Warning: SPOILERS for Untamed.Netflix’sUntamedis part murder mystery, part character drama, set within the borders of one of the United States’ best-known national parks. The 6-episode miniseries takes viewers through twists and turns as Eric Bana’s Kyle Turner, a detective with unresolved past trauma, looks for answers behind the death of a girl in Yosemite National Park. Teaming up with Lily Santiago’s Naya Vasquez, Turner uncovers a web of corruption, a hidden drug operation, and revelations about the case of his own missing son.
ScreenRant’sUntamedreviewpraised the show’s strong first episode, which set up the dynamic between Kyle and Naya but only hinted at what might be to come. It isn’t until the second episode that Shane Maguire, played by Wilson Bethel, enters the mix, with the actor bringing an appropriate amount of grit and ambiguity to the character who will eventually be known as the series’ villain. Shane remains a threat until the last episode in which he–about to kill Kyle–is killed as Naya learns to navigate the wilderness of the park and step into her own.
ScreenRant’s Joe Deckelmeier spoke with Eric Bana, Lily Santiago, and Wilson Bethel about the biggest spoiler moments of thechart-toppingUntamed. The actors discussed the journeys of their characters throughout the season and weighed in on pivotal relationships. In addition, Bana shared his thoughts on the ending of the series.
Untamed Stars Break Down The Finale Showdown
“I Was … Overwhelmed By The Emotion Of It”
The biggest moment ofUntamedmay be Naya’s last-minute rescue of Kyle from his imminent death at the hands of Shane. It’s not only the culmination of Naya’s growth into her new role in the park, but also the resolution of the mystery first introduced in the show’s premiere. For Shane actor Wilson Bethel, the showdown was a continuation of what he described as“amazing opportunity”to work with Eric Bana.
“There’s so much on the page,”Bethel said, adding,“[and there’s] who we are individually and the kind of work that we had done separately. Then, you get to go nose-to-nose with somebody and you see what happens. And that’s one of the really fun things about, I guess, acting in general, but a show like this.”Bethel revealed that the first scene he shared with Bana was a nose-to-nose moment, saying,“suddenly, we’re in it, and we’re flexing, and the whole relationship is sort of an ongoing flex in one way or another.”
“It’s these two alphas sort of circling each other and looking to see where the weaknesses are.”
When that comes to a head, though, it’s Naya who steps in.“I was very happy that Naya gets to have her badass moment,”Lily Santiago shared.“I think she’s not a person that likes to pull the trigger, but she will always do what has to be done to protect her people and get the job done.”
Santiago also stressed the differences between herself and Naya in that regard, beginning with preparation that felt loaded.“I did some gun training before the shoot, and I was shaking for three hours,”Santiago shared,“understanding the power of this weapon. Filming it, I was remembering all of that and knowing that Naya is very different from me. She’s done all that training. She was a cop in Los Angeles. She respects the power of this weapon and she doesn’t want to shoot him, but he poses a threat.”
“And,”Santiago added,“Not only do I see him about to shoot my partner, but he turns to shoot me. So, in filming it, I was shaking. I was sort of overwhelmed by the emotion of it, the fear, the urgency, and the truth of death and loss and taking a life.”
Untamed Stars React To The Fate Of Sam Neil’s Paul Souter
“Sam Neil Is A Genius”
One other major player inUntamedis Paul Souter, played byJurassic ParkandHunt for the Wilderpeoplestar Sam Neil. In a particularly emotional twist, it’s revealed that Paul is actually the biological father of Lucy, the girl whose death Kyle Turner had been investigating–and what’s more, Paul was directly responsible for her death after shooting her in the leg in a panic. Frustratingly for those looking for Souter to face justice, he takes his own life after confessing his actions to Kyle. Of the whole situation, Lily Santiago believes one thing:“Sam Neil is a genius.”
“He was the perfect person to play that role,”she continued,“because of his softness. He’s so powerful, but he’s so vulnerable … when I watched it back, I was really taking in all of the subtle moments that Sam Neil drops, where you see his fear for a second. You see his need to protect his secrets, but also wanting to support his workers and his friends.”
Story-wise, though, there is something Santiago would have liked to see.“I do wish that there had been a scene for Naya to process what happened,”she shared,“because I think that she starts seeing Captain Souter as a mentor–as somebody she really trusts and looks up to–and she appreciates his trust in her. He’s the one who gives her the challenge of starting out with Kyle, saying, ‘He’s difficult, but you can take it.’ So, I think that Naya would not have processed that at all.”
“It would just absolutely break her heart, the way it broke mine when I read it.”
Eric Bana described the moment as“such a kick to the gut for Kyle, almost so much that you are like, ‘How do we even play this? How does he respond to his?’This is just the biggest kick to the head imaginable to your character.” “But,”the actor continued,“I think we just had to go with that, and it always has to make sense to the audience. It can be shocking, but at the same time, when you go back, you’re like ‘Ah. I should have spotted that.’ The way that’s calibrated in the edit and in the writing is really, really interesting. [And] Sam does such a great job of it.”
Untamed Ending Explained
“[It’s] A Very Realistic Way Of Approaching Grief”
The closing sequences ofUntamedemphasize the transformations that both Kyle and Naya have undergone throughout the season. Naya is shown to be comfortable in Yosemite, a far cry from the position the former LAPD officer was in upon arrival, and Kyle appears to have found some closure regarding the loss of his son, gifting his son’s toys to Naya for her own child.
But the biggest shift may be the fact that Kyle leaves his job, and Yosemite, behind.“We wanted to wrap things up in a way [in which] it felt like he’d gotten to a certain stage of his life where he’s ready to move on, but maybe not completely,“Bana said on the subject, adding, “And I think that’s a very realistic way of approaching grief at that level.”
Also check out our pre-season interview withEric Bana, Lily Santiago, and Wilson Bethel
Untamed
Cast
Untamed centers on a federal agent investigating a woman’s death in the expansive wilderness of Yosemite National Park.
