'The Madison' Episode 2 Recap: Why Does Stacy Want To Die In Montana?

Episode 2 of The Madison opens with a flashback where Stacy and Preston are having a chat on the phone. As per usual, Stacy is in New York, and Preston is in Montana. Preston is trying to persuade Stacy to come spend some time with him in the great outdoors. Stacy says that she’s a “beach girl,” and she loves how the horizon between the sky and the ocean looks like a straight line, which is why she knows that she won’t like the sight of the mountains looking like jagged teeth biting into the sky. Once they are done going back and forth about that, Stacy tells Preston to return to the city by the end of the week so that they can attend the Met Gala. And then Stacy hangs up after saying how she has to deal with Abigail’s marriage woes while Preston is away enjoying nature. On that note, the flashback ends, and we see Stacy, in the present day, sitting exactly where Preston was sitting when he called her, and she breaks down in tears for the umpteenth time. Why? Because she’s hit with the realization that she could have been spending all this time with the love of her life. Now that that ship has sailed, she has to make up for it with her bratty family, who don’t like the food on their table, get stung by the hornet’s nest in the outhouse, and whine incessantly about every major inconvenience. Well, how does that influence Stacy’s decision regarding what she wants to do with the Clyburn family land? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

Stacy Wants to Bury Preston in Montana

As Stacy tends to the hornet stings on Paige’s bum, Russell tries to kill all the hornets in the outhouse. Since his tactic is not very robust, he himself gets stung by one of the hornets, thereby incapacitating him for the next few days. Hence, Stacy is left with no other choice but to make the outhouse hornet-free all by herself. With that out of the way, Stacy takes Abigail to the aforementioned spot and shares her wish to bury Preston and Paul there. Abigail says the same thing that Lillian told Stacy: she won’t be able to visit him if his body is in Montana and she’s in NYC. Stacy replies that she’ll find a way to see him as frequently as possible. Abigail then brings up the topic of ownership of the land and how, if Stacy sells the land, its new owners may not allow the place to be a cemetery for the Clyburn brothers, thereby forcing Stacy to take Preston and Paul’s remains to NYC anyway. Hence, in Abigail’s opinion, it’s better to just take them to the city and call it a day. The thought of selling the land hadn’t crossed Stacy’s mind, because she’s under the impression that she’s going to take care of it for as long as she’s alive, and then her children are going to take over the reins, allowing Preston’s body to rest in a spot that he liked very much. However, she is taken aback once she understands that her children, and maybe even her grandchildren, are not all that interested in taking care of the ranch.

Abigail Doesn’t Like Stacy’s Idea

Abigail understands that Stacy is doing what she’s doing to atone for the sin of not spending more time with Preston. But she’s not the only person who has regrets about how they utilized the time they had with Preston. Abigail says that her last exchange with Preston was centered around the topic of the money she owed him, and she is sad that she couldn’t repay him before she died. Stacy understands that Abigail is trying to relate to her by sharing her feelings, but she makes it clear that Abigail’s apprehensions don’t compare to those of Stacy. Abigail might feel that Preston died thinking of his daughter as a failure, but, as pointed out by Stacy, the truth of the matter is that Preston never judged Abigail on the basis of her business acumen. However, during Preston’s dying moments, he exclaimed Stacy’s name, which means that before his death, the last thought that probably crossed his mind was that he couldn’t share this piece of land with Stacy in this lifetime. Although Stacy didn’t hear that, maybe due to the power of love, she knows what Preston’s last emotions were, which is why her sensation of regret is much more powerful than that of Abigail’s. And that’s the reason why Stacy has to go above and beyond to make amends. Abigail can either understand Stacy’s plight and be by her side, or she is free to move aside and let Stacy do her thing.

Cade Comes to Stacy and Her Family’s Aid

While exploring the barn, Bridgett and Macy are approached by a stranger named Cade. Since Russell and Paige are out of commission, they are unaware of this development. I guess Stacy and Abigail’s sixth sense starts tingling, and they arrive at the barn before the situation potentially takes a negative turn. They heave a sigh of relief once they realize that Cade is a friendly neighbor, who had been instructed by Paul to keep an eye on the ranch until his family arrived. In addition to that, Cade gives Stacy and her family all the food that his wife has cooked for them. Macy gets into a bit of a tiff with Cade because he calls tacos made by Native Americans “Indian tacos,” and she says that that’s racist. Before that discussion escalates to a full-blown verbal battle, Stacy puts that discussion on the backburner until further notice. Cade spots an injured Russell and advises him to put some baking soda paste onto his eye to get that hornet poison out. Given how there are no emergency centers around, Russell has no choice but to accept Cade’s advice. Well, on that note, Cade departs, and Stacy goes after him to apologize for her granddaughters’ misbehavior and also learn about a funeral home, which’ll help her take care of Pau and Preston’s bodies. Cade doesn’t mind Macy’s remarks, and he tells Stacy to go to Waverly and Sons, because they are the go-to shop when it comes to funerals. Stacy thanks Cade for all his help, and they part ways for the day.

