Outer Range’s 15 Hole-iest Moments, Ranked

The formal name for Amazon Prime Video’s trippy new sci-fi western might be Outer Range, but you may also know it as The Show With the Hole. Yes, the Josh Brolin–led series is a moody, broody, gorgeously shot family drama set on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, but it is also a weird, wild show about time travel. And also a hole. A hole that is some sort of tear in the space-time continuum and allows people to travel in time. I think. It’s not explicitly explained, as is tradition for most time-travel-related holes. Brolin’s man of few words, Royal Abbott, comes across the hole on his land, and it’s filled with some floaty, sparkly dust that gives him a glimpse into the future when he puts his hand in it. It only gets weirder from there.

The hole is at the center of everything that happens in Outer Range: It’s handy when Royal’s oldest son, Perry, accidentally kills rival rancher Wade Tillerson’s son Trevor, and it causes a lot of problems when it attracts the attention of a stranger staying on the Abbott ranch named Autumn, who definitely knows more about that hole than she lets on (spoiler alert: So does Royal). Suffice it to say that everyone wants a piece of that hole.

All of this means that throughout Outer Range’s first season, there are so many big moments near the hole. The hole is a main character, babes. The hole is life. Actually, the hole is time, but you know what I mean. But of all the weird things that happen around, in, and through the hole — from people standing around it crying to bodies going in it to, yes, time travel — what is the weirdest? Of all the hole-y moments, which is the hole-iest? We ranked 15 of them in the hopes of figuring it out. Life is short, let’s talk about a hole.

[A truly wild amount of spoilers for Outer Range’s first season follow]

15.

Many Tiny Holes

Episode eight, “The West”

Oh, you think this is the Hole that everyone is talking about? You don’t know holes, son! This is Luke Tillerson trying to find the big hole that just disappeared because he believes whatever is in that hole (time) will be a cash cow, and to do that he digs a bunch of small holes. How his arms haven’t fallen off by the end of the day, I don’t know. And this is a sci-fi show, so if his arms did actually fall off, I would’ve been like, Hmmm, yeah, I buy that. He dug a lot of holes!!

14.

Two Brothers, One Hole

Episode seven, “The Unknown”

This is when Billy Tillerson takes his older brother, Luke, to see the hole for the first time because he knows that Luke will be impressed, since Luke loves digging up the land and making money off of it. And if there’s one thing you should know about the Tillersons as a family, it’s that none of them can see this hole and not cry. So Luke looks upon the hole, thinks about all the money he can make when he figures out a way to exploit it, and weeps. Which brings us to …

13.

He’s just a man standing in front of a hole, asking it to love him

Episode four, “The Loss”

Wayne Tillerson loves two things in this world: Clamato juice and that hole!! This moment is when he finally finds the hole he has been searching for since he first saw it as a child. He cries! I bet that hole is like, Why is this clam man so obsessed with me?

12.

I Only Have Eyes for Hole

Episode six, “The Family”

It was only a matter of time before the two weirdest weirdos on this whole weird show met, and sure enough, as soon as Autumn and Billy wind up in each other’s paths, Autumn takes him to the hole. She explains that the hole is time. He is moved. Later, he’ll let her brand him and vow to kill for her if she wants, and they’ll partake in multiple sloppy kisses set to songs like “I Only Have Eyes for You” and “Save the Best for Last.” That’s the power of the hole!!

11.

Hole-y Shirt!

Episode two, “The Land”

Here, Royal is using the hole to get rid of the bloody shirt he wore while disposing of Trevor’s body. Royal is getting rid of evidence that he was an accessory to murder, but more importantly, he’s illustrating why lazy people who hate doing laundry should get their own hole.

10.

The Murder-Schmurder Hole

Episode three, “The Time”

Royal just loves throwing murder evidence into this hole. Now, he’s throwing Dead Trevor’s bloody belt buckle — which he stole from the police station, no less — into the hole. If I were that hole, I’d put up a “not a trash can” sign real fast.

9.

Man Meets Hole

Episode one, “The Void”

Who among us, upon finding a giant hole filled with floating dust in the ground, would not immediately stick our hand in? We are but human. As sort of a treat for braving the hole, Royal gets a peek at the very immediate future, and we get our first clue that this hole is about time travel. It’s very freaky, and I hope Royal washed his hands after.

8.

We’re Inside the Hole!!

Episode 5, “The Soil”

Technically, Royal seeing Dead Trevor Tillerson takes place inside the hole (and is possibly a dream?), but to have a corpse yell “Time’s a motherfucker!” at you while you’re falling through time? That’s iconic, and it deserves a spot on this list.

7.

There’s A Body-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody in the Hole

Episode one, “The Void”

We’ve extensively covered how much Royal Abbott loves putting incriminating evidence in the hole, but did you know that this hobby all started with an actual dead body? Royal throws Trevor Tillerson’s body in that hole hoping it will keep his son Perry out of prison. It’s a very risky move! But what Royal doesn’t know is that the hole hates the taste of dead jerks, and so he spits the guy’s body out a few days later. The hole has other plans!

6.

A Summation of What We’re All Thinking About the Hole

Episode one, “The Void”

When Royal stood at the edge of the hole, after futilely trying to cover it up with a cheap tarp, and screamed “What the fuck!,” I felt that.

5.

Push It Real Good (Into the Hole Remix)

Episode one, “The Void”

Okay, you knew someone would get pushed into this hole. It’s a giant hole just sitting there! But to have someone pushed in during the first episode? And to have it be the main character?! Shocking! But there goes cult-y weirdo Autumn seeing an opportunity to test out that hole, telling Royal that “the world’s been waiting for something like this” and then pushing him in it. When he returns, she does tell him she’s glad he came back, so there’s that.

4.

Buffalo Hole-diers

Episode eight, “The West”

Um, so, a herd of time-traveling buffalo stampedes out of the hole at one point, and if you are not impressed yet, I don’t think I can help you.

3.

The Hole Truth

Episode seven, “The Unknown”

We give Wayne Tillerson a hard time for being whacked out of his mind, but wouldn’t you, too, be whacked if as a young boy you found a giant hole in the ground and all of a sudden another young boy climbed out of that hole with time dust all over him and the Hole Boy was grabbing at your legs? Spoiler Alert: The Hole Boy is Royal, who jumped into the hole in 1886 (!!) after accidentally shooting his dad and came out of it in front of Wade in 1968! Does that make it less terrifying or more terrifying?!

2.

Generational Hole

Episode seven, “The Unknown”

Uhhhh, alert! Alert! After learning that Royal time-traveled through the hole as a kid to escape the consequences of accidentally killing his dad, Perry, who at this point has confessed to Trevor’s murder and is out on bail, looks at that hole and is like, Cool, cool, cool. Like father, like son. He dives into the hole and the hole closes up!! Right in front of Royal!! Royal can do nothing but clasp his mouth and scream because time-traveling cowboys are just like us. This hole is a messy bitch who loves drama and we should all respect that.

1.

Hole-y Moly!!

Episode two, “The Land”

You have to remember that this, the Hole-iest Moment of all the hole-y moments, happens so early on in Outer Range. We barely know this hole, and here we are watching Royal climb out of it to learn that he has landed in the future? And he’s actually been dead for two years? And some weird shit is going on because there are giant rigs and people watching him and military dudes and his wife tells him to run because whenever he is, Luke Tillerson wants him dead?? You can barely gather your thoughts before the perfect needle drop of “Paint It Black” starts and Royal swan-dives right back into that hole to get out of there!! That’s what hole experts refer to as a hole in one.