Netflix’s brutal Western American Primeval spins a complex web around the Mountain Meadows Massacre, a real event that occurred in the Utah Territory in 1857. Perpetrated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with help from the Paiute tribe, in this retelling of the story the blame is pinned on the Shoshone, and the massacre is investigated by the U.S. Army. Many key characters connected to the event provide important points of view across all six episodes, so I’ve put together a comprehensive recap that lays out everything that happened – and more importantly, why.
Episode 1
The premiere is memorable for depicting the massacre itself in an impressive and heart-pounding long take. But it’s also careful to establish the particulars of who’s present and who’s to blame, as well as how the survival of a handful of characters gives the narrative its shape.
As mentioned, we’re in the Utah Territory, in 1857. Our point-of-view characters in Episode 1 are Sara and Devin Rowell, a mother and son heading West by way of Fort Bridger. After their guide, Frye, is shot dead in a dispute with a Frenchman, Jim Bridger recommends another by the name of Isaac Reed, but he refuses the job. However, after the caravan sets out – Sara and Devin end up traveling with a Mormon couple, Jacob and Abish – Isaac follows it.
In Fort Bridger, we also meet a young Shoshone girl whose name we will later learn is Two Moons. She can’t speak after having had her tongue cut out. She escapes a life of terrible sexual assault and servitude by killing her attacker and stowing away aboard the Rowells’ wagon.
However, a bounty hunter is looking for Sara, whose surname is apparently not Rowell. Her name is Sara Holloway and she’s wanted for killing a man in Philadelphia. Jim claims not to have seen her.
While the caravan of pioneers camps out, they’re approached by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who tell them that they require a permit to be on the land under orders of Governor Brigham Young. This does not go down well and they’re sent away rather impolitely. They return that night and massacre everyone present, wearing hoods to obscure their identities.
Isaac saves Sara and Devin from the attack and they escape together along with Two Moons. Jacob also survives despite being violently scalped, as do Abish and a handful of other women. But that’s not exactly good news for them.
Episode 2
We finally meet Brigham Young in Episode 2 of American Primeval. His primary objective in this series – aside from getting his hands on Fort Bridger and consolidating Mormon power in the region – is to keep Mormon involvement in the massacre a secret, which means eliminating any surviving witnesses. Initially, he doesn’t believe there are any, but he sends Brother Hickman – aka Wild Bill – to Fort Bridger to get ahead of any potential rumors.
It’s there that Wild Bill runs into Jacob, who is still alive despite his impromptu new haircut, albeit just barely. He takes him back to the Nauvoo Legion, Young’s private army, and introduces him to Wolsey, who carried out the attack. Jacob takes the legion back to the site of the massacre where a survivor reveals that Abish was taken by Wolf Clan, a rogue faction of the Shoshone led by the fearsome Red Feather. Of course, Wolsey kills him before he can reveal anything else.
Abish is indeed with Red Feather and Wolf Clan. She narrowly avoids having her throat slashed along with the other surviving women, but her lack of fear makes Red Feather pay attention to her and spare her life. Wolf Clan also kills all of the Paiutes who had captivity of the women, with Red Feather particularly disgusted at the idea of them doing the white man’s bidding.
Sara, Devin, Two Moons, and Isaac, meanwhile, spend most of the episode being set upon by Natives and then bounty hunters, led by a man named Virgil. Isaac has little tolerance for weakness – he makes Devin take his leg brace off – or Two Moons, whom he isn’t keen to let tag along. But he has even less patience for Sara, who continues to intervene in situations and make them ten times worse. This is particularly true when Isaac tries to buy some horses and Sara’s intervention leads to a shootout that leaves all the horse traders dead and Isaac wounded. As he seems likely to succumb to his injuries, he and the others are taken in by the Shoshone.
Isaac, it turns out, was raised by the Shoshone, and their chief, Winter Bird, is his adoptive mother. Winter Bird is Red Feather’s mother. Soon after, the U.S. Army turned up to warn them of the Mormons on the warpath. Isaac confirms their involvement in the massacre, which Edmund Dellinger, the Army Captain investigating it, had already begun to suspect when he found shod horses at the site.
