The Family – The show begins with Royal Abbott (Josh Brolin) meeting Autumn (Imogen Poots) at the black hole. She tells him she wants him to return her necklace. He claims that is the purpose of his visit. They ride back to her campsite. When Royal passes up her campsite, she asks where he is going. Driving at a speedy pace, he doesn’t respond to her question. She pleads with him to let her get off the four-wheeler, but he refuses to stop. She falls off. As she struggles to get to her feet, he returns. She repeats her request for him to return her necklace. Informing her the necklace was crushed, he asks if she is interested in knowing what happened. He claims absolutely nothing happened. She says a mineral that was inside the rock can be found on the Abbott Farm.
He yells in frustration. She assumes the hole and mineral are linked to time. He orders her to be quiet. She continues rambling on as he claims to have no care in the world. He reminds her of what he said about keeping it a secret from his family. She questions why he can’t share his time travel experience with his family. He assures her they will not understand. Grabbing her clothes, he threatens to kill her if she refuses to stay away from his family. She guarantees him that she will do some marvelous things. He rides away on the four-wheeler as she demands he not leave her there. He burns her tent to the ground.
Deputy Sheriff Joy (Tamara Podemski) alerts Kirkland Miller (Hank Rogerson) that she is prepared to arrest someone in the connection with Trevor Tillerson’s murder (Matt Lauria). He asks, who is the suspect. She says Rhett Abbott (Lewis Pullman) and Perry Abbott (Tom Pelphrey). She tells him Trevor’s stomach content contained a hamburger, which his bothers substantiated. She says the bar’s dishwasher reportedly saw Perry beating Trevor that night. She goes through a scenario, where Rhett and Perry transport Trevor’s body to their family’s farm. They carried the body up the mountain. She accuses Royal and Cecilia Abbott (Lili Taylor) of lying to protect their sons.
He congratulates her on a great investigation. Before leaving, she points out that Trevor hadn’t been dead more than four hours when Amy Abbott (Olive Abercrombie) discovered his body. She says his body was found four days after the fight. Kirkland asks if Trevor was murdered in the Pit Bar parking lot. She assures him that is when it died, the corner report is flawed. He asks if she is joking before reminding her of his upcoming election. He tells her that he cannot do anything with the case. She accepts his decision. Before she leaves, he suggests she shouldn’t either.
Maria Olivares (Isabel Arraiza) dresses while Rhett sleeps.
Martha Hawk (Morningstar Angeline) talks to Rose Hawk (Ofelia Garcia) while Joy looks at herself in the mirror. Joy kisses her.
Amy peeps around the door to see Royal asleep on the sofa. She asks Perry why Royal is sleeping on the sofa. He assumes Royal was having trouble sleeping. She complains about her family keeping secrets. He tells her that people keep secrets from their families to protect them from being hurt. She says it also hurts to be kept in the dark.
Amy and Perry light a candle when Martha and Joy walk into the room. Joy stops by to greet Amy. Pastor Paul (Cody Dove) prays with his congregation. Everyone shares a sign of peace with their neighbors when Royal walks into the church. Taking a seat beside Cecilia, he apologizes for his delayed arrival. Pastor Paul introduces Joy and her family. Deacon Frank (James Cady) prays for Joy and Martha. He says marriage is between a man and woman. Martha attempts to leave but Joy pleads with her to stay.
While the church members take the sacrament, Autumn utilizes a stick as a cane to get back to her campsite. Cecilia watches Royal as he takes the sacrament. When it is her turn, she refuses to accept it. She rushes out of the church. A large black bear spots Autumn who immediately lays down on the ground and covers her head, with her arms. After the bear sniffs her, she turns to her back. The bear gets in her face. She says, “Yellow.” A voice can be heard saying “show him.” The bear turns and walks away.
Rhett visits Maria. She explains how she loves the time they spend together. She admits to wanting to spend her life with him, but not there. He tells her that he doesn’t want to live there either. She assures him that he will never leave because his family will continue to encourage him to come back. She asks if Perry is responsible for Trevor’s death. He tells her they are innocent. She says if he is not telling the truth, she doesn’t truly know him.
Luke Tillerson (Shaun Sipos) and Patricia Tillerson (Will Patton) receive a call from Wayne’s attorney. Luke says Wayne is unable to care for himself. The attorney informs them that Wayne has left his estate to Billy. Patricia admits knowing Wayne hadn’t signed the will. She asks for a copy of the draft. Luke angrily leaves the room.
Martha pushes Rose on the swing when Joy rushes out to apologize for working. As she tries to explain how Trevor’s case is bearing on her, Martha demands she stop because she doesn’t care. She describes her experience at the church as feeling like a “puppet.” Joy tells her she needs her support. She refuses to support a campaign that means humiliation for their family.
