The Abandons (2025) s01e01 Episode Script

1
[darkly intriguing music playing]
[tools clanking]
[music fades]
Thank you, Mother.
Willem, watch the horses.
Tessa is feeling a little skittish today.
You know, I am capable
of tending to more important things…
than a horse.
[man] Come on now, Will.
You know Mother
only trusts her baby to your care.
[woman] Your brother's right.
And you…
no rash adventures.
[mayor] Mrs. Van Ness.
Some service I can provide?
Mr. Mayor, our West Hill
and Summit mines are down 27%.
And my primary associate,
the esteemed Mr. Vanderbilt…
Well, if Cornelius sees
that one of his investments is
losing steam,
well, his concern becomes contagious.
That vein of silver running through
Jasper Hollow is our most timely solution.
Well, generous offers have been made
to all four families in the Hollow.
No doubt common sense will settle in.
We cannot rely on the arbitrary sense
of the common, Victor.
We all know that without the expansion
of Van Ness Mines, Angel's Ridge will
slide back into the mud.
We do not want that.
No, we do not.
And so our pursuit
of the Hollow will continue.
- [sinister music playing]
- [cattle mooing]
[man whistling]
- [man yelling]
- [cattle clamoring]
- [men yelling indistinctly]
- [dramatic music playing]
[gasps]
- [man 1] Get!
- [man 2] Move, move, move!
- [mooing continues]
- [dramatic music continues]
- Elias! Get up!
- [gun booming]
- We've got rustlers!
- Where?
Lower pasture.
[Elias] Dahly! Little Bull!
Think we didn't hear the fucking shotgun?
[man] Come on, Albert.
- [woman] Move! Move! Fucking move!
- Good to go.
[Elias] Let's go.
- [dramatic music continues]
- [men yelling]
- [man 1] Come on! Pull!
- [man 2] Come on, now!
[man whistling]
[thrilling xmusic playing]
[all yelling indistinctly]
[mooing]
[man shouting]
[woman] I see 'em!
Come on!
[indistinct clamoring]
[cattle mooing]
[man] Over there! Over there!
- [man 1] They're here!
- [man 2] Go, move it.
[man 3] There they are!
[woman] Elias, Albert, find the king.
Settle him. It will calm the rest.
King is in the middle.
[woman] Lilla, to the wall.
Dahlia, with me.
Yah. Yah!
[cow bellowing]
[yelling]
[dramatic music playing]
- [cattle mooing]
- [horse neighing]
[Albert] You got it! You got it!
[woman] Elias. Careful.
- [Elias grunting]
- [cow bellowing]
[Albert straining] You got it!
[Elias] Easy, easy!
Whoa, whoa!
[dramatic music subsides]
We should be going, Mother.
[dramatic note plays]
[somber music playing]
[Elias] Goddamn Van Ness.
This slaughter…
under our fucking noses.
For over a year now,
the curses and torments.
Then we pray for greater guidance.
[men straining loudly]
[breathing heavily]
This was Van Ness.
Her tyranny's getting worse.
You don't know that for certain.
[Albert] As certain
as Quentin losing that Appaloosa.
Or your grain fields
going brown from arsenic.
You think those are all
random acts of misfortune?
Whatever's happening here
shows no signs of stopping.
If all four families work together,
we might have a better chance
to protect what's ours.
[man] Protection?
That's a matter for the law.
[woman] It was the middle
of the fucking night.
[sheriff] I understand.
Write down all they took.
It was a threat, not a theft.
Our cattle were not stolen, Sheriff.
They were slaughtered.
The Cayuse been all stirred up.
It wasn't the Cayuse.
It wasn't the Redmasks.
You know who it was.
[sinister music playing]
Stop leering.
You have a sweet spot for the orphan girl.
Go talk to her.
You are drunk on sugar.
Well, if you are too timid
to make a friendly gesture…
Trisha Marie!
