Untamed Episode 1 and 2 Recap: A Celestial Event and Jane Doe

Netflix’s ‘Untamed‘ takes its narrative far away from the hustle and bustle of cities and into the heart of Yosemite National Park. However, human problems seep into the pristine landscapes nonetheless, which is made evident by the discovery of a dead girl at El Capitan. National Park Service Agent Kyle Turner soon realizes that the girl’s journey to the top of the cliff is itself a tragic story full of mystery, threatening to unravel many of the Park’s secrets. In episodes 1 and 2 of the show, titled ‘A Celestial Event’ and ‘Jane Doe’ respectively, his quest to get to the truth leads him to new allies, such as Officer Vasquez, but also to new enemies, many of whom don’t mind getting their hands dirty. As such, the story dives deep into the wilderness and questions how it shapes crime. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Yosemite National Park is Shaken up by a Mysterious Death

The episode begins deep in the wilderness, with two men scaling the famous El Capitan, a gigantic granite cliff in Yosemite National Park. With shaky breaths and aching hands, the lead climber makes his way through the last stretch, but is suddenly interrupted when a woman comes hurtling down. She lands smack in the middle of the two climbers, tangling their rope line and pulling them down. A fall seems imminent, but they are luckily saved by the safety mechanism. Soon, their mortal fear gives way to pure confusion, as a closer look at the woman reveals that she is already dead. Elsewhere, National Park Service Agent Kyle Turner takes a walk with his son, Caleb, examining traces of an illegal bear hunt. When Caleb suggests a trip to the lake, he agrees, but is soon called to inspect the recent death.

On the site of the accident, the climbers appear to have made their way up, leaving the body behind. Help is called in, and Park Rangers Officer Milch, along with the newbie, Officer Vasquez, are the first to report on the scene. They are soon joined by Kyle, who arrives on horseback and treats them coldly. His investigation is halted when he realizes that the body is still hanging in mid-air, as rescuers fear an incoming storm. Realizing the urgency of the situation, Kyle decides to put on a harness and climb down the cliff himself. Here, he finally gets a closer look at the deceased girl, whose body is marked by a host of severe injuries. Kyle also notices that she isn’t wearing any shoes. When his attention goes towards the bracelet on her arm, he accidentally drops it while attempting to take a closer look.

With the body retrieved, Kyle begins the next step of the investigation, charting out the possible trail she would have followed running up to El Capitan. He finds her handprints, marked by blood, going deep into the woods, but in light of the storm, he decides not to venture down. The focus instead turns to the as-yet-unidentified girl, with the forensics revealing that she was attacked by coyotes before she made her way to the top. Kyle also makes note of the cross sign tattooed on her arm, which has real gold flakes inside it. He is joined by Chief Ranger Paul Souter, who leads the Yosemite National Park Service. The latter chalks up the death to a series of unfortunate events, calling it “a waste.” However, the protagonist finds the woman vaguely familiar and is unable to rest his opinion on the case.

Kyle Finds a New Partner in his Investigation

At the Park Rangers Station, Souter asks Kyle to give his juniors an easy time, calling out his drinking problems. They are interrupted by Lawrence Hamilton, the Park’s superintendent, who puts pressure on them to wrap up the case, citing growing safety concerns. He also brings up one of Kyle’s previous cases, the missing person, Sean Sanderson. Hamilton explains that a lawyer has been hounding everyone involved in the investigation about possible misconduct. In response, Kyle says that Sanderson was likely a victim of the wilderness, and fighting it is futile. Shortly after, he makes his way to the base of El Capitan and retrieves the fallen bracelet piece by piece, bringing it home. While inebriated, he calls his ex-wife, Jill, and invites her to watch an upcoming Meteor Shower with him and Caleb, but she turns him down.

The next morning, Kyle is surprised to find Officer Vasquez at his doorstep, who states she has been assigned to help him with the case. Reluctantly, Kyle agrees and asks her to tag along on horseback, much to Vasquez’s surprise. We learn that Vasquez has transferred from the Los Angeles Police Department, following some incidents. Here, she lives with her child, Gael, and hopes to bond with the protagonist, but is constantly put at a distance. Instead of canvassing the entrance and exit paths, the duo opts to venture past El Capitan to continue looking for Jane Doe’s trail. Here, they come across an abandoned shack, where bloodied prints confirm the victim’s presence. Kyle notices strange markings inscribed on the walls and believes them to be of special meaning.

As Vasquez wonders how the girl ended up here, the shack is attacked by a bear. Kyle quickly shoots into the air, scaring the animal away. The encounter hints at the answer to Vasquez’s question; Jane Doe was likely fleeing from some kind of predator. The two continue, finding several more clues: shoes, presumably Jane Doe’s, that have been ravaged by coyotes, along with multiple bloodstains along the way. The protagonist’s eyes land on a rock with what appears to be a ricochet mark. Tracing the path, he soon finds a bullet lodged deep into a tree, which flips the course of the investigation. At the morgue, forensics confirm that there is indeed a bullet wound on the victim’s leg, but it is hidden by the other wounds marring that region. However, given the nature of the wound, the Special Agent hypothesizes that the bullet was, at the very least, not meant to kill.

Kyle’s Tragic Past Comes to Light

At home, Kyle finds Jill waiting, and the two strike up a conversation. We are informed that Jill’s husband, Scott, is a dentist, and she is happy with her new life. She tries to talk to the protagonist about his latest case, as they used to do, but he seems aloof. This worries Jill, as it means that there is something deeper going on with the case and Kyle’s obsession with it, although neither seems to be able to put a finger on why. She relays her worries to Souter, revealing that he is close friends with them. Subsequently, Souter reminds her to be at his upcoming marriage anniversary celebration. Later that day, Kyle talks to Caleb about his mother’s visit and finds that she playfully rearranged the beads of the bracelet.