Patricia assures Luke that Billy will never know about Wayne’s will because she plans to take care of the attorney. She says Billy is incapable of handling the escape, but not him. Billy arrives as she prepares to head back to Aspen via a helicopter. As the helicopter takes off, he places his arm over Luke’s shoulder. When he says he plans to get an elk for Wayne, Luke shoves his arm away.
Billy hits an elk with an arrow. As he tracks the animal, he encounters Autumn. She tells him that she wants him to see something. He agrees to go with her. She tells him a story about an astrologer who was obsessed with heaven. She says he was always looking up until he fell into a well. When his mother found him, she asks him, “How do you expect to know what’s in the heaves if you can’t see what’s at your feet.” They are standing on the edge of the black hole. Billy lets his backpack drop to the ground.
Karl Cleaver (Kevin Chamberlin) is driving down the road. He pops up a canned beverage. As he is taking a drink, he runs straight into a buffalo.
Cecilia is in the barn, with the baby cub carcass. She places her hand into the cub’s mouth and squeezes its snout closed. She yelps in pain. Royal asks if he can come into the bar but she refuses. He reminds her of when they attended the Jubilee Days. She was sure they were traveling in the wrong direction. Royal assures her everything will be all right, but they were lost. He refused to ask someone for directions. She figured it out anyway. Swearing to God, he says without her, he would be lost.
Billy visits Wayne to tell him that he was correct about the Abbott’s west pasture. When Billy removes the rock out of Wayne’s hand, his fingers begin to move.
Autumn finds her tent, notebook, and other items burnt. She frantically speaks to someone on the phone. She tells the individuals that she is broke. Pharmacist Jennifer (Kate Chavez) informs her that the pharmacy only has generic lamotrigine. Autumn sarcastically says that it is all right because it is only her brain. She takes a motel room. She tells the individual that they need to meet now. Standing in front of a mirror, she utilizes a knife to carve a symbol into her chest.
Perry defends Royal while talking to an angry Autumn. She says what he did to her was attempted murder. She suggests he may have done the same thing to Trevor. Perry and Autumn agree they are on the same page. He describes her situation as dire after Royal left her for dead. She suggests he come clean with Joy about Royal murdering Trevor. He promises to take care of everything without getting the police involved. Feeling better, she says, “It’s the new beginning” before leaving.
Autumn returns to her hotel room, where she finds Billy taking a bath. He asks her if it is death. She says it is about time.
Cecilia, Rhett, and Perry are setting the table when Royal comes in. They pray before eating. Perry admits to writing Joy a letter, confessing to Trevor’s murder. Rhett angrily slams his chair backward. Shocked, Cecelia reminds him of everything they did for him. He assures her that his confession is for their protection. Amy questions what he is talking about. They tell her to go to her room. Royal has to physically control Rhett. Irate, Rhett tells Perry it is all his fault that Rebecca left. He blames him for Amy being motherless. They get into a physical altercation. Royal breaks them up.
It appears as Rhett has a gun pointed at Perry who tells him to do it. Perry says he confessed for their dad. Royal asks him to explain what he is talking about. He tells her about what Autumn said about telling Joy that Royal tried to kill her. He says Autumn told him that she says Royal with Trevor’s body. Royal reminds him about what he said about avoiding her. When Royal shoves Perry back, Amy gets hurt. She flees out the door. She stands outside crying. A police cruiser with its lights on can be seen as the episode comes to an end.
Outer Range Review
Another dull episode, with woke undertones. I was truly hoping to see more emphasis on the investigation. The show is predictable and uncompelling.
The best part of the show is the family altercation. It plays out perfectly, thanks to good acting.
It seems Billy is under Autumn’s spell. It is questionable what she will convince him to do. Now, we know Wayne is not dead. How will Patricia and Luke handle the news?
The episode deserves a 6. Get more Outer Range recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
Apparently the writers are under the influence of H.P. Lovecraft as many writers of horror and science fiction have been. The presence of the portal serves to affect people near it much in the same way the residents in Lovecraft’s “Color Out of Space ” were affected by the presence of the meteor in that story. The idea is that the mere presence of such a cosmic horror will alter the way people think and act.
It is the only explanation for some of the more erratic behaviors of the people on the ranch such as this obsession with a dead bear, hearing animals speak etc.
Very interesting and makes sense. Seems like a good idea with a bad execution, but I haven’t finished this yet so I won’t jump to conclusions. Seems like there has been a slow down in shows being released now. I’ve been trying all the new stuff, but nothing stands out as being great.