Diksha Sundriyal
The second half of Paramount+’s ‘The Madison’ focuses on the Clyburns making some tough choices concerning their future. The first half focused on the immediate aftermath of the death of Preston Clyburn, which brings his family to a ranch in Montana, which used to be his favorite place. The fourth episode begins with the Clyburn clan settling into what seems to be the new normal, but they are still far from home, and as good as things might seem in Montana, they are not a part of their reality. At least not yet. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Preston’s Last Words Cause a Stir in the Family
Things start looking better for the Clyburns as they seem more comfortable on the ranch. Liliana arrives to give Stacy the support she so desperately needs. As Stacy laments that she didn’t allow herself to see Preston’s life in Montana, Liliana consoles her that he has left enough for her to learn about it now. The friend also takes on the responsibilities that Stacy is clearly not in a state to handle. Meanwhile, Cade’s daughter arrives at the ranch to befriend Abby’s daughter, Bridgette. The fact that she arrives on a horse makes everyone a little surprised, but she and Bridgette hit it off, and soon the girls are on their own, riding horses through the vast land in front of them. While her elder daughter is gone, Abby hands the responsibility of her younger one to Russell. He takes Macy out on a walk in the woods, and they track footprints and tracks to find out what happened between an elk and a wolf.
Macy also laments that she has already started to forget what her grandpa looked like, and seeing his photos will be the only way for her to know about him. Meanwhile, Stacy, Abby, and Paige, joined by Liliana, visit the station. Val brings out the recording of Preston and Paul’s final words. He warns that the daughters don’t need to hear it, but they stay. The recording ends with Preston calling for Stacy, and Van thinks this must be of some comfort to her that her husband thought of her in his last moments. Hearing the recording breaks Stacy and her daughters, especially Paige, who cries her eyes out when she gets home. Stacy goes into the river and blames Preston for choosing his death.
Van tries to help her, sharing his own story of how he lost his wife and what he felt at the time. He points out that she should consider herself fortunate to have known what her husband’s last thoughts were. Liliana’s presence also helps heal some things. Before Van leaves, he and Abby talk and set up a date, but it soon turns into a group hang after Abby invites Page and Russell to join them on the river. On the boat, the differences between the Clyburn clan and the Montana-grown Van become clearer. Later, Van and Abby talk about the future of their relationship. She confesses that her previous relationship with her ex-husband, Dallas, was so meaningless that she cannot consider it a good metric for her new relationship. Van, however, talks about his great marriage with his wife. But while Abby has a lot to live up to, Van is interested in seeing where things go from here.
Preston and Paul’s Funeral Stirs Complex Emotions
While the others are busy with their own stuff, Stacy and Macy hang out together and go fishing. After some struggles, they manage to catch some fish, which become their dinner. The evening ends with the clan gathering over dinner and sharing a laugh, while Liliana tearfully points out how much Preston would have loved this. This prompts Stacy to talk about Preston and Paul’s funeral the next day. While Liliana had taken over the responsibility of paperwork, she didn’t have too much, as the townsfolk seemed to understand what the family needed and were proactive about it. One of the things that Stacy likes is that, according to Preston’s will, he wanted to be buried in Stacy’s Valley, which makes her happy, because she wanted the same thing.
With the paperwork taken care of, the day of the burial is fixed, though they have no idea how to arrange it. Cade and Van come to the rescue as they figure out a way to dig the holes for burial without any machinery, and later bring the coffins on a horse cart. The Clyburns show up at the burial site unaware of how to proceed. After a short prayer, they are asked if anyone would like to say anything. When no one comes forward, the ceremony is concluded, which leaves Paige a little confused. Before leaving, Abby curses Paul for taking Preston away from them, which seems particularly sad in the light of a flashback which reveals that Paul had grieved his own wife’s death, who passed away in a car accident.
As they walk away, Cade’s family and Van bury the caskets while noting that the family doesn’t seem to be grieving too well. When they return home, they find a lot of people at the house. While none of them were invited, because the Clyburns didn’t know whom to call and who would come, they are all there to pay their respects to the brothers, turning the sombre event into a much more heartfelt affair. At the same time, the funeral also means the conclusion of things in Montana. Liliana reveals that Abby and Paige asked her to get a flight ticket to New York for later that night. When Abby reveals she is leaving that same night, Van says it would be better for them to call things off then and there rather than forcing a relationship that simply won’t work. This breaks Abby’s heart, and seeing her children’s state confirms for Stacy that they need to head back home.
