Pop Culture Happy Hour: "The Abandons" (December 8, 2025) – Episode Summary

Main Theme / Purpose

This episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour dives into Netflix's new Western series The Abandons. Host Glenn Weldon and guest Christina Escobar (co-founder, LatinaMedia.co) offer a critical discussion exploring the show's dramatic ambitions, soapy storytelling, and problematic choices. They analyze whether the series truly delivers on its frontier drama, the effectiveness of its casting, and the show's broader representation and themes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Premise & Setup

• The Abandons is a Western set in the 1850s Washington Territory and centers on two matriarchs:
  • Constance (Gillian Anderson): A wealthy, widowed mine owner whose mines are running dry.
  • Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey): A determined, poor cattle farmer and mother to a found family of misfits.
• Constance wants Fiona’s land and is willing to go to any lengths to get it, setting off a violent rivalry between their families.

2. Overall Impressions

• Christina Escobar: Strongly critical, finding the show disengaging despite admiring the leads, particularly Anderson.
  • “There were so many issues with this show. … My main issue … it felt like a season two. Like we were supposed to be dropped in and already care about these people.” (04:26)
  • Praised the show’s “hat budget” as a rare highlight, indicating deep dissatisfaction with character and story development.
• Glenn Weldon: More generous, accepting the show’s flaws for its entertainment value and soap opera flair.
  • “This show is smart enough to give us the reason why we’re watching. You do not cast Headey and Anderson and then just have them ... glower at each other from across a great distance. No, you give them scenes together to trade barbs and make veiled threats.” (08:10)
• Both agree the production values are high, especially in costuming and landscape cinematography.

3. Characterization & Writing

• Character Flatness: Christina felt the characters "remained types" and never became real people, making it hard to invest in the stakes (05:14).
• Dialogue & Direction: The dialog veers between “old timey stilted” and “modern day swear words,” creating tonal whiplash (05:37).
• Soapiness & Structure: Glenn positions the show as knowingly, even joyfully, soapy—“It’s Dynasty. … It’s Crystal and Alexis on the frontier” (08:20). The pleasure, he argues, is in watching events slot into place, melodramatically but with cathartic payoff.

4. Representation & Setting

• Positive note for casting diversity: Christina appreciated the show avoided the all-white casting pitfall common to Westerns, even today (08:41).
• The purported class struggle (“haves and have-nots”) felt superficial to both, despite being part of the show’s marketing.

5. Serious Plot Elements & Critique

• Sexual Assault as Plot Device: Both hosts find fault with the show’s use of sexual assault as an inciting incident—a lazy, cliched, and unearned choice, particularly given its lack of character grounding (09:27-10:02).
  • Christina: “I don't think it deserves that out. ... It puts you in a place where, because the characters ... don't really become people ever, that it's all just for a kind of pulpy entertainment. And sexual assault does not work as pulpy entertainment.” (10:24)

6. Climax, Resolution, and Soap Opera Structure

• The season ends with a dramatic climax (notably involving a fire) but leaves major questions unresolved—a deliberate, soap-style cliffhanger.
• Glenn accepts the open ending for its “cathartic release of tension,” while Christina finds it unmoving due to her lack of emotional investment (12:29-13:49).

7. Comparison to Other Netflix Westerns

• Christina draws contrast to 2017’s Godless, which offered a more thoughtful take on gender and the Western genre (11:04).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "There were so many issues with this show. … My main issue … it felt like a season two. Like we were supposed to be dropped in and already care about these people."
  — Christina Escobar (04:26)

• "If you level tiny hats, watch. Otherwise, I don’t know."
  — Christina Escobar celebrates the show's hat game (06:09)

• "This show is smart enough to give us the reason why we’re watching. You do not cast Headey and Anderson and then just have them ... glower at each other from across a great distance. No, you give them scenes together to trade barbs..."
  — Glenn Weldon (08:10)

• "I would add gross. It felt gross to me."
  — Christina Escobar on the use of sexual assault as a plot device (10:00)

• "Sexual assault does not work as pulpy entertainment. I don’t think so."
  — Christina Escobar (10:24)

• "It’s Crystal and Alexis on the frontier."
  — Glenn Weldon comparing the show’s vibe to classic TV soaps (08:23)

• "You really have to care about these two matriarchs and their conflict for the show to work for you ... for me, neither of them seemed particularly believable."
  — Christina Escobar sums up the central flaw (12:59)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:00 — Christina Escobar joins, and the show’s setup and main characters are introduced.
• 04:11–06:07 — Christina’s overall negative take and complaints about the show’s lack of engagement.
• 06:08–07:27 — Discussion of production values and comparison to other Western series.
• 08:10–09:27 — Glenn’s defense of the show’s soapy pleasures and Christina’s critiques on representation and class themes.
• 09:27–10:22 — The use of sexual assault as a plot element and its narrative shortcomings.
• 12:29–13:49 — The ambiguous ending and why it fails (or not) to satisfy.
• 13:49–14:28 — Final summary and invitation for listener feedback.

Conclusion

The Abandons emerges from this lively debate as a series with high ambitions and impressive window dressing but lacking narrative and emotional depth for at least one critical viewer. Glenn Weldon finds it a knowingly entertaining, if flawed, soap with plush hats and matriarchal showdowns. Christina Escobar, meanwhile, finds the series messy, hollow, and sometimes questionable in its choices, ultimately left cold—and only recommending it to “hat lovers.” Both agree, however, that the cast is compelling, the visuals are lush, and the show does little to advance the Western genre’s storytelling substance.

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