Hey, you got me up for this.
Yeah, sorry.
Eh, worrying ain't gonna get 'em back any faster.
We should go after them, man.
They'll be back when they get back.
Now, just clear your mind.
All right. ( cocks gun )
**
They should be back.
They will be.
Hey, Troy promised to keep Madison safe.
He promised me. That means something to him.
Does it?
Yeah.
I protected him when we were little.
You can trust him.
On this, at least.
I'm more worried about the people who shot us down.
**
( wincing )
( gate squeaking open )
- Nick: Jesus, Mom. - Gretchen: Mike!
( groans )
- Man: On the road. - Man #2: Come on.
( overlapping chatter )
**
Man: You all right?
( overlapping chatter )
What the hell happened?
We should talk private.
Talk private? Did I hear you right?
Coop, Mike, inside. Let's debrief.
Like hell, Jeremiah.
We all got a right to hear what went down.
- You're out of line, Vern. - We got a right to know what happened.
We need to know how to defend ourselves.
- We gotta know-- - They were Indians.
( crowd murmuring )
- They slaughtered them. - All right, all right.
They slaughtered all of them.
We made it home, huh?
It's nothing we can't handle.
They're dead. They're all dead.
Mike, lock your shit down.
Lock it down.
- They're dead. - ( crowd whispering )
And we're gonna die, too, if we don't leave!
- ( whispers ) Shut up. - Man: Is that true?
- Mike: If we stay, we-- - Troy: Mike, shut the hell up.
If we stay, we die!
Troy: No, no, no, we go after them.
Now. We hit them back.
So you can stroll into another ambush, Colonel Custer?
There was no way to know.
- ( scoffs ) No? - No.
- Did you scout the campsite first? - Dad.
Huh? Hike the perimeter?
Or did you suffer some distraction?
Were your already tasting the blood?
It wasn't Troy's fault.
Oh, you an expert?
No, we-- we were cautious.
Ah. Well, let's extend the caution now.
We're not attacking.
We're right to hold off,
but Walker's not going away.
He's weak.
That chickenshit atrocity he pulled with Phil--
If he's weak, he'll negotiate.
Negotiate? There's nothing to negotiate.
It's our land or their land.
I mean, we either stole it or we didn't.
Stole?
Is this their land?
Every acre you tread is owned and was owned before--
bought, leased, or stolen in between.
And what about the ranch?
It was sold to my forebears.
And what the hell does it matter now?
It matters if he doesn't stop.
It matters if your people think they're on the wrong side.
Hey, this is my business to manage.
Don't mistake yourself or your place.
Jake: Dad, she's trying to understand.
Walker's a tribal lawyer.
Sued us since forever.
I handled it last couple years.
And we beat him every time.
And what if he comes back to the door now?
He won't.
You've never seen the Black Hat Reservation.
- Mm-mm. - It's a truck stop, motel, and market.
Rocks and asphalt, liquor and oxy,
drunken, diabetic welfare cheats.
I feel your liberal judgment.
It's palpable.
- But that's not racism. - Isn't it?
No. It's truth.
And I'm talking about before the apocalypse.
Doubt it's improved much since.
You say what you want,
but the man I saw yesterday was a threat.
He had command.
Yeah? You got a little crush?
We gotta tell people something.
You talk to them.
It's good they start hearing more from you anyway, Jake.
What do you want me to say?
Just say we got weapons and walls and wherewithal.
Say all civilizations are born of violence.
People give me a headache.
- Jake: Troy should come with me. - ( door opens )
- He was there, Da-- - ( door slams )
- Alicia: Got it? - ( Madison exhales ) Okay. I got it, I got it.
I've got it. Okay.
- Here, take this off. - Oh, God.
Thank you.
- Here. - Careful.
( gasps )
Alicia: Oh, Mom...
Oh, God. ( sighs )
Damn.
She went south. She knew people in Mexicali.
I'm sorry.
She's strong.
So are you.
Alicia: Hey!
Hey.
