RANSOM CANYON Episode 1.1

Name: RANSOM CANYON Episode 1.1
Item: RANSOM CANYON Episode 1.1
Author: Review

"Sad Cowboy’s Greif Runs Deep"

Family Content: -2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

Episode 1.1 of Netflix's RANSOM CANYON follows Staten, a man who refuses to move on after the death of his wife and son years ago. His complicated grief frustrates Quinn, a woman who has been his anchor throughout this grief. She has been in love with Staten and hoped he'd come around. Realizing he may never move on, she goes on a date with his brother, which causes her and Staten to fight, resulting in her spilling her secret that she has loved him since high school. Staten, however, places their entire relationship in jeopardy as he says he doesn't care, even though he does.

Though moments of biblical morality emphasize the importance of family and a good community, the show largely teaches romanticism as their hearts and emotions rule the characters above all else. Furthermore, the show features high schoolers drinking with no punishment, very strong foul language, greed, and a character who lies to infiltrate a business. For these reasons, Movieguide® advises extreme caution for older teens and adults.

Content:

(RoRo, B, LLL, N, AA, D, MM)

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

A strong romantic worldview as the characters allow themselves largely to be led by their emotions. The main character, Staten, allows his grief to run his life and remains downtrodden without any effort to overcome the pain that has entered his life through the death of his wife and son. Meanwhile, another character, Quinn, allows love to run her life, giving up her dream to pursue Staten. Though there is no mention of the Bible or Christianity, the characters do also promote some biblical values, including the importance of family and the value of community;

Foul Language:

Very strong foul language, totaling to 8 profanities, 15 obscenities, including 1 “b” word, 7 dam*s, 2 sh*ts, 2 a**s , and 3 hel*s, and three foul gestures ;

Violence:

No violence;

Sex:

No sex

Nudity:

Mild nudity with three brief scenes of upper male nudity;

Alcohol Use:

Moderate alcohol use, with some social drinking among adults along with multiple scenes of high schooler’s underage drinking while at parties;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

One brief shot of a high schooler smoking at a party; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Moderate miscellaneous immorality including lying, threatening, and one character experiencing excessive greed as he plans on selling the town’s water for his own profit.

More Detail:

RANSOM CANYON is a series streaming on Netflix. In the first episode of season one, having lost his son while still grieving the death of his wife, rancher Staten hasn’t allowed himself to move on from his mourning and is moving through life aimlessly.

At the same time, Quinn, who has been in love with Staten since high school, begins to give up on the dream that Staten will ever make a move on her, despite being there for him for the past three years as he faces the most complex challenges of his life. However, as Quinn begins to move on, Staten grows jealous and makes a mistake that may cost them their relationship forever.

Two years after his wife died, Staten attempted to connect with his son, Randall, on his birthday. However, being a teen, Randall blows his father off and, after a fight, drives off with the brand-new car his uncle, David, gave him for his birthday. That night, Stenton wakes up to a call that his son died after wrecking his car.

Fast forward one year, Staten is still mourning the loss of his son and has largely been a recluse for the past year, having also not gotten over his wife, who died two years before his son. However, his friend Quinn has been working to get him acquainted with society and invites him to a local football game to socialize. Staten agrees to go, but while they are there, he sees a poster memorializing his son and quickly goes home afterward because of the overwhelming sadness this causes him. Meanwhile, Davis asks Quinn on a date.

After the football game, the show follows a cheerleader named Lauren and her secret boyfriend, Lucas, who is a bit of a social outcast. Lauren is down because she hopes to leave the town and get a full ride to the University of Texas to join their cheer squad, but she realizes the school will never send a scout to their little town.

The next morning, a newcomer walks toward town, and the sheriff offers him a ride. While in the car, the newcomer, Yancy, is questioned by the sheriff about why he has come. Yancy has found work with Cap Fuller, the owner of one of the largest ranches in the area. Though Cap runs a tight ship, as Yancy immediately learns, he gets chewed out for showing up late right as he arrives.

Episode One of RANSOM CANYON introduces the show’s plot, with multiple branching storylines. Along with Staten and Quinn’s relationship, Lucas and Lauren also serve as main characters, along with Davis and his plans for the water pipeline—which is related to the arrival of Yancy. The first episode does a good job of introducing the world in a manageable way while also building intrigue.

Though there are some elements of biblical morality, such as an emphasis on family and looking out for friends, the worldview focuses on romanticism, as characters follow their hearts above all else. Furthermore, the teenage characters drink alcohol, which is presented positively. The episode also features very strong foul language, with 25 profanities and obscenities in total. Thus, Movieguide® advises extreme caution for older teens and adults.