For a mystery crime thriller involving ruthless cowboys with guns, dangerous animals, and a time-traveling hole, you’d think there would be more death. Outer Range is quite light on the kill count, although each death has a significant impact on the overall story. One major death, in particular, works as a catalyst for the whole subsequent narrative. Here is a breakdown of everyone who died in the series who is of any importance to the plot. If we missed anyone, please comment below.
Deaths in Season 1
Trevor Tillerson
The Abbott family has been fighting the Tillerson family for decades now, with their rivalry becoming infamous in the region. The latest dispute arises over land ownership when Wayne Tillerson claims the west pasture is lawfully his. This bitter rivalry turns deadly in the opening episode of Outer Range, leading to a murder investigation and a family being torn apart by their own lies.
Perry and Rhett Abbott are getting drunk at the local bar when the murder takes place. A fight starts when Perry throws up at Trevor Tillerson’s feet. Rhett sees this altercation and stops the brawl from proceeding. Trevor then provokes Rhett, who retaliates. He pummels his enemy to the ground, knocking his belt buckle off in the process. Rhett returns inside with Maria, leaving Perry outside with Trevor alone.
Trevor incites Perry with talk about his missing wife. Perry, who seems to be sobering up at this point, punches Trevor in the throat and continues to attack his opponent until dead. The brothers place Trevor’s body in their truck and drive back to the ranch. Royal chucks the corpse into the magic hole and the family begins the process of covering up the murder. Later a coroner’s report states that Trevor died due to blunt force trauma to the windpipe, with Perry delivering that fatal final blow.
Royal Abbott
In episode five, Royal witnesses his own death. He rubs the magical black substance into his hands and sees a vision of his future. In this vision, Cecilia is holding Royal in her arms and Autumn Rivers is there too. When Royal time traveled through the mystical vortex, Cecilia told him he had died two years ago, which tracks with the vision. We don’t know the circumstances of his death yet, though.
The Bear
There’s an obscure subplot involving Cecilia and a dead bear cub that still baffles me now. She discovers the rotting corpse and hides it in a hut on the ranch property, keeping it her dirty little secret. In another random scene, she cuts herself on the bear’s teeth. Autumn has a strange encounter with an adult bear who sniffs at her but doesn’t attack. This same bear is later seen searching for its child outside the aforementioned hut. Cecilia is chased by the bear and rushes for her gun. She shoots the bear once and watches it crawl away. The Abbott mother then reluctantly shoots the bear a second time, killing the dangerous foe. Cecilia buries both animals in the finale.
This rather strange sequence of events displays the unhinged mentality of Cecilia and may symbolize her need or want to save a life. Possibly due to the guilt of letting Trevor’s death go unsolved, she tries to care for another, although the bear cub is most definitely dead. In survival mode, she has to kill the adult bear or it will kill her.
Royal’s father
Episode seven, “The Unknown”, sees the killing of a bear and, via a flashback, features only the show’s third human death. This flashback cleverly explains why Royal ran away from home and how he ended up on the Abbott ranch in the first place. Royal was hunting deer with his father and accidentally shot the man. Riddled with guilt and still only a naïve child at the time, Royal decided he couldn’t face his family and fled. Whilst running away from home he came across the hole and jumped in it. Young Royal wanted to disappear and ended up time traveling instead. His journey into the abyss took him from 1886 to 1968, when he started a new life with the Abbotts.
Billy Tillerson
In the gripping finale, Royal chases Billy and Autumn in a raucous shootout. Royal shoots Billy, causing their truck to swerve off the road and flip, tumbling down a hill. The rancher drives over to the wreckage to inspect for corpses. He finds Billy’s lifeless body in the driver’s seat whilst Autumn tries to escape. Billy isn’t officially confirmed dead, but it is unlikely that he survived the bullet wound and the car crash, too, although crazier things have happened in TV history.
Autumn is then crushed by the ensuing bison stampede. Both she and Luke Tillerson are trampled by the stampede, yet again it isn’t confirmed whether they are dead or not. Luke was next to the magical hole where the bison randomly originated from and must have taken a severe beating from the creatures, whilst Autumn curls up in a ball as the bison pass her by. Royal carries her limp body back to the ranch at the end of “The West.” These two characters are both seen in the future vision, although that is no guarantee of survival when the future can be changed.
That concludes the roundup of the casualties in Outer Range. Do you think Billy is dead? Do you think Autumn and Luke will survive the bison attack? Please comment below.
Read More: Outer Range Season 1 Full Recap
