his victims instead of just stab and go. 

[MAK]

Some people call this show a copaganda show, but, with all the incompetence of the main cops? Putting the focus on the investigation isn't helping. I kind of wish the show continued with the focus on the criminals like in S1/S2.

Jenny, just got out of the hospital and took a civilian to approach criminals. I know, Cassie is "trained." But approaching actual criminals means you need the authority of the law behind you, not just your friend to watch your back. And when she saw her mother in the barn? Why didn't Jenny take 30 seconds to call for back-up before going in? If she had taken an actual officer, they could have been in communication when they split up. Why is Jenny not aware of her surroundings? Didn't she look around first, try to see how many guns there are, people there are, before bursting in?  What happened to quietly taking down one at a time? Isn't she trained in that stuff? Again, sooooo much incompetence.  The only ones who seem qualified are Popernak and Arlen. Jenny's only saving grace this episode was having her mother arrested. 

The shooting in the hotel hallway was great to watch! Wonderful action shots! (Although, also, probably not what actual cops do.) Beau and Avery scenes are always fun.

So I guess Buck is the BHK?  He also seemed to be out of practice. Why wasn't Paige tied up when she was being transported? Didn't he check if she was still alive? At least Paige fought back. 

Donno and Tonya always have the best lines. I kind of hope Donno gets his fox farm and the chain of diners.

Very disappointed with the writers making Beau apologize for not getting over his partner's death soon enough to "be there" for his wife. But was she there for him? It's been 2 years since the partner's death. In those two years, Carla got frustrated, got divorced, met someone else, got married, and moved out of state. What was Carla going through that Beau wasn't there for? Was her trauma dealing with Beau and his trauma? So he had to "get over it" so she didn't have to deal with it?  I understand there can be frustration when a loved one gets depressed and swallowed up by their trauma.  But that frustration would set in if the depressed person refuses help and support over a long period of time. By a long period, I would say years, if they were functioning on a day to day basis otherwise. How long did Carla give Beau? 6 months? Everyone's timeline for recovering from trauma and grief is different.  Seems like she just doesn't want to get involved in the hard stuff, since she moved on pretty fast. 

Why am I watching this show? (The sheriff!)  Sigh.... two more to go.....

2 hours ago, ahrtee said:

Anybody else think the Benders? 

Immediately! 

 

[Brian Cronin]

Every episode Emily survives on this show is in SPITE of her parent's protective instincts. 

[tennisgurl]

Even by this shows standards, this bizarre little subplot involving Ma Bender and her weird child cult, who kill people and feed them to pigs but not before making them play games, like some kind of redneck Squid Game, was really weird. 

Jenny is the worst cop ever. Even on a show suspension of disbelief is pushed to the breaking point every week, the most unbelievable thing we have to swallow is that Jenny hasn't gotten her dumbass self killed yet. 

I don't think that Beau should have apologized to Carla, or at least they should have both said that they were sorry and that they both made mistakes in their marriage. I can get that it was probably rough having a partner who had shut down so much, but from what we can gather, it seems like she didn't give him a lot of time to grieve what was clearly a big loss. All of this, his partners death, their marriage falling apart, her leaving him, getting remarried, moving across the country with their daughter, all happened in about two years, which seems to make it sound like Carla was awfully quick to leave when Beau wasn't giving her what she wanted. 

All I want to happen now is for Donno to raise his army of super foxes. As always, the Donno and Tonya Show is the best thing about this season.  

[Myrelle]

11 hours ago, MAK said:

Very disappointed with the writers making Beau apologize for not getting over his partner's death soon enough to "be there" for his wife. But was she there for him? It's been 2 years since the partner's death. In those two years, Carla got frustrated, got divorced, met someone else, got married, and moved out of state. What was Carla going through that Beau wasn't there for? Was her trauma dealing with Beau and his trauma? So he had to "get over it" so she didn't have to deal with it?

Yup.

Shades of your typical Supernatural writing room antics there.

