Wilderness Thriller Untamed Is a Dark Tale In a Strikingly Beautiful Setting

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the natural world can be a dangerous place. Whether the threat comes the landscape, the animals that inhabit it, or the humans that are trying to claim it, bad things can happen in beautiful places. That seems to be the central thesis of Netflix’s new wilderness thriller Untamed, which tells the story of a mysterious death in Yosemite National Park, but is actually just as much a story about the darkness and grief we carry with us, no matter where we happen to be.

The six-episode limited series (all of which were available for review) follows Investigative Services Branch agent Kyle Turner (Eric Bana) as he investigates the mysterious death of a young woman who fell from the top of El Capitan. What initially seems to be a tragic accident takes an almost immediate darker turn: The girl was running from something, but what? Or who? Is this a murder? A suicide? Or something else?

Joined by ambitious young cop and recent transplant from Los Angeles, Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), Turner sets out into the wilderness on the hunt for answers, questioning everyone from a village of tent squatters to the vaguely unhinged wildlife management officer (Wilson Bethel), with whom he shares a complicated history. (And who could not be telegraphing any more clearly that he’s hiding something.) But as the case grows increasingly complicated—it turns out the Jane Doe victim was engaged in some fairly illicit activities—he is forced to confront demons from his own past, specifically a case from years prior that he failed to solve.

If all of this sounds vague, it’s intentional. Not only were critics asked not to reveal certain plot points ahead of release, but it’s difficult to find a way to talk around some of Untamed’s more dramatic twists. Suffice it to say that while this is a fairly traditional, largely straightforward crime drama, it still manages to touch upon fairly delicate issues of loss, guilt, and trauma in ways that are both surprising and genuinely affecting. Despite his everyman demeanor, Turner is a man haunted by many things from his past, from simple bad decisions to untimely deaths. He’s got a drinking problem, doesn’t play particularly well with others, and is clearly not over his divorce from ex-wife Jill (Rosemarie DeWit), even though she’s remarried and moved on in the years since their split. He’s basically only holding it together professionally thanks to the help of his boss, chief park ranger (and full-time father figure) Paul Souter (Sam Neill), who not only picks Kyle up from benders but helps smooth over the internal waves he constantly causes.

For her part, single mother Vasquez has uprooted herself and her son (Omi Fitzpatrick-Gonzales) to Yosemite in the hopes of leaving behind her toxic ex-partner (and Gael’s father). A former beat cop used to working the established procedure of investigations, her arrival in the world of Yosemite requires some adjustment, from her new partner’s unorthodox methods to the sheer scale of the park she’s now required to help keep safe. (Not to mention the surprising amount of horseback riding she’s asked to do.) Yet, the slow trust that builds between Turner and Vasquez despite their initial differences is deeply satisfying to witness and quickly becomes a highlight of the series. As crime-solving duos go, they’re pretty great, and the show is better every time they share the screen.