This post contains spoilers from Ransom Canyon season 1 episode 1 from this point forward.
Netflix's new Western romantic drama series Ransom Canyon, which debuted with its full 10-episode first season on April 17, doesn't waste any time dropping us right into the center of its story. The series follows the highs and lows of three interconnected ranching families in the midst of a fight for control of their sweeping Texas land, but secrets, heartbreak, grief, and love triangles are equally controlling them.
In the opening sequence of the first episode, titled "Don't Let Me Fall," Staten Kirkland (Josh Duhmel) rides his horse during sunrise. He was expecting his teenage son Randall (Hubert Smielecki) to join him for a morning ride, but it's Randall's birthday and he's already out of the house. Staten later joins Randall at his uncle Davis Collins' (Eoin Macken) house for a birthday party. Davis was the brother of Staten's late wife, but now they seem to be rival ranchers.
Staten's starting to get back out in the world two years after his wife Amalah's passing, beginning with some light flirting with Quinn O'Grady (Minka Kelly), Amalah's best friend. But Staten has some competition for Quinn from Davis. Staten's relationship with Randall isn't the best, and that's apparent by Davis gifting Randall with brand new car.
Back at home, Staten tells Randall he's returning the car to Davis, prompting the teen to angrily rush out for a drive in protest. In the middle of the night, Staten receives a phone call from the sheriff's department. Randall crashed his car and died.
Love triangles take shape and a mystery man arrives
One year later, Quinn's struggling to maintain her declining dance hall Gracie's while also turning lavender into soap. Quinn's best friend and Gracie's bartender Ellie Estevez (Marianly Tejada) pushes Quinn, a classically trained pianist, to play at the dance hall, but she's taking Staten to a high school football game. Davis asks her out before Staten arrives, but she doesn't accept. When he spots a memorial banner for Randall from the stands, Staten abruptly leaves the game.
Lucas Russell (Garrett Wareing), an outcast at the high school, has the hots for cheerleader Lauren Brigman (Lizzy Greene), but she appears to still have something going on with her ex-boyfriend, football player (and Davis' son) Reid Collins (Andrew Liner). However, Lucas and Lauren sneak away during the party and kiss. They have been hooking up for a few months! Why doesn't Lauren just officially dump Reid?
Meanwhile, Davis has been secretly plotting to move forward on putting a pipeline from Austin through Ransom Canyon to both make the town some money and save his failing ranch from further debt. But in order to do so, Davis needs to convince Staten and Cap Fuller (James Brolin) to agree. There's no way Staten will do any kind of business his former brother-in-law wants from him.
A mysterious stranger by the name of Yancy Grey (Jack Schumacher) walks into town and gets a ride to Fuller Ranch from Lauren's dad, Sheriff Brigman (Philip Winchester). When asked by the sheriff, he's not forthcoming with information about himself. Cap shows his new foreman to his room in the horse stable and Yancy meets Ellie, who checks up on Cap. Yancy leaves his room, and Ellie spots a poetry book on his bed. Inside, she finds a newspaper clipping about Fuller Ranch. What's Yancy up to?
Staten discovers a new lead in Randall's death
Lucas' older brother Kit (Casey W. Johnson) drops him off at school since their father left them a year ago, and it's the teenager who tells his older brother to stay out of trouble. Lauren's excited to learn that the UT scout was at the game and she's up for a spot at their cheerleading clinic in Austin. Her dream of getting out of town and away from her controlling father and alcoholic mother just got closer.
Staten helps fix Quinn's tractor and they clear the air about the football game. He grabs her braid, noting that's how she wore it in high school, which flusters her. When he returns home, Davis is there waiting for him to propose the pipeline initiative. Staten isn't receptive to the idea of drying up the aquifer, even with the chance of pocketing millions of dollars. Even without Staten's approval, Davis is determined to make this deal happen.
When Staten visits the site of Randall's accident, he discovers a piece from another car lodged in the ground in the distance. He had been told that Randall was the only one on the road that night, but the piece of this car leads him to believe that's not the truth. He brings the piece to the sheriff, but Brigman isn't willing to entertain his theory. Clearly, he's onto something and there's more to the story of Randall's death.
Staten returns to Quinn's to finish fixing the tractor, and he lets his bad mood about the car allow him to bite back at her when she asks him to open up. Staten next drops by Cap's to chat about the pipeline. He calls their ranches their legacy, and Cap get super honest: "Legacy to who? Our sons are dead." He might not have the ally he needs in his resistance against the pipeline.
Reid plays the hero and Quinn admits her feelings
Ellie confronts Yancy about the newspaper article about Cap in his book. She assumes the worst, that he's somehow trying to take advantage of Cap, but he explains it away as him working with Cap to bring the ranch back to its former glory. Speaking of trouble, the teens have a party in a small canyon, and Reid, who spotted Lauren and Lucas hugging at school, tells him to "leave my woman alone." Gross.
The cops arrive at the party, leading Lauren, Lucas, Reid, and Tim (Niko Guardado) to run and hide while everyone else drives away. Interruptions are going around as Staten interrupts Davis' dinner date with Quinn to once again shut down the pipeline idea. On his way home, he drives past the group of teens, who hide out in an abandoned house as a storm nears. Reid jumps on the rickety wood, sending Tim down to the basement with a broken leg. Staten arrives back on the scene to save Tim after the kids get out.
Reid lies to the first responders that he warned everyone to stop "horsing around" before the floor gave out, when he was actually the one who caused Tim's accident. Lauren wants to tell the truth to the cops, but Lucas stops her. Brigman arrives to take Lauren home and he warns her to stay away from Lucas because his family is "trouble." Quinn runs into Staten at the hospital as she's rushing in to check on her nephew Tim. She admits to having had feelings for him, but she can't keep waiting for him.
Before the episode comes to an end, Yancy flicks a lighter open and shut as a car pulls up to him. He gets inside, and he's picked up by none other than Davis. Yancy informs him that all is going according to plan with Cap. Davis warns him, "Once you go through with it, there's no going back." That's what Yancy's counting on. Ellie already warned Yancy not to mess with Cap, so what's really going on here?
Watch Ransom Canyon only on Netflix.