Considering the official title of Kevin Costner's new western epic is literally Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1, we knew this was just the start of the story. While it was originally planned that Chapter 2 would be arriving in movie theaters just a few weeks after Chapter 1, the strategy has changed and we don't know when we're going to get Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 2. But it can still be helpful to recap where all of the major storylines ended up at the end of Chapter 1.
Taking place over multiple years (starting in 1859 and continuing into the early 1860s), Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 introduces us to a slew of characters and storylines, intercutting between them throughout the movie's runtime. This include Costner's loner that becomes entangled in a long-running feud; Luke Wilson's character and the wagon train he leads west; and Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington, whose love story is set against the backdrop of a contentious relationship between settlers and the Native Americans.
We break down each storyline and where they stand at the end of Horizon: An American Chapter 1 below, as well as go give a quick recap of the preview that was included at the end of the movie for the next chapter and answer a lingering question in the movie.
What happens to Hayes and Marigold?
When we first meet Hayes Ellison (Costner), who travels from job to job, he has arrived in a small town in the Wyoming territory. He quickly meets Marigold (Abbey Lee), a young woman who makes her living selling herself to the men that pass through. She invites Hayes to spend the night with her in her cabin, though Hayes is offput when she mentions there is a baby where she lives. However, as Marigold makes clear, it's not her baby.
Instead it belongs to Ellen Harvey (Jena Malone). But Ellen has a secret. When her son was a newborn, she shot his father — James Sykes (Charles Halford), a dangerous man whose family intimidates many in the Montana territory — leaving him for dead. However, he survived and sent his sons, Junior (Jon Beavers) and Caleb (Jamie Campbell Bower), to find Ellen and the boy back.
After nearly two years of searching, Junior and Caleb find Ellen (whose real name is Lucy), trapping her and her companion Walt (Michael Angarano). Caleb, the loose canon among the two brothers, kills Walt and is then told to go and find Ellen's son. It isn't clear if Junior kills Ellen, but we do not see her again in the movie, so that is most likely her fate.
Hayes, having decided to visit Marigold, encounters Caleb on his way up to the house. Caleb is overly chatty with Hayes, revealing who he is and what his business is in the town. As they both reach the house, Hayes decides to defend Marigold and the child, killing Caleb in a shootout. However, Hayes knows those travelling with Caleb will come, so he flees with Marigold and the boy.
James Skyes and his wife (Dale Dickey) now want revenge for their murdered son, so they send Junior back out to find Hayes and Marigold.
Eventually, Hayes and Marigold settle at a mining camp filled with Chinese immigrants and others hoping to earn some money to make their living. However, as Hayes works, Marigold has plans of her own. Despite being motherly to Ellen's son and forming a connection with Hayes, she does not want to stay. She simply leaves one night, leaving Hayes a note and the baby with a Chinese family. The piece of paper that she wrote the note on is a flyer that advertises Horizon as a promising place to settle.
What happens with the wagon train?
We see that same flyer among some of the travelers on the wagon train heading west and being led by Matthew Van Weyden (Wilson). While we quickly meet members of the Kittredge family (Will Patton, Isabella Fuhrman, Hallie Purser and Naomi Winders), the main storyline we see with this group revolves around a young couple, Juliette Chesney (Ella Hunt) and Hugh Proctor (Tom Payne).
Chesney and Proctor come from an upper class background, very different from most of the other members of the wagon train. This is evidenced early on when most are working to help one another fix a wagon, while Hugh and Juliette sit around resting. Van Weyden must give them constant instruction on how they need to help and act in the wagon train, as they are somewhat oblivious to everyone else around them.
This is made clear again when Juliette attempts to bathe at night. She does so outside of her wagon and eventually notices that two men, Sig (Douglas Smith) and Birke (Roger Ivens) are spying on her. Hugh goes to complain to Van Weyden, who says he'll talk to the men, but first he admonishes Hugh again, telling him and Juliette not to waste drinking water on bathing and to look to the other travelers as to how to act.
When Van Weyden goes to talk to Sig and Birke, it's clear there is tension among them, as Sig and Birke do not appear overly willing to follow Van Weyden like the others. Van Weyden makes his case to both and asks they back off for the good of everyone, but Sig and Birke definitely seem like they will continue to do as they please.