Lucas Neff as Dellinger in Episode 102 of American Primeval. Cr. Netflix © 2024
Episode 3
Wolsey and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints think that Abish is their only problem, but Episode 3 of American Primeval proves them wrong early doors. Virgin arrives at the Nauvoo Legion camp asking after Sara, and while Wolsey claims not to know her, the fact that Virgil claims to have seen her just three days ago clues him into the fact that there are more survivors than he realized. He pays Virgil to take Jacob and Brother Cook with him on his travels in the hopes they’ll turn up Abish and Sara, and all of their problems can be eliminated at once.
In the meantime, Sara and Isaac get to know each other a little better. Their quest is obviously misguided since Devin’s father hasn’t seen him since he was a child and is unlikely to accept him out of the blue now, but needs must. Isaac also takes “medicine” to help him cope with what is heavily implied (and later confirmed) to be the loss of his wife and child.
Sara’s idiocy once again gets the gang into trouble. When they encounter a creepy French girl on the road, Sara insists on taking her back to her family, who turn out to be a gang of disfigured psychos who immediately take the group – with the exception of Two Moons, who’s able to bolt – hostage.
The captivity is grim. Sara is taken away and raped by one of the men. The strength she exhibits makes Isaac soften on her a little, as her only concern is that Devin, who was knocked out at the time, slept through her ordeal (he did.) Sara, Isaac, and Devin spend most of the episode at the camp while Isaac tries to free himself, but it’s Two Moons who ends up coming to the rescue. She blindsides one of the men with a flaming branch while Sara is being led away for another session, and Sara snatches a gun and kills almost all of them in a frenzy. Shortly after she breaks down, and Two Moons comforts her.
A couple of other subplots are also developed in this episode. Brigham Young is trying to buy Fort Bridger, though Jim clearly isn’t interested in selling. The interactions between Kim Coates and Shea Whigham are a real highlight. Wolsey also runs into Captain Dellinger, who clearly fancies him for the Meadows Massacre, but Wolsey points him in the direction of the Wolf Clan camp at Cedar Falls, where we know Abish is. Red Feather and his men kill the Army scouts and relocate to the main Shoshone camp, where he has a son named Young Elk. More Army scouts are on their way there.
At the end of the episode, Jacob recognizes Brother Cook’s pocket watch, which was taken from his friend after the massacre. He knows the Nauvoo Legion was responsible.
Episode 4
Early in Episode 4, we learn why Brigham Young is so keen on buying Fort Bridger – he has decided that it is Zion, and is willing to control it by any means necessary. Here, this involves sending Wild Bill to overpay for Jim’s hogs, the idea being that the Mormons will buy everything up and leave the place barren so Jim will have to leave. He has other ideas, though, and chops Wild Bill’s foot in half with his shovel.
There’s a notable feeling of war brewing in this installment. Red Feather catches the Army scouts staking out the Shoshone camp and figures he can use them to wage war on the whites, riling up the other Shoshone despite his mother’s reticence. But through Grey Fox, one of the captive Army scouts, Abish communicates with Red Feather, trying to dissuade him from fighting a losing battle with the Army and getting himself and his family killed.
As it turns out, Red Feather listens to her. He and Abish ride out to the Army camp and, through her translation, he tells Dellinger that if his people are left to live in peace, he’ll bring no more war to the white man. Dellinger isn’t convinced his demands will be honored but is happy to try. Abish also confirms it was white men and Paiute who committed the massacre. She’s taken to the Nauvoo Legion camp to be reunited with Jacob.
Abish is able to identify Wolsey as the perpetrator of the Meadows Massacre, which was the intention behind taking her there. Wild Bill is fuming at this development, leaving not only another witness but one under the protection of the U.S. Army. With the confirmation he needs, Dellinger sends word to HQ for reinforcements so they can attack the Nauvoo Legion camp, but his messenger has been compromised and sells him out to Wolsey. Abish also leaves the camp to return to the Shoshone.
Elsewhere in American Primeval Episode 4, Jacob kills Brother Cook. Virgil promptly realizes that the guy is losing it so decides to part ways with him for his own safety, but he does leave him a mule and some supplies.
