Warning: This article contains spoilers about Tuesday’s episode ofBig Sky, “I Fall to Pieces.”
Big Skymight have just hit the mother lode when it comes to Ronald’s propensity for evil.
She confessed to Ronald that she had no choice but to turn him in.
Darko Sikman/ABC
He snapped and then so did her neck between his hands.
VALERIE MAHAFFEY:I wasn’t positive.
[Series creator] David Kelley offered me the part pretty late into the process.
Nobody told me at first that it was based on some books, C.J.
Helen is in those books, and what happens to her.
I want to do my version."
Because the love is warped, but it was very strong.
And I didn’t know if she was going to aid and abet him.
I don’t think any of us watching knew either.
As an audience and as an actor, I like that.
It’s not a clear path in life either, is it?
We vacillate on the right thing, the more expedient thing, the more whatever thing to do.
And that’s what Helen was going through toward the end.
Do you think Helen feared for her life or knew that this fate was a possibility by confronting Ronald?
The balance of power shifted, and so she was afraid of him.
I’m sure that that’s what she really hoped for.
She also was trying to stop a murder from happening.
So she had to get her courage up to do that.
Why did she tell him she was going to call the police instead of just doing it?
I love you, and this will be better for you."
That’s what it was.
She was really hoping that he would see the error of his ways on his own.
Instead of going out and betraying him without giving him a moment.
Ronald keeps blaming his mother for his insecurities and making him susceptible to Legarski’s scheme.
How responsible is she for the man he’s become?
I think that there is responsibility to be had.
We can’t take all responsibility as parents, as mothers.
I’m a mother, and I realize that it’s a good thing that children ultimately rebel.
But parents do have some responsibility, and Helen’s agenda is just too strict.
And warped, ultimately.
In the beginning of the series, you saw him kowtowing to her and scared of her.
So it’s not completely a parent’s fault.
I’m not going to take that on board.
But I think we take some responsibility.
If we weren’t convinced he’s a sociopath before this, we should be now, right?
I don’t know, was that the point?
Well, he left the TV on for her.
[Laughs]
What was the choreography like for your final scene?
Did you have a fight choreographer or anything like that?
It’s so brutal.
I watched it last night.
I knew what was coming, but that hand-to-hand combat version of death is really upsetting.
I’ve died before in other things, but that was the most brutal.
I’m determined for things to look real, so my dance training came in.
Will we see any more of you, whether it be Helen’s corpse or in flashback?
Is there a possibility Ronald is about to become Norman Bates 2.0 here?
I’m not telling you a damn thing.
[Laughs] It’s interesting the comparison to Norman Bates' mom.
That’s been a strong [theme].
