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Episode 3 of The Madison, titled “Let Her Fall,” takes us on another journey down memory lane, this time focusing on Stacy and Preston Clyburn as they navigate the turbulent waters of their oldest daughter Abby’s looming divorce. Abby tied the knot with a man named Dallas, whom Preston dismissively describes as a “dilettante.” In his eyes, Abby and her sisters are better off without him. The Clyburns, however, anticipated the collapse of this marriage, attributing it to the deeper issues within Abby herself. Stacy believes that by removing the financial safety net they’ve provided for too long, Abby will be forced to find her own path forward.
“Would you be the man you are today if you could run to your parents whenever life got tough?” Stacy questions. Meanwhile, Preston offers a more reflective take on their eldest daughter’s nature. He reminisces about their humble beginnings, recalling a time when they survived on ramen in a modest apartment. Even if they had remained poor, he asserts, Abby would have always been a dreamer with lofty aspirations but lacking the drive to see them through. He insists that cutting her off won’t make her finally love herself, as his role is to support his children, regardless of their flaws.
The scene transitions smoothly from luxurious Manhattan living to the picturesque yet rugged landscapes of the West, where sibling rivalry is on full display. Over a breakfast of elk sausage, Paige wastes no time in launching a barrage of insults at Abby, dubbing her “Little Miss House on the Prairie” and a “juice-fasting hypocrite.” As Russell ushers Bridgette and Macy out of the cabin, Paige and Abby engage in a spirited brawl, complete with crashing dishes and flying sausages. It’s Stacy who ultimately steps in to quell the chaos, wishing her daughters could show the same passion in mourning their father.
Stacy Clyburn’s personal quest to reconnect with the land serves as her tribute to Preston’s memory, underscoring The Madison as Michelle Pfeiffer’s show. Even in silence, Stacy’s presence is powerful, as she pieces together a new life. Her next move is to challenge Abby by assigning her the task of retrieving Paul’s truck from the authorities.
Before embarking on this mission, they expand their social circle by visiting the neighboring ranch, home to Cade Harris, his wife Kestrel (played by Danielle Vasinova), and their children. The couple’s rodeo and barrel-racing pasts make them reminiscent of the cast of Yellowstone, to which The Madison bears a certain resemblance. After reclaiming Paul’s Dodge Ram 2500, the convoy heads back on US-89 with Cade in tow. This is when Stacy delivers her ultimatum: Abby must choose between staying in Montana with her or losing the New York home bought for her. This tough-love approach, advocated by Stacy in the flashback, prompts Abby to demand to be let out of the vehicle, setting the stage for her next chapter.
Cade notices this in his rearview, so he calls in an assist. And while Abby is scooped from the highway shoulder by handsome Madison County sheriff’s deputy Van Davis (Ben Schentzer) – hmm, that seems convenient – Cade drives back to where Stacy herself has stopped. She is hefting Paul’s revolver, which she found in the pickup’s center console. Again this is Pfeiffier showing us Stacy’s inner life, where it would theoretically be so easy to rejoin Preston. But Cade is cognizant of what she’s considering. A permanent solution to a temporary problem, he calls it, and a contagious one: his father, uncle, and brother all committed suicide. His voice is gentle, respectful. “How would you feel about me hanging onto that?”
Van’s way with Abby was similarly respectful, full of “Yes ma’am”’s and quiet references to the differences in their lives. But the spark between them was immediate, and later, as they watch Cade and Kestrel’s daughter ride horses, Abby leans in. Van has two boys, and he’s a widower. She is divorced with two children of her own. You couldn’t build a guy in a lab who was more Montana meet-cute for this displaced New York girl. “Good timing is not something I was blessed with,” she says, and before the country boy can even ask, she kisses him and says yes. There is a cemetery to plot out and a funeral to plan, but after all that, she’ll have some free time. Maybe to pursue her own transformed life.
Back at the riverside cabins, Russell and Paige, with the little girls, have broken out the last of the homemade meals. The griping has softened, still out of necessity – some city people love to revel in their helplessness – but also from what is probably their own version of settling in. (“Indian tacos,” the local favorite for picnics, have become “Indigenous tacos.”) Stacy smiles from over on her little porch, where she sits with a glass of red wine and Preston’s journals. Hearing her family laughing together, by these tranquil waters, under this vast field of stars, she thinks a little tough love has helped make progress on the distance between all of them. She looks up. “Told you, honey.”
Mad Hits for The Madison Episode 3 (“Let Her Fall”):
- Paige is multi-tasking, Montana-style. She’s on her phone, managing the schedule of some VIP for her unnamed job back in NYC, while also soaking her hornet-stung sore ass in the river.
- Speaking of New York, we also cut to Stacy’s friend Liliana Weeks (Rebecca Spence), who was with her when she got the tragic news. This time it’s Stacy calling Liliana, who’s noshing at a Manhattan lunch spot hilariously, exaggeratedly the opposite of life in the Madison Valley. “Get on a plane,” Stacy tells her bff. “I need you.”
- Deputy Van tells Abby his wife was “wild as fire.” She died a few years back, in an ATV rollover, which he has accepted as part of the peril of living out here. Especially for people who don’t wish for conveniences or complacency. It’s all contrast in the Sheridan-O-Verse, and it looks like Abby’s staying here, too.
Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.