What happens at Horizon?
While the paths of Hayes and the wagon train seem to be headed toward Horizon, we see many have already made their way there.
The movie begins with men surveying the land in the hope of building a town, but they are quickly killed by Apache who use the land for hunting. However, that does not stop people from coming, as this same flyer spurs more people to attempt to make a home in the land touted for its prosperity.
A few years later, there are many people living in the area as part of a tent town. Among them are the Kittredge family (presumably earlier settlers of the family we meet on the wagon train), who have built their own house on the land. However, the Apache are still fighting to keep the settlers from their land, attacking one night, burning the settlement to the ground and killing many of the inhabitants. Frances Kittredge (Sienna Miller) and her daughter Lizzie (Georgia MacPhail) survive the attack hiding in an underground tunnel, but her husband and young son are not so lucky.
Soldiers from a US army base arrive to help any survivors and bury the dead, led by Lt. Trent Gephart (Sam Worthington) with Sgt. Major Thomas Riordan (Michael Rooker). Trent tells the survivors the army cannot protect them from further Apache attacks if they choose to stay and rebuild, offering them the chance to come with them and live near the fort. Many of the men, most notably Elias (Scott Haze) and a young boy named Russell (Etienne Kellici), want to hunt the Apache who murdered their family and friends, though it's widely acknowledged that killing any Natvie can be a way for these men to earn some money. Frances and Lizzie do go with the soldiers.
As for the Apache, it was a young warrior named Pionsenay (Owen Crow Shoe) who led the attack on Horizon. However it was against the chief's wishes. Pionsenay believes they must fight and kill the settlers to stop them from taking over their land, but the chief thinks it is better for them to protect themselves by staying in the hills, believing only more will come. This division leads to the tribe splitting up, some staying with the chief and others leaving with Pionsenay.
Back at the fort, Frances and Lizzie adjust to their new life, quickly forming strong bonds with many of the soldiers. This is shown by Lizzie giving two young soldiers being called up to fight in the Civil War a pair of knit flowers from her bed spread as tokens. Seeing what it means to them, Frances and Lizzie make as many as they can for the other soldiers leaving.
Frances is also forming a romantic relationship with Trent. As he performs one kind service for Frances after another, the two finally discuss their feelings toward the end of the movie. Trent is shy and unable to put it into words, but Frances is confident in expressing her feelings for Trent, kissing him first on the cheek and then embracing him in a passionate kiss.
Elsewhere, Elias and Russell have gathered more men as they hunt Apache, but these men are more blood thirsty than they realized. One named Tracker (Jeff Fahey) convinces Elias and Russell they shouldn't just be looking for the right Natives, but killing whoever they can find, believing any Native has done something as worse or will in the future. This leads to the men attacking a Native camp filled with just women and children. It is a bloody affair that clearly impacts Elias and Russell, but they continue on with Tracker and his men as they see no other option at this point.
What's next in Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 2?
As Chapter 1 comes to an end, a preview of what lies ahead in Chapter 2 is shown. It's a quick reel, but some of what we see includes Hayes heading south, seemingly toward Horizon, doing some odd jobs and getting in some fights along the way.
With the wagon train the journey doesn't look like it is going to get any easier, and Sig and Birke seem to be continuing to cause trouble.
Then at the fort, Frances and Trent continue their relationship. But the big thing is that Lizzie seems to strike up a relationship with a young Native boy.
As all of this is happening, more flyers about Horizon are being made at a printing shop in a big city, and it is revealed that Giovanni Ribisi is the man behind them.
Who does Giovanni Ribis play in Horizon: An American Saga?
The quick look at Ribisi in this preview montage is all we see of him in Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1. But his character was mentioned on more than one occasion.
IMDb confirms Ribisi plays a character called Pickering. The flyers for Horizon that many of the characters have in the movie include a sentence that states Pickering is the owner of the land (or at least the one who is promoting it as a potential settlement). It's through these encouraging flyers that the characters are setting out on the difficult journey and having to deal with the Apache who already call the land home. All the while Pickering is far away in the big city, with it unclear if he has ever even set foot on the land. Expect to find out more about Pickering and his motives in the next movie.
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 is now playing exclusively in movie theaters.
