WARNING: Spoilers for Outer Range episodes 7 and 8.
Amazon Prime Video's Outer Range season 1 delivers more questions than answers in its final two episodes, but who is Rebecca Abbott hiding from? The show has only grown in scope as characters have parted ways and made intriguing revelations about the bigger picture that keeps getting teased. However, the most surprising moment of the Outer Range season finale was the return of the missing Rebecca Abbott (Kristen Connolly). The whereabouts of Amy's mother have continuously haunted the Abbott family, and the circumstances regarding her situation remain mysterious.
Rebecca Abbott has been much less of a focus of the sci-fi western in recent episodes as Outer Range finally confirmed a longstanding Autumn identity theory. Rebecca disappeared nine months before the events of Outer Range, and despite Deputy Sheriff Joy's (Tamara Podemsky) determined investigation, the FBI is ready to give up on the search in the first episode of the series. Still, Rebecca is an important part of the story, even more so now that she has returned.
Rebecca's reappearance comes at Rhett Abbott's (Lewis Pullman) bull riding competition, where Amy and Cecilia Abbott (Lili Taylor) are in attendance. Rebecca apologizes to Amy for running away and tells her, "I had to go. I had to hide," before rushing her away from the stadium unbeknownst to Cecilia. While her explanation is very cryptic, there are three main suspects that she could be afraid of. Royal Abbott (Dune's Josh Brolin), Perry Abbott (Tom Pelphrey), and Autumn Rivers (Imogen Poots) are each major players with ties to Rebecca that could have forced her to hide for all this time. Here's every theory regarding who Rebecca is hiding from in Outer Range season 1.
Royal Abbott
The head of the Abbott family ranch, Josh Brolin's Royal Abbott was born in 1886, but Royal traveled to 1968 after killing his father in a hunting accident. He couldn't face his mother and sister after what he had done and fled to the future, wanting to disappear. This is a big secret that Royal has hidden from his family for almost his entire life and one that he is intent on keeping from the Abbotts at all costs because he does not think they would understand. His unwillingness to change his approach to The Hole in the west pasture is why he is at odds with Autumn, but it is possible that she isn't the first person to discover the void and Royal's secret with it.
If Rebecca found out about Royal's secret, she might have had to hide to avoid his wrath. Royal and Autumn's feud has been at the forefront of Outer Range's story, and it isn't a stretch to believe that Royal would take drastic action just as he did when intimidating Autumn. Another big clue to Royal's involvement with Rebecca's disappearance comes when Perry Abbott questions Royal about Rebecca. Royal says he doesn't know what happened to Rebecca, but Perry doesn't believe him.
Perry Abbott
As Rebecca's husband, Perry might seem an unlikely candidate, but the elder Abbott son undoubtedly has a dark side. Perry is a loving father and husband but also inexplicably violent, reckless, and cowardly during Outer Range season 1. Much of the Abbott family's conflict comes from his temper and a lack of foresight. He beats Trevor Tillerson to death in a drunk altercation outside a bar and confesses to the crime after the whole family lies to Sheriff Joy and covers up the murder. Outer Range episode 7, "The Unknown," features Perry following in Royal's footsteps as he jumps into the void to escape from the consequences of the looming trial. However, just as when Perry confessed to Sheriff Joy, he fails to consider everything the Abbotts are doing to keep him out of jail.
As Outer Range's Autumn and Perry confide in one another despite Royal's warnings, Perry its to Autumn that he and Rebecca had been fighting the night Rebecca was last seen. While he claims they were just arguing because Rebecca wanted to move back to California, there must be more to the story if Perry wonders, "maybe she was just fed up." Perry's darker side may also have contributed to why Rebecca left him behind as he expresses his fear of not knowing what happened to her and questions whether he had a part in driving her away.
Autumn Rivers/Future Amy Abbott
Autumn Rivers has been a force to be reckoned with ever since she took up residence in the Abbott's west pasture. Her attempts to explore the time-traveling void and its special time mineral have backed Royal into a dangerous corner, and her mysterious presence has only grown as she moves towards the cult status Royal saw in his journey to the future, carving out marks into her skin and recruiting the Tillersons to her cause. With Perry's disappearance, Autumn's goals are coming to a head. The Abbott Ranch will be up for auction since Cecilia used it as collateral to bail Perry out of jail, and if Autumn buys it, she'll be in control of the west pasture, which, as Luke Tillerson (Shaun Sipos) has discovered, is full of the time mineral.
Autumn hasn't been going at this plan alone. She's made multiple calls to a secret family benefactor who gets her a motel room and a great deal of money to plan for the auction of the Abbott Ranch. In Outer Range's penultimate episode, Autumn calls someone else, whom she calls "Mom." Since the season finale reveals that Autumn is Amy Abbott all grown up, the person at the other end of the call must have been Rebecca. Autumn has also proven obsessive and manipulative, as seen in her machinations with the Abbotts and the Tillersons. No matter Rebecca's capacity in Autumn's plans, she may have been hiding to protect herself or even Amy and the rest of the Abbotts from Autumn in Outer Range season 1.