I was hoping for better from this group, but not totally surprised either considering Beau Arlen has been written as the strong, silent type much like JA's Dean Winchester was originally written in that previous show.

It truly would have been refreshing for the divorce discussion to have been written as a two way street as regards "fault" and/or "blame"-which from the few facts we've been given so far, certainly seems possible and indeed, more plausible.

Emily sounded like a typical teen in her conversation with Beau-meaning she had all the answers to all the problems in her parents' marriage, in that one little quip, and those answers were all the right ones, of course.

We can only hope that the real people in the writers' room might have a better understanding of the many more complexities that are often involved in the dissolution of any marriage.

Yeah, I was really hoping for better. 

The acting was stellar in this episode, though-even that scene. 

Avery and Beau facing off was so intense. 

I do think Avery is headed for a huge downfall.

He lies to himself and others at every turn and his attempt to shift the blame onto Beau for things that he, himself, set into motion through his own greed and insecurities will come home to roost, I'm sure, and there will be no one to blame but himself.

Here's to hoping that the writers at least get that one right.

I thought the story with Jenny and her mom was pretty creepy-except for settling it with a corn hole game which kind of made me snort with laughter. Ah, this show...

Paige got the best of Buck. Good for her. But I'm guessing he's not dead.

Super Foxes FTW!, Donno!! 😄

Looking so forward to the two-part finale. The preview for next week looked great!

I'm so going to miss Mr. Ackles and co. when the season is over though.

 

[MAK]

7 minutes ago, Myrelle said:

Emily sounded like a typical teen in her conversation with Beau-meaning she had all the answers to all the problems in her parents' marriage, in that one little quip, and those answers were all the right ones, of course.

I never understand this trope.

IMO, in real life, it is very difficult for parents to open up to their children, even adult children. Especially about trauma and past mistakes. It might have to do with guilt/shame or even trying to protect their children from the harshness and cruelty of life. The parents suffered, doesn't mean they have to share their suffering. This "you should be honest with me and open up" thing with kids somehow never feels true to me. Emily knew what happened and that it affected her Dad, that should be enough. He doesn't need to share anything else with his child.

[Myrelle]

5 minutes ago, MAK said:

I never understand this trope.

IMO, in real life, it is very difficult for parents to open up to their children, even adult children. Especially about trauma and past mistakes. It might have to do with guilt/shame or even trying to protect their children from the harshness and cruelty of life. The parents suffered, doesn't mean they have to share their suffering. This "you should be honest with me and open up" thing with kids somehow never feels true to me. Emily knew what happened and that it affected her Dad, that should be enough. He doesn't need to share anything else with his child.

Normal teenagers often think they know everything about everything and have all the answers to any problem.

It's a trope for a reason, I guess. 

I think as much as they wanted to make Emily seem more "mature" than the average teen, they just couldn't resist the urge to go for that one, anyway.

They should have resisted and instead opened up a conversation about precisely what you stated here, not to mention also opening up the question of exactly why Beau feels that he would have ever felt the need to "just get over" his trauma in order to keep his family intact.

But we didn't get that,  did we?

Instead we got the old, moldy, and pat conversation that usually goes along with this type of material.

Using Emily as a participant in it did turn it into that trope.

And I hear, understand, and agree with your frustration with it, for the most part.

 

[tessathereaper]

That's so strange I thought this was a great episode and another home run from Ryan O'Nan( aka Donno, he co-wrote this as he did Carrion Comfort and Duck Hunting).  They packed so much story and action into the episode.

I don't think they were saying Emily was right, I think they used that conversation to show how raw of a wound his partner's death is for Beau and then had Emily act like a typical teen because she IS a teen.  And Jensen's acting was absolutely stellar in that scene and every other scene he was in(nearly all of them this week were intense and personal in different ways).  

