The Ranch: Part 8
THE RANCH: PART 8 - NETFLIX
The time has come to say goodbye to the Bennett family and the Iron River Ranch. The Ranch first premiered in 2016 and managed to pick up a loyal audience of That ‘70s Show fans, NETFLIX binge-watchers, and Republicans that kept the series alive through 4 seasons. With each season split into two parts, the final 10 episodes dropped this January, bringing the life of the Bennett family and their cattle ranch in Garrison, Colorado to a sombre end.
After a chaotic last few seasons, the residents of Garrison are picking up the pieces of the trouble’s life has thrown at them. After Rooster Bennett’s (Danny Masterson) death via a motorcycle accident and Beau (Sam Elliott) retiring from cattle ranching, the surviving son Colt (Ashton Kutcher) is tasked with keeping the tradition alive. As always, constant hurdles are thrown at the Bennetts, whether it be familial drama or the displeasure of doing business. Together they manage to find a way to work all their problems out.
Helping each other has always been the theme of The Ranch. For the Bennetts that applies to family, neighbours, and their home of Iron River. In Part 7, Beau sells the ranch to Lisa of Neumann’s Hill ranching cooperation in order for her to drop criminal charges against Colt. The Bennetts struggle with the thought of leaving their family home behind. Elliott plays the Bennett patriarch Beau in a brilliantly nuanced performance. A diehard Republican and traditionalist, Beau is a typical redneck, championing his second amendment rights and holding back on affection. He often cracks deadpan jokes at the expense of Colt and his nephew Luke (Dax Shepard), but becomes emotionally resonant when push comes to shove. Sam Elliott is the glue that held The Ranch together for so long becoming a beloved character as Beau reveals his emotions throughout the show’s numerous parts.
Colt and Luke are also struggling with their ranch. Colt and Rooster bought the Peterson Ranch, next door to Iron River, in the previous season. After Rooster’s passing Colt is now trying to run the business with his cousin Luke. Constantly barraged with every problem that comes with raising livestock, their ranch is on the verge of collapse and Colt is determined to fix it all for his wife Abby (Elisha Cuthbert) and their daughter Peyton. Kutcher’s Colt feels like a reinvention of That ‘70s Show Michael Kelso, as Kutcher plays both characters with the same lovable stupidity. Dax Shepherd’s Luke, a replacement for Rooster after Danny Masterson was fired from the show over sexual assault allegations, is harmonious to Kutcher’s Colt but it never feels quite the same as when Masterson was still on the show.
Though The Ranch has always been a red-state comedy with country roots, the series manages to sensitively tackle contemporary issues, the republicanism is limited to the jokes. Explored through the Bennett family and the eclectic cast of Garrison residents, Part 8 of The Ranch explores issues of addiction, post-war PTSD, and even gun rights. While always being hilarious, the best aspect of The Ranch has always been the show's ability to seamlessly intertwine emotional moments in their episodes. Each actor’s performance tackles their respective issue with an emotional tenderness that is unexpected of a show of The Ranch’s calibre.
The Ranch’s audience is for blue-collar people unwinding in front of the television after a hard day’s work. The characters on the show reflect their audience, and those who have grown up in rural areas are going to see themselves and their small towns in the people of Garrison. Yes, The Ranch is for rednecks, but the show is good enough, funny enough, and sensitive enough, to appeal to everyone.
THE RANCH: PART 8 is streaming exclusively on NETFLIX January 24th