Credit: Netflix

Welp, this got awkward really fast. Ransom Canyon has reportedly been cancelled after two seasons, which means all that narrative groundwork season two spent laying down has suddenly been met with one big, unceremonious thud.

Season two, released on Netflix about two months ago, arrived and earned 4.1 million views in its opening stretch, but, as crazy as it sounds, it was down by a significant amount from season one, which pulled 7.2 million.

Taking that into consideration, that number is hard to ignore when Netflix is deciding whether a sprawling romantic Western gets another expensive round. It does not prove why Netflix pulled the plug, but come on, it certainly does not make the cancellation difficult to understand.

What makes the whole thing feel stranger is that creator April Blair had already been talking about where these characters could go next, particularly once Staten and Quinn were no longer stuck inside the same romantic holding pattern, while Sidney, Ellie, and Yancy still had enough unresolved business between them. Season three was never guaranteed, sure, but the story was behaving like it expected one.

Season 2 of Ransom Canyon left plenty unfinished

Let’s start with Staten and Quinn, because at least they get something close to a win. Quinn chooses Staten, and they decide to start “forever, now”. Except that was supposed to be the beginning of the interesting part, not the point where the story just stops. Like hello? They had finally gotten together; we want to see more.

And then there is Sidney because, good God, she pushes a pregnant Ellie off a porch, sending her into premature labour, and then disappears. Just like that. Gone. Ellie and baby Isabella survive, thank God, but the damage is done, and Ellie pushes Yancy away because she no longer feels safe around the mess that follows him. So now Sidney is still out there somewhere, and apparently everyone is just supposed to live with that.

Then, because the finale clearly had no intention of behaving itself, Yancy finds out the supposedly worthless land may contain oil, while Lauren and Kit share a goodbye kiss before he leaves for Wyoming. Sure, sure, none of that technically demands another season!

And that is the maddening part. Staten and Quinn get their moment, but almost everyone around them is still mid-story when Netflix pulls the plug, which does not make season two the finale we were supposed to get.

So unless Netflix changes its mind, Ransom Canyon ends just as the story starts opening up again.

And bam. Curtain.