- Trisha Marie! What you going--
- [laughs]
For God's sake.
Trisha…
[Trisha] Dahlia Teller?
- There's someone who'd like--
- [Willem] Trisha!
Hey, Issac, I believe my mama's horse
should be getting your full attention.
Palomino's getting a proper tending.
He's a bit skittish.
He had a harrowing night.
Right.
Heard you had a…
rustler problem down at the ranch.
Maybe it was a rustler problem
sheared the palomino's hoof.
You making some affront against my family?
Issac didn't mean anything by it.
Right. Just a mindless mutter.
[Trisha] Let's go.
[Willem] Yeah, well,
it best not happen again.
'Cause I do not take kindly
to disparaging accusations.
Especially from some dirty little Jew.
Well, we all know you had nothing
to do with that horror last night.
The attack required
a fair amount of brains.
[tense music playing]
[onlookers laughing]
All right.
[tense music continues softly]
- Did something happen with Willem?
- Not sure.
He suddenly was all tied up in knots.
Let him be.
If his nerves need settling,
rather it be drink than some whore.
[animals chatter in background]
Afternoon, Walter.
Mr. Paxton.
Figured you could carve him up,
give your hogs some solid feed.
In the barn.
This was Constance.
Her crew ran
a dozen more through the wall.
Into the gulch.
[Walter] Huh.
Mr. Paxton,
we think we can make a stand.
Stop this threat, but only
if all our families work together.
You see a family around here, son?
No, sir, I-- I…
I didn't mean your…
[whistling] Come here! What?
What? You think I got time for playing?
[Walter chuckling]
[dog whimpering]
My tongue…
just prone to spit fuckery.
- [indistinct chatter]
- [gentle music playing]
I do not need your minding, Jack.
Moran, Mr. Van Ness is done here.
[Moran] Understood.
You're high-headed plenty.
Don't want you getting yourself lost.
Jack, my good, great friend.
This…
is how I find myself.
I will finish presently.
Then head home to my…
dear…
doting mother.
[coin clatters]
[expectant music playing]
We set up nightly patrols.
Cover the Hollow.
From the foothills to the south bend.
Two from our families, two outsiders.
And folks who'll tell the truth.
Whatever happens.
With no bias.
Cayuse settlement.
Two hours north.
I grew up with many of them.
More Cayuse does not serve
the need for folks believing us.
Why? Only whites tell the truth?
And Mexicans, are we not to be trusted?
I did not ask for help.
A shared boundary does not align us.
We met here,
at a river that feeds all our land,
because we are aligned.
We need each other.
Survival…
kin or not, seems a damn potent glue.
Come to get my due apology.
Your, uh, mocking…
made the fool of me today.
I'll show some contrition,
as soon as you restore the cattle
took flight off our fucking cliff.
[chuckles] Think you are so righteous.
I think you are so drunk.
[Willem] The orphan harlot judging me?
Ah, you should be thanking
that Irish god of yours.
That a man like me…
might even consider showing you interest.
I will add that to my evening devotions.
The present…
seems right for devotion.
[ominous music plays]
- [gasps]
- [grunts]
- [blow lands]
- [groans]
[whimpering] No, please!
Please! No! No! No, stop! Stop!
Willem, please! Please, stop!
- You don't have to do this! [sobbing]
- Hush!
[angrily] This could have
been lovely, Dahly.
- [gasps] Stop, stop, stop!
- [Albert] Dahly!
- [thudding]
- [Dahlia crying] Please, stop! Willem!
Step back.
- [Dahlia] Stop, stop, stop!
- [gunshot]
[Albert] Get off her!
[Lilla] Fucking monster.
[tense music playing]
So what now, boy?
- [groaning]
- [Willem] Gonna shoot me?
I'll let the law
deal with your ungodly actions.
[chuckles] The law?
You think Hayworth
is gonna lock up a Van Ness?
My visit here?
