The Abandons (2025) s01e03 Episode Script

1
[Constance] Mr. Vanderbilt's
shipping enterprise is in jeopardy.
If our decline does not stabilize,
he will be forced to withdraw his stake.
If you cooperate,
it would guarantee your safety.
Safety? For my silver?
The answer is no.
[dark music playing]
[Trisha] Thought you might
care for another.
Trisha Marie,
always find a fool thing to mind.
[Trisha grunts]
Mind yourself!
Willem did not come home last night.
Dahlia Teller.
Could have hurt Willem's pride.
[Jack] Mrs. Van Ness, Xavier Roache.
The services I am in need of
demand a deep reach.
I assure you, I have many eyes.
Good.
[grunts, groans]
Willem Van Ness was a sad, broken thing.
Any burden you feel, give it to God.
Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.
[urging horses]
[Fiona] Killian! The clothes, the money…
Who ended your vow of poverty, Killian?
Constance.
Our confessed sins,
now hers to turn against us.
Oh my God.
We're finished.
[melancholy music plays]
[horse whinnying]
[man] Hey! There's someone out there!
[man] Whoa! Whoa! Who goes there?
[man] Ma'am! It's the priest!
[dark music playing]
[music fades]
[man 1] Company, halt! Dismount.
[man 2] Company, halt!
Tell him we hope this offering
is satisfactory to start the peace talks.
[in Cayuse] The goods.
We hope they satisfy.
[ominous music playing]
[yelling]
- [loud thud]
- [soldiers shouting]
- [man 1 in English] It's the rebels!
- [man 2] We're under attack! Return fire!
I got you, Mitchell.
- [men yelling]
- [rousing music playing]
- [muskets firing]
- [man screams]
- [whooping]
- [sounds fade]
[somber music playing]
[Doc] Uh…
Death was, uh…
most certainly the fall.
Leather burns on the neck.
As he fell, he must have
gotten tangled in the reins.
No one saw the fall?
Other riders?
I was expecting the monsignor.
A goodwill gesture from his bishop.
[riders approaching]
[man] Whoa.
Cayuse ambush in Wolf Woods.
Gonna need some hands, Doc.
- [man 1] Boot it, up front.
- [man 2] Need some help over here!
[indistinct chattering]
[man 1] We gotta go fetch a doc, man.
[man 2] Go, fetch us some water.
[man 1] Get five sturdy backs…
much water as you can.
[Garret] Another attack?
Find their commander.
[chattering continues]
[man 3] We got plenty of wounded here!
Tell Jack and your Schubert partner
I'll be in my office.
[Fiona] Get Issac. We need the tents.
See if Giselle and her girls can help.
Gather in the chicken yard.
[Roache] It's the third attack this month.
The Cayuse who ambushed cavalry
is called Red Bird,
and he's brought around the tribes.
Nez Perce, Umatilla…
The man is putting together an army.
And all oppose the idea of a treaty?
Mmm-hmm.
And with the pace of these attacks,
Red Bird needs resources.
He's willing to sit down.
Talk about making a trade.
And those resources?
War stock?
Yes, ma'am.
Weapons, ammunition…
Can he be trusted, this… Red Bird?
Not sure anyone can be trusted.
But it's been only a year since they hung
the ones guilty of the mission slaughter.
Folks… still see the Cayuse as savages.
Why risk that association?
That perception of savagery
is what I require, Mr. Roache.
[somber music playing]
Jack speaks sufficient Cayuse.
He will bring my goodwill gesture
to the Badlands while you--
Apologies if I was not clear.
Our… black sheep,
very aware of who you are.
I'm sure it could be you or your boy,
but for trust to take hold,
it will need to be a Van Ness
he's looking in the eye.
What sheep requires your eye?
Tomorrow morning.
Eight o'clock.
Our homestead.
- Be timely.
- Yes, ma'am.
[indistinct chatter]
Gonna wanna tie this tight.
[man groans softly]
You have a gentle way about you, ma'am.
Letting some air get to the wound.
Your medic did a fine job.
How bad?
Damage of infection…
Determined by time and prayer.