I think the Cornhole Cult is being set up for a future storyline.  I think this is just an introduction precisely so when that happens people don't go "but where did they come from all of a sudden?"  Sure they got arrested but  I wouldn't be surprised if they don't have some contacts, someone who can get them off.  (and yes the Bennetts on Justified was exactly who I was thinking of).

What I wasn't crazy about was the apology to Carla, not because of what Beau said but because of what Carla did not.  Carla clearly doesn't think she did or ever does anything wrong.  Beau's partner was killed a little over 2 years ago and she ditched him and remarried in almost record time.  Yes he handled it badly, for whatever short period of time she stayed but she was hardly some long suffering wife.  She can leave, it's her right but then she needs to be able to say "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there for you too", admit that this was an incompatibility in their personalities, rather than someone's(Beau's) "fault". 

Not just sit there taking his apologies for not immediately "getting over" his partner's death and handling it badly for whatever number of weeks she stuck around like she's some sort of princess who dare not be inconvenienced.

Jensen acted the hell out of it so there was zero wrong there, I'd have melted at that "I will always love you" if it was said to literally pretty much anyone else(except that slimeball Avery).  

 

[SoMuchTV]

20 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

"I would breed the meanest foxes with the smartest foxes, and then wait for the fox hunters to come along, and...."  Donno for the win, once again.

I had to laugh at this.  I very recently listened to a podcast or maybe radio show (I can't for the life of me remember what it was.  Maybe someone else heard it?) where they talked about someone who had a farm of foxes being raised for fur.  They started to take the "friendliest" ones (least afraid to approach humans, etc.) out of the coat production process and breed them with each other.  In surprisingly few generations, the friendly foxes started developing floppy ears and variations in their coat color.  Some other stuff (maybe smaller teeth) that I can't exactly remember.  Basically they became domesticated by selecting for the "nice" ones.

Donno's mind works in a very different way.

[FlickChick]

21 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I hope Emily has the sense to say something to Denise when she gets back to the office with the coffee.

I don't think she's going to get back with the coffee. Ol' Lyle was trailing her. Like others here, love the lines Donno gets-the best of the episode! I was wondering where the title of the episode came from.

Jensen did a great job as always. Did Avery's henchman really think a sheriff would turn his back on a guy with his gun on him and just walk away? Well, maybe Jenny. ;) But what Jensen really excels at showed up in his talk with Avery - first the anger about putting his ex-wife and daughter in danger, and then in a flash, the anger turning to guilt and fear when Avery told Beau that having killed that man, will cause much more harm. No words, just emotion, and then the anger returns with a hefty chair kick. That's the Ackting I came to see!

And yes, to recreating the "Justified" Bennett family with Ma and her "boys", pigs and dilapidated surroundings. That cornhole game was weird though.

So, only two episodes to go. I'm not sure why they shortened the season, with last season having 18 episodes. Maybe it is a sign of being the final season of show. If so, I'll miss Donno! :(

[Pondlass1]

This is the silliest show ever with the most incompetent law enforcement ever.   No one ever calls in for backup or report on a situation, they just take out a gun and creep about.  😂😂😂  it’s downright laughable. 

 

 

[BornToDie]

I actually thought the episode was ok, minus the scenes involving Jenny and her mom.  I have seen some comments on Twitter calling Carla and Emily toxic because they were bringing up the incident involving Beau’s partner, which I think is a bit ridiculous and silly.  While I think both characters are annoying at times, I would not use the term “toxic.”  If they would have dropped some of the dumber small cases, they would have had time to spend on all of the characters’ development.

[MAK]

8 hours ago, tessathereaper said:

I don't think they were saying Emily was right, I think they used that conversation to show how raw of a wound his partner's death is for Beau and then had Emily act like a typical teen because she IS a teen. 

Yes! Teens will be teens. 

10 hours ago, Myrelle said:

Normal teenagers often think they know everything about everything and have all the answers to any problem.

Every kid goes through a phase where they think they know better than their parent. That's just a part of life. 