Sorry...
about the people you lost.
I didn't know most of them.
Phil McCarthy was here since the beginning, but...
he wasn't a good man.
Your mom okay?
Will be.
Your dad?
No. Not really, no.
He's one of the last ones standing.
And he's feeling that.
Russell lost in the fire, McCarthy dead now.
Vernon's the only other Founding Father left.
Just getting picked off one by one.
Are you afraid?
No.
Border's a violent place, always has been.
Show me?
- ( clicking ) - Safety.
Semi-auto, like a pistol.
- Full auto. Stick with semi. - ( gun clicks )
Don't I need a new target?
Mine'll be the ones in the bulls-eye.
What happens when your dad goes?
Who takes over the ranch?
Most people here are libertarians.
They don't take orders very well.
Tuck the stock into your shoulder.
Don't tense.
Yeah, but people look up to your dad.
Yeah, it was his land.
It'll pass to me and Troy when he dies,
but people look to whoever they feel is worth looking to.
Could be anybody. Could be you.
Your father wants it to be you.
Why wouldn't it be?
You're right, people are gonna look to somebody.
And if it's not you...
Breathe out when you squeeze the trigger.
( knock on door )
Come in.
- ( distant gunfire ) - Sorry, Madison, sorry.
I was just looking for Alicia.
She's out and about, Gretchen.
Probably with Jake. I'll-- I'll just--
Is Mike okay?
Freaked.
He said you saved him, though.
He said everybody would have died without you.
Come in.
( door closes )
It isn't just my brother.
It's my whole family, my father.
Vernon? Sit down.
My dad doesn't think we're safe.
He helped make this place, and he doesn't think it's safe.
I've never seen him scared, not even when the dead rose.
- But he is. - What'd he say?
He said he should have known, that it would never end,
- that violence begets violence. - Wait, wait, slow down, slow down.
He said it's just starting.
He wants to go.
He wants to leave the ranch. I'm scared.
Shh, listen to me.
There's no place safer than here.
Well, he doesn't believe that.
He knows a colony in Colorado.
Dad says the Rockies will be safe, at elevation.
Who did he say that to?
Anyone who will listen.
He feels responsible.
He's a founder.
( distant howling )
( distant barking, howling )
**
( cocks gun )
Distant man: Fire!
We got fire!
( overlapping shouting )
Woman: What's happening?
Man: Everybody out!
Woman #2: No, they're everywhere!
Man #2: They're all over the place!
( shouting continues )
Son of a bitch.
( shouting continues )
**
50 yards from the front gate.
What the hell was that sentry doing?
How many total?
Militia counts about 20.
All built to die like this one.
It's not meant to burn us out.
They want the land in one piece.
They want us off of it, like they said.
They don't have the arms or the balls,
so they do this bullshit.
If Walker was gonna come, he would have.
But he can't.
Your people are scared, Jeremiah.
**
- ( chatter ) - ( grunts )
( grunts )
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
What brings you down here?
Uh, lumber?
Drywall screws.
You flying solo?
- What? - Luciana, she, uh-- she take off?
Do me a favor.
Say her name again.
Whoa, whoa, easy, easy, partner.
It's just good you didn't take off after her.
That's all I'm saying.
- Okay? - ( footsteps approach )
Whoa, Dax, Dax, what are you doing?
- Huh? - Don't start, Troy.
No, this is not a good time to cut bait, Mrs. Daley.
Feels like the best time.
I have sacrificed too much.
Not gonna wait for them to finish off my entire family.
They will pay. They will pay for what they did.
Now, Dax... put the flour back.
I'm sorry Troy. We've just been thinking--
Thinking? Thinking?
Thinking about stealing our shit and hauling ass?
Huh?
This is what we put in. Following the rules here.
Oh, the rules. Right, the rules.
Well, the rules are here for the members of our community.
You leave, you're not a member.
Take it up with your father.
We spoke this morning.
All right.
Okay.
( clears throat )
( groans )
We should talk.
Um, should we?
I may disappoint.