[man] I see.
So you must be the angel of Angel's Ridge.
I have been called
many names over the years, corporal.
"Angel" is yet to make that list.
You rest.
[gentle piano melody playing]
My sister, Lulu, her musical talent
was a quality her husband most admired…
Indeed, required.
Your aunt married well.
Music is not my bait for marrying.
[laughs softly]
I am not a wind-up doll.
I was offering encouragement.
When you settle with a proper husband,
your talent will be an advantage.
Fiona.
Best be poured in the wounds,
not in the belly.
Kills infection.
[Fiona] Thank you.
Will you kindly remind my daughter
that she does not earn her keep
as a doctor?
Nor as cook, or laundress,
but it seems I do a great deal of that.
She's spending
too much time in your company.
Am I to understand that you've been
running this enterprise on your own?
Yes.
My Emmet passed.
It will be two years next week.
Well, condolences.
At least the burden will soon fall
on the shoulders of a solid young man.
Angel's Ridge wasn't a burden
for me and Emmet.
It was our dream.
We were partners.
- In love and enterprise.
- Hmm.
Uh, this attack, sir,
will it halt all discussions of treaties?
Well, until their internal conflict
is settled, the Cayuse won't talk.
Well… if there's anything
we can do to help,
Angel's Ridge is here for you, major.
You can stay as long as you need.
[major] I'm sorry
there's no news about your brother.
- Thank you, major.
- Sure.
Won't be able to travel north tomorrow,
settle the new prospects.
I'll be riding with your mother
and Mr. Roache,
setting up a new interest in the Badlands.
- What new interest? Why is Mother--
- The "why" not for me to know.
Just passing along my recent task…
so you're aware of things changing.
[man screaming]
[Elias] Hit him again!
Ugh! We're running through
this laudanum like water.
[Doc] We need Arkasha!
[man screaming]
[Doc] This blade won't cut it!
[man groaning]
Let me give a pull.
[Doc grunts]
[man shuddering]
[Albert] On his legs, Doc.
- [blade grinding]
- [man groaning loudly]
- [breathing shakily]
- [disorienting music plays]
- [coughs]
- [groaning continues]
Just a piece of firewood, brother.
[breathing heavily]
[blade slicing]
[Doc] Hold him still.
Hold him still!
- [blade slicing]
- [Doc] Nearly there!
- [squelching]
- [man shouts]
- [panting]
- [somber music playing]
Sometimes I wish I knew how to pray.
It's all so much.
Duffy, now this.
The burden of Killian Duffy is mine.
Go. Be with the others.
[music fades]
[Trisha] So many pardons.
I did not mean to…
Our evening devotion quite done.
I'll leave you two.
May I sit?
[nervously] Yes, of course. Sorry.
You okay?
Since Father died, I feel quite…
distant.
Invisible.
From Mother, and Garret, and…
and now with Willem missing.
Does that happen to you?
With family? Do…
Not feeling a part of the thing
you're supposed to be.
Am I… I…
- Do I sound quite mad?
- No.
Quite truthful.
[gentle music playing]
I do give thought to my own pursuits.
Adventures.
Free of ties.
Your hands feel much firmer
than I thought they'd be.
Not that they…
[nervously] I mean, they…
I thought they would be more delicate.
Not that they are rough or… or manly.
They're just…
The size, as I feel them, it…
[Trisha laughs softly]
Jesus, I should swallow
my own damn tongue.
If that is your way of saying,
"You are a more able woman
than I ever imagined,"
- I accept the compliment.
- [door opens]
- My intention was exactly that.
- [Albert clears throat]
- We are all heading home, brother.
- Right.
Coming.
You have a pleasant pray…
prayer… praying time.
[Trisha laughs softly]
- [insects chirring]
- [distant howling]
[man 1 groaning shakily]
[man 2 coughing weakly]
[groggily] Is that a comedy or a tragedy?
[chuckles]
You do not have to be
a churchgoer to receive His grace.
And what grace do you seek, Fiona?
Hmm.
[man exhales softly]
[gentle music playing]
The grace I seek…
is simple guidance.
