Amy Is Autumn on 'Outer Range,' Right?

By Dustin Rowles | TV | May 5, 2022 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | May 5, 2022 |

I love a good mystery-box show, and there’s little I enjoy more than noodling out a theory. However, as much as I have enjoyed Outer Range on Amazon Prime, and as much as it might seem to lend itself to a number of theories, theories about where the series is heading have been elusive.

There is, however, one major theory circulating at the moment that I’m not completely sold on because it seems a little too obvious, which might be the intention: Is Autumn — the hippie poet played by Imogen Poots — the future version of Amy, the granddaughter of Royal Abbott? It makes sense: Autumn doesn’t remember anything from before the age of 9, which suggests that maybe she could have fallen into the hole and time-traveled 20 or so years into the past, lost her memories, and was adopted and raised by someone else. It would explain why she’s drawn to the Abbott ranch, has a strong recollection of the Abbott family crest, and why she developed a quick connection with Amy’s father, Perry. She literally says to him, “We’re on the same wavelength, don’t you think?” Autumn also seems to have some knowledge — or at least curiosity — about Rebecca, Amy’s missing mother and even demanded to see a photo of her. There certainly is some resemblance among the three, too.

The sixth episode also began with Royal throwing Autumn off his all-terrain vehicle, and her watching the taillights speed away, while it ended with Amy watching headlights (and police lights) coming toward her. It’s an interesting bookend, and with the police making their way to the Abbott home, it makes sense if Amy runs away, finds the void, and falls in, completing the circle.

Still, the theory is not only a little too obvious, but it’s a twist that’s already been done on NBC’s La Brea, a sloppy show that nevertheless managed to conceal this particular twist. If it was intended to be obvious, however: Well done!

Meanwhile, most of what we can surmise about the future comes from the time Autumn pushed Royal into the void and he woke up a couple of years in the future, where his wife told him that he died in her arms two years before. Here’s what we see in that future:

The land has been purchased and is being drilled by a company called BY9, as in — possibly — “Before Year 9,” a reference to Amy before she fell into the void?

Autumn, meanwhile, seems to be the leader of a cult of folks who wear yellow jumpsuits and necklaces with the mysterious element found in the void.

This is all the more interesting considering what Autumn said to the bear when it approached her face after Royal abandoned her in the woods:

She was also wearing the same yellow get-up when she witnessed Royal’s death in the vision of his own future Royal had after handling the element from Autumn’s necklace.

What does it mean? Did Autumn kill Royal? I don’t have the first clue! We’ll find out (maybe) when the last two episodes of the season (series?) air tomorrow on Prime Video.