Anna Pigeon (2026) s01e01 Episode Script

1
♪
I love this park.
You can hide and feel safe.
Maybe that's why I came here.
To find myself.
The night sky,
so dense and clear
you could stick your hand in
and feel the stars.
Nature doesn't judge.
It's not bad or good.
It just is.
[cougar growling]
Sheila wasn't so lucky.
Someone else found her first.
♪
♪
[cell phone vibrates]
[groaning]
Uh
Anna Pigeon.
Hello.
Anna, it's Geoff.
-Geoff, it's dark out.
-I know.
It's early.
Why are you at work?
Sheila Drury didn't
come back last night.
What?
Her mom called me.
She's usually up by now.
They do the, uh
-Wordle together.
-Yeah.
Yeah.
Damn, Sheila's always on time.
Okay, uh, I'm up.
I'm heading out.
[call waiting tone]
Hey, wait 'til it's light.
I got another call coming.
-Who calls you at 6:00 AM?
-My sister.
Hey.
How's New York?
I know I've said this
to you before,
but I'm worried about you.
Molly, I gotta go look
for a missing park ranger,
my friend, who's probably
stuck in a crevasse
with her leg under a rock.
So don't shrink me right now.
It's Zach's birthday coming up.
Yeah, I know.
I was married to him.
I literally never forget.
How are you gonna
get through this week?
You know.
Work and wine.
Besides, I'm leaving
in two weeks.
An astute psychiatrist would say
that you're avoiding
your feelings.
-[chuckling]
-Oh, are you astute now?
[laughing]
Molly, coffee's done.
I gotta go.
-I love you.
-Stay safe.
Don't die, or I will kill you.
[laughing]
♪
You don't have
to prove your manhood ♪
to me constantly ♪
I know you're the man
can't you see ♪
I love you righteously ♪
♪
That's littering, friend.
It'll biodegrade.
Okay, first, it takes two years
for a banana peel to decompose,
so don't even try that angle.
Second, I'm not just
a park ranger.
I'm a law enforcement ranger,
so in this park I'm a cop.
And third,
I'm feeling crabby today.
So pick it up.
See? Take only memories,
leave only footprints.
Easy, right?
Arms around my waist ♪
You get a taste of
how good this can be ♪
Be the man you
ought to tenderly ♪
Stand up for me ♪
Flirt with me
Don't keep hurtin' me ♪
Don't cause me pain ♪
Sheila!
♪
Sheila!
♪
Sh
Vultures.
[birds singing]
[thunder rumbling]
Ah! Ah!
Ow
Okay, devil's claw,
you thorny SOB.
We doin' this?
♪
No
No!
Sh
I'm so sorry.
♪
Hey, Geoff, um
I found Sheila.
-She's dead.
-Sh
Something feels off.
[two-way radio beeping]
Anna, there's a
there's a storm warning.
I'll send the team later.
Come back.
For your own safety, all right?
[two-way radio beeping]
I'm not leaving her
to the vultures, Geoff.
[two-way radio beeping]
Anna.
[two-way radio beeping]
Sorry, uh, signal's bad.
I can't hear you.
Oh, man, this park's the worst.
[thunder rumbling]
Deep wounds.
No scratches.
Belly's intact.
That's weird.
And no bite marks.
[thunder rumbling]
[growling]
[growling]
♪
Go.
Go!
♪
[thunder rumbling]
♪
[thunder rumbling]
Is it bad?
Anna say it was bad?
Yeah.
Since you're
a law enforcement ranger,
you gotta toughen up.
I am tough.
I come from a family
of park rangers and cops.
And Manny's been in the army.
I think we're pretty tough.
-More resilient than tough.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Come on, we got work to do.
Let's bring Sheila home.
Anna.
Anna?
Over here.
Oh
Yeah.
Looks like a mountain lion kill.
Doesn't have the hallmarks.
Cats eat what they kill.
If the cat dragged her in here,
her guts would be everywhere.
She'd have cuts from
the devil's claw.
I know I'm not law enforcement,
just humble paths and roadways.
But Sheila was
on a transect, right?
-Yeah, tracking cats.
-She tracked them too well.