Only to collect what's owed--
[grunts]
[groaning weakly]
[somber music playing]
Dahly!
Sis.
God help us.
Shh, shh, shh. Shh.
We're here. We're all here, child.
Has no one gone to fetch the doctor?
Finding Mam was a faster remedy.
[somber music continues]
[Mam] There's nothing more
Doc Wells could do with these wounds.
Nearest surgeon's Oregon City,
that's half a day's ride.
Let's get home, girl.
It's not our concern.
I was here.
Papa, I saw him defile her.
- I saw Dahlia--
- It's not our family's problem.
Doesn't change what happened.
All of us being here makes us part of it.
Then it's a matter for the law,
and the guilty.
That boy is a Van Ness, Miles.
His mother will lay guilt upon all of us.
- Use it against her--
- A man's life is fading.
Oma's right.
Willem's in God's care now.
If he makes it through the night,
turns up stronger,
then sun-up we send for the sheriff.
Travel the boy to Oregon City,
get him the proper care.
We'll look after the trotter.
Aye.
[bells tolling]
[thunder rumbling]
[thunder rumbling]
[gentle music playing]
[fire crackling softly]
[bittersweet music playing]
[Mam] There you go.
Dahlia won't take any sleep.
Perhaps she needs to be here.
Elias, go get yourself a few hours.
Both of you. Go.
It's my care now.
Yeah.
I got him, Mam.
Good night.
Do you know how my husband died?
[Dahlia] He… He fell…
drunk…
from a rooftop.
After I lost the third baby,
I knew conceiving was not in God's will.
Timmy couldn't find peace with it.
And he shared that unrest
with closed fists.
Beatings near bloody almost every night.
I was on the roof pulling sheets,
and he stumbled up there drunk as always.
Staggered close to the edge.
[thunder rumbles in background]
There was a chimney crumbled.
So I took a brick to the side of his head…
and he was gone into nothing
just like that.
- [blow landing]
- [gurgling]
[yelps weakly]
You forget when you're being beaten…
how delicate the hand is
that holds you down.
What are you doing?
[dark music playing]
Do you want me to stop?
[gurgling continues]
[Mam] All it takes
is pressure in the right place.
Constance knows that, so does her boy.
- [grunts]
- [neck snaps]
[music stops]
[Dahlia gasps]
It's a hard lesson to learn.
[inhales sharply]
I inquired at Giselle's, Pope's gin mill.
Rattled Arkasha as well.
No one laid eyes on Willem
after he left Moran's.
Find your sister.
Perhaps Willem…
between the drink and…
his distractible nature,
ended up in the foothills.
Bedded down in one of the mining camps.
No matter how distracted Willem might be,
he would never disobey me.
[door opening]
What is it?
Yesterday…
Willem stormed off,
red-faced from the Jew.
You said something "tied him up in knots."
What was it?
I am not certain. [laughs nervously]
Am I to be privy
to the thoughts in his head?
Willem did not come home last night.
If he is in danger,
and you are aware of anything…
anything at all…
Might have been something said.
Dahlia Teller.
It was a bit bold.
Could have hurt Willem's pride. I…
Insolence.
It is a thankless endeavor.
Motherhood.
A visit is needed.
The orphan girl.
Her admission may
untie the knots.
I'll give a follow.
Just in case
it becomes a matter for the law.
I suggest we talk to the other families
in the Hollow as well.
Talked to Roache.
He and his crew want the work.
Good.
I will need to meet him face-to-face.
Take a look in his eyes.
- [dramatic music playing]
- [outlaw] Stay down!
[man] Please! It's all we got!
[wailing]
[outlaw] Stay down!
- [outlaw yelling]
- [woman wailing]
[outlaw] I got it.
[woman screaming]
- [outlaw] That boy!
- [Roache] I got the goods.
Come on, pack it up.
- Let's go!
- [outlaw] Come on! Let's go!
[men shouting]
[guns firing]
[hammer striking]
The door is patched.
