Netflix’s fiery new Western centers on an Oregon land dispute that gets personal.

The Abandons ending explained: Breaking down the Western’s ambiguous final moments (and what it means for a potential season 2)

Netflix's fiery new Western centers on an Oregon land dispute that gets personal.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a writer and editor at **. His work has previously appeared on *The A.V. Club, The Guardian, The Ringer*, and many other publications.

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December 9, 2025 4:00 p.m. ET

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Lena Headey as Fiona Nolan in 'The Abandons' season 1 finale. Credit:

Michelle Faye/Netflix

- *The Abandons* is a Western series about a land dispute in 1850s Oregon.

- The series stars Gillian Anderson as a ruthless matriarch in a war with Lena Headey's headstrong ranch owner.

- All seven episodes are now streaming on Netflix.

*The Abandons* began with a fire and ended with a fire.

Created by Kurt Sutter (*Sons of Anarchy*), the Netflix Western stars powerhouse performers Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey as matriarchs on opposite ends of the class divide in 1850s Oregon.

Anderson's Constance Van Ness, the head of a rich mining family in the frontier town of Angel’s Ridge, desires the silver buried beneath Jasper Hollow, a tract of land partially owned by Headey's headstrong Fiona, a mother to four orphans. She and her brood live on a ranch called the Abandons.

When Fiona refuses to sell, Constance begins to panic. It turns out the Hollow is integral not only to the continued dominance of the Van Ness family, but also to the future of Angel's Ridge itself. Their desperation results in the Van Nesses intimidating Fiona and her family into selling.

The conflict boils over when Constance's eldest son, Willem (Toby Hemingway), violently assaults Dahlia (Diana Silvers), one of Fiona's adopted daughters, leading to his murder by Fiona.

The seven-episode season concludes with a moment that, depending on your point of view, could either be a cliffhanger or an appropriately ambiguous ending. Let's break it down below.**

Who is Adam Winston?

Katelyn Wells as Samara Alderton and Ryan Hurst as Miles Alderton on 'The Abandons'.

Michelle Faye/Netflix

Adam Winston is the real name of Miles Alderton (Ryan Hurst), a distiller who lives with his daughter Samara (Katelyn Wells) near Fiona on the Hollow. It turns out he was a ruthless criminal in a previous life, something Samara never knew. Early in the finale, Garret Van Ness (Lucas Till) brings this information to Samara, hoping it will force Miles to undermine Fiona and sell the land.

When Samara confronts him, he admits it's all true. "The powerful men that I worked for found out that I'd married in secret," he explains. "The things I knew, the things I did, if anyone talked, and the wrong people were listening, then..."

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He continues, "So they demanded that I end the marriage. I could not do that. I promised your mother that we would always be together. So Adam Winston went away, and that's when Miles Alderton and this family started running."

Samara believes taking Garret's deal could help them stop running, but he won't do it. "You have no idea of the harm she plans," he says. "There is no deal to make. Constance cannot make my past go away."**

Do Elias and Trisha end up together?

Aisling Franciosi as Trisha Van Ness on 'The Abandons'.

*The Abandons*' Romeo and Juliet are Elias (Nick Robinson) and Trisha (Aisling Franciosi). Elias is one of Fiona's adopted sons, and Trisha is Constance's daughter. Despite their families being at war, the pair fall in love. Unfortunately, things aren't looking so rosy for them by the episode's end.

Trisha is deeply critical of how her mother conducts business and is empathetic to the Abandons. In the finale, she goes so far as to report the depth of Constance's corruption to the authorities. She's intercepted by enforcer Roache (Michiel Huisman), however, and drugged in order to keep her quiet. Constance tells Roache she plans to send Trisha to a sanitarium due to her "delusion and excitable nature." That's cold.

But Trisha manages to overcome both her opium haze and her captor with not one, not two, but *three* bonks with a candlestick. Constance catches Trisha on her way out and shows her Willem's decomposed body, which has finally been dug up and delivered home by Garret. She tells Trisha that Fiona and her adopted children (including Elias) were all aligned in the coverup of Willem's murder.

Trisha, now realizing that Elias has been lying to her, confronts him at the Abandons ranch. She's furious, but, like his mother, Elias is unrepentant. "Your brother was a monster. He raped my sister and your family strangles us," he says. "I love you, but I'd do it again."

Does Constance get Fiona’s land?

Gillian Anderson as Constance Van Ness on 'The Abandons'.

Michelle Faye/Netflix

No. In fact, the Hollow more or less fades into the background during *The Abandons*' final episode, when the tensions between Constance and Fiona veer headlong into the personal.

Though she doesn't regret murdering Willem, Fiona spends much of the season trying to conceal she and her family's involvement, lest Constance sic her army of Red Masks upon them. But their secret is eventually uncovered, and Constance tasks Roache with kidnapping Dahlia in order to draw Fiona to her ranch. There, Constance slashes her face with a knife.

Fiona arrives alone, demanding to see Dahlia. "Nothing much remains of the murderous c---," sneers Constance. After Fiona confesses to killing Willem, a raging Constance stabs Dahlia. Red Masks hold Fiona back Fiona as Constance punches her multiple times.

As this torture unfolds, the Hollow folks swarm the ranch, some by boat and some on horseback. Miles hides out in the trees, proving himself a crack shot as he picks off Red Masks from a distance. The Van Nesses are caught off guard and quickly overwhelmed, allowing Dahlia and Fiona break free.

The* coup de grâce* is a wagon packed with flaming barrels, which is shepherded down a hill and into the front of the Van Ness manor, setting it ablaze and offering a defiant victory for the underdogs.**

What happens at the end of The Abandons?

Gillian Anderson as Constance Van Ness on 'The Abandons'.

Michelle Faye/Netflix

The Van Ness home is burning, but Fiona isn't satisfied. She pushes through the flames, climbing the steps to find Constance. As fire blazes around them, the two trade vicious blows. "You will not be our end," screams Constance. Soon, they're both exhausted and injured, breathing heavily next to each other on the floor.

Outside, Elias and his adopted siblings look for their mother in the flames. Garret, watching from the gate, does the same. Through the flames, a woman can be seen limping down the steps. And that's where the season ends.

It's purposely unclear who survived the fight between Constance and Fiona, which could tease a second season in which we learn the answer — and see what becomes of the Van Ness dynasty. But the episode's conclusion could also function as a suitably ambiguous ending. After all, does it really matter who won? In the end, both women succumbed to an overwhelming rage from which they're unlikely to recover.

(For what it's worth, we think it's Fiona.)**

Where can I watch The Abandons?

*The Abandons* is now streaming on Netflix.

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