- Listen, Vernon is-- - Wha--
Headaches still?
Migraines. You get 'em?
Unh-unh. Father did.
The light would start to hurt him.
- Oh. - Jeremiah--
What did you wanna say about Vernon?
- He's-- - Right here.
- Jeremiah, can I get a word? - Hmm?
Yeah. You're having one.
Uh, in private.
There's nothing you can't say in front of Madison or anybody else.
Look, we're friends going on 30 years.
You know I love this place.
I love what we started.
But a man's family comes first.
Just gotta protect them best he knows how,
and the best I know how is to leave.
Now.
A little precipitous, don't you think?
Run off at the first sign of trouble?
Sign of trouble? They killed eight of ours.
They sawed Phil's...
Hell, Otto, that could've been--
All right, all right.
All right?
Well, what do you want me to say?
You don't need my permission.
You wanna go, go.
You don't wanna go out there, Mr. Trimbol.
My mind's made up.
I'm sorry, Jeremiah.
Mike going with you?
My family's leaving, Troy.
30 years, huh?
He wasn't always like that.
Some men, they have kids, turns them into women.
He's a founder.
If you can't keep him here,
how you gonna keep the rest of them?
Well, what would you have me do, hmm?
Give them a reason to stay, fight.
Give them a reason?
Aside from the fences and the militia
and the stores and this community, huh?
I welcome them onto my land with open arms,
and now I gotta get down on my hands and knees
and beg 'em to stay?
There's a fight coming.
Everyone who leaves leaves us weaker.
( groans )
To hell with this.
Troy!
Keep that gate closed, Jimmy!
- Your father gave the okay. - I don't give a damn.
You open that gate and I shoot you in the head.
Open the door.
- I'm not doing this, Troy. - Open the door, Vernon.
Mike? Mike, get your ass out here now.
Come on, get your ass out here.
People died for us, Mike!
Our people, and you're gonna run, huh?!
- It's not what a man does, Mike! - Troy. Troy!
Troy, stand down. Dad said they could leave.
Yeah, he said they could leave, not with ranch property.
What property? This is theirs.
They gassed up, didn't they? Gas is ranch property.
And I guarantee you that they took plenty of shit
from the pantry!
And I want to see an inventory, Vernon!
- I want it inspected! - This is not what Dad wants.
Why should I give a damn what Dad wants?
He never gives a shit about me--
You're not protecting the ranch.
The hell do you know about it?
You haven't a clue what this ranch is about.
I mean, she's been here a week, and she gets it.
You gonna fight for what's yours or you gonna surrender it, huh?
- That's not your call, is it? - You gonna fight or you gonna surrender?
You're not in charge, are you?
( grunts )
What the hell is wrong with you, huh?
- No! Hey, Dad, Dad. Dad, Dad. - Madison: No, no! Come on.
Come on.
God damn it.
( gate opens )
**
( Troy sighs )
Madison: Looking for something to take out the old man?
I've been there.
It's the first thing folks will grab
if there's a run on the place.
Good.
I was worried you might do something rash.
To my family?
No, no. Never.
Can't blame my worry.
No.
All I've ever had in my-- my whole life
is this-- this place and...
these people, and...
I don't know, it just...
I don't understand, you know.
Like, the world out there,
it's, uh--
it's burned.
They wanted to see for themselves.
Anyone who leaves is dead to me.
Now, Mike, he was--
he was soft, but he was--
he's been my friend since I was a kid.
He stayed in school when I got-- I got pulled.
But he never quit on me. Never.
Even when others did.
He didn't quit on you, Troy.
He just stood by his family.
He wouldn't look at me.
He just...
( sniffles ) Hard to know how to react to something like that.
You make sure no one else leaves.
- ( door opens ) - ( people chattering )
Madison: Save them from the same mistake.
I'll help you.
( chatter continues )
( Troy clears throat )
( chatter stops )
I want you all at attention.
All right. That's a start.
Tracking Mike down and beating his ass into the ground,
that'd be a start.
