SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for The Madison Season 1, Episode 4.

The fourth episode of The Madison is Taylor Sheridan’s attempt to show that not everything in the Paramount+ series is dour. It’s also a clear showcase for the point he’s trying to make about Montana being an escape from modern society. Because with a title like “Tomorrow Is Goodbye,” the audience knows exactly what this is all headed toward, so why not take a moment to breathe beforehand?

Episode 4 focuses on the day before Preston and Paul Clyburn are to be buried. Everyone has different parts to play in the process. Stacy Clyburn’s best friend Liliana goes to handle all of the procedural arrangements. Stacy and her daughters are reunited with sheriff’s deputy Van Davis when he presents them with the flight recorder from Paul’s crashed aircraft, thus giving them some official closure on the accident. Then everybody gets to have fun, in whatever way they deem fun. It sounds flippant, but Sheridan is clearly trying to give everybody a break—including the people watching at home.

To that end, “Tomorrow Is Goodbye” front-loads its most serious moments. The scene involving the flight recorder is the heaviest one in the hour, as the audience is similarly affected by hearing the audio from the crash (although it’s much shorter than one would expect). Stacy handles this as well as she lashed out about identifying her husband’s body, asking Van dispassionately if she needs to sign anything before leaving. But that scene is important, because Ben Schnetzer comes in and steals the show again when Van approaches Stacy afterward.

Van’s speech to Stacy about how he was affected by the death of his wife is a beautiful thing, and so sincerely delivered by Schnetzer. He’s not trying to give her advice; in fact he flat-out says that he can’t. What could have been a preachy moment is instead so relatable in how honest it is, with Van pointing out that at least Stacy knows she was the absolute last thing on Preston’s mind. She has a form of closure, even if she doesn’t want it. Van could have easily just been positioned as a love interest for Abby to give The Madison a romantic subplot, but he’s turned out to be a character who contributes so much to what the show is trying to say. Moments like these are why Taylor Sheridan is such a well-regarded writer.

There’s also great material for Stacy and Liliana, portrayed by Rebecca Spence. The friendship between those two characters is a special part of The Madison. Sheridan’s one flaw with this series is that he hasn’t been subtle about favoring the country and depicting New York City as something to be escaped. Liliana, as Stacy’s best friend from the city, could similarly have just been positioned as “the other.” But while she does complain about ruining her Chanel pants, it’s totally tongue-in-cheek. She is truly the supportive best friend in every way possible, and this friendship feels more thoughtful than a lot of TV best friend duos. Plus, Spence gets one of the episode’s funnier moments when she goes to the courthouse and needlessly takes a number.

For the most part, the rest of The Madison Season 1, Episode 4 is about everyone else getting comfortable in Montana. Stacy teaches herself to fish. Abby unsurprisingly hooks up with Van, while Russell and Paige have their own intimate moment. Bridgett makes a new friend in Cade and Kestrel’s daughter Kayla. And there’s a whole sequence of Russell, Paige, Abby and Van on a boat that’s basically just a series of jokes, most of them at the former’s expense. The intent is clear; Sheridan’s showing how much happier they can be in Montana than trapped in the city. But it’s also welcome, given how heavy the first three episodes were, and how much heaviness is still to come.

It is interesting, and also appreciated, that Liliana has the button moment that brings The Madison back down to earth. As everyone laughs around the dinner table, Liliana bursts into tears and tells them that it would make Preston so happy to see them that way—which immediately kills the vibe as Stacy announces they should talk about the burial. It’s interesting in the sense that audiences would expect that to be Stacy’s moment. But Stacy doesn’t have to carry all of the emotional weight for The Madison. Giving Liliana that moment of clarity is a small but meaningful shift, and also a chance to show that Liliana can feel strongly about Preston’s passing, too. His impact isn’t limited to just his family. At this point, the audience might be mourning him themselves.

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.