Ransom Canyon brought the drama in its 10-episode debut season, positing itself as Netflix‘s answer to the high drama of Yellowstone.
April Blair’s series centers around feuding ranchers in its namesake town, as well as their various romantic entanglements. At the forefront is Josh Duhamel‘s Staten Kirkland, who’s spent the last year grieving the loss of his wife and son. When the series begins, he starts developing feelings for old friend Quinn O’Grady (Minka Kelly). But she’s dating Davis Collins (Eoin Macken), who is also Staten’s brother-in-law — and he has his eyes on Staten’s land.
“It has been a dark couple of years for this dude. It really has,” Duhamel said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “One of the big reasons I wanted to do this was because this guy was so broken and desperately wanted to enter back into the real world, but didn’t know how to do it. He wasn’t sure if he was even ready.”
Ready or not, the real world collapsed on Staten’s shoulders in the series’ tense and cathartic finale, which clarified things about the death of his son while complicating the many blooming romances. “Nobody has an easy time in Ransom,” Blair told us in a season 1 postmortem. “What fun would that be?”
Read on as we unpack the ending of Ransom Canyon season 1, including many characters’ relationship statuses.
Some relationships are happier than others at the end of Ransom Canyon season 1, but they’re all on pretty shaky ground. Let’s check in on the series’ three main romances.
Minka Kelly as Quinn and Josh Duhamel as Staten on ‘Ransom Canyon’. Anna Kooris/Netflix
The season ends with Staten and Quinn splitting up, despite finally getting together just a few episodes earlier.
Quinn spent the first half of the season with Staten’s rival, Davis, after the grieving rancher struggled to open his heart to her. It’s clear that Staten’s ready to be vulnerable by season’s end, but a few obstacles imperil their future.
One is her decision to move back to New York City for six months for a gig playing in the New York Philharmonic, which upsets Staten. The other is Staten betraying her trust by divulging a secret she told him in confidence.
Davis, she says, is sitting on a “mountain of debt.” Though she tells Staten to stay mum, the rancher spills the revelation after Davis brings up Staten’s late wife, resulting in fisticuffs and Staten saying he knows Davis is “broker than s—.”
“Davis brought up his wife, brought up his son, he’s pushed his buttons and where they’re from, you get punched for that,” Duhamel told EW. “I don’t think he’s worried about the repercussions other than this guy is intentionally trying to get under his skin. His mistake is not the punching, it’s letting Davis get under his skin. That’s what he’s more pissed off about.”
Quinn is furious, and the two seem to call things off during a heated argument. “All I ever wanted was you, and I think that all you want is your own pain.”
In a petty touch, he leaves a bracelet Quinn gave him at the bar. “He’s stubborn,” Duhamel said. “If he could just tell her what he feels, he’d get a totally different outcome. But he’s stubborn, and he’s a guy who doesn’t have a lot of tools when it comes to figuring out or expressing what he feels. He doesn’t talk about feelings. This is not a guy who is comfortable with any of that. The easy way for him is just to go back into his dark hole and come back out when he’s ready, rather than actually deal with it.”
Lizzy Greene as Lauren and Garrett Wareing as Lucas on ‘Ransom Canyon’. Anna Kooris/Netflix
The series’ other love triangle involves teenagers Lauren (Lizzy Greene), Lucas (Garrett Wareing), and Reid (Andrew Liner). Lauren and Reid, the cheerleader and the football star, have been together for ages, but Lauren finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Lucas, a soulful kid living on the wrong side of the tracks.
Despite their romance rippling with emotion, Lauren breaks things off with Lucas in the finale. “I just don’t think I’m ready for something this serious,” she says.
Lucas is rallied by Reid, of all people. Reid, who seems to grasp that Lauren and Lucas are meant for each other, tells him, “If you don’t go after her, I will.”
So Lucas gets onstage at Gracie’s and makes a grand declaration to Lauren (and her injured arm). “You got a bum arm and a broken heart, and I can only fix one of those,” he says. “But I promise you I will fix it if you let me.”
Lauren is swayed, and the pair proclaim their love for each other on the dance floor.
Marianly Tejeda as Ellie and Jack Schumacher as Yancy on ‘Ransom Canyon’. Courtesy Netflix
Mysterious cowboy Yancy (Jack Schumacher) falls hard for barkeep Ellie (Marianly Tejada) during the season, and proposes marriage with his grandmother’s ring in the finale. She’s unsure, and he says he’ll wait for her that evening.
