In the premiere of Dutton Ranch, there was a lot of ground to cover. We had to learn how Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip (Cole Hauser) got to Texas, meet a host of new characters, and set up the issues that will be central to our season-long arcs.
By contrast, the second episode of the two-episode premiere drop, “Earn Another Day,” is a bit quieter and a bit more focused. But it certainly drives things forward.
Fallout
In the first episode, we met the Jackson family, who run the 10 Petal Ranch, the biggest in the area, but they are having their own issues.
When we first meet Rob-Will (Jai Courtney), whose mother, Beulah (Annette Bening), runs the ranch, he’s dealing with a problem—poorly. He’s meant to be questioning the top ranch hand, Wes (Nakoa DeCoite), but instead he kills him. Then he teams with Chet (Hart Denton) to hastily bury the body—the body that Rip found at the end of the premiere.
But that wasn’t sufficient to end any of the problems. Beulah has tasked Rob-Will’s brother Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba) with cleaning up the mess and getting Rob-Will back into rehab. First, they go to recover the body. The problem is the body isn’t there. That leaves a logical question of where it went—which won’t be answered until the end.
That’s not the only problem, either. There is unrest among the ranch hands, which Beulah seeks to quell by promoting Chet and charging him with laying down the law. That lands one in the hospital but might go a long way toward halting questions. At least from employees.
That’s not going to work with Wes’s wife, Whitney (Olivia Rose Keegan), who shows up at the 10 Petal with questions. When she doesn’t get sufficient answers, she ignores a brush-off from Joaquin and later spurns his payoff. She files a missing persons report. That threatens to bring more scrutiny to the ranch, which is a problem for Beulah and her family.
Building a brand
Meanwhile, the episode kicked off by going to the past—eight days after the fire. Rip gets a lead on a new start in South Texas, nine miles from the border, and convinces Beth to take Carter (Finn Little) and start over. There, they purchase their ranch and herd from Jeanne Edwards (Harriet Sansom Harris), who makes Beth promise she’ll preserve the way of life.
It turns out that the Jacksons wanted the property and are none too pleased to see Beth and Rip swoop in. That explains some of the animus they’ve already faced, including being denied at the slaughterhouse.
So, Beth turns to Everett (Ed Harris) for help. He puts her in touch with an alternative slaughterhouse and provides a little folksy wisdom. They are becoming fast friends, ending the day at a bar, where she introduces him to Rip. We also learn that Everett is a decent singer.
But Beth isn’t the only one making friends. Rip is able to recruit a little more help, adding Zechariah (Marc Menchaca) to the ranch hands. He has a connection to Azul (J.R. Villarreal) and the former owners of the ranch. He struggled with his own demons—landing in prison—but he’s come out a changed man. Rip has always believed in second chances, and with Azul and Zechariah at his side, he might have the makings of a decent crew.
But, he still has a problem to solve—that body. Rip doesn’t know who it is or who is responsible, but he knows it’s trouble. He moves the body to a freezer, but while he’s on his trip back, he comes up with an answer. After Beth goes to sleep, Rip sneaks out, loads up the body, and heads for an old, abandoned mine shaft. Gets in and drops his load. That problem is solved—but a new one is brewing.
Beth wakes up alone. She wanders out of the house and sees Rip and his truck are gone. As we wrap, it’s clear she has questions of her own, and she might not like the answers.
The second of the two-episode Dutton Ranch premiere helps to deepen the storylines. I like the way the cast is coming together, and I enjoyed the flashback that provides a bit more clarity on how they got there.
Overall, there is plenty to like about this new series and plenty of direction to take all the action. It’s nice to be back in this world, and it will be interesting to see how all this drama with the 10 Petal Ranch and the Jackson family comes to a head.
Dutton Ranch streams Fridays on Paramount+. Check back next week as we continue to recap the action of this first season
Add us as a preferred source on Google