Laid the body in here.
Go get Mam.
This animal deserves no piety.
I wish it was me took his life.
[Albert] Mam, someone is riding up.
Well, this is quite the surprise.
Sorry for disrupting your day, Ms. Nolan,
but I'm afraid our need is an urgent one.
[Mam] How might we help?
[Constance] My eldest, Willem,
has gone missing.
Short time prior to that, your…
The tall, fair-skinned girl,
she shared some unkind words with my son,
may have offended his pride.
Perhaps Willem came by here in
an effort to better understand her scorn.
I'd like to speak with the girl.
I'm afraid Dahlia's a bit indisposed.
Monthly suffering.
Best mind Mother's need, Teller.
Where's your sister?
Your families both seen a rough few days.
Understand tempers are raw.
[door opens]
Willem and I had a harsh exchange
about the rustling incident.
Both of us were offended by words said.
Your daughter was witness to that.
But, no, ma'am,
your son did not come here
for betterment of any kind.
What happened to your face?
[Lilla] A reckless toss.
Dropped a feed bucket from the loft.
I should have seen it coming.
Worry of a child is heartbreaking.
Sorry we couldn't ease your pain.
The depth of that pain is something
you could never truly understand,
it being one of blood.
Although it is admirable
that a barren woman such as yourself
would take on all of this.
Love is not shared through blood.
Yet you continue
to turn down my generous offers,
knowing all that money
could greatly benefit these children.
Is that love?
Or is it mulishness?
You mistake my faith for stubbornness,
Ms. Van Ness.
'Cause I know what it is God wants of me.
I made a promise to Angus Teller
to care for his children.
He provided for the purchase of this land,
their future.
After he died,
we took the hard trail west.
Where Providence led us
to these two angels alone and hurting.
That journey bonded us together
in a way you could never understand.
Delivered us here.
Five abandoned souls now kin.
No amount of money or misfortune
can move us from this land.
God gave us this home.
And only God…
can take it away.
If I knew I was getting a sermon,
I would've worn my Sunday finery.
We thank you for your time, ma'am.
[Mam] We need to gather the Hollow.
- [sheriff] The boy has gone missing.
- [Walter] I don't know nothing about that.
[sheriff] Good day, sir.
Paxton hasn't seen your boy.
[clicks tongue]
- [dog barking]
- [horse whinnying]
[Constance] Easy, boy! Easy!
Chain that filthy cur!
Come on, girl.
[barking stops]
We got enough swine to tend to.
[guns firing in distance]
Wait here.
[gunfire continues in distance]
Mrs. Van Ness, Xavier Roache.
Pleasure meeting a woman
of your stature, ma'am.
Mr. Roache.
The services I am in need of
demand a deep reach.
My son Willem is missing.
Well, I assure you, I have many eyes.
Good.
Jack here will cover your expenses.
[coins jingle]
Pitch a camp beyond the mines there.
Do not rob or kill anything.
- [pigs snorting]
- [gentle music playing]
[dog barking]
Good dog, Sweetie.
Afternoon, Walter.
I've got your hides.
Thank you.
But our visit today,
reason being a more dire one.
Willem Van Ness, the eldest son…
- There was an incident.
- The one gone missing?
Aye.
Circumstances demand a timely decision.
The outcome of which
could affect all of us.
- I don't care to know about it.
- I understand your reluctance.
Understand this, ma'am.
I harbor no ill will
towards anyone in this Hollow,
but I also do not care what
might happen to you.
Leave us be,
and… and we'll do the same.
- Come on, Sweetie. Here.
- [dog barking]
That's my good girl.
Everyone's been through enough.
Willem died in his sleep.
Folks' minds are set around that.
What if he was to live?
It's not your concern.
If needed, I'll tell everyone the truth.
But I promise you, child, I did what I did
so you would never have to suffer
the consequences of Willem's death.