No, Mike's gone. He's not coming back.
That's the end of it.
I don't want to hear his name again.
From now on, we set an example.
We become a model of what this place needs--
order, discipline,
chain of command.
We have to make those people up there feel safe.
( militiamen murmuring )
Or they'll leave, all of them.
We have to defend this ranch with our lives
or they will be slaughtered,
all of them.
This place, this place is all we have.
And right now, it is... teetering.
And the only thing that can save it is us.
Now, I'm not gonna draw a line on the floor.
I'm not asking whether you're with me.
You are with me, all of you.
Do you understand?
All: Yes, sir!
**
( crickets chirping )
( rustling )
( grunts )
Jeremiah, what are you doing?
This is where it goes, right here.
Where the hell have you been, huh?
I've been drinking here all night, alone.
Here.
No, thanks.
Come on. You?
Especially me. I'm high on life.
( laughing )
I like that. ( laughs )
- Hey, slow down. - ( laughs )
- Slow down. - Mm.
Ah.
What happened to your hand?
Oh... you know that song,
"Can't be with the one you love,
love the one you're with"?
Well, that goes the same...
with hitting people.
( scoffs ) I don't mind.
( stammers ) The hand...
distracts from the headaches.
Well, listen, man, tomorrow's another day,
a better day, 'cause you're gonna be
too hung over to get in any fights.
So why don't you just crash here?
This is a scared spot, you know.
Me and Vern and Russell and McCarthy,
we sat here one night and...
conceived the movement.
( distant howling )
My life's work.
( grunts )
Now two are dead and...
one is dead to me.
( glass shatters )
God damn it, man.
- ( gun cocks ) - Jeremiah, no, no, no, hey!
( gunshot )
( grunts )
I'm s-- I'm sorry.
Your home. Your gun.
There's blood in it.
It's in the earth.
- ( Jeremiah exhales ) - ( distant howling continues )
( door closes )
- Bible study? - ( gasps )
Jake's.
Jake?
It's nothing serious.
The rhythm method is bullshit. I told you that, right?
Yes, when I was 13.
I thought you were talking about a band.
There's birth control in the pantry.
I'm sorry, it's just the stakes are so much higher now.
You like him?
Like, yeah.
I'm not in love.
Been in love. This isn't it.
It can creep up on you.
Jake's important to us.
And I like him.
In that order?
Does there have to be an order?
- ( crow cawing ) - ( Jeremiah sighs )
Oh, God damn.
It's bright.
Good morning.
So, I raided the pantry.
Turns out "It's for Otto" goes a long way.
No, thanks.
About last night...
Last night I was at the bunkhouse
with my mom and Alicia.
Why, did I miss anything?
( horse whinnies )
( snorting )
How long has that been there?
( whinnies )
Is it one of ours?
It's Vern's.
- Go get your mother. - Why?
Just go get your mother.
That's a baby.
( nickers )
**
They could have let it out. It's a long way to go.
Two horses, a lot of feed, lot of water.
They'd have slaughtered it.
They'd have killed it if it were like that.
Treat the hide.
Cure the meat.
They wouldn't just free it.
So it escaped.
They're dead.
I know it.
It's just a question of how they got that way.
Be ready for that.
"Black Hat Reservation"?
I'm going to Walker. I'm gonna work this out.
I've known him for years. I know Black Hat.
- You need a map to get there? - No.
I'm going off-grid. Back way.
It'll take longer, but it's safer.
- Safer from Walker. - Safer from my father in case he sends Troy to stop me.
He should stop you.
He killed your people. He killed Travis.
He wasn't trying to kill Travis.
No, he was trying to kill you.
Yeah, good people die easy as bad.
- What does that even mean? - It's what I'm trying to stop.
More people will die.
You're right, I-- I have to be
more than just a voice in my father's ear.
I meant for you to step up inside the camp, Jake,
not to go out on some suicide mission.
I'm the only one that can do this.
I've dealt with him. I've settled with him.
