- Untamed debuted on Netflix on Thursday, July 17.
- The miniseries centers on Kyle Turner, a National Park Service ISB agent investigating a murder in Yosemite.
- By the finale, viewers learn more about the victim’s fate and who was responsible for her death.
From American Primeval creator Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith comes Untameda gripping Netflix miniseries about a chilling murder in Yosemite National Park.
The show stars Eric to me as Kyle Turner, a seasoned agent with the National Park Service’s Investigative Services Branch (ISB), stationed in Yosemite. Turner, who is saddled with a few demons of his own, is pulled into the twisted case of an unidentified Jane Doe whose body is found at the bottom of El Capitan, Yosemite’s famous 3,000-foot cliff.
While Turner’s job is to uncover the truth, the case drags him far beyond standard investigation, deep into the park’s remote wilderness and his own troubled past.
So, who was this Jane Doe? What really happened on the cliff? We break down those questions and the ending of Untamed below.
Who is Jane Doe?
Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix
Turner’s partner, Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), a former LAPD officer who’s now a rookie park ranger, uncovers the mystery of Jane Doe’s identity. The deceased girl is Lucy Cook, a young woman who disappeared from Yosemite in 2012 and has a missing persons file in the park’s records.
Later, we find out that Lucy was the daughter of Turner’s boss, Paul Souter (Sam Neill). The child of an affair, Paul says he only learned about her after Lucy’s mother died. Paul had kept it a secret from his family and handed Lucy over to a foster family known for “keeping secrets.”
But it turned out to be an abusive household, and when Lucy came back to Paul for help, he was callous, scared of being outed for the affair, which he says could imperil his job and family. Because of his refusal to help, Lucy found herself mixed up with a local drug smuggler, Shane Maguire (Wilson Bethel).
Who killed Lucy?
Courtesy of Netflix
While Paul didn’t mean to kill Lucy, he did inadvertently drive her to her death. He denied his involvement at first, but eventually confessed under pressure from Turner.
According to Paul, Lucy had begun regularly demanding money from him, describing “all the ways she can hurt me.” The situation escalated, with the price going up each visit. Soon, he claims, she began to threaten his family. “She just wanted me to feel the same pain as I put her through,” he says.
That led Paul to try and chase her off with a gun. He shot her in the leg — accidentally, he claims — and then lost her in the park. In a flashback, we see a wounded, pained Lucy throw herself off the top of El Capitan.
Paul insists he never meant for her to die; he just “wanted her to know that I had to protect my family.” Turner reminds Paul that Lucy was family, too.
Paul, burdened by guilt, offers to help reinstate Turner, who’s been suspended, and keep him at the park. As Turner rejects the offer and walks away, Paul commits suicide and falls into the river below.
What’s the truth about Caleb’s death — and what happened to his killer?
Netflix
The finale also includes revelations about the death of Turner’s son, Caleb, who was murdered in the park five years earlier, and how it led to the end of his marriage to Jill (Rosemarie DeWitt).
In the episode, Jill opens up to her husband, Scott (Josh Randall), about what happened. She explains that a man named Sean Sanderson murdered the little boy at the park.
They learned of Sanderson’s involvement thanks to motion cameras installed in the park by Maguire. After seeing the footage, Maguire brought it to Jill and Turner, asking for their permission to let him kill Sanderson.
But Turner insisted on handling it by the book, needing absolute certainty before making an arrest. Jill, on the other hand, wanted justice.
“Without telling Kyle, I paid Shane to contact Sanderson, blackmail him, meet him in the park, and kill him for murdering my child,” Jill tells Scott, who’s speechless. “Kyle only found out when Sanderson was reported missing. I think, more than anything, more than losing Caleb, it was me betraying Kyle that ended us. He couldn’t get past it.”
What happens at the end of Untamed?
Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix
Turner, who’s been hallucinating Caleb in the years since his murder, has one final vision of the boy. He tells Caleb it’s time to leave Yosemite, but assures him that he’ll always be with him, no matter where life takes him.
As the series comes to a close, Turner leaves Vasquez her horse, along with a box of Caleb’s toy cars for her son. The series ends with Turner quietly driving away from the park, leaving behind the place that shaped him.
Will there be a season 2 of Untamed?
Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix
At the time of this writing, Netflix has yet to renew Untamed for a second season. The series has been labeled a miniseries, which typically suggests a one-and-done format.
However, Netflix has been known to renew limited series in the past, including The Watcher, Beefand, most recently, The Four Seasons.
Where can I watch Untamed?
Netflix
Untamed is now streaming on Netflix.
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