The Madison Episode 4 Finally Reveals Paul Clyburn's Tragic Past

Well, we knew Taylor Sheridan was taking some risks with "The Madison," but it seems pretty much every character in this show is horribly aggrieved or traumatized in some way. Whereas the creator's previous shows balanced drama and tragedy with levity and action, "The Madison" is immersed in grief from the outset and now Matthew Fox's Paul Clyburn has been confirmed as yet another character reeling from an unthinkable loss. Episode four and six of "The Madison" confirm that Paul lost his wife prior to moving to Montana, in what sounds like a horrific road accident.

"The Madison" began with two shocking character deaths, wherein Kurt Russell and Matthew Fox's Preston and Paul Clyburn perished in a plane crash. It was a shock not only to the Clyburn family but to viewers who'd been promised a show starring Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer. But creator Taylor Sheridan wasn't going to waste a star of Russell's magnitude entirely, and brought Preston back via multiple flashback scenes that tell the story of Preston and Stacy Clyburn's (Pfeiffer) marriage.

We saw a little less of Paul, however. Fox's character seemed to love the Montana wilderness just as much as his older brother, but his background remained somewhat mysterious. There was the sense that he'd lost something and was in the Madison River Valley to recover, but we never actually learned much about Paul's past. Now, the final three episodes of "The Madison" have revealed much more about his tragic history, confirming that, like Stacy, he too was a widower.

"The Madison" was influenced by classic Brad Pitt film "A River Runs Through It," which the characters in Taylor Sheridan's new show actually watch in episode 1. That Robert Redford-directed film features a terrible tragedy, which has Stacy Clyburn and her daughters in tears during the "Madison" premiere. But it's not as if the show needed any more teary moments, seeing as everyone in this show is either divorced or widowed.

Not only did Stacy lose her husband, Ben Schnetzer's Sheriff Van Davis is a widower who similarly lost his wife four years prior to the events of the show. Stacy's daughter Abigail Reese (Beau Garrett) is divorced, and now Paul Clyburn has been confirmed as yet another widower. In episode four of "The Madison," Paul tells Preston Clyburn during a flashback that it's "Melissa's birthday." It's not immediately clear who Melissa is but the next moment confirms she was, in fact, Paul's wife. The brothers talk about Paul being in Montana for the last 20 years and Preston tries to express his concern, asking euphemistically why his brother hasn't self-harmed. Paul replies, "Because when I said ”til death do us part' I meant my death."

Clearly, then, Paul is deeply wounded even after two decades, and has been quietly carrying his grief throughout every scene in which we've seen him thus far. As the "Madison" finale demonstrates, the pain of loss never goes away, and while Paul has benefitted from the rejuvenating effects of the Madison River Valley, he had never truly healed prior to his own death. Perhaps, then, season 2 of "The Madison" will see the surviving Clyburns start to ask questions about why Paul's plane went down given the concerns about him self-harming.

In the "Madison" finale, Paul Clyburn drunkenly rants at the moon during a late night flashback scene. He gets upset with Preston Clyburn, who watches his brother with quiet anguish as he rails against the idea of God and an ordered universe. "Don't talk to me about God, do not give him credit," he says. "Because if his goal was to create something in his likeness and then run her over in a f****** crosswalk." Finally, it's revealed. Paul lost his wife in a road accident from which he's still reeling 20 years later. "I hope you never have to feel it," he continues. "If I could just claw it out of my chest I'd do it and believe me I've tried."

In this moment, Paul's story becomes a microcosm of the show as a whole. Kurt Russell promised "The Madison" would challenge Taylor Sheridan's biggest weakness, i.e. his writing of women. But the show also challenges the classic Sheridan formula by eschewing soapy melodrama and presenting a six-episode long exploration of grief that barely lets up throughout its entire run. The sadness hangs over this series just as it had hung over Paul for 20 years, and Matthew Fox does an excellent job of conveying the searing pain of it all in this finale scene.

Sadly, it seems we won't be seeing much more of him when the already-filmed season 2 arrives. Fox confirmed to TVInsider that he's not in the next batch of episodes. "This is a contained experience for me in the show, and I'm very happy about that," he said. "It's been an incredible experience." In the meantime, those looking for more of Kurt Russell and Matthew Fox should check out their Western horror movie "Bone Tomahawk."