Okay, what if the cat
dragged her here,
going backwards?
The cat would have
sustained a cut.
Cat didn't have any cuts on it.
You saw it?
-Lived to tell the tale.
-What's it doing here then?
It was hunting that raccoon.
Living its life.
So what killed her then,
if not the cat?
People.
Come on, you guys, help me
get her into the stokes.
Careful.
Here.
♪
One, two, three.
♪
♪
Galileo was bluffing ♪
It's just a mess out here ♪
There's no compass
to guide us ♪
through the flashes of
violence and fear. ♪
Don't do it.
You can still try
and rob this gas station,
or you can slide that gun
over to me
and you can go in there
and get me some Twizzlers.
It's up to you.
[cell phone buzzing]
-Hey.
-Hey, Frederick.
It's Anna Pigeon Pigeon!
Hey, it's been a while.
Thought you'd flown the coop.
Uh, hey, I need your help.
-You busy?
-No.
Hold on.
[grunting over phone]
[groaning]
Yeah, where you at?
♪
Did you find my daughter?
[crying]
Kelli, I have some bad news.
[sobbing]
[sniffling]
What the hell?
Harlan! Is that
dead goat in a cage
because you're hunting the cat?
Trapping the cat.
Geoff authorized it.
Sorry, Anna.
Thanks for lending us
your guys, Jerry D.
This is bullsh
-Who is that?
-Anna.
Law enforcement gal.
So that's Anna Pigeon.
Geoff's in a meeting.
Anna!
You're using ranch hands
to trap that cat?
It killed Sheila.
Are we not gonna
investigate that?
Why do you want to
overcomplicate this?
Cat didn't do it, Geoff.
Nobody's ever been
killed by a cougar
in Glacier National Park,
in all of time.
In all of Glacier!
Well, there's a first
for everything.
If you trap and move
that cat, she will die.
That's what happens.
Cougars in the new territory
will kill her.
This time of year
she'll have cubs, too.
Her cubs will die.
Anna, you went over my head.
Special Agent Stanton
drove all the way here
for a cat kill?
Yeah, we know each other.
My first year on the job,
somebody tried to kill me.
-He
-I investigated.
Oh, well, that
explains everything.
Lack of eviscerations,
no cuts from the devil's claw.
I wanted a second opinion,
Geoff, which I don't regret.
Eh! Agent Stanton,
what's your view?
I know this is emotional
for you, Anna,
but you don't have
much to go on.
Are you serious?
Anything else?
Sorry she wasted your time.
♪
♪
-Want another one?
-Yeah.
Saint Kateri.
The patron saint
of the environment.
I heard about the dead ranger.
For a minute, I
For a minute I thought
it was you.
It's a racing heart ♪
Never a fair fight ♪
You got me questioning
whether my head's right ♪
♪
Oh, my God.
Sheila's backpack.
Rain jacket.
First aid.
Phone.
♪
[phone ringing]
Water.
Water?
Sheila wasn't
carrying any water.
Why would
an experienced park ranger
head into the back country
without water?
She wouldn't.
Someone took her there.
[knocking on door]
Hi.
-Hey.
-You're here.
Well, you called me, remember?
Yeah, um
Right, right.
Yep, just give
Yep, I'll be right back.
Why are you still
living like this?
-Like what?
-Like a student?
Or an old-timey drifter?
I don't live like a drifter.
You might as well ride
the rails and steal a pie.
I mean, it made sense
when I first met you.
But I read your employment file.
You're excellent at your job.
But you worked at five parks
in the last three years,
and now you're
changing parks again.
I like new places.
I don't like office politics.
-Really?
-Uh-huh.
You have a fancy arts degree,
parents back east,
a sister who was
a big New York psychiatrist.
And you're good, living in
old moldy ranger houses,
going from park to park to park?
You got all that from
my employment file?
See, if I were profiling you,
I'd think you were on the run.
How's your divorce going?
That's the campground
where they're putting in
the RV hookups.
That was Sheila's project.
[protestors shouting]
Some people don't want
drive-through nature.
Better than people who
don't want nature at all.
[shouting continues]
Sheila lived around the corner.
The Pine Ridge ranger housing.
