The West – The show begins with Deputy Sheriff Joy (Tamara Podemski) walking through the woods. After walking for a while, she encounters a herd of buffalo rushing past.

Perry Abbott (Tom Pelphrey) appears to be falling downward. Royal Abbott (Josh Brolin) narrates how he always heard grace was a given. If he sought it, he would surely find it. As a child, the pastor preaching the word touched his heart. It gave everything more meaning. He describes the world, then, as being a “bright place.” He explains how the world suddenly went dark when he shot his father in the chest. Cecilia Abbott (Lili Taylor) can be seen on the screen digging a grave for the bear she previously shot. Royal came to realize that God was everything. Royal enters the barn to retrieve his gun and ammo.

Autumn Rivers (Imogen Poots) approaches the owner of the L & M Pawn Shop about a gun.

Rhett Abbott (Lewis Pullman) is running water over his hands when Amy Abbott (Olive Abercrombie) enters the room. She asks if he knows where Perry is at. He apologizes for the physical altercation. When she asks how he feels about the rodeo championship, he admits to being he will lose. She asks why he feels that way. He explains how he feels like “sh**.” She tells him that she is sure he will win. He asks what she thinks about living at the ranch for the rest of her life.

Billy Tillerson (Noah Reid) sings his father, Wayne Tillerson (Will Patton) a song. It appears as if he is putting dust from Wayne’s magic rock in his mouth.

Luke Tillerson (Shaun Sipos) is staring at a wall of taxidermy owls. Approaching from behind, Billy asks if he knew they had names. He explains the excitement he felt when Wayne would bring another owl home. Pointing at each owl, he tells him their names. He says his favorite owl is named after him. Luke questions if Wayne is aware of the hole. Billy seems to be taken aback when he asks how much the hole is worth. He assures him that it derives from the earth, so it must have value. Billy informs him of the hole disappearing. While squeezing him tightly, he admits to being aware of how upset he is about Wayne’s decision to leave him the family ranch.

While he still has in a bear hug, Billy offers to give him the ranch if he promises not to kill Wayne.

Autumn speaks to someone on the phone about trust money. She anxiously paces the room while demanding the person get the money. She sees Royal pull into the parking lot. After he gets out of his truck, he sticks a pistol in his waistband. The motel attendant (Teddy Eggleston) greets him by his name. She tells him that Autumn is staying in room 210. As he stares through the window, Autumn prepares her gun. After busting through the door, he slowly advances into the room. He sees the bathroom window open. When he emerges from the room, he notices Billy turning around in the parking lot.

Cecilia is speaking to Kathy about Perry’s disappearance. Kathy asks if Rhett knows. She admits to not telling him because the rodeo championship is set to kick off in three hours. Irate, she screams through the phone, saying if Perry is gone, the ranch will be next.

Maria Olivares (Isabel Arraiza) monitors Autumn from behind the Plexiglass barrier at the bank. She approaches Autumn as she paces nervously back and forth to ask her to step outside with the gun. Autumn assures her that she has a carry permit. They get into a verbal altercation. As Autumn exits the bank, she encounters Billy who informs her of Royal. He assures her that he will not let him kill her. They share a sloppy kiss as Maria stares in astonishment.

Luke contacts Patricia Tillerson (Deirdre O’Connell) to inform her of their finding the hole. She asks if he believes it is valuable. He tells her that they will make a fortune on it. She suggests he get to it. He admits to trying to kill Wayne. She pretends to not hear him.

Cecilia prepares a meal for her family after the rodeo. Amy asks what will happen if Rhett loses. Frustrated, she assures her that the family will eat together no matter what.

Luke digs for the black hole.

Royal rides around searching for Autumn. He holds his pistol in his hand.

Rhett prepares to ride when Royal pulls into the parking lot. He tries to speak with Rhett when a security guard (Thomas Tull) intervenes. He warns him that he may not be around for long before asking him to find something. Rhett comes clean about leaving. Royal tries to speak, but nothing comes out. He takes a seat beside Cecilia and Amy. When she asks where Perry is, he denies knowing anything. Royal receives a call from Autumn on Amy’s cellphone. She tells him that she is aware of him looking for her. She promises to let him find her because she already knows the ending. He assures her that he is going to change the ending. She claims to be in town before abruptly disconnecting the line.

