Episode four's, "The Loss," opens with a flashback to nine months ago when one of Wayne Tillerson's workers finds a strange rock on their part of the property next to the western reaches of the Abbot lands -- where the giant mysterious hole rests.
[Source](https://i0.wp.com/dmtalkies.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ezgif-4-a535e0c547.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1)It is this same rock that Wayne clutches onto in the present, rubbing it in "my precious" Gollum-like fashion. When first seeing it nine months ago, he was very excited and swore his worker to secrecy. I'm not sure if the rock means there's minerals or oils in the lands between the Abbot's and Tillerson's but it's definitely something puts not just a smile on Wayne's face but a song in his heart, and a dance in his step.
Back in the present, Royal's recently called Sheriff Joy to tell her what his grandkid Amanda found up on the mountain near their property -- Trevor's body. He lets their cop car in and travels with them to the site. It's a slightly comedic scene because Sheriff Joy and her guys are staring at Trevor's body wondering how he got up there, while Royal's wondering the exact same thing. He'd thrown Trevor's body in the hole to get rid of it and following recent revelations the corpse should've arrived two years in the future but instead here it is, not very close to the hole at all and on a mountain. We later learn that despite Trevor being dead for almost a week, his body has only been dead for a few hours which adds some new time-travel mysteries to the exact workings of the hole.
Sheriff Joy questions Amanda about everyone's whereabouts the night of Trevor's disappearance and Royal's other son Rhett almost gets cornered by Sheriff Joy's number two but fortunately his old flame Maria steps in and gives him an alibi.
In another majestic scene, occupied by the almost operatic Wayne Tillerson he strips naked and screams at mounted bison head at the news of his son Trevor's passing.
And just when things couldn't get more complicated, a new player enters the stage: Wayne Tillerson's ex-wife and mama bear to the three Tillerson boys, now numbering only two. She is a flashy dramatic woman on the level of her ex-husband, descending in a helicopter and quickly threatening to snatch the reins of the family affairs from the sickly and potentially-delusional Wayne. Her name is Patricia and she is not here to make friends or pies but to go full angry mama-bear.
She does a great job at Trevor's funeral by forcing his casket open to make everyone attending look at the body. Perry is the only one in the crowd who can't look. He turns away and Patricia tells her ex-husband Wayne that the eldest Abbot boy is the killer. It's a little cliche but it's a quick scene that accomplishes its goal.
Afterward everyone gathers a fancy bar for the wake and Sheriff Joy questions Royal again about whether or not something's going on. She reminds him that its her duty to uphold the law, to preserve order, and he tells her to consider the thought that there never was any order that it's all an illusion to stop from confronting the true untamable chaos of the world.
He leaves and follows the sound of hippy camper Autumn's laughter to a backroom where men are smoking and playing poker. Autumn is there. She's winning and teases Royal, claiming that he's mad at her for pushing him in a hole so he challenges her to a game--if he win he gets her strange necklace but if he loses she gets the western reaches of his property, the one with the hole. There's a strange metaphor scene where the all-present bison sticks its head into the room and the next thing we know, Royal is leaving the wake with the necklace in hand.
At first I thought he'd lose the game and the western reaches would be transferred to Autumn since in the future Royal's wife Cecilia tells him it's not their land anymore. The presence of mineral-drilling machines points to Wayne Tillerson, or the Tillerson's themselves.
The episode ends with Wayne following a light in the dark, while speeding in his truck. He crashes through the fence dividing his land and the Abbot's, and arrives at the hole. He screams victorious and doesn't seem shocked but relieved to find it, like he expected it. Something strange happened between Royal and Wayne when they were younger that may be related to the hole. Royal shows up and attack Wayne. It's a bit confusing since he appears out of nowhere but Wayne is able to knock him out with his fancy rock. The episode ends there. Wayne now knows who killed his son Trevor and knows about the mysterious giant hole that Royal's been hiding.
This was a good episode but there were times when it felt slow, when it felt like it was continuously building momentum to something but no pay-off emerged. I like the introduction of Patricia Tillerson, or whatever her maiden name is. She'll definitely add some spice to the pot. There are a lot of characters here, which reduces their plot armor and makes them all semi-expendable -- but that just makes for great dramatic tension.
It's been four episodes now and know that the hole allows for time travel, that it's effect is not always the same, and that something connects it, the mountain between the Abbot and Tillerson land, Autumn's necklace, and Wayne's precious rock. I want more exploration of the show's supernatural elements and I want more confrontation between the characters. Right now it feels like the story's just kicking the can down the road and I think it's about time for some fireworks or a genuine explosion.