Okay, there's no sign
of a struggle.
Maybe it was someone she knew.
-Okay, you're Sheila.
-That's interesting.
I show up all friendly,
tell you that we're
going on a hike.
You pack her pack
If Sheila packed her pack,
she would have remembered
-to pack water.
-Okay, so I pack it.
-You comin' with me?
-No.
Okay, we're missing something.
-[cat hissing]
-Ah, sh
You okay?
There's a cat under there.
Let me try.
[groans]
Hey.
Hi, come here.
Hey, hi!
Hi.
Hello, okay.
Soft power.
Hard claws.
-[static crackling]
-Anna, it's Zoey.
Hi.
I got something
that you should see.
Yeah, I'm coming.
Do you mind giving me
a lift to the morgue?
Unless you want to
sit in on the autopsy.
I'm good.
In a perfect world,
the dead would be left in peace.
Here.
Come here, buddy.
Yeah, I'm gonna take him
to the office.
Sheila's mom probably wants him.
Hey, Piedmont.
[car approaching]
Hey.
Parking permit's expired
and the van belongs
to a Cory Nelson.
I talked to this guy.
Is that blood?
Looks like it.
All the doors are locked.
Want me to get a lockout kit?
The clock's ticking on that cat
and on finding Sheila's killer.
I don't think we have
time to spare, do you?
All right, stand back
a little bit.
[grunts, glass shattering]
♪
Whoa.
-This is creepy.
-As hell, man.
More blood.
Sheila's water bottle.
I saw him litter.
I should've known.
[cat meowing]
[sneezes, gasps]
Sheila's mom doesn't want it.
Too painful, and I'm allergic.
I can't take it.
Kitty-kitty cat.
[cat hissing]
Ooh, hell no!
I got my rescue birds.
I can't.
[sneezes]
Anna, I know you're leaving.
-I travel solo.
-Except me.
I'm her mentee.
I named one of my crows
after you.
So now you gotta stay.
Hey, listen up.
Ready! Huddle in.
Cory Nelson.
Posted some heated stuff
about new RV hookups.
Sheila wrote him up for
being on a closed trail.
He sent her death threats.
[sniffling]
All right, this is a manhunt.
Sorry.
Be safe.
You're not really
leaving us, City girl?
I put in a transfer to Badlands.
-End of the month.
-Ah.
I get it.
I've always been restless too.
Spent some time fighting
in wars overseas.
Ran hunting expeditions
in Alaska.
Wrassled gators in Pensacola.
I was a stage manager
in New York.
[chuckling]
Theater.
Well, Miss Pigeon.
It was a lifetime ago.
Adapt or die.
We live by our wits.
You have to, given that
we're paid in sunsets.
-Shh.
-Well, that's true.
Shh.
They said Cory had a red tent.
♪
Cory?
Cory Nelson?
I'm a law enforcement ranger.
If you're in there,
I need you to put
your hands outside
on the ground.
♪
These bites are all
from diving beetles.
They're carnivorous.
He had a hose and buckets
in his van.
He must have been
collecting aquatic bugs.
Interesting.
They ate him after he died.
Wait, then how did he die?
He OD'd.
You can see the needle mark.
[office chatter]
Cory OD'd on ketamine.
He had a massive dose
in his system.
Fills that void.
Some people drink.
Okay, I'm gonna ignore that.
There was a syringe in his tent,
but nothing to tie
his arm off with.
He killed Sheila
and then he OD'd.
Were there prints in
the tarp from the van?
No prints.
What about
Sheila's water bottle?
Nope, he wiped them down.
But why do that?
Why wipe the prints off it
and then leave it
in his own van?
Also, where's Sheila's autopsy?
Is that it?
Look at this.
Yeah, the puncture wounds
on her neck
are three inches long.
Right, saber tooth tigers
are extinct.
Okay, okay, the wounds are deep,
but that's not a theory.
What if someone
made it look like
Sheila was killed by a cat,
and when that didn't work,
they framed Cory for it?
We need more to go on.
All right, put somebody
at the scene.
I don't know.
I got meth labs
and a militia shooting.
Good luck.
Sorry about your friend.
Thanks.
[sighs]
What play are you seeing?
