‘The Ranch’ Reveals Family Member Death During Part 8

The Ranch killed a minor character off camera in Part 8, but it happened to be a relative of the Bennett family viewers know and love. The mention of the death happened fairly briefly, but there were shockwaves felt as a result.

Spoilers ahead for The Ranch Part 8.

In the new batch of episodes, it’s revealed that Karen (Nancy Travis), the sister of Maggie Bennett (Debra Winger) has died, presumably as a result of her cancer.

The Ranch viewers were first introduced to Karen in the Part 5 episode “Telling Me Lies.” Karen showed up unannounced and dropped the bombshell cancer diagnosis on Maggie.

“I have cancer, and the doctors say it doesn’t look good,” Karen said at the time.

Maggie does not have great feelings about Karen, saying that “not every relationship should be fixed.” However, she eventually decides to spend time together with Karen while she can, opting to travel around the country with her.

In Part 8, Maggie returns to Colorado, revealing her journey is over. The audience learns of Karen’s death during a casual exchange between Maggie and her son Colt Bennett (Ashton Kutcher) upon Maggie’s return.

“Hey look, if you forgot to get me a souvenir from Florida, that’s OK ’cause you can just go get me the new Call of Duty,” Colt says. “They did some post-production in Tampa, so it counts.”

“I did get you a gift, Colt,” Maggie replies. “When your Aunt Karen passed, I made a donation in your name to the American Cancer Society.”

A bit later in the scene, Maggie and her ex-husband, Beau Bennett (Sam Elliott), have a emotional moment as he offers his support in relation to Karen’s death.

“I’m sure it wasn’t easy losing Karen,” Beau says.

“I’m alright. We actually got pretty close the last couple of months. It’s a shame she didn’t get cancer sooner,” Maggie says jokingly.

“I’m sure she appreciated having you there,” Beau says.

“Thanks for saying that,” Maggie replies, appreciating a rare tender moment from the Bennett patriarch.

Maggie later sheds some light on Karen’s final days. She reveals they lived in a commune together, and the others in the community helped them out greatly. She felt so welcome by the people there that she has decided to move there permanently.

“After the holidays, I’m moving back to Florida, permanently,” Maggie says at a family dinner. “I found a really great place to live, with some really amazing people. It’s called Sunrise Eco-Village, which I know you hate all three of those words, but it’s just an amazing place where we all living together and share the resources and responsibilities. It’s an ‘intentional community.’”

She adds, “During Karen’s illness, the community really took us in. Everyone’s equal. So, if you can help, then you give it. But when you need help, you get it.”

All episodes of The Ranch are currently streaming on Netflix

Photo Credit: Netflix / Greg Gayne