Rhett mounts a bull. After fixing his rope, a man asks if he is okay. He nods and the gate swings open. Amy and Cecilia cheer when he stays on the bull. He hits the ground on his shoulder. The rodeo clowns entertain the bull while someone picks Rhett up and escorts him into a stall. He looks at the scoreboard to see his name listed eighth. Amy is walking alone through the crowd when Cecilia realizes she is missing. She frantically calls her name. Rhett yelps in pain while gripping his shoulder. Rebecca Abbott (Kristen Connolly) calls Amy’s name. She excitedly runs into her arms. Amy questions where she has been. Rebecca claims to have been hiding. She convinces Amy to leave with her. Cecilia continues her search for Amy.

A man approaches Rhett to see if he is all right. When he assures him that he is okay, the man pops his shoulder back in place. Rhett yelps in pain but is still determined to ride. The man warns him of the dangers of riding in his condition. Cecilia alerts Officer Mark (Zach Rose) of Amy’s disappearance. He suggests she just went to the restroom. She pleads with him to issue an order for her. He promises to find her.

While Rhett prepares to ride, he tells the men he can’t do it. As his ropes are tightened, a man promises him a free chicken dinner if he survives the ride. The gate swings open and the bull rushes out into the area. He stays on the bull until the crowd goes wild. He looks off in the distance to see Maria cheering him on.

Joy stares quietly at the buffalo herd. Cecilia’s pot rattles probably from the vibration of the buffaloes.

Upon meeting Maria, Rhett professes his love to her. He informs her that he is ready to start their life over somewhere else. She questions if he is sincere. They kiss.

Luke continues digging in search of the black hole. He laughs hysterically when a liquid begins seeping up from the ground. He dips his hand into the liquid and lifts it up to assess it. A rumbling noise, followed by one buffalo after another, rushing out of the hole.

Royal drives through the town to find Autumn waiting on him in the middle of the street. When he gets out of his truck, she says, “Yeehaw.” A bullet shatters his driver’s side window. He jumps back into the trucks. They get into a shootout and Billy joins in. Autumn hops into Billy’s truck and he drives away, with Royal in tow. They continue shooting at each other as they drive down the road. With Billy shot, the truck veers off to the side of the road. It flips over multiple times until it comes to a rest at the bottom of the hill. Royal drives toward the truck to get a better look. As he inspects the scene, a moaning noise can be heard a short distance away from the truck. With his gun drawn, Royal approaches Autumn who is propped up on her elbow.

The ground begins to vibrate. A herd of buffalo heads in their direction. Royal climbs underneath the truck as the buffalo pass. Maria asks Rhett what is going on when the buffalo run out in front of their truck. The truck is forced off the road and into the “America is Wrong” sign. Royal is still underneath the truck when the buffalo, with an arrow in its flank, appears. Approaching the buffalo, he removes the arrow. As he assesses Autumn, he has a flashback of their first meeting. He shares ice cream with Amy. Royal places Autumn’s lifeless body in a bed.

Royal narrates a spiritual experience. Cecilia sits at the dining table when Royal enters. He explains how he tried to protect Cecilia from himself. He assures her that he wants nothing but to get his family back. She pushes the dining table, sending the dishes and food to the floor. She tells him that there is no more family, they are all gone. When she says Amy is gone, he assures her that she isn’t gone. A pot on the countertop begins to vibrate when the episode comes to an end.

 

Outer Range Review

The finale is the epitome of poor editing. The rapid twitches and jump cuts resulted in this almost unwatchable finale. The scenes were clumsy and uncoordinated. It didn’t help that the lighting was so poor, that identifying some of the cast was impossible.

Cecilia’s crying performance was downright embarrassing. Instead of searching for Amy, she threw a temper tantrum.

The shootout was ridiculous. It was almost as if they had an endless supply of bullets.

They failed fans, with this piece of tripe. I refuse to call this episode a “finale,” as it never finalized any aspect of the show. It was nothing more than lazy writing if you want to even call it that. They were too caught up in trying to score a second season than focusing on a satisfactory ending.

Unsure if Billy was killed, but the move was a big mistake. Without Billy, I will probably set the next one out. So far, Amazon has not announced a second season.

Joy walked around aimlessly, Luke dug holes, Wayne slept, Cecilia threw a temper tantrum, and Rhett rode a bull. Perry never surfaced, there was no explanation of the black hole.  This just about sums up the so-called “finale.”

The episode deserves a 5. Get more Outer Range recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking on the link.