Stacy Learns That Setting Up a Private Cemetery Is Complicated

Upon re-entering the central cabin, Stacy hears Bridgett and Macy whining about the food that Cade’s wife has lovingly cooked. This brings Stacy to the realization that she has made some kind of a mistake while parenting Abigail and Paige, which is why Bridgett and Macy have turned out to be such idiots. Abigail tries to argue with Stacy on that topic, but Stacy shuts her down by telling Abigail to always remember that they are in Montana for Preston; they are not here on vacation. Stacy is adamant about mourning Preston (and Paul) on that ranch, and she gives her family permission to leave if they find the place to be too inconvenient. All this mess triggers yet another flashback where we see Preston taking a very long-winded route (which is laced with regressive talking points) to ask for Stacy’s permission to go to the ranch; Stacy rubbished all the sexist statements and told Preston to be straightforward about what he wanted, as that would be less time-consuming. In the present day, Stacy takes the car and heads into town to have a chat with the manager of the funeral home, thereby giving her family ample time to reflect on why they are in Montana and whether or not any of them want to head back to NYC to complete their mourning routine. The mortician tells Stacy the same thing that Abigail said about their visiting privileges, and how future owners of the ranch can disallow Stacy or her family from visiting the deceased. This compels Stacy to finally hire an attorney so that she can buy a patch of land near Preston’s spot and turn it into a cemetery, while also seeking out ways to hold on to that ranch long after Stacy is dead and gone.

Stacy Gets Some Clarity From Horses

While heading back to the ranch, Stacy makes a pit stop to admire some horses. She tells herself that she can’t figure out how to hold on to everything that Preston loved and also look after her family. She was so used to doing this by collaborating with Preston or simply letting him take the reins that his absence has left her feeling weak and helpless. As she is having this mental breakdown, one of those horses comes over to her as if to comfort her, and Stacy immediately calms down. Over the years, horses have served as the conduit for several kinds of symbolism, but in this case, I think the animal’s appearance can be associated with freedom through loyalty. I mean, as long as Preston was alive, Stacy was living a good life, but on some level, she was way too dependent on him. By the way, that was the case for nearly 3 decades. With Preston gone, Stacy finally has the opportunity to discover herself anew. Sure, she has decided to kinda be in Preston’s shadow, but at the same time, she is thinking on her own when it comes to her family’s legacy, which is a big deal. So, yeah, horse! Anyway, Stacy returns to the ranch, heads to Preston’s cabin, and reads his journal. That’s interrupted by Abigail, because she wants to bury the hatchet, and Stacy accepts the peace offering; Abigail also informs them that the girls have put together a “thank you” note for Cade and his family for all the effort they’ve put into making all that food.

Stacy Wants to Live and Die in Montana 

While talking about Bridgett and Macy and their “wokeness,” Stacy is suddenly struck with the realization that Preston always wanted the ranch to be handled by his family. He built two cabins: one for Abigail and Paige, and another for Stacy and himself. He wanted to move away from the city on a permanent basis and live in the great outdoors with his loved ones forever. Hence, in the ending of episode 2, after Paige and Russell have made up (because Paige blamed Russell for not telling her about the hornet’s nest) and Bridgett and Macy have agreed to go to Cade’s house to deliver the “thank you” note (right after Stacy gives a speech about being kind to one another, which applies to everyone and not just regressive people), Stacy announces her decision to live the rest of her life on that ranch, and ensure that it stays in the family after she’s dead. Yeah, Stacy says that she has already initiated the process of selling her townhouse to establish a trust with funds that’ll only be used to maintain this ranch. Even if any member of Stacy’s family wants to use that money for any other purpose, or if they try to sell the ranch to get richer, they won’t be able to. Of course, nobody is on board with this, but I think Stacy’s stance makes sense. The reason why Abigail is against Stacy’s decision, and pretty vocally too, is because she’s in a lot of debt. She has hinted at it already, but I think her issues are gargantuan, and she could have used the money that could have come from selling the ranch to solve her problems. Well, now she has to find a way to rectify her mistakes without relying on the ranch, I suppose. Good luck to her on that!

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