It's a one man Hamlet.
Worse comes to worst,
I think my thoughts.
Zach played Hamlet.
I know, honey.
How's work and wine going?
Drinking beer and doing laundry,
which I find oddly soothing.
That is truly sad.
Why do people murder people?
Is this theoretical
or about your friend
who went missing?
The latter.
Well, it doesn't take
a med degree and five years
of psychiatric residency
to figure that out.
Four Ls.
Love, Lust, Lucre aka money,
and Loathing.
Well, there's no lucre here.
Not a lot of loathing.
Hey!
I'm at the theater.
Take a break from worrying.
I'll call you tomorrow.
All right, got it.
Good night, sweet princess.
You know that's from
the end of Hamlet,
where everyone's dead, right?
Including Hamlet.
Spoiler.
You know, you don't have
to solve every murder.
'Night.
Molly, can you just
[line disconnects]
♪
♪
Hey, you.
You would've hated it here.
♪
I miss you.
Happy birthday.
♪
[light thud]
♪
[chatter]
Just got a call that
they're hitting golf balls
up on Gunsight Ridge.
What's wrong?
Someone left a dead pigeon
on my doorstep.
Well, Anna, you do have
a lot of admirers.
No, that's a bad thing.
Pigeons are a bad thing.
Dead pigeons, Frieda.
♪
[whistling]
Hey, there's no one
here golfing.
They probably ran out of balls.
Ah, come on.
Beer can?
Seriously?
[screams]
[grunts, groans]
[screams]
Help, someone!
Help!
Hey, down here!
Help!
Help!
Ah, my shoulder.
[yelps]
Come on, come on.
Pop.
Pop, dammit.
[popping, shouting]
[yelping continues]
[shouts]
Just breathe.
Breathe.
Hey, I'm down here.
Hey.
Move, Anna.
Move, Anna.
I know you can do it.
You're breathing.
♪
You're conscious.
Move, Anna.
You have to move.
Before you pass out.
[groans]
♪
♪
-This is too hard.
-You can do it.
You can do it, Anna.
Rock by rock.
I know you can do it.
[sighs]
♪
♪
♪
[straining]
[straining]
♪
[groans]
[groans]
[panting]
[groaning]
[phone buzzing]
Sh!
Hey, uh, I felt bad about
leaving so abruptly.
I just fell off a cliff.
[crying out in pain]
-Did you consider the ER?
-I have a dislocated shoulder,
a concussion and a scrape.
All they'll do is make me wait
and give me sepsis.
-It was a tiger trap.
-Literally?
A tarp with leaves
and dirt on it,
so it looked like solid ground.
Someone lured me there
with a false call,
left litter for me,
and then threw a rock
at my head.
-Should I come back?
-Oh, no, I'm good.
The day can only go up
from here.
-Call me anytime.
-You called me!
-And look out for yourself.
-Enjoy your various crimes.
And go to the hospit
[call disconnects]
Hello?
♪
[rustling within home]
Whoa!
Christina from
the Visitor Center.
What are you doing
in my house, Christina?
Frieda told me you fell.
I put a casserole in your oven.
You were in Sheila's cabin.
Your dish stacking
is quite specific.
It's not what you think.
I think this day's
driven me crazy,
and I might kill someone.
-Mommy!
-Hi!
Your mommy and I were
just about to have a nice chat.
Mm-hmm.
Weren't we?
You and Sheila were dating?
It was over.
We kept it quiet.
I'm going through a bad divorce,
custody issues.
It wasn't him.
He's working on an oil rig.
When I heard Sheila died,
I went and tidied her place.
Felt like, uh,
taking care of her
one last time, you know?
Man, I knew
she had a crush on you.
Yeah.
[chuckles sadly]
Why'd you guys break up?
I hate hiking.
I just
-What?
-Yeah.
Nah, you're not doin' it right.
[chuckles]
Can you see
if you can open this?
♪
[sighs]
Is that
Yeah, Jeremiah D. Paulson,
one of the biggest
landowners in Montana.
She dropped a pin in the map
right here.
Where are you going?
Hunting.
♪
♪
♪
You're okay
You're okay, you're okay.
Slide me your gun, Anna.
