Summary
The Madison really excels in “Tomorrow is Goodbye”, with Sheridan’s writing creating a nuanced and powerful portrait of grief.
I’ve had my fair share of problems with The Madison thus far, but I have no shame in admitting that Episode 4, “Tomorrow is Goodbye”, legitimately moved me several times. Taylor Sheridan’s writing can sometimes leave a little to be desired, but he has a real knack for profundity when the mood strikes. It’s that facility for mountain man wisdom that made Yellowstone so popular. And there are a few moments in this hour that fulfil the show’s mandate to properly explore grief on their own.
Look at the opening scene, an obligatory flashback in which Paul wakes Preston up in the middle of the night to go fishing. It’s a decent scene on its own terms, and the following conversation that unpacks Paul’s determination to keep going after the death of his wife is nice, but the power comes in the looping quality of the act of fishing, and how in emulating it in the present day, through Preston’s journal and a bit of freestyling, Stacy is able to feel closer to him even in his absence, which is the key thing that underpins her decision to remain in Montana in the first place.
This idea is given voice thanks to the arrival of Liliana, whose presence Stacy requested in the previous episode. Liliana is supportive, but she’s also a New Yorker, so Stacy has to vocalize her justifications for moving to Big Sky Country and abandoning her previous life. Reading aloud from Preston’s journal, where he describes becoming a steward for the land, was the first moment when I felt like Sheridan was really nailing it. It’s a lovely sentiment, but it’s expressed through Michelle Pfeiffer’s pained recitation, as she realizes that there was a whole side of her husband that she never knew, since she kept rejecting his efforts to share it.
Liliana also comes bearing gifts, albeit in disguise. Paul’s will is full of boring instructions for how to disperse his assets, but it also reiterates that he did want to be buried in Montana. Stacy was ahead of the curve. Her instincts were correct, and that validates every decision she has made thus far. It represents a turning point, a calcification of what Stacy was already thinking. She isn’t being irrational out of grief. What she’s doing is what Preston wanted all along.
In light of this, all the stuff with the kids is a bit more annoying (although the grandkids seem to be getting used to it). Paige, especially, has been thoroughly left behind by the plot; her constant whining feels totally out of place now that Bridgett is bonding with Cade’s daughter, Kayla, and Abigail has her sights set on Van. That’s a point, actually. Van gives her a call to summon her and the rest of the family to the sheriff’s office so that they can discuss the last snippets of audio found on the plane’s flight recorder. He warns the kids not to listen, and tells Stacy she probably should, and even though it’s immediately obvious why that might be the case, it’s still lovely when he plays the recording, and Stacy hears that her name was the final thing her husband spoke aloud. She was the last thing he thought about.
Naturally, the kids don’t immediately see the value of this. Paige storms out, and Abigail later reprimands Van for not properly explaining what the recording consisted of, despite his making it extremely clear that she shouldn’t listen to it. But she gets over it quickly; she’s mostly just annoyed that she thought Van’s call was to ask her out on a date after their kiss in the previous episode. But their planned boat trip becomes a group therapy session when Abigail sees how the others are struggling, and Van becomes a kind of tour guide-cum-therapist, which he proves to be remarkably good at. Van’s quiet scenes with Abigail, especially the way he describes his relationship with his late wife, are among the very best of The Madison Episode 4.
But the beating heart of the show is in Stacy’s fishing. It isn’t just that she ends up being surprisingly good at it, providing a veritable feast for dinner, but that the entire family sits around enjoying the spoils, laughing and joking, and being, for once, a proper family. Liliana is moved to tears by the thought of how happy Preston would be to see them all like this. I don’t blame her. But they still have to bury him, which might not be quite so upbeat.
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