Summary
The Madison lends a bit of focus to Abigail in “Watch Her Fall”, using her as an example of Stacy’s evolving mindset as she settles into Montana.
It isn’t an accident that Stacy and Preston Clyburn’s kids have been so generally unlikeable throughout The Madison. In Episode 3, “Watch Her Fall”, it becomes a plot point. In the opening flashback, it’s revealed that Abigail was going through a divorce, utterly unsurprising to her parents, since it was obvious to them that Abby is a pampered idiot who has been making bad decisions her entire life on their dime. To Preston, though, the dime isn’t the problem – she is. She’s a dreamer who can’t follow through on her big ambitions. Maybe Montana is just what she needs.
It certainly doesn’t seem like that, though. There’s a big fight in this episode between Abby and Paige, which starts as an argument and quickly turns ridiculously physical, and even though Stacy defuses the situation with a bottle of water, one gets the sense it isn’t the first time she’s seen something like it. If these two have so much emotion, why can’t they expend any of it grieving their father? It’s easy to see why Stacy is so annoyed, and why she has finally decided to start making decisions independently of her demented kids.
What this means is that those kids, though at least in this episode, Abby in particular, are going to have to start doing some thinking on their own. And if they can’t come up with any answers that Stacy finds agreeable, that’s their problem. This might seem harsh on the face of it, but remember these “children” are adults. The Madison is very much Stacy’s show, and Abigail’s role in it seems to be functioning as a kind of barometer for how seriously she is committing to herself in the wake of Preston’s death.
Picking up Paul’s truck from the cops acts as a catalyst here. Cade, being helpful once again, drives them into town to claim the vehicle, and they drive in convoy back, but when Stacy gives Abby an ultimatum, she does the predictable thing and sulks her way out of the car. For Stacy, it’s simple. As we saw in the second episode, the decision has been firmly made. She’s staying in Montana. It’s up to the kids if they want to stay with her, but if they don’t, then they’re on their own. Abby’s house in New York will be sold from under her to help finance the ranch, and that’s that. A line has been drawn in the sand, and instead of trying to figure out whether to cross it or not, Abby just turns around and books it in the other direction.
Some people always fall on their feet, and in The Madison Episode 3, Abby seems to be one of them. Abandoned on the roadside, Cade calls another local to give her a lift, and he turns out to be an incredibly handsome sheriff’s deputy named Van Davis. This episode does a nice job of juxtaposing the two respective car journeys – Cade goes back for Stacy – to show the different headspaces of these characters, but also to highlight their profound differences, both in personality and circumstance. Stacy fondles Paul’s revolver, which she finds in the car, and Cade cautions her about permanent solutions to temporary problems, while Abby and Van immediately, politely flirt and eventually kiss, despite the kids peeping through the windows. It’s quite fortunate that a divorced mother of two just so happened to meet a widowed father of two, but I suppose that’s how things happen sometimes.
The writing here is stronger and less showy than it was in the previous episode, cracking a little window in the interiority of some of these supporting characters, especially Cade, whose father, uncle, and brother all apparently committed suicide. We also meet his wife, Kestral; Abby and Van watch their daughter ride horses. Those kinds of shots, all quiet and contemplative of the region’s natural beauty, are also nice, and they’re the closest this show feels to Yellowstone in its full pomp.
If I’m not mistaken, though, things seem to be going well. Sure, Abby might have needed an incentive to stay in Montana that isn’t her mother or dead father, which is kind of worrying when you think about it, but at least there’s less complaining. There’s even a little laughter. Are the city folks finally coming to terms with the idea of potentially settling down with their outdoor bathroom and “Indigenous tacos”? Time will tell. But at least Stacy proved her point.
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