This post contains spoilers from Untamed episode 1 from this point forward.
The suspenseful mystery limited series Untamed made its premiere on Netflix on July 16, and the series doesn't waste a minute before dropping us into the action. After showing us the gorgeous scenery of the Yosemite National Park, a chilling scene finds two climbers scaling a mountain. As they make their way up, a dead woman's body falls from the top of the mountain and gets tangled up in their ropes, leaving their lives on the line, too.
National Parks Service Investigative Services Branch agent Kyle Turner (Eric Bana) searches the forest with his young son when he receives the call about the climbing incident. He arrives on the scene, but he's not particularly well regarded by the rangers below him, though new ranger Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago) seems intrigued. Turner immediately begins asking questions about the case. He's no-nonsense and wants to find the answers for himself.
Even though the weather's about to turn, Turner decides to descend the mountain himself to look at Jane Doe's body and search for potential clues. He takes photos and takes particular note of injuries on her leg and the bracelet she's wearing, which slips off to the ground. Milch (William S. Smillie) suspects their Jane Doe to be an addict, but Turner isn't ready to make any assumptions yet. He seems to follow her bloody tracks on the mountain.
Teaming up with Naya on the case
Captain Souter (Sam Neill) and Turner meet with the coroner, and some of the injuries can either be explained by animals or pre-fall injuries. Jane Doe has a gold X tattoo on her wrist. Lab results haven't come in yet, but Turner isn't willing to give up on finding out what happened. Souter gives Turner a bit of a talking to. It seems he might have a drinking problem and might be going through something personal, which leads to his attitude and tunnel vision.
Lawrence, the park superintendent, isn't pleased to hear about the incident online, and he's also frustrated that Turner isn't engaging with a lawyer about an investigation into a man who went missing in the park six years ago. Turner returns to the wilderness at night to continue his search for clues. He pieces together the beads from Jane Doe's bracelet and finds most of it hanging in a tree. He calls his ex-wife Jill (Rosemarie DeWitt) to tell her about a meteor shower.
Naya goes to Turner's house in the morning to work with him on the Jane Doe case per Souter's orders. She sees how he's living in his cabin and seems surprised. She informs him that Jane Doe's fingerprints didn't come up with a match. Naya also spots a framed photo of Turner's son and shares personal details about her own son, who just turned four. She met his father while working on the force in Los Angeles. She moved for a fresh start.
The truth about Turner's son
To her surprise, Naya joins Turner on horseback to search the park grounds, though she was expecting to canvass the area. It's a new kind of investigation for her. They reach an old hunting shack, where Turner notices blood stains, a bloodied rope, and fresh carvings in the woods. When Naya opens the door, a bear nearly attacks her, but Turner shoots the roof and scares it away. Next, they find a bloody shoe in the woods.
In a tree, Turner finds bullet lodged in the bark. He calls the coroner, who realizes they missed a bullet wound in Jane Doe through her left thigh. There's another ricochet mark on a rock, leading Turner to come up with additional theories. Their investigation ends for the day having made some great progress, and Turner receives an unexpected visit from Jill, who later checks in with Souter. Turner talks to his son again, and the beads on the desk spark a memory.
He thinks that the bracelet Jane Doe was wearing could be connected to the a camp program at the park that ran many years ago. The attendees were given beaded bracelets. Turner actually leans on Naya's help and instincts to look into the camp connection. While looking at the camp website later that night, Naya receives a message from Gael's father that says she can't ignore him. As the episode ends, everyone looks up at the stars and it's revealed Turner's son Caleb died years ago.
Watch Untamed only on Netflix.
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