The part of the trope I find irritating/frustrating is when they try to show that the teen has a point and the adult should have listened to them.  I'm sure there are instances where that is true, but barring things like abuse, addiction, harm, etc., the adult probably knows what they need to do, just haven't figured out the when and how parts. They don't need "open up" to their child.

9 hours ago, tessathereaper said:

What I wasn't crazy about was the apology to Carla, not because of what Beau said but because of what Carla did not.  Carla clearly doesn't think she did or ever does anything wrong.  Beau's partner was killed a little over 2 years ago and she ditched him and remarried in almost record time. 

This was my biggest disappointment with this episode.  Where was Carla's "I'm sorry for not being there you too"? Whether they had problems before and this was the last straw, whatever.  If they were already at a breaking point before the partner's death, than Carla's bitterness is weird. 

9 hours ago, tessathereaper said:

And Jensen's acting was absolutely stellar in that scene and every other scene he was in(nearly all of them this week were intense and personal in different ways).  

 

This is what has me continuing to watch this season. The story line was not that interesting. Even with Reba/Rex/Lyle/etc.

[UncleChuck]

Quote

And when she saw her mother in the barn? Why didn't Jenny take 30 seconds to call for back-up before going in?

Why?  Because this is "Big Sky" and she is "The Amazing Jenny".  When has anyone on this show ever called for backup before rushing in to save the day?

Well, well, well...Seems like Cassie forgot what show she was on when she actually called Pops and the other sheriff deputies to help her save Jenny and her mom.  Although it does seem strange that dozens of police cars could arrive at that farm without anyone in the barn hearing something.

[ahrtee]

1 hour ago, UncleChuck said:

Why?  Because this is "Big Sky" and she is "The Amazing Jenny".  When has anyone on this show ever called for backup before rushing in to save the day?

Well, well, well...Seems like Cassie forgot what show she was on when she actually called Pops and the other sheriff deputies to help her save Jenny and her mom.  Although it does seem strange that dozens of police cars could arrive at that farm without anyone in the barn hearing something.

Well, it seems like Beau, Jenny and Pops are the only full time members of their P.D.  We only see others in the background when those three need someone to look like they have a full staff, so they may well be just part-time security guards they hire to clean up the crime scenes after the others finish their work.  Otherwise, why would they ask Cassie to do their detective work instead of another police officer?  That could also explain why they never call for backup--there isn't any.  

[Peppermint Patty]

There are too many stories packed into one episode now. I’m so confused by the Gigi subplot, but I also don’t care enough to google a summary. That weird cult didn’t make any sense. I’m also losing interest in Sonny, Walter, the serial killer husband, and Beau’s relationship drama. 
 

Donno, as always, was the highlight.

 

[Katy M]

I'm going to need an explanation as to why Sonny's husband hasn't killed anyone for 20 years.  And was he keeping Paige in the basement of his house?  If so, why did neither Sonny nor Cormac ever stumble on to those labelled jars of hearts?  My heart was racing at the Paige escape scene.

The cornhole game made no sense.  Clearly they knew that they couldn't let either of those 2 get away or they'd get in trouble.  Proven by the fact that they were trying to hunt Cassie down.

I hope those kids can end up growing up semi-normal.

Why would Denise send Emily out for coffee?  Hasn't it been established that we are worried for Carla and Emily's safety?  Hanging out in a police station is a pretty safe place. I thought that was at least part of the point.

[roamyn]

14 hours ago, Katy M said:

And was he keeping Paige in the basement of his house?  If so, why did neither Sonny nor Cormac ever stumble on to those labelled jars of hearts?  My heart was racing at the Paige escape scene.

It’s somewhere else, because aft Sunny confronts him, he drove away from their house with an unconscious Paige.

Obviously Buck was killing while married to Sunny (because the only known BHK victim was 20 yrs ago and Cormac is older than that).

