This post contains spoilers from The Abandons on Netflix from this point forward.
As if tensions couldn't get higher following the "disappearance" of Willem Van Ness, Fiona also learned that an old friend switched sides on her to Constance. Their secrets, including killing Willem, are now out of their hands. The Abandons episode 3 begins with some commotion outside the Van Ness home. Father Duffy returns, but not how any of us would have expected.
In a distant field, a peace offering is attempted, but the Native Americans start a battle with the soldiers. Back in town square, it's revealed that Father Duffy died during a fall and was tangled in his reins. The victims of the attack are also brought into town, and Roache speaks to Constance about the Cayuse and their repeated attacks. A treaty remains an elusive resolution.
Constance speaks with the major about the attack, but there's nothing to be done until a peace treaty can be reached with the Cayuse. A team of volunteers helps save a man's life, and it's Elias who must muster the courage to saw off his arm. After he finishes the task, he takes refuge in the church and is met by Trisha. Despite their families' adversarial relationship, theirs couldn't be softer.
Constance plans to venture into the badlands
Garret confronts Constance over his concern about her secret excursion into the badlands. He doesn't know the extent of her trip with Jack and doesn't think she should be heading into that danger. She isn't worried about her fate, only the legacy of the Van Ness family. Elias and Trisha once again run into each other at the saloon, and he steps in to defend her when a drunk patron grabs her.
The fight goes outside as the drunk man pushes Elias to the ground and punches him. Garret approaches just as the man grabs Trisha again, but he's no match for the drunk man. Even both Garret and Elias teaming up doesn't stop him. Constance gives Roache the go ahead to hit the drunk man over the head and put an end to the fight. Elias takes particular notice of Roache's gloves.
On horseback, Elias follows Roache into the woods and onto the Van Ness property. He sneaks around to spy on him, but Trisha catches him. After all, how stealth can you be with a horse by your side? He admits that he snuck onto the property to follow his curiosity about Roache. She tells him that Roache is a scout her mother hired to find Willem. Elias confesses that he believes Roache is actually the bandit known as Four Fingers and the leader of the Redmasks. Trisha scoffs.
The Abandons devise a cover-up for Willem's death
Elias intends to follow Constance, Jack, and Roache, and Trisha calls him out and wants to tag along with him. They track the group into the badlands, a sketchy canyon where the men Roache informed to keep others off their trail spot Elias and Trisha. The outlaws chase the star-crossed couple with gunshots in the air, and they're a little too close for comfort. Trisha nearly doesn't make the jump after the divide when her horse slips, but Elias pulls her off the horse, which they leave behind.
The Cayuse give Constance and her associates bags to put over their heads as they enter their territory. Trisha realizes that the men who chased them were Roache's men. Elias tells her to keep that to herself and not reveal what she knows to her mother yet. She admits that she has a crush on him, but he knows there's too much between them to believe they could pursue their feelings.
Constance promises the Cayuse weapons when they turn down silver. Fiona and the Abandons take the body of the deceased Grady Mitchell to trick the law into believing it's Willem or the man who killed him. They rub his body with a substance that attracts wolves to eat him. Well, that's a violent way to cover up a crime and try to keep from getting caught.