Outer Range Season 2: Review, Recap, Ending Explained, Cast & Characters, Release Date, Where to Stream & Other Details

Prime Video’s western sci-fi series Outer Range returned on May 16 for Season 2, diving deeper into the mystery of a Wyoming ranch family and the enigmatic void on their property. The series resembles “Yellowstone,” but with a twist: the Dutton Ranch has a massive hole that lets Beth, Rip, and John travel through time.

What is Outer Range about, and what happened in Season 1? 

The series follows Royal Abbott, the patriarch of the Abbott Ranch, who discovers a mysterious hole on his property. Jumping into this void sends a person to a random moment in time. Although the series is set in the present day, Royal reveals in the first season that he jumped into the hole in 1886 and emerged in 1968. The time-travel logic of Outer Range was pretty unclear for a large part of the first season, which is why we were anticipating the return of the show. 

*Spoiler Alert*

Outer Range Season 2 Recap: 

Season 2 of Outer Range follows the Abbott family’s continued struggle to protect their ranch while delving deeper into the mysteries of the pit and dealing with intense personal and supernatural conflicts.

After Perry jumps into the pit to avoid trial and find his missing wife, Rebecca, the Abbott family faces a financial crisis as they must repay Perry’s $500,000 bail or lose their ranch. With Royal and Cecilia’s efforts to raise the money falling short, Autumn Rivers convinces a church pastor to intervene, and a benefactor named Riggins pays the bail. The ranch is temporarily safe, but the Abbotts must repay the loan. Meanwhile, Rhett plans to betray the family to secure funds for his escape with his girlfriend, Maria Olivares.

Royal’s conflict with Autumn and Billy escalates, resulting in a shootout where Billy is gravely injured. Billy’s father, Wayne, awakens from a coma after being fed a mysterious black liquid. Wayne revives Billy using mystical drugs, but tension with Luke, who has visions linked to Autumn, leads to a fatal confrontation where Luke kills Billy. Devastated, Wayne burns the Tillerson mansion and leaps into the pit.

Sheriff Joy follows a trail of black minerals and ends up in 1886, where she becomes involved with a Native American village and encounters a young Royal and his abusive father, Levi. After Royal kills Levi to save Joy, they both return to their time. Joy suffers from hallucinations and seizures due to her exposure to the black mineral, struggling to reveal her experience to her wife.

Perry’s journey through the pit takes him to the 1980s, where he meets a young Royal and discovers Cecilia dating Wayne. Revealing his identity, Perry gets Royal’s help but ends up in another timeline where he accidentally causes his younger self’s death. Perry replaces his younger self in this alternate timeline, setting up potential future conflicts.

Autumn, seeking answers about her identity, takes a black drug that clarifies her purpose: eliminating her younger self, Amy Abbott, to secure a future she envisions. She kidnaps Amy but is stopped by Royal and Joy. Despite being shot by Joy, Autumn survives, and Royal suffers a heart attack but recovers to continue fighting against Autumn’s plans.

Outer Range Season 2 Ending Explained: 

In the finale of Outer Range Season 2, Autumn Rivers (Imogen Poots), revealed as the future version of Amy (Olive Abercrombie), executes her plan to fulfill the future she has envisioned—a future where she is the leader of a cult. Throughout the season, Autumn manipulates various characters, including Luke (Shaun Sipos), Billy Tillerson (Noah Reid), and the Abbott family, to achieve her goal.

Autumn’s connection to the pit intensifies after consuming a black substance from the void, granting her clearer insights and strengthening her resolve. She becomes increasingly fixated on Amy, recognizing their deep connection. The season features several interactions between Autumn and Amy, hinting at their intertwined destinies.

At the end of Outer Range Season 2, Autumn takes extreme measures to bring her vision to life. She throws Amy into the void, believing this will catalyze the future she desires. As Amy falls into the abyss, she awakens on the other side in an unknown time and place. When asked who she is, Amy introduces herself as Autumn, completing a temporal loop and fulfilling Autumn’s prophecy.

What happens to Perry in Outer Range Season 2? 

