The Big Empty

John Person, a struggling actor in Los Angeles, is $27,000 in debt when his neighbor Neely offers him $27,000 to take a gun and deliver a blue suitcase to a man called Cowboy in Baker. The offer implies danger and a possible path out of his financial trouble. The setup introduces the mysterious mission that will drive the plot.

Person travels to Baker to deliver the suitcase, but he immediately runs into trouble: he keeps missing Cowboy and is confronted in a bar by Randy, who mistakes him for trouble with his girlfriend Ruthie. Ruthie later returns his dropped wallet, hinting at further entanglements. The episode sets a tense, distrustful mood in Baker.

In a diner, Dan spins long, strange tales and conspiracy theories about the desert and disappearances surrounding Devil's Crest. Person begins to sense that there is more to the mission than a simple handoff. The stories deepen the sense of paranoia and mystery in the town.

Ruthie meets Person outside a gas station and they drive toward Devil's Crest lakebed. As they drink and talk, they hear rumors about missing people, hinting at a larger danger at the lakebed. The journey tightens Ruthie's connection to the unfolding mystery.

Back at the motel, Cowboy remains elusive and the case grows tenser. Grace calls to report Neely's beheading and FBI Agent Banks's pursuit of Person. Fearing the head might be in the bag, Person buries it somewhere in the desert, escalating the stakes and the sense that the truth is dangerous.

Randy threatens to kill Person if he talks to Ruthie again, while Stella the bar owner reveals she rescued Ruthie as a toddler from Devil's Crest. The revelation deepens the backstory and stakes for Ruthie’s safety. The confrontation heightens the sense that Devil's Crest is watching.

Person discovers Randy has Ruthie tied up in a junkyard. In a tense standoff, he threatens to shoot Ruthie to force Randy’s release, and ultimately negotiates their freedom. Ruthie survives the confrontation, but the danger of the group’s pursuit continues to loom.

Ruthie visits Person at the motel and they share a moment of intimacy before Randy abruptly kidnaps Person. Before Randy can shoot him, Cowboy shoots Randy, eliminating the direct threat. The event propels Person toward the deeper desert confrontation.

Cowboy arrives at Devil's Crest with a group in blue tracksuits and presents a weird invitation to join him by offering size-11 bowling shoes. Ruthie accepts, but Person refuses to join, sealing their divergent fates. Cowboy’s flare signals a surreal power as the desert scene grows dreamlike.

Cowboy shoots a flare and, after a sudden blackout, Person awakens alone on the dry lakebed. He discovers that all suitcases are empty except for a single locked one, which he takes with him. On a highway, Grace later reveals he has been missing for three days and gives him a key from Cowboy.

In Los Angeles, Banks interrogates Person but cannot reveal the truth to the families of the disappearances. Person notices a band-aid on Banks' neck, mirroring a mark tied to Dan's conspiracy theories. The moment ties the investigation to the broader myth of Devil's Crest.

On a date at a bowling alley, Grace congratulates Person on landing a supporting film role and quotes Cowboy about having bright blue eyes. Person's own eyes glow blue as he bowls, and a final image shows the blue power extending to the moonlit Devil's Crest and distant flames, closing the loop on the mystery.