THE STORY – When a corrupt force of wealth and power covets the lands of a group of diverse and atypical families and tries to drive them out, they must pursue their Manifest Destiny.
THE CAST – Lena Headey, Gillian Anderson, Lucas Till, Aisling Franciosi, Nick Robinson, Diana Silvers, Lamar Johnson & Natalia del Riego
THE TEAM – Kurt Sutter (Showrunner/Writer)
In the vast, mud-slicked canon of the American Western, the gun has historically been held by the hand of a man, and the law has been a concept as fluid as whiskey. But in “The Abandons,” Kurt Sutter’s new Netflix drama, the true weaponry is maternal instinct, wielded with a devastating, sophisticated precision in the untamed Washington Territory of the 1850s. While the series boasts the requisite gunfights, galloping horses, and terrifically suited production design, its profound, beating heart is an empathetic yet sharp analysis of what truly defines a family: the blood that runs through veins, or the love forged in the fires of necessity.
The series drops us immediately into a world dictated by this collision, establishing its central conflict as a compelling duel between two formidable matriarchs. On one side sits Constance Van Ness (Gillian Anderson), a figure of wealth and terrifying stoicism. Anderson plays Constance with a chilling, ruthless reserve, often seen sipping wine from the town’s highest balcony, literally asserting her place above the populace she intends to conquer. For Constance, family is a legacy to be leveraged. She is pursuing an area called Jasper Hollow to expand her mining empire, driven by pressure from powerful associates like the Vanderbilts. But this “pursuit” is a scorched-earth campaign she justifies as “survival,” with many families in the crosshairs. Her greed and ambition drive her throughout the series; her control through wealth and mastery of manipulation convince her that all she needs is to put the pressure in the right place.
But one person who has been at the forefront of the year-long tyranny of the Van Ness family is a fierce opponent: Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey), the Irish Catholic head of the Abandons, a home for orphans and outcasts in Jasper Hollow. Headey brings a hardened exhaustion to Fiona; she is a woman who knows loss and the abuse of men, and has built a sanctuary of unshakable faith to withstand it. The core draw of the series is the exercise in tension between these two women, both widows who had to become fiercely resourceful to survive in a land ruled by lawless men. But their foundations are allegorically different: Constance believes money equals love, whereas Fiona declares that love isn’t always shared through blood. For Fiona, her found family is her strength, while for Constance, her blood family is poised to be her downfall.
The show’s most powerful writing emerges from dissecting the opposing forces within each family unit. The Van Ness household is defined by suffocating control. Constance views her children, Garret (Lucas Till), Willem (Toby Hemingway), and Trisha (Aisling Franciosi), as pawns, resulting in deep-seated friction. Willem’s loss of favor to Garret leads to volatile behavior, while Trisha feels invisible, grasping for her mother’s affection. This control pushes them to the brink, leading to deadly consequences. Fiona, in comparison, is hardened but capable of a softness that Constance lacks; where Constance is quick to slap her own children, Fiona, despite her fiery and sometimes violent protectiveness, sympathizes with her young people and allows them to choose their path, no matter how hard that can be.
Fiona’s found family consists of Elias (Nick Robinson), his sister Dahlia (Diana Silvers), Albert (Lamar Johnson), and Lilla (Natalia del Riego). They operate as a cohesive unit bound not by DNA, but by shared history and necessity. They are united under Fiona’s belief that the bonds of survival are a “potent glue.” Their dynamic is a poignant exploration of resilience, something that connects all the families in Jasper Hollow, as hesitant neighbors must be reminded that the river that feeds all their land connects them, and they must fight Van Ness as one. The burgeoning, star-crossed attraction between Elias and Trisha, in a true “Romeo and Juliet” dynamic, serves as a constant, dangerous threat to both mothers’ control, highlighting how the need for love can undermine the dynasty’s false loyalty.
However, for all its analytical depth, “The Abandons” is not without its structural missteps. The initial episodes throw us immediately into the conflict, so the audience doesn’t feel the weight of all the years’ worth of torment and oppression the Abandons have endured; the show tells us of the feud’s longevity without fully earning the emotional exhaustion.
More critically, the series often fails to realize the rich potential of its diverse ensemble fully. While we later get brief, compelling scenes with Lilla, or “Little Bull,” reflecting on her Lakota roots, and Albert, who was educated and born free of slavery, the disproportionate focus on Elias and Dahlia’s storylines over their siblings feels like a missed opportunity to explore these non-white identities with equal depth. Similarly, characters like Jack (Michael Greyeyes), a Cree man working for the Van Ness family, are frustratingly underdeveloped; we never gain insight into who he is as an individual or what compels him to serve the white power structure, an oversight that reduces him to a narrative device. Even a subplot involving soldiers attempting to make peace with the Cayuse tribe feels forced into the background, taking away from the central conflict, even as Constance cynically twists every outside tension to her advantage.
Ultimately, the show is an intense study of adversity and intergenerational trauma, focused on what each woman is willing to sacrifice. As the constant tug-of-war for Jasper Hollow escalates, with Constance hiring dangerous outlaws like Roache (Michiel Huisman) and the local law turning a blind eye to her misdeeds, the series culminates in a battle for home and legacy. While the relatively short episodes keep the plot moving and prevent the high drama from becoming a drag, the series feels structured like a self-contained, one-time exercise in tension. Yet, the final moments end on a sharp cliff-hanger. This choice, while raising the stakes, is a frustrating creative decision that threatens to leave central questions unanswered should Netflix not renew the series. It’s a stifling note to end on, drowning the exhilarating kind of freedom the Abandons were fighting for.
THE GOOD – The show delivers strong, character-driven drama led by two compelling matriarchs. It explores rich themes about found family versus blood ties. The performances stand out, and the emotional conflicts are layered and engaging. The production design is sharp, and the pacing keeps the tension high.
THE BAD – The setup feels rushed and weakens the emotional weight of the feud. Several secondary characters, especially characters of color, are underdeveloped. Some subplots feel unfocused or pushed to the background. The season ends on a sudden cliff-hanger, made frustrating by the fact that a second season may not happen.
THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Gillian Anderson & Lena Headey)
THE FINAL SCORE – 7/10