This sparks a connection in Kyle’s head, and looking through old pictures confirms his guess: the beads were given to children who participated in the Wildwood Nature Trail Camp, which the Park organized between 2008 and 2011. Armed with this new information, he commands Vasquez to narrow the search down to all the children who took part in the camp. Although Souter quickly deems it useless, pointing out how the office has been handing out these bracelets to children at random, the protagonist refuses to budge from his assessment, asking Vasquez to continue with the process nonetheless.

The meteor shower takes place later that night, and Kyle and Jill watch it separately. The latter breaks down into tears due to memories resurfacing, and we soon learn why. Kyle and Caleb play a game to compare who catches the most meteors. The scene is juxtaposed with Souter and his granddaughter, who looks through his photo frames. She chances on a new face and asks Souter, who reveals that it is none other than his godson, Caleb. Here we learn the truth: Caleb died years ago, and the version that Kyle interacts with is simply a hallucination. With this, the protagonist’s alcohol abuse, separation, and cold demeanor at work all fall into place, revealing a man still haunted by his child’s death.

The Investigation Takes a Turn

In a flashback, we are given a peek into Jane Doe’s final moments. She makes her way through the dense forest carrying a bag full of bottled pills, all marked by a gold cross, the same as her tattoo. Right after she puts the bag inside a hidden box, she is abruptly shot in the leg. Back in the present, Kyle pursues Jane Doe’s trail and comes across one of the pill bottles seen earlier. The discovery adds another angle to the case, and as a result, the protagonist decides to conduct this part of the investigation on his own. He heads down to find Teddy, who works at the Park Outfitters Rental Shop, and without warning, starts rummaging through his car. Before Teddy can protest, Kyle finds success, retrieving a bag of Marijuana.

With the plan in motion, Kyle makes his way to a hotel, where he flirts with Lana, who works at the front desk. He also meets Souter, who invites him over for lunch while casually suggesting that Kyle exit the case. The perceptive protagonist instantly realizes that Jill has set up the entire event, and walks off in anger. Back home, he meets Esther Avalos, the lawyer who is previously mentioned as handling Sean Sanderson’s case. She informs him that, since it has been over five years since Sean’s disappearance, the family can now file a suit for investigative negligence, and she is here to look into that prospect. Kyle is blunt in his approach, informing her that there was no such oversight on his end. However, the mention of his brief leave of absence during that period makes him tense, and he hurriedly ends the conversation.

Kyle Travels Deeper into the Forest for Answers

With the door closed, Kyle breaks down as memories flash through his mind, particularly those of finding his son dead by the waters. He is brought back to the present by a knock on his door, with Vasquez on the other end. The duo then heads out on horseback again, this time venturing into a secluded part of the forest. However, Vasquez is surprised to find a fairly populated camp in the middle of a clearing. Kyle informs her that these are squatters who live here in a cult-like fashion. Pulling them out is pointless, he reveals, as they simply bide their time and find another place in the Park to call home. The duo’s arrival alerts everyone, and Glory, their leader, heads out to question them. Kyle asks her about Abuelo, their shaman and drug peddler, to which she replies that he has gone for a spiritual walk, and his return is indefinite.

Meanwhile, Vasquez asks the rest of the squatters about the dead girl, but is surprised to find them all tight-lipped. When one girl seems to recognize Jane Doe, the Officer tries to probe in, but faces strong resistance from the rest of the group. Kyle pulls her back and explains that the girl will never speak in such circumstances. From here, the duo separates, with the protagonist going deeper into the forest, and Vasquez making her way back. Kyle’s destination is revealed to be a camp that belongs to Shane Maguire, an animal specialist who is presently hunting a group of sick deer. The two strike up a conversation, and they seem to have a history. The Special Agent clearly expresses his suspicion about Shane before taking one of his bullets to compare it to the one that hit Jane Doe.

Breakthrough Comes at a Cost

Elsewhere, Teddy enters a tattoo shop owned by his friend and asks about the gold flaked tattoo, but is promptly shut down and asked to leave. Upon exiting, he receives a text message from his friend, asking him to back off from the topic. However, it appears to be too late, as later that night, Teddy is choked to death in his own jeep by a masked assailant. The scene then changes to a happy occasion: Souter’s 50th wedding anniversary celebrations, where many characters have been invited. Milch sits down with Vasquez, and the topic of Kyle’s past comes up. Here, we are told the details of the event. Caleb disappeared from the forest trail after straying away from other children, and subsequently, all the Rangers gathered for the search party. It was Kyle himself who found Caleb’s body two days later.

The party takes an awkward turn when Kyle meets Jill and her husband, Scott. It is clear that Kyle doesn’t see eye to eye with him, and instead, he chooses to leave the party early. Feeling out of place, Vasquez follows suit, and both of them decide to spend their time investigating the case instead. Soon, big discoveries are made. Kyle makes more progress in figuring out Jane Doe’s trail, eventually finding her hair, but his success soon turns to failure when Teddy’s dead body is retrieved from the river. Elsewhere, Vasquez continues going through the list of participants, comparing their faces and ruling them out. However, the name Lucy Cook appears to be an exception. It is revealed that the girl disappeared years ago, and a subsequent facial recognition match confirms that she is indeed the Jane Doe.