Now on Netflix: Untamed finally reveals the real villain – and it’s not who you think

Just when Lucy Cook’s story seems to reach peace, the final twist drags everything into a darker, more chilling truth.

This article mentions suicide and contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Netflix’s Untamed.

The shocking twist ending of Netflix’s crime drama series Untamed reveals how Lucy Cook actually died and who the true villain of the story is. Eric Bana leads the cast of Untamed as Kyle Turner, a man haunted by the murder of his young son, Caleb, who is determined to solve another apparent murder mystery in Yosemite National Park.

By the end of Untamed, Lucy Cook (Ezra Franky) is revealed to have not been murdered, but died by suicide. She was shot by her biological father, Paul Stouter (Sam Neill), in the leg after threatening to expose him to the community as her dad. Paul had Lucy with her mother, Maggie Cook, out of wedlock, and paid the Gibbs family in Nevada to essentially hide her from the world, changing her name to Grace McCray.

Paul Killed Himself After Confessing The Truth About Lucy To Kyle

Paul Hid Lucy From Yosemite By Paying A Family In Nevada To House Her

Courtesy of Netflix

Kyle began to suspect that Paul had been lying to him all along after visiting Faith Gibbs at the bar where she worked. Faith knew Lucy as Grace at her father’s home in Nevada, where Grace and other abandoned children were kept locked in the basement. Paul paid Lester to keep quiet about Lucy. Faith tells Kyle that Grace claimed her father was a cop, but she never believed her.

Paul took his daughter Kate’s name off the list for DNA testing to avoid a match coming up that would link him to Lucy. Kate was in the system because of her arrest the previous year. After Maggie died, Paul kidnapped Lucy from her house, where she lived with Maggie’s husband, Rory, and took her to Lester Gibbs’ house. Rory was an abusive drunk who was killed after Lucy went missing because people thought he had killed his daughter.

Lucy is shown falling off the edge of El Capitan, crosscut with a flashback of her and Maggie looking off a cliff when she was a child. Paul didn’t kill Lucy per se, but he undoubtedly played a major role in making her life a continuous struggle.

Lucy escaped from Gibbs and came back to Yosemite when she was a teenager. About a year before Lucy’s body was discovered, Paul said he’d help her find a place to live. Paul tells Kyle that Lucy threatened and blackmailed him, needing money. Lucy lived with the commune led by Glory (Marilyn Norry) and started being a drug mule for Shane Maguire (Wilson Bethel), who was discovered to have an arsenal of drugs and weapons after Naya (Lily Santiago) shot and killed him.

Paul confesses most of this to Kyle, solving the case of Lucy Cook’s death. Lucy is shown falling off the edge of El Capitan, crosscut with a flashback of her and Maggie looking off a cliff when she was a child. Paul didn’t kill Lucy per se, but he undoubtedly played a major role in making her life a continuous struggle.

Paul was the one who shot Lucy in the leg, claiming he was trying to make her stop so they could talk. Paul claimed he was “protecting his family,” and Kyle reminded him that Lucy was a part of it. Overcome with guilt and facing the downfall of his reputation, Paul takes his own life with a handgun, unable to kill Kyle to silence him.

Jill Hired Shane To Kill Sean Sanderson After He Murdered Caleb

Jill Purchased The Golden X Pills From Shane That Nearly Killed Her

Courtesy of Netflix

Jill Bodwin (Rosemarie DeWitt) is connected to Shane Maguire in two major ways. Shane was the one who provided Jill with the bottle of “golden X” pills that she used to try and take her life. Jill also made a huge confession to her current husband, Scott (Josh Randall), that she had hired Shane to kill Sean Sanderson, Caleb’s murderer, years ago.

Kyle has discovered Shane attacking Lucy in a video on her phone at the end of episode 5. Shane was the one who got Lucy into the underground drug ring that was going on in the park, led by Simon (Bradley Stryker). Simon and Snakskin Hand (Jeremy Jones) were responsible for killing Teddy Redwine (Jonathan Whitesell) but were not involved in Lucy Cook’s death.

Kyle Left His Job & Caleb’s Toy Cars Behind In Yosemite

Kyle’s Not Ready To Join Caleb Just Yet

Courtesy of Netflix

Shane got one thing right when he told Kyle, “There’s nothing left for you in this park.“ Kyle packed up his things, gave his horse to Naya, and left Caleb’s collection of toy cars behind for Naya’s son, Gael, to enjoy. It’s not revealed where Kyle will go next, but it’s evident his time in Yosemite is done after solving Lucy Cook’s case.

Kyle leaves Yosemite primarily because he has found a sense of closure to Caleb’s death by solving Lucy’s case.

Kyle leaves Yosemite primarily because he has found a sense of closure to Caleb’s death by solving Lucy’s case. He also realizes that there is nothing left in the park for him but grief, as he had been unable to fully heal and move on while still living in Yosemite. His drinking habit and boundary crossing with Jill had held him back all these years, so he took off with everything he could fit in his truck with the hope of brighter days ahead.

Although Untamed is currently categorized as a miniseries, a potential second season could likely follow Naya and fellow park ranger Bruce Milch in the aftermath of Paul’s suicide and Kyle’s departure. Kyle may just end up coming back to Yosemite after a brief or extended period of time, which could set up Untamed season 2.