by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Rarely do I find a show that I get so confused about that I have to watch it twice. Sure, I’ll watch a show multiple times because I like it, but I hardly ever have to watch a season of a TV show twice in order to understand it. I’ve only had to do this a handful of times recently. The first time I saw the show The Expanse I had to watch the first season twice because there was a lot going on, and I should have been paying attention more closely. The first time I watched Game of Thrones, I had to rewatch it to get the hang of all the different characters and threads going on.
The third time I had to rewatch a season of TV because I was so confused was Outer Range.
Outer Range, created by Brian Watkins, follows Royal Abbott (Josh Brolin) and his family on their ranch in Wyoming. Royal discovers a strange hole in the middle of his ranch, and he has no idea what it is or where it came from. Royal is dealing with issues from a rival ranch who is trying to snake some of his land and issues involving his sons, Perry (Tom Pelphrey) and Rhett (Lewis Pullman), and his wife Cecilia (Lili Taylor). Royal soon discovers a drifter named Autumn (Imogen Poots) who is drawn to Royal’s land. Outer Range is streaming on Amazon Prime and season one has eight episodes.
This was a bit of a difficult one to review because it’s hard to talk around some things without spoiling the show. It’s a pretty expansive mystery and might require either multiple viewings or undivided attention. Either way, this is a spoiler-free review, so if it seems confusing, apologies in advance.
There are quite a few mysteries in this show, and the first season has a lot of different threads to get through. The first mystery involves Royal and the rival family, anchored by patriarch Wayne Tillerson (Will Patton) wanting more of his land. The second mystery involves a search for Perry’s wife Rebecca, who has been missing for quite some time. The third mystery involves Perry getting into an incident in the first episode and seeing how the family handles everything. The fourth mystery involves the hole and what is the deal with it. The final mystery involves who Autumn is, why she is there, and what she is doing. This is a lot for eight episodes to tackle and the show sometimes has some difficulty balancing the stories. It does end up answering some of these questions and leaving some for another season. I’m not a fan of a show that leaves so much for future seasons because it feels like they either didn’t want to or couldn’t think of a way to resolve hanging story threads.
Brolin is outstanding in his role as Royal. He shows a wide range of emotion, and has a commanding presence as usual. Royal as a character is a bit of a mystery. We finally see what his deal is later on in the season, and all this does is invite more questions than answers. Brolin plays well with most of the other cast members, as he is desperate to keep his family together no matter what. His dynamics with Autumn are all over the place this season, and after some final clarity coming at the end of the season, there’s just so much that still needs to be answered. Speaking of Autumn, I’m a fan of Poots’ performance. She’s menacing, while also having an eerie calm about her that I found unsettling. I’ll be curious as to where she goes next season.
Royal’s sons both have different things going on in their lives. While Rhett’s story involves bull riding, a romantic interest, and helping his brother with an incident, Perry has a much more mysterious and intriguing story. Pelphrey’s performance is good, but there’s so much left to be resolved that it’s hard to feel okay with his story arc. It ends in a very interesting way, so I’m curious to see what’s to come in the future. The only real weak link from a cast standpoint is Royal’s wife Cecilia. Not to say Taylor’s performance wasn’t good (it most definitely was); it’s just that Cecelia gets sidelined a lot, even though there’s more to be known about her. It wouldn’t surprise me if she has a larger role to play in future seasons, but for now she doesn’t feel like much of a factor. The Abbotts are mysterious, but the Tillersons are even more of an enigma. Patton is his manic self as usual with his performance, but he and his sons Billy (Noah Reid), Luke (Shaun Sipos), and Trevor (Matt Lauria) have a weird dynamic together. We’re playing family politics for much of the season, and Wayne most definitely is up to something, but again, so much isn’t resolved that it’s almost frustrating.
Set aside the beautiful cinematography, great performances, and an intriguing mystery, there’s just simply not enough resolved for me to be satisfied with this season. Outer Range tries to throw a lot at you, and although the stories are connected somehow, it leaves a lot of threads hanging in hopes that more could get resolved or explored in season two. It’s a reminder to tell a good story first, and maybe find a way to set up a second season but first and foremost, tell a complete story first. What happens if this isn’t renewed for season two? That’s a lot left unsaid during the final few episodes. I will give this a soft recommendation with the caveat to temper expectations.
Score 6/10
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