Hi, Harlan.
♪
Kick it over.
That's it.
Jeremiah Paulson's
leading hunting trips
in the park, isn't he?
You're poaching.
Don't say things
you can't prove.
You called him "Jerry D"
like you know him.
You used to hunt in Alaska.
You're a ranger, Harlan.
Why?
'Cause sunsets are golden,
but they ain't money.
Don't you
I don't wanna have
to kill you, Anna.
Sheila was tracking the cats.
She found out about
the poaching, didn't she?
She told you because
she trusted you.
And you told her
that you'd help her.
Hmm
I'm curious.
What'd you use to make it
look like a cat bit her?
Screwdriver?
-Just a regular punch.
-Hmm.
So what?
You-You missed hunting?
You missed the army?
You missed killing people?
-What was it?
-You can't be like us,
doin' jobs, hoping for the best.
You gotta go where the power is.
Ah.
And Cory?
Well, I thought maybe
I could pin it on him.
But
you didn't fall for it.
I hope at least
the pigeon you left me
died a natural death.
-Why do you care so much, Anna?
-Someone has to.
[growling]
Ahh!
[straining]
[gunfire]
Ahh!
[groaning]
Go find your babies, mama.
[Harlan groaning]
Roll over.
[groaning]
Put your hands behind your back.
Oh, ahh!
[panting]
What, are you just
gonna leave me
out here alone to die, Anna?
Maybe you won't be alone.
Maybe she'll come back.
Here, kitty, kitty!
♪
♪
Miss Pigeon?
I'm Jeremiah Paulson.
I just heard so much about you.
I just really wanted to
officially meet you.
I'm surprised
I didn't meet you last night.
By the cougar Harlan caught
for you to hunt.
-What a fantastical thought.
-Yeah!
I know you've been poaching
in the park, Jeremiah.
Well, I don't really think
you know
what you're talking about.
But what I do think
is I get what I want.
Which is what, exactly?
Glacier has more resources
than just cats, Ms. Pigeon.
From the big sky to the ground
and everything around.
I want it all.
Hmm.
Well, to be clear,
nothing here is yours.
It belongs to everybody.
[laughs]
And if you even touch one hair
on the park's head,
-I'll stop you.
-You better be careful.
'cause some things you say
you're gonna have to do.
What a beautiful day.
What's going on?
I'm taking Piedmont
to animal services.
-Nobody wants him?
-No.
After today,
assuming you want the, uh,
transfer to the Badlands
moved up.
You're leaving, right?
I think I'll stay.
I'll keep it warm for you,
in case I change my mind.
-I'll take 'em.
-Really?
[sneezes]
What have I got to lose?
[Piedmont meows]
What if we let down
our defenses?
What if we let just one person,
one creature in at a time?
Our lives are interconnected.
♪
Ranger Sheila Drury,
this is your final call.
We'll see you on the other side.
♪
-Hey.
-Hey.
-You okay?
-Uh, I mean
Fell off a cliff.
Can I get you anything?
Just wanted to see you.
Look, yesterday would have
been my husband's 40th.
I'm, uh
I don't know your name.
I don't
I don't know your birthday.
-I-I just.
-It's Jesse.
Maybe one day you'll ask.
Okay.
Come to the bar.
You know where to find me.
♪
Word on the street ♪
Things are changing fast ♪
Get out of the way ♪
I'll let this mother pass ♪
Gentlemen
start your engines ♪
I want to see you move ♪
don't wanna hear you talk ♪
I heard you're
on the scene now ♪
Oh show me what you got ♪
Ain't nothin'
in the way ♪
We don't have to stop ♪
I heard you're
on the scene now ♪
Oh show me what you got ♪
Yeah show me what you got ♪
♪
Driving through the night ♪
Keep up with the dusk ♪
Wind on the wings ♪
fast but not a rush ♪
In this life,
nobody really walks alone.
[Piedmont meows]
Except the cat.
don't wanna hear you talk ♪
I heard you're
on the scene now ♪
Show me what you got ♪
Ain't nothin'
in the way ♪
We don't have to stop ♪
I heard you're
on the scene now ♪
Yeah show me what you got ♪
♪