There was much to enjoy during this hour.

Pretty much every plot point moved forward in some way, shape, or form on Big Sky Season 2 Episode 6, which made for a solid viewing experience.

And it's probably no coincidence that a stronger episode included less of the Ronald subplot.

But let's save the Ronald business for later and jump right into the most exciting storyline, which was the demise of a character that actually went by the name Smiley.

Travis holding the ladies at gunpoint during the closing seconds of Big Sky Season 2 Episode 5 still doesn't make a ton of sense, and it's never wholly explained, but of course, Cassie and Jenny live to see another day. And Travis once again concludes that he and Jenny have to pump the brakes.

Jenny is letting her Travis feelings cloud her judgment. And he's doing the same. After such a close call, they had no business meeting up in broad daylight. They were just begging to be followed, and that's precisely what Smiley did.

Blackmailing Travis was equal parts clever and stupid. Travis's whole operation would be blown to smithereens if Smiley told Dietrich about seeing him with Jenny. Not to mention his life would be in danger. So, blackmailing him to keep his secret is smart for Smiley to try to get something out of him.

But when you blackmail someone, you've painted them into a corner, and sometimes the only way they can get out of that corner is to blow it all up.

It's a very dangerous game to play. And Smiley doesn't even get to play it for more than a few hours.

Ren and Donno are hellbent on blaming Dietrich for all their problems, but why they would think he would care about any of his henchmen is beyond me.

Sure, we've only spent about five minutes total with the guy, but in those five minutes, he did not come across as a man that you could barter with over the life of someone who worked for him.

One second, Ren and Donno seem so bright and ahead of the game. And the next, they seem so far out of their element, and you understand why Jag is hopping on the first private jet to Big Sky Country.

Travis throwing them off his scent and directly onto Smiley should have been a red flag for them, but Ren and Donno are well beyond desperate at this point. Not one thing has gone according to their plan, and it seems like they're unwilling to leave without their drugs and money.

Everything winds up working out for Travis, though, because Smiley makes a fatal mistake; meeting up with T-Lock.

(This doesn't actually cause his death, but it just feels like karma somehow.)

Max's mom seems like a nice woman on the surface, but I can't defend her anymore. She's shacking up with someone who visibly makes her daughter uncomfortable, and she couldn't care less. And on top of that, she had to run her mouth because why not?

T-Lock isn't even charming or intelligent or anything to alienate your child over.

Did anyone think for a second that he was going to just hand over those drugs to the police like a law-abiding citizen?

Because men with terrible nicknames have to stick together, Smiley and T-Lock are old pals, and Smiley unknowingly puts Dietrich further in Ren's crosshairs by accepting the drugs T-Lock, so easily gives him.

Travis should be thanking his lucky stars that things worked out for him the way they did. Sure, he got whipped and whatnot, but he's alive to tell the tale.

But what happens next will probably be a big old clash between Ren, Jag, and Dietrich, with a little Travis sprinkled in. And maybe some T-Lock, since he will presumably head on over to Smiley's with that precious bag of drugs.

And there is approximately 0.00% chance he doesn't rat Max out the second a knife or gun is vaguely pointed in his direction.

Cassie spends the hour trying to connect Max to the Harvey murder scene once she sees the keychain. All the pieces are right there for Cassie, and once she runs Harper's fingerprints, she'll be able to connect the dots further.

But now you have to wonder if she's going to be too late.

I'm telling you something big is about to go down. And there will inevitably be much more bloodshed as a result.

Before we get into Mark and Wolf, let's talk about Mark and Cassie, okay. Because they FINALLY got their little date, and we got to see 30 seconds of it.

Mark has had a little crush on Cassie forever. But Cassie wouldn't let her guard down with Mark, even though she basically confirmed here that she wanted to.

And now they're in this place where Cassie is as ready as she's going to be, and Mark is the unsure one. That probably has to do with his burgeoning thing with Jerrie (that Cassie is unaware of.)

Mark has chemistry with both, and while Mark and Jerrie's connection comes across as a bit more serious and rooted in respect and understanding. I've always seen the Mark and Cassie connection outside of work as being more playful.

Not many things make Cassie crack a genuine smile, but Mark always does.

Considering he's been pining for her for a while, he owes it to himself to at least explore the what-if of getting to know Cassie better. Though, he should be upfront about his feelings for Jerrie since they all work together.

It doesn't need to get messy if they act like adults. But at the same time, give us some mess, Big Sky! If you're going to force me to watch a love triangle, make it spicy!

Okay, back to Mark and Wolf.

Wolf was onto Mark from the second he stepped foot on the ranch. And it seemed like he and Agatha had fooled Mark into believing they were sweet little people living off the beaten path and nothing like Rick, but they could not convince Mark of their innocence completely.

Agatha: My husband did not know what Rick was doing. But he knew he was broken. He feels he should have helped his brother.
Mark: Helped him? I'm sorry, what could you have done?
Wolf: I could have fixed him.

• Permalink: I could have fixed him.

I think there are two ways this plays out next.

Either Mark gets just close enough to where Ronald and Scarlet are to be overpowered by Wolf and then locked up right alongside them. OR, nothing happens, and he just heads on back to Dewell and Hoyt.

This Ronald story can't last forever. Something has to happen, preferably sooner, because it's just not appealing. But you know it won't end before Cassie gets herself back involved with it, and that won't happen as long as the cartel thing is occupying all her time.

So, for now, we're still stuck watching Ronald get choked randomly every week and Scarlet falling deeper and deeper into Wolf and Agatha's twisted form of redemption.

How fun.

Odds and Ends

• Van creeper REALLY wants to protect Harper. But hello, dude, you can't do that if you bleed out!

• The show has decided to increase the light Jenny and Cassie moments, sprinkling them amongst the chaos. And it's much appreciated because the ladies are lovely, and having them be best friends is better than seeing them fight.

• I hope Cassie's dad buys that ranch.

• Should we start discussing our favorite Ren moment after each installment? This week it was her proclaiming her love for Mean Girls while a man was tortured a few feet away.

• Dietrich is a terrible bad guy. You clearly don't trust Stone Travis, and yet you don't think to do a thorough check of his motel room?

Big Sky bounced back this week and gave us an overall entertaining hour! The floor is now yours, guys, to talk about what you enjoyed and where you think things will go.

As usual, you can watch Big Sky online via TV Fanatic to stay caught up on the action!

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