All my decisions now feel uncertain.
Is it God's will or my own selfish need?
Till I'm terrified all my decisions,
ones made, ones to make,
will be wrong.
[music fades]
[door opens]
- [door closes]
- [footsteps approach]
[clears throat] Evening, Mother.
Oh, hello, dear.
Needing silver
for your adventure to the Badlands?
Our devoted Jack Cree.
- What other details did he--
- Nothing but his worry.
Which I forced him to relay.
The Badlands are worthy of concern.
Especially when I am in the dark.
Our duty to this town
often requires the need
to overstep territorial law.
So the peril becomes yours alone?
I am now pressed to make decisions
with uncertain outcomes.
I cannot chance a misstep touching you.
[scoffs softly]
Your safety is my greatest concern.
Our legacy…
is the greatest concern.
And you are that legacy, Garret.
You always have been.
From the time you were three,
Father and I both knew it.
[bittersweet music playing]
And Willem?
Did he know as well?
Heir apparent,
dethroned from that young of an age?
Willem was loved, deeply.
But his path…
a different one.
- [chatting and laughing]
- [Elias] Thank you, Moran.
[man] Hey, you! You're in my chair.
[chair clatters]
[man] Ah! Nice of him to leave me a drink.
[patrons laughing]
[man] More drinks for the soldiers!
[Moran] Sergeant, mind your manners.
- Ah!
- [Trisha yelps]
[laughs] Rather mind this!
- [Elias] Hey!
- [Trisha] Ahh! Let me go!
[Garret] Have we given up
trying to find him?
Mr. Roache, already on to new tasks?
Every agency from New York
to San Francisco has been alerted.
I will never give up hope.
[Trisha screams]
- [sergeant yelling]
- [grunts]
[patrons exclaiming]
[groaning]
[dramatic music playing]
[sergeant laughing]
[Elias grunts]
[patrons exclaiming]
Stop it! That's enough! Stop it! [yelps]
- Put her down!
- Take your hands off her!
[tense music playing]
[grunts]
[groans]
[grunts]
[dramatic music resumes]
Yeah, boy?
[shouts]
- [groaning]
- [sergeant growls fiercely]
[music fades]
[sergeant grunts loudly]
[sergeant] Tough guys, eh?
- [loud thud]
- [sergeant grunts]
[patrons exclaiming]
[object clatters]
[Roache] I admire your spirit, boys.
Your good sense, a bit light.
But your bravery, commendable.
Fuck.
[clicks tongue]
Are you done?
Or is there more circus fare
I need to endure?
Good fight, hmm?
[chuckling]
[Elias] Shut up, Arkasha.
[indistinct chatter]
[Fiona] Is there anything, Grady…
Any affairs that might need tending?
I want no hypocrisy in death.
Taking up space in some… holy yard,
laying next to strange skulls and bones.
There must be some service.
[Grady] Only to nature.
A corpse, but…
a gift to the earth.
Let me have a view of the stars.
Would you promise me?
[Issac] Replaced the hind irons.
Put the cost in the Van Ness tally.
Appreciate it.
[clicks tongue] Come on.
[indistinct chatter]
[suspenseful music playing]
[exhales] Shit.
[tense music playing]
[Trisha] What are you doing here?
Jeez…
Patricia.
Anyone could catch you lurking back here.
Glad it was you.
[wind picking up]
Have you come to show me
the bruises I have caused?
No.
I'm just following my curiosity.
That man your mother's talking to…
Mr. Roache.
I know him by trade, not name.
He's a scout Mother has hired
to search for Willem.
What is it?
I'm fairly certain
that your scout is a bandit.
Four Fingers, leader of the Redmasks.
[scoffs] A Redmask?
No, that is…
My mother would not associate with such--
What takes your mother west so early?
Nothing involving men in masks.
Probably right.
Sorry to disrupt your morning.
Is your intent to follow them?
You will embarrass yourself.
And so, I will stay with you
until you realize your mistake.
It's only gonna add
to the pleasure of being right.
[energetic music playing]
[music fades]
[Roache] All right, boys,
got a long ride ahead.
