Abhiroop Das
Netflix’s ‘Untamed’ juxtaposes the professional life of its protagonist, Kyle Turner, with his equally turbulent personal life. When the bitter, cold Special Agent is tasked with the investigation of a Jane Doe who mysteriously fell from the El Capitan cliff in Yosemite National Park, things soon take a wild turn, as the secrets lurking underneath the wilderness are soon laid bare. In the midst of this, Kyle’s son, Caleb Turner, appears as a breath of fresh air, showing us a different side of the protagonist. Kyle appears to be living with his child, and the two enjoy their share of pleasant memories. However, when the truth about Caleb is revealed, his presence in Kyle’s life soon becomes a subject of enquiry. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Caleb’s “Presence” Helps Kyle Get Through Life
At the end of the first episode, we learn that the version of Caleb we have been seeing all along is not real. Instead, he is an illusion that solely resides in Kyle’s head. The real Caleb died six years prior to the show’s present, and his passing has left the protagonist emotionally scarred, which results in these hallucinations. This adds up with the child’s general presentation in the show, as he only shows up in the scenes where Kyle is the only character besides him. Furthermore, when his ex-wife, Jill, comes to visit him, she makes no note of her son, which itself creates doubt about his status. We learn of Caleb’s true fate when Paul Souter’s granddaughter finds him in a family photo frame. With a saddened expression, the Ranger Chief reveals that the child is his deceased godson, a reveal that completely changes the course of the narrative.
Notably, Kyle is conscious of the fact that he is merely imagining his son and only seems to do so in the moments he needs companionship the most. This is substantiated by many of Caleb’s appearances throughout the story. A few of them are of note here, as on one occasion the hallucination of Kyle’s son talks to him when he struggles to make a breakthrough in figuring out Jane Doe’s identity. Here, the child helps him trace the victim’s bracelet back to the adventure camps the park used to hold for a brief period of time, which ultimately gives him her name, Lucy Cook. In another, more intense scenario, Kyle visualizes his son when he suffers a life-threatening injury. Caleb reminds him that the fight is not over yet, which motivates him to get up and run for his survival. In both cases, Caleb almost serves as his guardian angel.
Caleb’s most heartfelt appearance happens at the end of the first episode, where he seemingly sits down with his father for a meteor shower, and the two play a game of keeping count. The person with the higher count is eventually granted a big wish. When Caleb asks Kyle about his wish, the latter replies with “the same as always.” Although we are not made privy to the wish, it seems apparent that it has to do with his son. It might be that the protagonist wishes for his son to find peace, or return to him. In either case, the hallucinated Caleb remains sympathetic. It is in this moment that we learn the truth about the child’s appearance, and the transition to Kyle lying on the ground, alone, is a particularly brutal one.
Caleb is Also a Marker of Kyle’s Redemptive Journey
In light of this, a darker meaning to Kyle’s hallucination comes to the surface, one that manifests in his first appearance in the show. Prior to investigating Lucy Cook’s case, he assesses the trail left behind by hunters who got away. In that moment, Caleb asks him if there is anything they can do about it, and when it turns out they can’t, he suggests going to the lake. This scene has multiple layers, which unfold in stages. Initially, after the reveal of the child’s passing, it appears to be a bittersweet memory Kyle might have. However, Kyle later reveals that in that moment, he was headed to the lake to end his life. We also learn that Caleb was found dead by the lake, meaning that the place holds many traumatic memories for the protagonist. As such, Caleb also serves as an expression of his subconscious death drive.
Kyle’s desire to end his life comes from a place of hopelessness and utter despair; his son’s death leaves him a cold, bitter person, as he seems unable to find value in anything, symbolized by the hunter’s trail: a futile chase. However, Lucy Cook’s case brings a massive change in the protagonist, as it offers him a chance to right his wrongs. Just like Caleb, Lucy suffered as a child, and although Kyle can’t bring her back to life, he commits to bringing her shooter to justice. Eventually, the person turns out to be someone very close to her, which further adds to the parallels between Kyle’s story and Lucy’s. His growth as a person during the case is expressed at the end, when he reaches the river again but refuses to take his own life. Caleb, who earlier approved of the process, now consoles him, and the two leave the lake behind.
Kyle’s Son Suffers a Cruel Fate
While Caleb continues to live inside Kyle’s head as the warm, affectionate child, in reality, his life is nefariously cut short. We are told his story in pieces, first with Officer Milch telling Officer Vasquez about the event. He explains that Caleb strayed away from his friends on that fateful day and subsequently went missing. The entire ranger force was put to work searching for the child, but they came up empty. Caleb was ultimately found two days later, dead at the edge of the lake by none other than Kyle. Milch further claims that this experience is the reason for the protagonist’s cold demeanor. While it does show cracks every time he interacts with children, venturing too close only brings more of his memories back, as expressed in the Agent’s dynamic with Officer Vasquez’s son, Gael.
We learn the full extent of Caleb’s fate in the final episode, when Jill comes clean to her husband. She reveals that Caleb was murdered by a man named Sean Sanderson, who had attacked him in the woods and held him for two days. Jill reveals that they learned about this after Shane put up cameras in the forest to surveil bird migration patterns. The mother chokes while explaining the ghastly things her son was subjected to, but filling in the gaps, it is likely that Caleb was abused before he was killed. With the culprit caught on camera, Kyle intended to arrest the man properly, but Jill couldn’t stand the idea of the man pleading his case in court. As such, she asked Shane to kill the man. Jill explains that her decision to go behind Kyle’s back is ultimately what led to their separation.
Caleb’s story is marked with tragedy, not only in what the child had to endure, but in how it left behind two broken parents who are still in mourning, years later. As such, Kyle’s hallucinations can also be interpreted as more than a tether to his past, but as an extension of his psychological state of being. This adds weight to Caleb’s malleability, as he is not just a narrative device to make sense of the protagonist’s mental clutter, but a continuously evolving phenomenon in of itself. Through Caleb’s growth, we can gauge how Kyle becomes a better, healthier individual over the course of six episodes. Furthermore, despite being a hallucination, Caleb ceases to be treated as a false image that needs to be erased after the protagonist finds closure and becomes a positive companion for Kyle, both in his highs and lows.
Read More: Untamed Ending Explained