For now, we hold that between us.
Understood?
Yes.
Good girl.
- [Moran] Miss Trisha.
- Just some water, please.
[Moran] You got it.
A whiskey as well.
Thought you might care for another.
It was a ragged day for both of us.
[laughs]
Thank you.
[man] Trisha Marie?
- Bring yourself over here.
- You're not my keeper, dear brother.
I'm sorry.
[sighs, grunts]
Always find a fool thing to mind.
[Trisha grunts]
- Mind yourself!
- [grunts]
[crowd exclaiming]
[man] Time to leave, son!
Who the fuck do you think you are?
- Lose your nursemaid, maybe you find out!
- Let's ease up now!
Don't want more trouble!
We've had plenty.
Your mother is waiting
for you and your sister.
Go on. Hurry on.
This is not finished.
You hear me? You will suffer.
Every last one of you mongrels.
And that bulldog
of an Irish whore you call "Mam."
[groans]
- [loud clatter]
- [grunting]
[energetic music playing]
- [grunts]
- [man screams]
[grunts]
[gun firing]
[plaster skittering]
[music fades]
[Mam] We have a body rotting in our barn,
and you all go and get into a bar fight?
[Albert] Nothing was damaged, Mam.
Except a fork.
You know better than that.
The fault is mine, Mam.
I'm the oldest. I need to be
taking better care of us. I'm sorry.
Dahlia…
what he did to you…
I'm so sorry.
[gentle music playing]
I made a promise to Dad to…
keep us safe.
I promised.
I'm sorry.
[Miles] Because we live by the same river,
I'm to hide your bodies?
- Willem's blood is not on us.
- That's where you're wrong.
Van Ness sees a chink in armor,
she drives the knife.
This is not a weakness, it is murder.
The animal deserved worse.
If we go to the law, we hang.
It is a crime
that my family had no hand in.
[Mam] Who cares? Fuck her.
She has no regard for anyone, the law.
So why the fuck should we?
The silver under our feet is ours,
this fucking land is ours.
If we don't stand together,
she'll take everything.
We bury this, it starts a fire.
The fire's already here.
We cannot compel you.
- [grave music playing]
- [objects clatter]
Each family gets two votes.
[Albert] Stone,
go to the sheriff.
[Elias] Stick,
this remains our business.
Majority takes it.
Dahlia.
Albie.
A lie sets no one free.
[grave music continues]
- What are you doing?
- Two votes per family.
- Papa, I deserve--
- That is our choice.
- That is not--
- That is our choice.
It's a fair draw.
No majority.
Found her by the river.
[somber music playing]
Van Ness killed her.
Sweetie.
Why do that?
Why kill a dog?
Sweetie.
Sweet…
Why kill a dog?
Van Ness's missing boy.
Willem attacked Dahlia.
Stone,
the law handles it.
Stick,
silence.
Each family gets two votes.
Don't need two votes.
[poignant music playing]
["Trouble So Hard"
by Amythyst Kiah playing]
Ooh, Lordy, my trouble so hard ♪
Ooh, Lordy, my trouble so hard ♪
Don't nobody know my trouble but God ♪
Don't nobody know my trouble but God ♪
Ooh, Lordy, my trouble so hard ♪
Ooh, Lordy, my trouble so hard ♪
Don't nobody know my trouble but God ♪
Don't nobody know my trouble but God ♪
I went down the hill the other day ♪
Soul turned to ashes
As the sky turned gray ♪
I'm a ghost in the haunt
A haint in the room ♪
Everywhere I go, impending doom ♪
I went in the room
I looked in the bed ♪
Saw my body laying there ♪
Am I dead? ♪
Ooh, Lordy, my trouble so hard ♪
Ooh, Lordy, my trouble so hard ♪
Don't nobody know my trouble but God ♪
Don't nobody know my trouble but God ♪
["Trouble So Hard" continues playing]
[song fades]
[somber music playing]