The Madison episode 5 kind of breaks tradition by not opening with a flashback, and instead features a scene of Stacy and Macy walking through the ranch and talking about the concept of heaven. Stacy’s perspective of the afterlife is sort of agnostic because she says that, while she’s unsure if there’s an actual heaven that can accommodate everyone who passes away, she believes that the place that a person liked the most becomes their heaven. Now, that place can be imaginary in nature or, since Preston and Paul were in love with the land that their ranch resides on, it can be Montana and the banks of the Madison River. Macy wonders why everyone’s sad if Preston’s soul will be at peace roaming the land that he loved. Stacy says that, while their family is glad that Preston’s final resting place will be Montana, the reason they are heartbroken is because they won’t be able to spend time with him. This brings Macy to the realization that people should spend as much time as they possibly can with their loved ones when they are around. If we do that, even though we’ll be sad when someone passes away, we won’t have any regrets about not making enough memories with them. This sentiment sets the stage for Paul and Preston’s funeral. How does that go? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Liliana Wants Stacy to Go Back to New York
Stacy might have chosen the spot where she wants to bury Preston and Paul, but it’s Cade and Van who have to do all the heavy lifting. Well, “heavy lifting” is kind of an understatement, because the proposed burial ground is a hill, and the ground is probably not suitable for creating graves. Yet they persevere for the sake of Stacy and her family. While they are busy doing all that, Stacy, Abigail, Bridgette, Macy, Paige, Russell, and Liliana get ready for the funeral. Abigail gets into a bit of a telephonic tiff with someone from Bridgette’s school because they think Bridgette should prioritize the volleyball tournament over her grandfather’s death. Bridgette overhears this and is clearly disturbed, but Abigail manages to pacify her.
Russell does the same for Paige, whose sadness regarding Preston’s passing seems to be hitting her in waves. Meanwhile, Macy is probably white-knuckling her way through this depressive phase. Liliana informs Stacy that, by noon, the graves will be dug and ready, and then she brings up the topic of returning to New York. Stacy is obviously not in the mood to go back, but Liliana keeps yapping until Stacy is convinced that living in Montana and guilt-tripping her family into staying there too isn’t right, and she agrees to head back to New York once the funeral proceedings are done.
Preston and Paul Are Buried
Stacy and Liliana meet up with Abigail, Bridgette, Macy, Paige, and Russell, and they walk all the way to the custom cemetery that Van and Cade have created with their own bare hands. The coffins are brought to the spot by Kestrel, Kayla, Tony (Cade and Kestrel’s son), Spade (also Cade and Kestrel’s son), Colt (Van’s son), Aiden (also Van’s son), Swenson, and I guess some dude from the funeral home. Once the coffins are placed before the graves, Swenson asks a very important question: Where’s the preacher? Liliana says that she “forgot” to hire a preacher to do the funeral services, and Stacy says that it’s their first time doing a funeral in “these parts,” which is why they messed up.
I understand trying to show the cultural gap between those who live in cities and those who live in towns, but this is absurd. I am not Christian, and I even know that you need to hire a preacher, or at least someone who can oversee the proceedings, but I have to believe that city life and grief can make you so ignorant that you forget what goes into the process of burying your loved one. Anyway, Swenson offers to step in and get the job done, and Stacy approves. Once Swenson is done giving his speech, Stacy notes that his prayers sound generic. However, it’s a “why fix something when it’s not broken” situation; yes, Swenson doesn’t customize his prayers for every single haphazard funeral service, but his eulogy is beautiful enough to honor the dead and satisfy those who are grieving.
Stacy and Her Family Return to New York
While Stacy and the rest head back to the ranch, Cade, Van, their sons, and Swenson lower the coffins into the graves. Stacy and her family get a surprise when they reach the cabins, as they notice that the entire town has arrived to organize a feast so that they can all dine and exchange stories about Paul and Preston. After that, Van and Abigail go for a walk so that they can say their goodbyes, but their conversation goes sideways pretty quickly, as Abigail loses her mind over the fact that Van doesn’t want to move to the city for her. I guess grief makes you act like a teenager. Well, because of the breakup, Abigail doesn’t resist when the family has to board the plane and head back to New York. Since everyone on the plane is very silent, Stacy strikes up a conversation with Russell regarding death and burials; Russell tries his best to lighten the mood, and his nun joke sort of works because it gets Stacy to smile. Liliana improves Stacy’s mood a little more with the help of a vodka soda and a therapist recommendation; Stacy accepts both.
After getting home, Stacy finds the emptiness and silence of her palatial apartment a little too loud, which is why she switches on all the televisions. She remembers a conversation she had with Preston in their walk-in closet about how purchasing things during a sale is actually an expression of love. Yeah, you read that right. Speaking of expressions of love, apparently Preston used to leave his wedding band in his apartment before heading to Montana. What’s the explanation for that? He had lost his ring in the wilderness, and he doesn’t want to lose it again. And Stacy just accepts that because? They have been together since she was 18 or 19. What?! At this point, I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop and learn that Preston has another family back in Montana. I mean, I totally understand what The Madison is trying to do for the image of the “all-American man,” but this is just cartoonishly dumb.
Paige Has a Meltdown
Maybe deep down, Stacy knows that her man couldn’t have been that perfect, which is why she actually goes to the therapist (Phil Yorn, played by the one and only Will Arnett) recommended to her by Liliana. Initially, Stacy takes an adversarial stance, but the more she talks to Phil, the more peaceful she becomes. Moreover, she agrees to attend more sessions with him, because Phil’s words are clearly having a healing effect on her soul. That said, when she goes home, she calls up Liliana to tell her that she can’t live in that apartment, because everything about it reminds her of Preston. Before they can discuss if Stacy wants to shift to a different apartment or go back to Montana, Stacy gets a call from Russell, who says that Paige is having a full-on meltdown because she’s having an existential crisis over Preston’s death. Stacy and Abigail rush to Paige and Russell’s apartment and comfort her until she stops crying.
In episode 5’s ending, Stacy and Russell head to a nearby bar to have some drinks and discuss Russell’s future with Paige. Russell wants to have kids with Paige and live the kind of romance-infused family life that Stacy and Preston lived. It’s sweet that Russell idolized his in-laws and wants to emulate Stacy’s and Preston’s married life. Stacy rains on his parade by saying that it’s pointless to idolize them because, well, Preston is dead. Yeah, Preston is dead now, but they were married for decades, and I am sure she could have pointed at all the chapters they had written together, which could inspire Russell and Paige. I understand why she’s being such a spoilsport; she is grieving. But I hope Stacy’s current mindset doesn’t completely dash Russell’s dreams of building a family with Paige. Or, you know, if Russell does realize that Paige is an immature, petulant child who’ll never grow up and he’ll be better off if he leaves, then good for him. Maybe that’s what Stacy is trying to underscore? That her daughter will never be stable enough to nurture kids with Russell? And she actually wants Russell to leave Paige and live happily ever after? What do you think? Let me know in the comments section below.