- I've beaten him. - When there were courts!
When there was rule of law!
Walker's not crazy.
He's just fighting for his people who need him,
people who always got a raw deal.
Jake, I'm asking you not to go.
Stay ready.
Lots of dead wander around out here.
( baton clinks )
( thudding, rustling )
( infected snarling )
( thudding, clattering )
( snarling continues )
- ( gunshots ) - ( bodies thudding )
( snarling stops )
( door opens )
Vernon?
Kathy, too.
- ( infected snarling ) - ( horse groaning )
Mike.
- ( clanging ) - ( horse grunting )
- ( infected snarling ) - ( thumping )
( horse screaming )
( munching )
- ( breathing heavily ) - ( infecting munching )
( gunshot )
( snarling )
Jeremiah: You gonna shoot?
You all right?
She's Alicia's age.
Yeah.
He thinks it was Troy.
No, I don't think so.
Don't think so or you don't want to?
Even for Troy, this is...
We know Walker was close. I've seen what he's done.
Indians, right?
Took everything? Took the helicopter?
- Even took your shoes? - Yeah.
Would they leave this?
Horses? The RV?
There's a week's worth of food and supplies in there.
( flies buzzing )
All the things he's done...
never anything like this.
Not to his own people.
Can't be absolutely sure.
I don't think of him as a man.
My boys, they go away a couple days,
they come to mind.
It's like they're seven, eight years old again.
I don't know what to do.
We have to go back.
Now.
Man: Troy!
**
( chatter )
( people sobbing, murmuring )
Woman: What happened to them?
I'm sorry.
They were good people. They didn't deserve this end.
Our family, we-- we weren't prepared like you.
We were strangers, but you took us in.
We've come to love it here.
I wish... my husband had lived to see it.
But he was killed.
Travis was killed.
He was killed by the same people who killed Phil
and our people at the outpost.
The same people...
Walker's people...
have now killed our friends--
Vernon, Kathy, Mike...
- Gretchen. - This is crazy, dude.
I've seen firsthand how Walker treats his victims.
I saw it at the outpost, and I just now saw it again.
You built this place together.
Because of that, you've been safe and sheltered.
You haven't been out in the world. We have.
I'm telling you, there's nothing out there.
If you leave, you'll die.
Walker's people aren't strong enough to force us off this land.
They're trying to scare us.
That's how they want us to go--
a family or two at a time,
out there alone where nobody can see,
where our militia can't protect us.
We cannot let ourselves be fractured.
There are more of us.
- We're better armed. - ( people murmuring )
If we stay here together, we live.
( murmuring grows louder )
Woman: Yes. Yeah.
**
( chatter )
( chatter continues )
That was impressive as all hell.
It was necessary.
How do you tell a lie that big and sleep at night?
How do you do that?
What I said was true.
None of these folks will die, not tonight,
not tomorrow, maybe not for a long time.
You and Alicia are safe.
I'll sleep like a baby.
Say it was Troy.
It was.
No one would believe us.
They're more afraid of what's out there than anything he could do.
You should've told me first before you did this.
You would've said no.
No. I get it.
I hate it, I get it.
I would have backed you like I'm backing you now.
Just don't forget what he is.
- ( cows mooing ) - ( men chattering )
I didn't go out there to do that, I swear.
I...
He owed me.
He had to look me directly in the eye.
He had to say it to my face, say it like Vernon said it to my father.
He owed me that.
He didn't want to do that, did he?
He said some things, and...
I did some things.
Then it went bad.
Not what you want to hear, is it?
You could run this place, Troy,
but not if you let things break like that.
Last night you had command. I saw that.
Your militia saw that, and they responded.
Your brother doesn't have what you have.
He's not of this place.
You're the survivor. You're the heir.
So, no, the last thing I want to hear
is how you lost control.
That can't happen.
**
I don't care how you did it.
I don't care why you did it.
All I care about is that you can control it.
There's a fight coming, and you have to save us.
Can you?
Yes, ma'am.
**
( music playing )