Exclusive Interview
‘Ransom Canyon’ Boss Reveals Season 3 Romance Plans: New Love for Lucas & More
What To Know
- Ransom Canyon returned for Season 2 on July 23.
- The season explored new romances between Lauren and Kit, as well as Quinn and Oliver.
- Showrunner April Blair spoke with Swooon about her Season 3 plans for the major couples.
There was plenty of heat to go around in Ransom Canyon Season 2, and we’re not even talking about the temperature. The Netflix western drama returned on July 23 with new romances, breakups, and reunions. (Warning: Ransom Canyon Season 2 spoilers ahead!)
Quinn (Minka Kelly) returned from New York City, and her hunky boyfriend, Oliver (Ben Robson), made quite the play for Quinn’s heart. However, her feelings for Staten (Josh Duhamel) remained right at the surface. Meanwhile, Lauren (Lizzy Greene) and Lucas’ (Garrett Wareing) relationship fell apart as her feelings for his older brother, Kit (Casey W. Johnson), gained strength. Yancy (Jack Schumacher) and Ellie (Marianly Tejada) started off strong, but Yancy’s unpredictable ex-wife (Heidi Grace Engerman) put some major cracks in their perfect romance bubble.
Swooon spoke with Ransom Canyon showrunner April Blair about where all the relationships stand at the end of Season 2 and what lies ahead in a possible Season 3. What’s next for the Lucas, Lauren, and Kit love triangle? Will the show finally explore Kai (Justin Johnson Cortez) and Ellie? Are Quinn and Staten’s troubles over? Blair answered all of our burning Ransom romance questions.
Lucas, Lauren, and Kit
Netflix
“We’re in the writers’ room for Season 3 now, and it’s definitely not over,” Blair told Swooon about the love triangle. “It changes. I don’t think it’s quite so clear-cut. Moving forward, I think she will be in a relationship with Kit, but I think there’s always this push and pull with Lucas, like they represent just different sides of herself.”
As for the ultimate endgame, Blair stressed that Lauren is eventually “going to have to pick herself first before she can pick either of these guys. She’s young; she’s a teenager, but I don’t think she fully knows herself, or what she wants from life. Does she want to stay here? Does she want to go? Who does she want to be? She’s been the cheerleader on the way to UT, and then in Season 2, she’s exploring this different artistic part of herself. Where is that going to take her? I do think, ultimately, she’s probably going to need to pick neither of them to figure out which one, but that’s sort of the journey for her.”
The showrunner noted that Lucas “is always there as this first love and just represents something different and lighter for her and a little sweeter, but Kit, I think, she connects to on a deeper soul level.”
Blair revealed that Lucas will likely have another love interest in a potential Season 3. “He’s only ever loved Lauren,” she said. “I think he needs to have other experiences, if you will. He needs to grow and change. Are Lucas and Lauren supposed to be together in the long run? I don’t know, but I definitely know he needs to have another love and a little more experience.”
Yancy, Ellie, and Kai
Netflix
The Yancy, Ellie, and Kai love triangle had to take a backseat in Season 2 due to Tejada’s real-life pregnancy. However, don’t count Kai out just yet.
“It was just really difficult to do any kind of true romantic pull when they’re expecting a baby, and they’re in this bubble and trying to get everything in order before their baby arrives. It felt like the wrong time for either of them to have a romantic conflict with their baby on the way, and that had been the intention,” Blair explained.
She added, “What we’re kind of discussing and working on in Season 3 is like, OK, what are these new complications now? Kai, I think, this season really does, by the end, kind of step up for her, and in the way that she suddenly feels sort of unmoored and unsafe after the end of Episode 7, and she’s always taken all these risks and been drawn to the bad boy and was intoxicated by that. But now she has this baby, and everything changes for her moving forward, and it’s sort of why she pushes him out, and there’s Kai watching the door. I think that’s sort of a harbinger of things to come in a potential Season 3. You have this little person you’re responsible for, you’re thinking about them, you’re thinking with your head a little more than your heart suddenly, so that’s the direction we’re going and exploring. There are little hints and bits and pieces, I think, in Season 1 and Season 2, but they actually had a romantic history back in the day.”
Kai has long held a torch for Ellie, even when she “pushed him to the side.” Blair continued, “But he’s always been there and always loved her, and through Season 1 and Season 2, his coming and protecting and watching is all about her. He’s a romantic lead lying in wait, just waiting for Yancy to make a mistake.”
Staten and Quinn
Netflix
After years and years of missed chances, Staten and Quinn are finally happy and together — for good. Even Oliver, the swoonworthy musician from New York, couldn’t break Staten and Quinn’s bond. The couple was ready to start forever with each other at the end of Season 2, but that doesn’t mean the complications are over.
Blair wanted to end the second season with more emotional cliffhangers, even with Staten and Quinn. “We’re taking this leap, and what is that going to look like? We’ve spent two seasons fighting for them to be together, and now that they’re together, what comes next? The easy part is falling in love and deciding to be together. Making a life together is really difficult, so that’s where we wanted to end ultimately.”
Who is your favorite Ransom Canyon couple? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Ransom Canyon, Season 2, Streaming Now, Netflix
