The Abbott Ranch shares a fence line with the Tillerson Ranch, and there’s no love lost between the two families. Despite a patriarch in Wayne Tillerson who could kindly be described as “bonkers” (all hail Will Patton), the Tillersons are far wealthier than the Abbotts; they’d be right at home on Yellowstone. At the beginning of the season, we learn the Tillersons are disputing the property boundaries, claiming ownership of the very pasture that happens to contain the hole. (This is not a coincidence; Wayne knows exactly what he’s doing.)
There’s an ongoing rivalry between Royal’s sons, Rhett (Lewis Pullman) and Perry (Tom Pelphrey), and the similarly aged Luke (Shaun Sipos), Billy (Noah Reid), and Trevor Tillerson (Matt Lauria). The tension bubbles over in episode one when a drunken bar fight that starts with Rhett vs. Trevor becomes Perry vs. Trevor, followed by a barrage of punches so fierce that Trevor is killed. The fallout from this fatal brawl winds throughout the season, bedeviling Deputy Sheriff Joy Hawk (Tamara Podemski)—not just because it involves two prominent families, especially the deep-pocketed Tillersons, and not just because she’s hoping to be elected sheriff in a rapidly approaching local election. There’s also the hole-ness of it all.
That’s because when Rhett and Perry tell Royal what happened, he tells them he’ll take care of it… and dumps Trevor’s body in the hole. A perfect plan, until a few episodes later, the body suddenly reappears in the nearby woods. He’s been missing for days, but (apparently) dead for mere hours (thanks, time hole!)—a detail that frustrates Joy’s case against one, both, or all of the Abbott men.
Trending Products
