SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for The Madison Season 1, Episode 2.

The second episode of The Madison has a lot more going on in it than the first. Taylor Sheridan has laid out exactly what his intentions are, so now he can simply get on with the show. “Let the Land Hold Me” is more successful in some places, and less successful than others, but one thing it isn’t is boring.

The main plotline involves Stacy Clyburn trying to make burial arrangements for her husband Preston and brother-in-law Paul. It’s a series of mundane tasks that, for a still edgy Stacy, are anything but mundane. She meets the local mortician (portrayed by Brent Sexton from Life and The Killing), who informs her that if she buries her loved ones in the valley, any future landowners may exhume the bodies. Thus, Stacy makes an incredibly drastic decision: she’s going to sell her very expensive New York City penthouse and permanently move onto the ranch.

Anyone who’s watched a Taylor Sheridan show sees this major reveal coming from a mile away. For one, that’s his ethos. For two, it would be very hard to continue the story if the family quickly went back to New York—and Paramount has already renewed The Madison for Season 2. But thanks to the impassioned performance of Michelle Pfeiffer, this decision makes sense. Stacy is still intensely grieving and doesn’t want to think of being separated from the man she’s loved her whole life, even if he’s deceased. It’s her emotional turmoil that keeps the show going, as one of the subplots also involves her turning on both her kids and grandkids, referring to them as “spoiled little bitches.”

Sheridan may not be subtle with the ideas he’s getting across, but he does get them across. The whole point of this episode is showing that the ranch is where Stacy needs to be. The valley is named after her, and as she reads Preston’s journal, she comes to the realization that he built the ranch for the family to live there. It’s what she has left of her husband. That reveal also serves as justification for The Madison‘s intermittent flashbacks. Flashbacks have become popular again on TV, and Hulu’s Paradise is still the only show that gets the absolute most out of them. But The Madison uses them to explain the history of the ranch, and to keep Kurt Russell in the picture. Viewers can draw a clear parallel from what Preston tells Stacy, to what Stacy is looking at in the present day.

“Let the Land Hold Me” also introduces the first major character from outside the Clyburn family’s world: Cade Harris, a local rancher played by Kevin Zegers. It’s neat to see Zegers in such a different role after his stint on The Rookie: Feds, and audiences will immediately take to Cade as a character.

On a much less successful note, the comedic subplot about Paige and Russell being stung by hornets does not work at all. It’s essentially a sort of madcap Benny Hill-esque routine, buttressed by jokes about bodily functions and women’s anatomy. One can understand the need for levity when the main story is still about grieving and loss, but the jokes feel juvenile.

The Madison Season 1, Episode 2 moves a lot faster and thus feels a bit more alive, now that the exposition is out of the way. Sheridan paints a clear road map for fans as to where his newest story is going. Michelle Pfeiffer continues to be excellent as Stacy, constantly playing her in a heightened emotional state. “Let the Land Hold Me” is Stacy’s episode as it’s through her eyes and shows what makes her want to change her life so sharply. It’s asking viewers to buy into her dream, and in that way it’s mission accomplished.

The Madison streams Saturdays on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.