Better get going.
Make sure we're alone.
Trouble?
Just a feeling.
[ominous music playing]
What is Mother doing in this place?
No idea.
Now these two, what are they looking for?
Let's put the fear of God in 'em.
- Shit.
- Go. Go!
[dramatic music playing]
- [pistols firing]
- [dramatic music continues]
[bandits yelling indistinctly]
[bandits yelling]
[pistols firing]
Trish! Watch yourself!
- [gunshots]
- Fuck!
[music intensifies]
[shouting] The narrow's up ahead!
Can he jump that divide?
I can make it!
[Trisha yelps, gasping]
- Elias!
- Trisha!
- [Trisha yelps]
- [horse whinnying loudly]
- [whooping]
- [gunshot]
Yeah, run, you nosy fucks!
[laughing]
[atmospheric music playing]
[music fades]
Best we part here.
[Trisha grunts] Thank you.
Those were Mr. Roache's men, Mother's men.
And they meant to do us harm.
I have to speak with her.
Probably best you keep this to yourself…
until we both get
some better understanding.
Your care of me today,
I'm not accustomed to that.
You're very kind, Elias.
I am quite fond of you.
[soft music playing]
There's a mountain of shit
between us, Trisha.
I don't fool myself
it can ever be climbed.
But…
But if you ever find yourself in need,
don't give it a second thought.
Come find me.
I will.
I hope you might do the same.
So Constance has bought herself
a fuckin' outlaw army.
[music fades]
Trisha said that she's using the Redmasks
to track down Willem.
Jesus. Well, how do we stop them
from finding the body?
[Dahlia] Mam.
[pensive notes rising]
[tense music plays]
[music fades]
[heavy metal clinking]
[Constance] The silver
is a goodwill gesture to build trust
toward a future
where we both get what we need.
[speaking Cayuse]
Silver requires too many trades,
too much time.
Our need is urgent.
[speaking Cayuse sternly]
Until we have weapons, there will be
no talk of any favor we pay in return.
I can deliver weapons.
[Fiona] Boys, you bring the cart around.
- [Albert] Yes, Mam.
- [man clears throat] Mam?
[Fiona] Corporal Mitchell asked
that I tend to his remains.
His last request…
an earnest one.
All right,
I'll enter it as a local burial.
I'll get him to the graveyard.
[Fiona] No graveyards.
I made him a promise.
My boys'll tend to him.
Beatrice!
How many children do I have?
I'm sorry, ma'am.
[music box playing
darkly intriguing melody]
Mam, do you truly believe
this is the right thing?
If I were to make a list of right things,
I'm not sure this would be at the top.
[Albert] Or the bottom.
[Fiona] We need
to give an end to this story.
[expectant music playing]
[Albert] Whoa.
[horse whinnies]
[Elias] Somebody's coming.
The hell are you doing here?
Ever since
your priest met his untimely end,
you've been out of step.
So this stalking is just
good neighborly concern, is it?
Help with your local burial
seemed like the Christian thing to do.
Hmm. So this is what you're up to.
Whatever the law finds,
they'll assume that it's Willem
or the man who robbed and killed him.
Dress him. We'll find a place to lay him.
[darkly brooding country song plays]
Trouble rains like ashes ♪
Trouble runs this town ♪
All my soul bear witness… ♪
Rest easy, Grady Mitchell.
Trouble's gonna run me down ♪
Ain't no judge, no jury ♪
Ain't no holy ground ♪
- [distant howling]
- All my soul bear witness ♪
Trouble's gonna run me down ♪
[Fiona] Step up, boys!
Trouble's gonna run me down ♪
Angel, blow your trumpet ♪
[wolves snarling]
Devil, call your hounds ♪
All my soul bear witness ♪
Trouble's gonna run me down ♪
- [music fades]
- [wolves snarling]
[distant howls echo]
[music builds intensity]
Black water, save me ♪
Black water, save me ♪
Black water, save me ♪
Black water, save me ♪
Save me ♪
Trouble's gonna run me down ♪
[song fades]
[slow sweeping music plays]