Sara and Isaac feature a little less than usual, though they continue to bond. Sara finally shares what happened in Philadelphia – the man used to choke her into unconsciousness, and when he did it to Devin, Sara killed him and would happily do so again – but the big swerve happens at the end. Devin’s horse goes postal and kicks him clear off its back, kicking him multiple times and shattering his leg. Isaac doses him with some of his “medicine”, but the episode ends with him screaming in agony.
(L to R) Tokala Black Elk as Buffalo Run and Derek Hinkey as Red Feather in Episode 102 of American Primeval. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
Episode 5
Episode 5 of American Primeval opens with Wild Bill lashing Wolsey while reading out the letter that Dellinger sent to HQ, which obviously never made it there. The Mormons are gearing up for an unavoidable fight.
In the second massacre of the series, the Nauvoo Legion torches the U.S. Army camp during the night, leading to the deaths of Dellinger, the traitor, and all the other American soldiers. Abish, of course, isn’t there, so the whole thing was pointless. The only option for the Nauvoo Legion now is to storm the Shoshone camp.
Later, Abish and Red Feather race to the Shoshone camp to warn them of the Mormons’ impending arrival. They decide to fight back instead of moving the camp again, gearing up for war.
Brigham also makes another offer for Fort Bridger. When Jim decides not to sell, Young tries to have him arrested, but Brigham has plenty of armed supporters there who won’t allow it. To avoid a bloodbath Brigham leaves, but clearly not for long.
There’s a lot more Devin, Isaac, and Sara in this episode. Devin’s leg is a real mess and its infection is spreading. The best option seems to be lopping it off, but Sara is reluctant. However, Two Moons comes up with the idea to cauterize it instead, which seems to stem the infection, but they still need to move quickly since wolves are at the door both figuratively and literally.
At the end of the episode, Virgil and his boys catch up. Isaac kills most of them, including one who manages to get a hold of Devin and Two Moons, but Sara ends up being snatched by Virgil.
Episode 6
Note: Feel free to check out our detailed explanation of this finale for more on the ending.
In the season finale of American Primeval, Isaac is able to catch up with Virgil and kill everyone – with Sara’s help – except Virgil’s young protégé, Lucas. Devin and Two Moons are able to fight off the wolves that chew their way through into the isolated cabin, and they all set out for Crooks Springs together.
Their journey there is relatively uneventful. However, the emotional parting of ways moment proves more challenging than expected. Isaac and Sara have fallen for each other, but can’t be together because of their respective circumstances. Eventually, they say their goodbyes and Isaac leaves, but as he’s retracing the path they just came down, he discovers a doll on the ground. This was originally carried by the French girl who baited them into captivity, and was later taken by Virgil and kept in Lucas’s saddlebag. Its discovery proves that Lucas has followed them.
Just as Lucas is about to kill Sara, Isaac saves the day. But he takes a bullet during the fight. Sara sits with him while he passes away, and she, Devin, and Two Moons cremate him. After, they decide not to stay in Crooks Springs and instead move on all the way to California.
It’s tragedy everywhere else, too. Brigham arrives back at Fort Bridger with sacks full of money, enough to compel Jim to sign over the place to him, but all Brigham wants to do with it is burn it down. He does so, with many of its inhabitants still drinking inside. Jim leaves with nothing but the shovel he used to cut Wild Bill’s foot in half, and a few bags of money, everything he worked for and built burning behind him.
And then there’s the Mormons and the Shoshone. Brigham gives the go-ahead to attack the camp, and the Nauvoo Legion takes Jacob with them after picking him up in the throes of delirium. It’s a good opportunity to get rid of him alongside his wife, and, well, they get their wish.
The Shoshone don’t make it easy, though, since they’re waiting to ambush the Mormons when they arrive. Red Feather is able to kill Wolsey, but the former is badly wounded in the exchange, and when his son Young Elk comes to hug him, both are finished off. Jacob also shoots Abish, whom he doesn’t recognize at first given she’s slathered in Shoshone war paint. When he realizes his mistake, though, he takes his own life. Winter Bird is also killed in the melee.
It’s worth noting that Fort Bridger burns down in deliberate juxtaposition to a sermon that Brigham is giving accusing everyone else of doing to the Mormons what the Mormons have spent the entire season doing to everyone else. Fitting, when you think about it.
