Aahana Swrup
The Sundance original drama series ‘The Red Road’ charts a thrilling path across two seasons. In its second and final season, the story delves deeper into the history of the central Walpole town and its neighboring Native American Lenape tribe. Local cop Harold Jensen and ex-convict Phillip Kopus remain at the center of the narrative as two sides of the same morally ambiguous coin. Regardless of the murky waters in which the duo begins their narratives, by the season 2 finale, their ties to each other and their respective community strengthens tenfold. Harold finds himself ascending to the position of the local Captain as the town faces the fallout of the uncovering of a decades-old conspiracy, while Kopus suffers a personal tragedy when his mother, the Tribe Chief, Marie, dies in a brutal attack. Yet, despite the final season’s unresolved cliffhanger ending, the 2014 show never returned for a season 3 in light of a disheartening cancellation.
The Red Road Could Have Been Canceled as a Result of Low Viewership
The finale for ‘The Red Road’ season 2 came out on May 7, 2015. A short few months later, on November 19, 2015, it was announced that the Sundance original show would not be returning for a season 3. No official explanation or reasoning was provided for the cancellation. Yet, enough information remains available for certain conclusions to be drawn. Back in the mid-2010s, when the show first came out, it was fairly well-received by the critics. However, there was a significant drop in the size of critics’ reviews that the project received in its second 2.
Due to a gap in data collection, it remains difficult to measure the amount of viewership the show retained at that time. Even so, this difference in critical reviews between the two seasons suggests ‘The Red Road’ wasn’t as popular among viewers back in the 2010s. Therefore, it’s highly possible that this played a vital role in the ultimate decision against renewing the show for a third season. Ten years after its cancellation, that series has returned to Netflix, available to stream. Ironically enough, now the show has entered the streaming platform’s Global Top Ten Hit list. While fans of the show will be vindicated to see it finally getting the attention it deserves, one can only imagine what could have happened if this level of viewership had been around during the show’s run.
The Red Road’s Cancellation Leaves the Story Tragically Unfinished
Much like the finale of season 1, the second season of ‘The Red Road’ also ends on a cliffhanger that sets the narrative up for a future continuation. In the end, Kopus’ mother, Marie, who is in remission from her cancer, falls victim to a home invasion attack. Her death promises to send the storyline down yet-unexplored paths revolving around Kopus’ potential vengeful path and the tribe’s search for new leadership. Additionally, since the death is connected to Junior and his blood connection to Levi Gall, the Chief of a Connecticut tribe, it would have had an appropriately adverse influence on the young man as well. Lastly, as the Tribe’s Chief Interim and ex-wife of Jack Kopus, Marie would have had the ideal means to go after Walpole and its officials in a potential lawsuit involving the lead secretly injected into the mountains.
Therefore, Marie’s death alone would have branched out into several different storylines that could better explore the history of her tribe and Walpole. On the other hand, several new developments happen with Jean and her family. The Jensens suffer from the tragic loss of their father, David. However, her own insidious involvement in the death was bound to result in a new dynamic between her and her daughter, Rachel. In fact, the latter’s darker turn against her mother and stubborn decision to stay in Walpole to be with Junior perfectly sets her up for an intriguing future. Likewise, her father, Harold, also has his hands full as the Captain of the Walpole precinct, who has to deal with the growing tensions between the town and the tribe in light of the lead water revelations. Ultimately, all of these narrative threads suffer under the weight of the cancellation, which leaves these storylines unfinished. Even so, as evidenced by the show’s newfound popularity, the dynamic storytelling in the first two seasons remains captivating despite their inconclusive ending.
Read More: The Red Road Season 2 Ending Explained: Is Marie Dead?
