Big Sky never disappoints with its vibrant line-up of characters. Villains or heroes, each character stands out for their one-of-a-kind personality. Tonya began as a mousy waitress, but has since taken the initiative to change her life and joined the drug cartel.

While a bold move in trying to do something else, it's not very smart considering she knows nothing of that world and the fact that that world is what killed her boyfriend. Ronald, on the other hand, is a very slick villain that has managed to evade law enforcement for quite some time. He is skilled and a planner, his intelligence quite high. However, his need to go after Cassie is his undoing. Each character is motivated by one thing or another, and some are smarter than others given their actions.

Tonya Walsh

Tonya tied up and crying in an office in Big Sky

Audiences may feel for Tonya given her situation, but she doesn't necessarily make the best out of a bad situation. Instead, she actually makes a bad situation worse. It's bad enough that Tonya was ignorant of the fact of what her now-deceased boyfriend really did for a living, and never questioned him on it. Yet, when she finds out what he really did, and that he died in the line of duty, she decides to ask Ren for a job and join the same industry.

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She later asks Donno if she'll be required to kill, which Donno says she should've asked before. It's a good point, and not very smart that Tonya didn't think things through first. Granted she wanted a different life for herself, which is understandable, but there are far safer and better ways than getting a job that might end very badly for Tonya.

T-Lock

T-Lock walking outside and taking out the trash in Big Sky

T-Lock wasn't the best guy to begin with, and intelligence and morals were definitely not his forte. He was taking Max's babysitting money and treating her very badly. She definitely wasn't his biggest fan; understandably so.

Unfortunately Max's mom Rachel made the mistake of telling T-Lock what Max had told her about finding the drugs, and T-Lock tries to use that to his advantage instead of doing the right thing, which places not just himself but Max and Rachel in danger. He wasn't great at thinking things through, but he somewhat redeemed himself by trying to save Max and Rachel's lives.

Max, Bridger, Madison, and Harper

Harper, Bridger, Madison and Max standing in the woods having a discussion in Big Sky

Max, Bridger, Madison and Harper should never have taken the money or the drugs. Given that they saw everything that happened leading up to their seizure of the two bags, with the crash and then watching the two men get killed by a whistling man (that later turns out to be a cop), they knew what they had was dangerous. Trying to spend the money and sell the drugs was very dangerous and showed their lack of intelligence.

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Max especially should've turned in what they found to Cassie at least, since she babysat for her and knew she could trust her. Instead, all of them were put into severe danger and things gradually got worse and worse. They themselves said that things wouldn't be the same; all of them undoubtedly scarred following their traumatic experiences, which included several close calls on their lives.

Travis Stone

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Travis is good at his job, but he let his need for revenge against Veer Bhullar get in the way of that. He also wasn't upfront with Jenny, no matter how many times she told him she was there for him or that she wanted him to tell her what was going on.

In the season 2 finale, had Jenny and Beau not shown up when they did, Travis may have taken things too far to come back from. In any case, Travis is a flawed character that could use some work in regard to his approach in both his job and his personal life.

Wolfgang "Wolf" Legarski

Wolf wearing glasses and smiling at Ronald in Big Sky

It's easy to see the resemblance in the Legarski family when audiences see how outrageous Wolf's approach is to others, as audiences well remember Rick wasn't too kind to the people he came across. Wolf truly believes he's turning Ronald and Scarlet into better people by kidnapping them and forcing his way of life down their throats, when in actuality all he was doing was building up their resentment for him.

He treated Ronald especially badly by referring to him as a "bad dog," which wasn't a smart move. Wolf claimed to be insightful and open-minded, when really he thought his way of life was the best way, and he thought he could control all the elements without any fallout. Unfortunately for him, his insatiable need to "put down" Ronald was what ultimately caused his untimely demise.

Ren Bhullar

Ren sitting by a window holding a gun and looking behind her in Big Sky

Ren is sneaky, cunning and deceiving. These are all assets, especially in her line of work given her father is a drug lord. Ren appears sweet and innocent, but is far from it. She is good at prioritizing, keeping herself out of the dirty work (most of the time), and doesn't allow herself to be seen as weak. She is all about taking the lead and figuring things out; she is good at strategizing and taking opportunities as they come, like hiring Tonya and establishing roots in Montana.

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Her downfall, however, is her family as she can get easily frustrated with them and it will cloud her judgment from time to time. She cares about them but resents the fact that she is not always seen as their equal; however, if her presence in Montana is anything to go by, Ren may not be perfect, but she's shown her smarts thus far.

Denise Brisbane

Denise wearing glasses and sitting at a desk in Big Sky

Denise is very chatty and social. She's also good at research, whether it be through the internet or through other people. Her knowledge came in handy when it came to Rick Legarski, of course, considering she happened to know him through family. She may not go out in the field, but she's a good resource and friend. She even picks up on certain things before Cassie or Jenny know themselves, especially when it comes to their romances.

Trust Denise to put her knowledge of other people and the general area to the forefront and make meaningful connections to help out Cassie and Jenny with their cases. As well as being smart, she's a good friend and investigator and she never misses the opportunity to say something funny to keep the office lighthearted.

Cassie Dewell

Cassie Dewell

Cassie has a tendency to leap before she looks. She has a tenacious determination to do the job her way without waiting for back-up or more information, and it's put her in some tough spots before. She slows down the search for Ronald when she becomes aware that her son may be in danger, but the damage was already done considering she'd already called out Ronald and searched for him so extensively it only grew his resentment towards her, placing her and the people she cared about in danger.

She is a gifted and intelligent investigator, but her lack of patience, her affinity for taking too many dangerous risks, and her tendency to sometimes not listen to warnings from the people around her aren't necessarily the smartest choices she's made.

Jenny Hoyt

Jenny Hoyt sits on a couch in Big Sky

After having been shot in the first season, Jenny returns with a true "Jenny 2.0" attitude and decides to do things a different way, showcasing more of her intelligence. Jenny took the opportunity to change her life after being given a second chance and choosing to wear a badge once more gave her the power to do more, as she says herself.

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Jenny still has a tendency to go in headfirst and disregard orders, but she is noticeably more prone to following protocol than she was before. However, her feelings for Travis truly affected her in season 2 and landed her in trouble more often than not.

Ronald Pergman

Ronald Pergman, frustrated, stands in his mother's kitchen in Big Sky

Ronald is very cold and calculating, and could certainly be friends with any horror movie villain. His lack of remorse for his actions push him forward instead of hold him back. These are not positive qualities, but they are very beneficial for Ronald's overall intelligence as it allowed him to remain under law enforcement's radar for quite some time, helped him to escape more than once, and allowed him to keep moving around, even finding a girlfriend down the line.

Ronald is also a planner and a fighter; he kept records that Scarlet later obtained for him on a hard drive, and he refused to give into Wolf's regimented way to "fix" Ronald, fighting him at every turn, which ultimately won him his freedom, for however brief a time. Ultimately, his inability to forget about Cassie's search for him led to his demise.

NEXT: The 10 Best Characters In Big Sky, Ranked