The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch: Meeting of the Minds (S6E14)

Welcome back, fellow ranchers! If you’re still sticking it out with me after my diva moment last week regarding my coverage of Season 6 Episode 13 “Fire in the Holes”, then thank you! The season finale of Skinwalker Ranch was supposed to return to the usual format, but we’re going to shake things up again. (Skinwalker Ranch: Meeting of the Minds)

My least favorite format of this show is when they use the final episode to “recap” all of the information we’ve been told over and over again. In my “Fire in the Holes” coverage, I talk about how this show has become nothing more than 15 to 20 minutes of new stuff and then 15 to 20 minutes of rehashing the same things over and over again. These “recap” episodes are asinine. 

“Meeting of the Minds” takes place in Brandon Fugal’s terribly laid-out conference room. We have our usual crew in attendance (Dr. Travis Taylor, Erik Bard, Thomas Winterton, Kaleb Bench, Jim Royston, Sam Deriso, Cameron Fugal, and Chris Roberts), and are joined by some fresh faces. Also in attendance are Jay Stratton, Dr. Eric Davis, Dr Gary Nolan, Erick Schrock, and General Lance Lord. Some of those names will sound familiar to those deeply involved in the Ufology world. 

The majority of this episode is comprised of Erik Bard showing these new people all of the information they’ve gathered throughout the season. Interestingly, these guests have little to say that is interesting or important. I’ve never felt like I’ve watched an episode of Skiwnalker Ranch and had my time wasted. This episode is a complete waste of time. The same talking points are rehashed over and over, and there is nothing new brought to the table. Only one new piece of anything comes to light, and it’s even more frustrating than I could have imagined.

At the end of the episode,  we’re introduced to SEOPS’s Chad Brinkley. Chad Brinkley looks and acts like a melted Hyperborean whose “human” switch got stuck between normal and too normal. But it’s Chad’s inclusion that takes things to a new level. 

We learn that Chad, in conjunction with OmniTeq and SpaceX, will be fast-tracking the launch of a satellite for Brandon and the ranch. The satellite’s job will be to fly over the ranch once a day to produce some sort of information. It’s pretty unclear what the whole purpose of it is. What’s frustrating is the inclusion of SpaceX. I know that many of the people on this show are MAGA, but the fact that SpaceX (basically loser Elon Musk) will somehow have its hand in the goings on of Skinwalker Ranch is beyond infuriating. 

Brandon’s satellite will be launched into space on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. That is, if Elon doesn’t have another failed test launch that ends with Brandon’s “hard-earned” money literally going up in flames. Actually…maybe I would like that. 

This season’s finale was nothing more than an attempted flex on the Ufology community that resulted in no new information. As if wasting our time with a season full of digging, only for it to be hastily stopped, wasn’t enough, they decided to waste our time one last time. I’ve truly reevaluated my wants in regard to covering this show. Will I still watch it? Definitely. Will I take my personal time to cover it in depth? That’s up in the air. 

Maybe the real Secret of Skinwalker Ranch is that I was wrong about Brandon Fugal the whole time. I thought he was going to be a solid voice of ‘D’isclosure, when in reality, he may be nothing more than another grifter. 

You can watch The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch: Meeting of the Minds (S6E14) and previous episodes on The History Channel. And check out more of Brendan’s coverage from this and previous seasons.