It’s just our luck that the most likable Kleinsasser is the first one to go.

Spoiler alert! This is Big Sky, and if you haven’t figured out by now that NO ONE is safe, then what show are you watching?

On Big Sky Season 1 Episode 12, Blake came back home, and shockingly not all the Kleinsasser’s were happy to see him. It all culminated in another shocking ending and a death that we didn’t see coming.

We’re going to treat Blake getting hit square in the jaw as a kill shot because it’s rather hard to see how someone could survive that kind of blow to the head. But then again, crazier things have happened, and I had hoped during Big Sky Season 1 Episode 1 that maybe Cody survived his shooting.

But let’s say Blake is now dead by John Wayne’s hand; this will spark yet another cover-up by the most duplicitous family in the state of Montana.

The story of Cole Danvers had been eating away at Blake for a long time, and it was the main reason he left town in the first place. Being back on the ranch, not twenty-four hours after being released from jail, and his guilt was already creeping back in.

And Horst couldn’t help himself from poking and poking at Blake until he eventually snapped.

The thing about this family is they seem to only look out for one another when it’s convenient. And they also seem to do a lot of stuff to protect Rand, who is dangerous and deranged. A lethal combination.

It’s not very hard to imagine Rand killing Cole in a rage. And it’s not hard to imagine Horst doing whatever he felt he needed to do to cover it up. Though it is interesting, John Wayne was left out of things since he appears to be the one looking for Daddy’s approval the most.

Blake coming clean would have ruined the family, but killing your brother to protect your other psychotic brother, who probably had something to do with the hot water the family was already in, sounds like a terrible strategy.

But then again, no one in that household seems to have a firm grip on reality.

Margaret is a shell of a human being at this point. A woman beat down so far that she’s resorted to spitting in her husband’s coffee to gather a little bit of control. God knows how long she’s been mentally and physically abused by Horst, but she’s coping by harming herself and getting pills off Cheyenne.

It’s no way to live, but she’s to a point where she feels stuck in her life with no way out.

Multiple people throughout the hour urge Cheyenne to leave and do something with her life away from the suffocating cesspool that is the Kleinsasser farm. And if she hasn’t figured it out by now, her brothers and her father are much more interested in preserving their legacies over hers.

John Wayne doesn’t seem built for murder, so what he does next will be interesting. It’s one thing to go to Horst when you kill an outsider, but Blake is one of their own.

He’s the firstborn, the apple of his mother’s eye, and for as much as Horst needles him, it’s very much borne out of a disappointment and frustration that Blake left them all behind.

So what does John Wayne do next?

Let’s not forget Cassie and Jenny are still in the picture, and they’re getting closer to figuring out what happened the night Rosie was assaulted.

The closer they get to finding the truth, the more danger they get themselves into. Rand is a literal murderer, and he had Jenny right in his crosshairs while Cassie was driven to parts unknown, and god knows what would have happened if she hadn’t left the messages on the Dewell and Hoyt voicemail.

Since Mark’s arrival, people seem torn on whether or not he’s going to wind up being a good guy or a bad guy. We’ve been burned before on Big Sky, but I am firmly Team Mark.

Is he a little out there? Sure. Is he concerned about Cassie and willing to driving however long and get the Governor to get Cassie released ASAP? Yes. And for that, he is okay in my book.

And he made Cassie smile, which is no small feat.

Considering Ronald is close enough to go to the bar Jerrie is performing at, he’s almost taunting them at this point. However, it doesn’t feel like he has any sort of endgame in mind.

He’s just playing house with Scarlet, who is the PERFECT person for Ronald, apparently. Their relationship is bizarre, and she may be the only woman Ronald could so effortlessly finesse and infiltrate so easily and quickly.

The fact that tasing him is just something she does as both a form of pleasure and punishment is odd, at best.

Isn’t there a way to have someone camp out in the graveyard since there’s now evidence that Ronald has gone to the grave more than once? I’m no police officer, but the man is a killer and part of a sex trafficking organization, and you’d think there would be a much greater push to see him brought to justice.

Odds and Ends

• Hall and Oates are one of the greatest pop groups of our lifetimes. I’m partial to ‘Kiss On My List’ as being their best overall song.

• Whatever the Kleinsasser’s are doing on the farm with mineral rights and Rand making crystal meth or something in his trailer is the LEAST interesting thing about that storyline.

• Jenny is still grieving Cody and in no position to jump into a new relationship, but she and Blake had an easy and natural chemistry, and it’s a shame we won’t get to see that explored anymore. You could tell they were two people who grew up together, but their lives just took them on different paths.

• Jimmy is back! And unlike the first time we met him, he wasn’t creepy but just supportive of Jerrie was slowly integrating herself back into her life before the kidnapping. Could you give us more Jerrie, Big Sky?

• Much like losing Ryan Phillippe was a shock, losing Michael Raymond-James will also be a significant blow. He's a fabulous actor who brings a beautiful charm to every role he gets to play, and a show is always better when he's involved. 

The reaction to the addition of the Kleinsasser’s on Big Sky Season 1 Episode 10 was mixed, to say the least. The show was always going to evolve past the Rick/Ronald story, and thus far, this new story is at least intriguing.

Perhaps it’s not what you were expecting, but it’s far from boring.

Do you think Ronald will be found soon?

Will Cheyenne rat John Wayne out?

Is Blake really gone?

Make sure you flood the comments with all your reactions and watch Big Sky online via TV Fanatic anytime you wish!

Whitney Evans is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lover of all things TV. Follow her on X.