She’s leaning towards a “yes” as the episode comes to a close. She shuts down her ex, Kai (Justin Johnson Cortez), when he tells her Yancy has “a bad heart,” retorting that he has to “let me go.”
Ellie is also carrying a white dress when she discovers what may be Yancy’s biggest secret — he’s already married, and his wife just walked through the door of Gracie’s looking for him.
Who is this mystery woman? “I’ll save that reveal for a potential season 2 because I don’t want to spoil all the fun,” Blair told EW. “But, I will say, she’s a wrecking ball.”
James Brolin as Cap on ‘Ransom Canyon’. Anna Kooris/Netflix
The penultimate episode of Ransom Canyon ended with the death of Cap (James Brolin), whose wish was to be buried on his land. Yancy, Cap’s long-lost grandson, honors that request but still plans to sell Cap’s ranch to Davis, who wants to exploit the land with the help of Austin Water & Power.
Ellie changes his mind, convincing him that Cap would’ve wanted the ranch to stay in the family. Yancy, smitten with Ellie and assured by Staten, agrees, sacrificing the $22 million he was promised so he can run the ranch and be with her.
Speaking with EW, Blair said that Yancy’s desire to run the ranch is genuine. “Yancy arrived in Ransom with ill intent, a desire for revenge for a family and home he felt he was denied by Cap,” she said. “But through the course of the season he’s found the family and home he was missing. By season’s end, he’s genuine in his desire to protect that. He’s changed. But he’s always struggling between the man he used to be and the man he knows Ellie, who he truly loves, deserves. In a potential season 2, that’ll be the crux of his struggle. Can he stay the course and be true to his convictions?”
Brolin also spoke with EW about Yancy’s decision, saying that Cap would be proud. “I definitely don’t think the big city should get the water rights and have the wells run dry,” he said. “Cap has loved the cattle business so much, and I assume that he’s got one of the largest — all three of those guys, have three of the largest cattle ranches in Texas, which are into many thousands of acres. So, it’s a matter of pride.”
Minka Kelly as Quinn on ‘Ransom Canyon’. Anna Kooris/Netflix
It sure looks like it, and Staten is none too pleased.
Some context: Quinn finds herself in trouble financially after her deal to renovate Gracie’s with help from Austin Water & Power goes south, a consequence of Davis and Staten’s feud.
To pay off the debt, Quinn accepts an invitation from her old mentor, Katherine (Kate Burton), to serve as a pianist at the New York Philharmonic. She plans to return once she recoups the money, and appoints Ellie as a partner in the business so she can oversee the dance hall while she’s gone.
“Quinn’s decision to return to New York is two-fold,” Blair told EW. “First, to save her dance hall and repay her debt to Austin Water & Power. But just as important is her desire to put herself first for the first time. She’s always trying to save others. It really was time for Quinn to save herself this season. To put her own oxygen mask on first.”
Philip Winchester as Sheriff Dan on ‘Ransom Canyon’. Courtesy of Netflix
In the finale, we learn that Margaret (Sarah Minnich), Lauren’s mother and the estranged wife of Sheriff Brigman (Philip Winchester), was involved in the car accident that killed Staten’s son Randall the previous year. Staten, however, is dubious, especially after finding the broken-off piece of a bumper at the site of the crash.
Throughout the season, we learn more and more about what happened the night Randall died. First, we’re led to suspect that high school jock Reid was involved, but it turns out to be a more complex scenario.
Yes, Reid helped cover up the crime, but it was as a favor to Kit Russell (Casey W. Johnson), a local troublemaker who’s soon arrested for the crime. But Kit wasn’t alone that night. Driving the car was the sheriff’s wife, who was having an affair with Kit.
At the end of the episode, Sheriff Brigman is forced to arrest his own wife. Later, he and Lauren share a hug and a cry.
Speaking about Margaret’s arrest, Duhamel told EW, “It’s not going to bring back his kid. It’s a small victory knowing he’s got some peace of mind and what actually happened. Knowing that his gut was right. But I don’t think he takes any real gratification from it.”
Lizzy Greene as Lauren on ‘Ransom Canyon’. Anna Kooris/Netflix
All 10 episodes of Ransom Canyon season 1 are streaming on Netflix.
