Ride Season Premiere Recap: “Legend of the Fall”

Here are some random thoughts prompted by “Legend of the Fall,” the very promising premiere episode of Ride, which premiered Sunday on The Hallmark Channel and can be streamed starting Monday on Peacock. Please keep in mind: There will be scads of spoilers here, so consider yourself warned.

• • Looks like Austin McMurray (Marcus Rosner) will play the same role here that Lee Dutton (Dave Annable) played in Yellowstone — the eldest son who’s killed off in the first episode, but will continue to be mentioned (and sporadically appear in flashbacks) as the series progresses. The big difference with Austin is, his death actually will kick off a mystery: Just what was the substance he ingested before the fatal bull-riding accident that killed him?

• • One year after Austin’s demise, his extended family continues to mourn his death — and, not incidentally, worry whether they’ll be able to hold on to the McMurray Ranch. Isabel (played, very well, by Nancy Travis) is the matriarch of the clan, and while she’s not entirely happy about her ex-Marine son Cash (Beau Mirchoff) carrying on the family tradition of riding bulls that do not wish to be ridden at all, much less for eight seconds — well, a family’s got to do what a family’s got to do. Fortunately, Cash has Tuff (Jake Foy), his musically inclined bullfighter brother, and Missy (Tiera Skovbye), Austin’s widow and former coach, to help him be all that he can be. Unfortunately, Cash and Missy find it hard to work so closely without… well, the inconvenient blossoming of a romance.

• • While I have no doubt that a well-trained stunt double filled in during Missy’s daring feats as a trick rider, I couldn’t help thinking as I watched the action: “Damn! They’re not going to kill off two characters in the first episode, are they?”

• • So far, it looks (and sounds) like all you folks who get riled by the rough language in Yellowstone will have nothing to complain about in Ride. Which isn’t terribly surprising, of course, since the series airs on The Hallmark Channel, a place where seldom is heard an obscene word.

• • If Missy does manage to stay alive — can she resist the lure of becoming a celebrity spokesperson for a blue jeans label, a gig that likely will require her moving to Dallas? Yes, Isabel did her: “Nobody in this family expects you to give up your life for us.” But, you know, maybe Isabel wasn’t being entirely truthful.

• • Can we really trust Valeria (Sara Garcia), the former runaway taken in by the family years earlier? Sure, everyone on the ranch greeted her with open arms when she returned after an extended absence — an absence, not incidentally, that started shortly after Austin’s death. Isabel was especially happy two surrogate daughters around again. (“I need my girls!”) But isn’t Valeria the one who provided Austin with the controlled substance that messed up his reflexes before his rodeo mishap? Was she hanging out with bad companions at the time? And is she still involved with them?

• • And can we trust Gus Booker (Tyler Jacob Moore), the smooth operator and successful investor who claimed a dance with Missy at The Roping Room, the honky-tonk where Tuff was performing, and showed great interest in the McMurray Ranch? If this were Yellowstone, I would suspect this dude is a prime candidate for a future trip to the train station.

• • Also at The Roping Room: An agreeable young fellow named Julian (Vasilios Filippakis) goes out of his way to introduce himself to Tuff, and compliment him on his skills as a bullfighter. Tuff appeared… intrigued. Bet this will lead to something.

• • Lots of county music on the soundtrack. It would be nice if, in future episodes, info about the individual songs was provided.

• • We’re definitely tuning in next week. How about you?
• Photography: Hallmark Media/David Brown