ntamed, the show, wants to be important. It wants to be slow, serious and full of quiet pain. What it actually is is poorly written, badly paced and deeply out of touch with how real people act and how real investigations work. Over six long episodes, it manages to take a solid premise and ruin it with lazy choices, unbelievable moments and characters that feel like rough drafts that no one ever bothered to fix.

The lead character, Kyle Turner, played by Eric Bana, is cold, rude, unpleasant and ineffective. The writers clearly think his tragic back-story is enough to excuse how unbearable he is, but there is nothing there to justify it. He is not sharp. He is not brilliant at his job. He walks around grumbling, shoving people away and somehow still ends up finding every clue with almost no effort. His pain is just another shortcut. The viewers are supposed to respect him because he is damaged, but the show never gives them a reason to care.

The mystery starts with a climber who falls to her death. Then, it turns out she might have been tangled in another climber’s ropes. Sounds suspicious enough, but it does not make sense. That is not how climbing accidents happen. It is not how rope systems work. There is no explanation how the other climbers made it to the top while their rope was still wrapped around a dead body hanging off the wall. The other climber, for whatever reason, is not even wearing a helmet. The show tries to act like this is all normal. It is not. It is just lazy writing dressed up as drama.

The ranger team, which should consist of professionals, is written like they are angry teenagers. In the first ten minutes, they are shouting at each other during a search and rescue. It is not informal bickering. It is loud, aggressive and completely inappropriate behaviour during what is supposed to be a life-and-death operation. Turner walks in and ignores them all, like he is too above it to speak. It is fake tension for the sake of being dramatic, which makes zero sense.

Then there is the investigation. It is not built on actual detective work. It is built on convenience. Every time the characters go out into the field, they find something useful. As if clues are just waiting around to be stepped on. This is Yosemite. It covers over a thousand square miles. But in this show, major evidence shows up every few feet or people are conveniently waiting to talk. Nothing about it feels earned.

Untamed is not a slow burn. It is just cold.

The acting does not help. Eric Bana is flat. Every scene looks like he would rather be somewhere else. Lily Santiago, who plays the new ranger, has moments where she could shine, but the script keeps giving her pointless emotional monologues instead of actual work. Her character feels wasted. The side characters blur together. Most of them are just there to stretch out the plot with flashbacks and filler scenes that do not lead anywhere. The show tries to act like it is building a full world, but most of the cast could be cut and it would not make the slightest difference.

Visually, the show is polished. But it is too clean; too composed. The wilderness feels like a backdrop, not a living space. The story is set in Yosemite but was filmed in British Columbia. The mismatch is obvious. Instead of using the setting to create real tension or isolation, it is just a scenic filler between quiet staring contests and long, moody walks.

By the time the final episode rolls around, nothing feels urgent. The mystery unravels, sort of. A few emotional speeches are made. Turner gets his moment of sad reflection. Then it ends. No sharp turn, no lasting impact, just a slow fade-out that expects the audience to clap for the heavy silence.

Untamed could have worked. The premise was there; a suspicious death in a national park, a reluctant investigator and hidden motives. It all sounds promising, but the show squandered every bit of potential by refusing to try.

There is nothing smart about being slow for the sake of mood; there is nothing thoughtful about trauma if you do not give it shape; and there is nothing dramatic about fake professionalism, fake danger and fake depth.

Untamed is not a slow burn. It is just cold. The entire series feels like a bad dream where nothing adds up, yet everyone keeps pretending it does. It is not worth wasting five hours on.

The writer is a freelance contributor