Perry is pushed back into the hole by a young Royal, who tells him to go home and face his problems. Instead, Perry finds himself at the moment in the series premiere when he accidentally kills Trevor Tillerson in a bar fight. This time, Perry intervenes, and his past self dies instead. Seizing the chance for a fresh start, he decides to dispose of his own body in the hole and live as himself in the past, creating an alternate history that will impact the main story.

Where was Outer Range Season 2 Filmed?: Shooting Locations Revealed

A significant part of “Outer Range” season 2 was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Abbott Ranch, a key location in the series, was a set built near the I-25 Studios, where interior scenes were shot. All the rodeo scenes featuring Rhett Abbott (Lewis Pullman) were also filmed here.

Will there be a Season 3 of Outer Range? 

This ending leaves viewers with questions about time, identity, and destiny. It sets the stage for further exploration of the complex world of Outer Range as Royal (Josh Brolin) and the Abbott family grapple with the mysterious forces at play and the consequences of Autumn’s actions.

There is no official confirmation about Outer Range Season 3, but actor Josh Brolin has hinted at the possibility. In an interview with Jonatan Blomberg, Brolin, who portrays Royal Abbott, said, “I think it would be intriguing, which I can’t believe me saying because I don’t want to stay with anything too long, but this series just as an idea and as an experience has gotten more intriguing the further we’ve gone with it, so I think that season 3 would be amazing.”

Season 2 showrunner Charles Murray also discussed his working relationship with Brolin in an interview with Vanity Fair, saying, “We bonded from the jump. We didn’t dance around each other—we went straight to the work.”

Outer Range Season 3 Review: 

Talking about the reviews for Outer Range Season 2, they’ve been mostly positive. On the review aggression website Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an 88% positive response from movie critics, with the consensus stating, “With a better handle on its characters and a willingness to get even weirder, Outer Range’s sophomore outing is in the zone.” Clint Worthington, in his review for Rogerbert.com, states, “Season 2 takes a few missed steps toward the confounding but commits deeper to the show’s own weirdness, which is appreciated.” However, one of the negative reviews from ReadySteadyCut states, “I’m privately convinced that nobody knows where any of this is going, and you can feel that in Season 2 much more than you could in the debut outing.”

Cast & Characters: 

• Josh Brolin as Royal Abbott
• Imogen Poots as Autumn
• Lili Taylor as Cecilia Abbott
• Olive Abercrombie as Amy Abbott/Autumn
• Tom Pelphrey as Perry Abbott
• Lewis Pullman as Rhett Abbott
• Kristen Connolly as Rebecca Abbott
• Tamar Podemski as Deputy Sheriff Joy Hawk
• Will Patton as Wayne Tillerson
• Shaun Sipos as Luke Tillerson
• Noah Reid as Billy Tillerson

Release Date: 

Contrary to the release of Season 1, Outer Range Season 2 was released all at once on May 16th, 2024. Streaming executives decided to release the entire season together because they thought the binge schedule served it better. 

Where to Watch ‘Outer Range Season 2’?

Outer Range is a Prime Video original. If you are subscribed to Amazon Prime Video services, you can stream the show for free. 

Episodes Listing:

• S2 E1 – One Night in Wabang: After the bison stampede, the Abbott family is more divided than ever. Royal and Cecilia face hard truths as they struggle to keep their family united.
• S2 E2 – Traces to Somewhere: Perry turns to an unexpected family member for help. The Tillersons vow revenge against the Abbotts, while Royal faces a new threat to the West Pasture.
• S2 E3 – Everybody Hurts: Royal and Cecilia grow desperate in their attempt to save their ranch. The Tillersons face a surprising turn of events.
• S2 E4 – Ode to Joy: Trapped in time with no way back, Sheriff Joy must navigate life among her Shoshone ancestors.
• S2 E5 – All The World’s A Stage: Royal finds an unexpected ally; Cecilia struggles with the truth of Autumn’s identity as Autumn grows more unstable.
• S2 E6 – Do-Si-Do: Autumn’s erratic behavior hits a breaking point. Royal and Cecilia take matters into their own hands.
• S2 E7 – The End of Innocence: Time is relentless.

Watch the trailer here: