The Son

Thomas comes out as gay to his Houston friends. When Thomas is disappointed by the lukewarm reception, Jeannie wonders if it is her fault that he craves validation. She compensates by offering to help each of her remaining children to start their own business endeavors. They decline, confused about her intentions.

Susan asks to move her two sons, Ash and Dell, to Texas after her boyfriend abandons her. Jeannie happily accepts and dotes on her grandsons, promising them the ranch as an inheritance, but is disappointed when neither of her grandsons seems particularly suited for ranch life. She considers telling them about Eli’s frontier exploits to elicit their interest.

Ulises, who still does not have a work permit, joins a rodeo competition. He does not collect his winnings when he sees the border police at the event.

Ulises rides up to the ruins of the Garcia house and identifies with it immediately. He meets a writer who has been commissioned to produce a history of the ranch. Ulises learns that the McCulloughs killed the Garcias.

A detective informs Peter of three María Garcias he has found in Mexico. Peter writes letters to each of them, hoping to reach the right one. The shadow retreats from Peter.

Eli kills trespassers who come to the ranch on horseback but allows those coming on foot to work as cattle hands. When he learns that the last remaining Comanche people have surrendered to the Texas Rangers, Eli feels guilty that he contributed to this outcome. He regrets his failure to rejoin the Comanche nation after the start of the war. He does not feel that the past 15 years have been memorable, even though he loves his family.

Ted leaves Jeannie for a younger woman. Jeannie takes several lovers, choosing to refrain from any more long-term relationships.

Thomas gets sick with a sexually transmitted illness. Jeannie keeps him company and is too distracted to continue working. She realizes that she keeps working for money that no one in her life needs. Instead of overseeing a land deal, she helps Thomas to move out of his condo. Thomas recovers in treatment and reconciles with his mother.

Jeannie arrives at the ranch, finally giving Ulises a chance to introduce himself. He comes up to the house and greets her but does not say anything else. Jeannie is still there the next day. Ulises wears good clothes and tries again.

Peter deduces which of the three Marías is the one he is looking for. The detective offers to bring her to the ranch. Peter refuses, choosing to leave Texas instead. He writes a letter to seek forgiveness from Glenn and Charles, withdraws $250,000 from the bank, and leaves Texas for the last time.

White settlers descend upon the former Comanche territories, much to Eli’s chagrin. He refuses to retire as a cattle rancher.

Madeline is unhappy that Eli continues to devote his time to the ranch. She reminds him of his promise to move them to a house on the Nueces River and threatens to move to Washington to live with her mother and stepfather. Eli turns sentimental when he sees Everett wearing his old buckskin shirt. Madeline takes his silence as a sign of agreement. Eli reflects upon the ruin of the earth in Texas.

Jeannie has a vision of Charles throwing several journals into the fireplace. He tells her that Peter was a liar. Jeannie saves the journals from destruction.

Jeannie recalls a time from her youth when she discovered Jonas attempting to burn down the horse stable. Jonas explained that destroying the stable would allow him to escape life on the ranch. Jeannie promised not to tell on Jonas and helped to ensure that the horses were safely let out before he lit the fire.

Ulises brings the birth certificates and a revolver inscribed with Peter’s name to the McCullough house. He reintroduces himself to Jeannie as Peter’s great-grandson and shows her the documents to prove they are related. Jeannie fires him. When Ulises fails to leave, she calls security. Alarmed, Ulises reaches out for the certificates, causing Jeannie to trip. She hits her head on the stone hearth and dies.

Ulises looks for a way out when he sees the ranch hands outside. He reaches the kitchen and releases the stove gas line. He rides away as the house explodes.

Ulises remembers the pictures the historian had shown him of the Garcia massacre. He reflects on the way both sides of his family have stolen land from others and claimed it as their own. Jeannie refused to help his family, but willingly gave millions away to causes that would cement her legacy. Ulises rides back to Mexico, resolved to become someone important.

Jeannie acknowledges that Ulises is telling the truth about his heritage. As she dies, she thinks of her brothers riding through green pastures.

Peter arrives at María’s house in Guadalajara. Absolving himself of any guilt over the money he stole, he convinces María to elope with him. They end up in Mexico City by 1920. Though Peter dislikes the city, he insists that living there will be good for their children. The shadow fades from his mind.

Eli builds Madeline a house on the Nueces, though he spends little time there. He rides through old Comanche territory and unsuccessfully tries to find the graves of Martin and the Kotsoteka band. He returns home to find his house riddled with bullets. Madeline and Everett were killed in an assault by rogue Lipan Apache raiders. Eli takes a group of hands to follow the party’s trail. They massacre the Lipan Apache raiders.

A young boy is left as the only survivor of the massacre. The boy tries to chase Eli and his group to seek revenge. Eli knows that the boy will spend the rest of his life looking for him.