Exclusive Interview
‘Ransom Canyon’s Minka Kelly Breaks Down Quinn & Staten’s Relationship and Her Season 2 Hopes (VIDEO)
[Warning: This post contains MAJOR spoilers for Ransom Canyon Season 1.]
It’s no secret that Quinn O’Grady (Minka Kelly) and Staten Kirkland’s (Josh Duhamel) relationship is complicated. After decades of burying her love for Staten because he was married to her best friend, Quinn finally opened up about her true feelings early on in Ransom Canyon’s first season. Quinn and Staten finally get together—during a tornado, no less—but their relationship status is unclear at the end of the season.
Quinn’s headed to New York City for six months, while Staten’s dealing with ranch drama at home. After throwing a punch at Davis (Eoin Macken) and a brief fight with Quinn at Gracie’s Dance Hall, Staten left behind his lavender bracelet (a symbol of their love) from Quinn on the table. Later, Quinn could be seen playing the piano at her home not wearing her lavender bracelet. Are Quinn and Staten still together? Swooon spoke with Minka Kelly about what the Ransom Canyon finale means for Quinn and Staten.
“I think it’s important to leave people wondering,” Kelly said. “I love when a show ends and you’re like, ‘Wait, but then what? I need more.’ I like that it’s not all tied up with the bow just too perfectly. You’re like, ‘Wait, was she going to reconcile? What was just about to happen there? Was she just high on life?’ Because the dance hall is doing so well, and she’s so proud and wants to just put everything aside and go just get the man of her dreams, the guy she’s loved her whole life, or was she just going to say, ‘We can put our dukes down. I’m going to go and do my music and take care of myself. But we don’t have to be mad at each other, be enemies, but I’m going to choose me.’ And, you know, I don’t know.”
Quinn and Staten’s road to love has never been easy. Staten’s stubbornness has consistently gotten in the way. Their ups and downs beg the question: Are they ultimately right for each other?
“I think it’s hard when you fall in love with someone really young, and you’ve decided you love this person without maybe continuing to collect information about them,” she explained. “Because she left, and so she just comes back to that same sort of love that she had for him and doesn’t know quite what she’s supposed to do with it other than be in it.”
She continued, “I think it’s right, maybe in the sense that you know you’re brought together for a reason always. And maybe this reason was for her to learn the lesson of, I can’t save anyone. I can’t change anyone, and I have to learn how to be in my own power and build my own self-confidence and self-esteem enough so that I can go, actually, no thank you to this. You’re never going to get your head out of your ass, and I’m all done waiting to be chosen. I’m going to choose myself, and I’m going to go and nourish my female relationships and my career, and I’m going to take care of myself, and I’m going to take care of this thing I built in this dance hall, and I’m going to stop focusing so much on all these dysfunctional men.”
A brief flashback to high school prom revealed how Staten intended to ask Quinn to dance that night, but fate (and Amalah) intervened. Amalah (Ava Phillippe) stepped in and intercepted before Staten could reveal who he really wanted to dance with. Given that they were best friends, was Amalah ever aware of Quinn’s feelings for Staten? “That’s a good question. I think the goal was to do her best to not let Amalah know, which is why she couldn’t stay in the same place when she married him,” Kelly said.
Staten wasn’t the only one with Quinn’s heart on their mind. Davis, who also happens to be Staten’s brother-in-law, put his hat in the ring. “There’s no denying that she always had Staten in the back of her mind,” Kelly admitted. “I mean, even when she’s with Davis and he [Staten] walks in, she just can’t help but fear disappointing him or hurting him still.”
She noted that Quinn’s “intention” with Davis was very real. “I don’t think it was ever a game to try to hurt anybody. It was genuine effort to pick and and be with the person who is the healthiest,” Kelly said.
The Netflix western romance series hasn’t been renewed for a second season yet, but a writers’ room is already underway. Kelly revealed her hopes for Quinn moving forward. “I love to continue the story of her finding her strength and her purpose,” she said. “And that’s what I love about this show is that it is a story of all these characters finding their purpose, and coming into their power. This is a story about second chances in so many ways with all of the different characters. That’s what makes it so relatable, too, and fun to watch, and comforting, and it’s just such a yummy, cozy escape.”
Watch the full video above for more of Kelly’s insights into Quinn and Staten’s romance. Do you think Quinn and Staten are meant to be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Ransom Canyon, Season 1, Streaming Now, Netflix
