Ransom Canyon episode 1 recap: giddy up!

If you're a fan of Yellowstone, Friday Night Lights, Virgin River or all of the above, this one's for you. Yee-hawing its way onto Netflix is Ransom Canyon, a romantic Western drama based on the Jodi Thomas book series of the same name.

The Texas-set series is led by Josh Duhamel as stoic rancher Staten Kirkland, who is trying to keep himself afloat after heartbreaking loss. A pillar of support for him is Quinn O’Grady (Friday Night Lights' Minka Kelly), a close family friend and owner of the local dancehall who's long-harbored feelings for the cowboy. But there's more than just a will-they-won't-they romance at the center of this series.

So let's saddle up and get into it all. Here's what went down in the Ransom Canyon episode 1, "Don't Let Me Fall."

Cowboys cry, too

We first meet Staten Kirkland on his son Randall's (Hubert Smielecki) birthday — Staten's wife tragically died a few years prior, and the teen was supposed to meet his dear old dad for a birthday horseback ride out on the cliffs, but he's seemingly still grieving and doesn't show.

Things get even rockier during Randall's party later that evening, where his Uncle Davis (Eoin Macken) — who owns a rival ranch — surprises his nephew with a splashy car. Upset about the over-the-top gesture, Staten tells Randall he has to return the car the next morning, which prompts a fight between the two. "I wish it was you that died," Randall yells before racing off in his new present.

Later, Staten gets a middle-of-the-night phone call. We see flashes of a car wreck and horrifically realize at the same time Staten does that his son is gone.

A year after Randall's death, Staten visits the sight of the crash, where he finds a piece of metal in the dust. He believes it's proof there was another car out on the road that night with Randall, but the sheriff's office doesn't believe him.

Old rivalries die hard

One year later, we pick up with Quinn O’Grady (and her dog Biscuit). She may proclaim to her coworker/friend Ellie (Marianly Tejada) that her relationship with Staten is merely platonic — she was close to his late wife — but it's clear she's sweet on him, inviting him to join her at the high-school football game and reintroduce the widower back into society.

But Staten's got competition in the form of Davis Collins (Eoin Macken), and not just over Quinn's heart. Davis' ranch is financially struggling (he's already taken out a second mortgage on his house) and he wants to capitalize on a lucrative offer by Austin Water & Power to run a pipeline underneath the ranchlands to the aquifer, but he needs Staten and fellow ranch owner Cap Fuller (James Brolin) on board, or the deal is off.

Staten previously refused the idea because the aquifer feeds the crops and cattle, he argues. But Davis warns him that the town already gave their permission, and he'll find a way with or without him.

Three's company

Theirs isn't the only love triangle in town. The sheriff's daughter and popular cheerleader Lauren Brigman (Lizzy Greene) recently broke up with Davis's son Reid Collins (Andrew Liner) — though he clearly hasn't processed that fact yet — and has been secretly dating Lucas Russell (Garrett Wareing), a wannabe rancher whose dad left him and his brother to fend for themselves.

During the aforementioned football game, a scout from the University of Texas was there to check out prospective cheerleaders for the college, and Lauren's name came up. The rep wants her and a friend to come to Austin for a cheer clinic, but she's worried her dad (Philip Winchester) won't let her go. When Lucas consoles her one day at school, Reid spots them and is left fuming.

A tumbleweed blows in

The sheriff spots a mysterious drifter strolling through Ransom Canyon. His name is Yancy Grey (Jack Schumacher) and he's heading to Cap Fuller's ranch to work, he tells the sheriff.

Cap is a gruff old guy who doesn't even give Yancy a handshake before pointing him to the stables, but Ellie — whose dad was close with Cap and still checks in on him to make sure he's taking his blood-pressure medication — gets more answers out of the newcomer. After inviting him to the dance hall for welcome drinks, she sneaks a peek at his poetry books, where she finds newspaper clippings about Fuller Ranch tucked inside.

When Ellie confronts him later at the dance hall, he says he simply was doing research about the ranch so he could help, but something definitely isn't right with the guy, especially with the pointed way he was listening in on Staten and Cap's discussions about the Austin Water & Power business.

A bonfire goes badly

At a teen bonfire that evening, Reid confronts Lucas about his relationship with Lauren. However, the argument is interrupted when the cops come busting the youths for underage drinking. While everyone else scurries off in their trucks, a ride-less Lucas, Lauren, Reid and his friend Tim (Niko Guardado) are left stranded and have to escape from the law enforcement on foot.

The group decides to take cover in an old and sufficiently spooky abandoned house. While Reid is jokingly bouncing around about the dilapidated floorboards, Tim falls through and badly injures his leg. Staten, who luckily had been driving down the road at the right time and spotted the kids, come to the rescue, pulling the teens out and getting Tim medical assistance. However, when the cops come, Reid takes credit for saving them all.

Arriving at the scene, Sheriff Brigman tells Lauren he'll let her go to the UT cheer clinic on one condition: she can't see Lucas anymore.

Outside the hospital, Staten encounters Quinn, who is there to check in on her nephew Tim. Upset about seeing her out and about with Davis, he makes a poorly timed joke, which sets her off: "You've had a piece of my heart for as long as I can remember," she tells him, adding she buried her feelings when he and Amalah started dating and even moved all the way to New York to avoid him. "I've waited. I've waited for you to heal, to choose me. But you're never gonna do that, are you?"

Still not ready to take that step, Staten walks away from her, but he's clearly mad at himself doing so.

Guess who?

Yancy is waiting to meet someone late at night — and who's in the driver's seat when the car pulls up but Davis Collins himself.

They're in cahoots about the whole pipeline situation, with Yancy reporting that "all is going to plan" with Cap. "Once you go through with it, there's no going back," Davis ominously warns.

All 10 episodes of Ransom Canyon are now available to stream on Netflix.