The Clyburns Return to Their Life in New York
Back in New York, Stacy finds the house emptier than ever. She finds it difficult to be in that space confined with the memories of her dead husband. Liliana asks her to see a therapist, so she does, though she has to drink a bit before she starts to open up. Meanwhile, Paige starts to break down, leading a flustered Russell to call her sister and mother, who find a way to calm her anxieties. It also gives Stacy and Russell the opportunity to talk, where she asks him about his dreams, clearly gauging his plans for the future. What makes her even queasier is the idea of holding a memorial at their home, inviting all sorts of people, most of whom Preston wouldn’t have cared about a bit.
Meanwhile, Paige returns to the office, where she is called in by her boss, who asks her to take as much time as she wants to process her grief, though there are a couple of important events she needs to take care of before that. To make matters worse, Paige overhears her colleague talking about how Preston deserved to die in the crash for using a private plane that would have resulted in a lot of pollution and other stuff. This prompts Paige to punch her colleague, who calls the cops on her. When Abby receives the call, she is in the middle of something else. She updates her friends about life on the ranch. They are fascinated with the idea of her dating a cowboy, though she makes it clear that their worlds are too different to merge.
It also turns out that after finding out about Abby and Van, her ex-husband, Dallas, has suddenly decided to show up and be the ideal dad. On getting the call, Abby reaches Paige, but seeing police officers there, she calls Van to help her understand exactly what her sister has gotten herself into. He makes it clear that they need to get a lawyer ASAP. When he tries to steer the conversation towards more general stuff, she shuts him down. When Stacy arrives on the scene, she quickly takes stock of the situation and manages to convince the woman not to press charges, while also teaching her to be a bit more sympathetic with people who are grieving something important in their lives.
Stacy Makes a Life-Changing Decision
The day of the memorial finally arrives, but it makes Stacy even more anxious. She talks about it with her therapist and even invites him to the memorial, even if she herself doesn’t want to attend it. All the details are taken care of by Lilliana, and while the rest of the family is there, Stacy hides out in her room. Abby finds her, but it’s clear that her mother needs to talk out some stuff, so her therapist is called in. He tells Stacy that whatever she does next should be her choice, and she herself can give her the permission she needs. If she really wants to do something, she shouldn’t have to care about what others think. She only needs to think about how it will affect the people she loves.
Spurred by his words, Stacy decides that she is not going to attend the memorial, which is full of people that her husband most likely didn’t even care about. So, she sneaks out of the place. She gets in a cab and tells the driver to drive anywhere. Later, when her children try to call her, she doesn’t pick up. As hours pass and there is no sign of her, they become concerned, even more so when Abby discovers that she left her phone at home. Russell goes out to check in nearby pubs and other places to see if she decided to drown her grief in alcohol or something like that, but even after making several rounds of the neighborhood, and then some, there is no sign of Stacy.
Worried that their mother has resorted to something along the lines of self-harm, Abby makes the call to the cops, filing a missing persons’ report. What she and the others don’t know is that after riding around the city that doesn’t feel like hers anymore, Stacy made the impromptu decision to go back to one place where she feels at peace. The next morning, Cade finds Stacy sleeping next to Preston’s grave. He becomes concerned when he sees a pistol in her hand, but she clarifies that she brought it because she was afraid she might encounter some wildlife. Cade believes her because she is clearly in a much better mood than the last time he saw her with a gun in her hand.
It seems she has accepted the fact that Montana is where she wants to be now. She will be moving forward with her plan to ditch her life in New York and move permanently to the ranch to be close to her husband. The way she left things means that she should be ready to welcome her family’s ire especially after they are forced to change their lives because of her decision. But no matter what anyone says or does, Stacy has made up her mind. She asks Cade where she can buy clothes for herself, because she really did board the flight on a whim and didn’t bring anything from New York. He points her towards Bozeman, and that’s where she goes to start her life in Montana from scratch.
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