Episode 4 of The Madison opens with a flashback where Paul wakes up Preston in the dead of night so that they can go out fishing. It turns out to be such a fruitful endeavor that they keep it up until the sun rises on a new day. While having coffee, Paul remembers Melissa, his late wife, since it’s her birthday. Oddly enough, that worries Preston, and he wonders if, one day, Paul is going to wake up, think that his life has no purpose (because he has no family), and then die by suicide (Preston doesn’t say it explicitly, but I’m sure that’s what he’s insinuating). Paul assures Preston that he might seem lonely and melancholic, but he’s never going to go there, because life in Montana is too beautiful to waste it like that. Can the same be said about Preston’s family, who are currently living in the house they used to live in, waiting to bury the dead? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Liliana Reunites With Stacy
Liliana arrives at the Clyburn ranch, and Stacy is elated to see her, but much like everyone who comes from the city to somewhere relatively rustic, Liliana isn’t all that enthusiastic about Stacy and her family living on the ranch. Stacy understands Liliana’s concern, but she reads a few lines from Preston’s diary to show her that she is enduring the challenges that a ranch poses so she can know her man better (I have a lot of criticisms about Preston’s views on “owning land,” but I’ll keep them to myself to avoid getting cancelled). And the more Stacy reads, the more Liliana understands why she’s doing what she’s doing; in fact, Liliana tells Stacy that she shouldn’t feel regret for not coming to the ranch sooner.
Maybe Stacy was never meant to do so while Preston was alive, and even though it’s sad that she stepped foot on that ranch for the first time only after Preston died, maybe that’s what fate or destiny wanted to happen. That more or less decreases Stacy’s immense regret, which allows Liliana to go through Preston’s will so that they have a general idea of who owns which parts of the land and which parts are out of reach. The will also says that Preston wanted to be buried in Montana, which means that Stacy has been on the right track all this time by deciding to lay Preston and Paul to rest on their ranch. That said, since burying someone on that land isn’t as simple as it looks, Stacy takes Liliana to the patch of land that she has chosen for Paul and Preston’s graves and walks her through the complications of performing a funeral over there. However, since Stacy can feel Preston’s presence there, this uphill battle seems worth it.
Stacy and Her Family Listen to Preston’s Last Words
Kayla, Cade’s daughter, arrives at the ranch to take Bridgett for a ride, and Bridgett takes off with her. Abigail is fine with that, but Russell, Paige (her performance is so bad), and Macy are understandably confused. While they are processing this, Abigail gets a call from Van, who asks her to come around to the sheriff’s office with her family to listen to the audio recording found in the black box that’s been retrieved from the plane Paul and Preston were in. After assuring Van that they’ll be there, Abigail calls up Kestrel to tell her that Bridgett is headed her way with Kayla, and she instructs Russell to keep Macy occupied while the ladies take care of the aforementioned formality. With that out of the way, Liliana, Paige, Abigail, and Stacy reach the sheriff’s office to listen to the last words uttered by Paul and Preston.
Although Van warns them that the recording isn’t for the faint of heart, all of them choose to listen to it because they think they can take it. Can they? Well, no, not exactly. Paige storms out of the room. Liliana breaks down there and then. Stacy keeps it together until she reaches the farm and then goes and sits in the titular river (Liliana joins her there). For some reason, later on, Abigail reprimands Van for emotionally ambushing her with that clip, as if Van didn’t explicitly warn her that, despite its length, it’s not an easy recording to get through. Van couldn’t have been clearer than that. He even spends some time with Stacy to help her grieve, and yet he gets scolded for simply doing his job. Well, Abigail makes it up to Van by getting romantic with him and agreeing to go on a boat ride date with him as well. When she notices that Paige isn’t doing well, she tells her and Russell to come along with her for that boat ride with Van.
Preston’s Death Is A Blessing In Disguise
Stacy goes through another one of Preston’s write-ups in his journal and learns about fishing. Of course, reading about Preston’s passion isn’t enough; Stacy decides to get her hands dirty and her feet wet and get to know Preston better by putting his fishing methods into practice. Macy joins her on this endeavor, and, well, they do manage to catch a fish. Russell, Paige, Abigail, and Van head off for that boat ride they were talking about. After reaching a spot where they can park the boat and enjoy the scenery, the couples go their separate ways for a while so they can flirt in peace. Abigail and Van exchange stories about their respective marriages to ascertain if both of them are willing to embark on yet another romantic journey. Meanwhile, Liliana goes over to the Madison County Courthouse to procure the documents necessary for Preston and Paul’s burial.
It all seems pretty overcomplicated when seen through the lens of Paul and Preston’s family, some of whom are in a hurry to return to New York, but if you look at it from the perspective of the administration, using this convoluted process to judge the party’s interest in treating that land as their own, it makes sense. We briefly see Bridgett having a gala time getting horseback riding lessons from Kayla. In the ending of episode 4, the ladies and Russell return to the ranch to have dinner together and exchange stories about what they have done all day. Seeing them be a proper family again makes Liliana pretty emotional, which goes to show that everyone knew that, despite being a “successful” group of people, they weren’t functioning like blood relatives should. Due to their luxurious city life, they were drifting apart from one another. However, Preston and Paul’s deaths have been a blessing in disguise, because they have galvanized them. How long will this reinforced bond last? Well, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?