It’s obvious that Beau is going back to Houston at the end of the season.  And I think Avery will sacrifice himself for Emily.  I’m sad no more Beau Arlen after next week, but maybe that gives JA enough time to hightail it up to Toronto for the end of The Boys S4 filming.  Pretty please.  🙏

Which brings up another question....that $15MM has been used to make deals left and right.  Who can keep track who owes who what?

[Katy M]

6 hours ago, roamyn said:

It’s somewhere else, because aft Sunny confronts him, he drove away from their house with an unconscious Paige.

Then speaking of raising more questions, why didnt Buck take her there straight from the camp instead of taking her home first?  Seems like a moronic move.

[tessathereaper]

With regards to Buck, it has happened that sometimes serial killers stop killing for a period of time, even a long period of time and then start up again.  I'm trying to remember the name but there was a real life one who did that.  Killed up until his kids were young, stopped for a while and then started up again.  So I don't see any issues with that.  He stopped but essentially much like with his drinking, he's fallen off the wagon again.

Maybe he took her there because he wasn't sure he was going do it?(home before where ever he took her to the room with the hearts)

Why does the cornhole game need to make sense?  It was a way to further torture Jenny and Gigi BEFORE they were killed and almost certainly they were going to kill both of them anyway.  

And man Avery needs to get his ass beat but good, this situation with the money is all his fault and he tries to twist it to make Beau somehow to blame?  It's because he knows Beau's guilt about his family is his weak spot.  His family?  He's known them 2 years tops.  Slimeball.

[roamyn]

39 minutes ago, tessathereaper said:

With regards to Buck, it has happened that sometimes serial killers stop killing for a period of time, even a long period of time and then start up again.  I'm trying to remember the name but there was a real life one who did that.  Killed up until his kids were young, stopped for a while and then started up again

You might be thinking of BTK.  He didn't start killing again, but he did start sending braggert letters to the police again.

[CrazyDog]

This episode definitely went all classic Big Sky again with the bizarre killin' family. Some of the little girls were wearing old-fashioned bonnets too? I don't need to see them again, thank you. So creepy.

I'm going to be sad to see Beau go - he's really brought a lot to this season. Do we know the details of the events back in Texas? 

14 hours ago, roamyn said:

Which brings up another question....that $15MM has been used to make deals left and right.  Who can keep track who owes who what?

Seriously. So Avery still has all the money, but the other bad guys want it, and now Donno and Tonya want it too, and Paige is still around. 

And Donno FTW again - he may enjoy the violence when he needs to get involved, but dude obviously just wants to make delicious food, and stay away from the crime if at all possible. He's so bummed out by Tonya pushing to go after the money. He knows it's never going to be a simple deal. I thought his fox story was going to go a different way, but if I heard right, he just wants to raise mean and smart foxes to turn the tables on fox hunters. Aww.

I'm impressed by the actor who plays Buck - he really went from sweet old man in love with his wife to one of the creepier guys on the show. I'm really curious what Sunny knows (or suspects) him to be capable of.

Only two episodes left? Bummer, of all of the seasons, this is the one I'd like to be longer, ha. Feels like there's still plenty of story to wrap up. 

[tvfanatic13]

Well, that was creepy…

i hope that they spin off Tonya and Donno to their own show

[Kip Hackman]

On 1/5/2023 at 6:52 PM, shelley1234 said:

I'm not sure what I just watched.

 

This has been my experience since the middle of season 1.

[Court]

I'm really just here for Donno. 

[CrystalBlue]

I love Donno.

Jenny's rock T-shirt of the week was Jimi Hendrix, I believe.

Gigi, they have waterproof mascara.  Get some.

Shut up Emily about your parents' marriage.

Did I mention that I love Donno?  That is all.

[FlickChick]

I was on my coloring app and I came across a family of foxes. As I was coloring them, all I could think of is Donno would love these foxes. He is a really great character!

[ahrtee]

My backyard, when a family of foxes was living across the street.  I love foxes, too.  

[FlickChick]

They are beautiful animals.