Netflix’s Untamed introduced us to a young and enthusiastic park ranger named Naya Vasquez, who had recently shifted from Los Angeles to Yosemite with her 4-year-old son, Gael. Before joining the National Park Service (NPS), Naya was a beat cop in LA, where she worked with her partner, Michael, who also happened to be Gael’s father. So what changed between the two? Why did Naya leave the LAPD all of a sudden and move to Yosemite National Park to be a forest ranger? Well, as per the details revealed in the show, Naya, Michael, and another cop named Rowell had confiscated drugs from an apartment in LA, shortly after which Michael got suspended. He was being investigated for stealing cash from the drug bust, and even though Naya didn’t testify against Michael and maintained her silence, Rowell told the investigators the truth. You may have noticed in the show that when Michael showed up at Kyle’s cabin in the woods, he was driving a fancy car. This meant that Michael had expensive tastes, the likes of which couldn’t be fulfilled on a beat cop’s salary, right?
I guess Naya and Michael had been dating for 4 years or more when she got pregnant with Gael. But what’s suspicious in this is that, in these 4 years or so, Naya never thought of marrying the father of her kid. Why? Well, when we were finally introduced to Michael, to me, he seemed like an intimidating, hostile, and short-tempered person who wasn’t bothered about Naya or Gael. In short, Michael came out as a self-centered narcissist who only cared about his job and his lifestyle, and a woman like Naya wouldn’t, in her wildest dreams, imagine marrying a guy like him, right?
Before the incident, Naya aspired to rise up the ranks of the LAPD and become a desk detective, but Michael and his greed ruined everything for her. It could be assumed that after Michael was suspended, Naya tried her best to distance herself from Michael, but he wouldn’t let her or her kid be in peace. I believe one of the reasons why Naya didn’t testify in Michael’s investigation was because she knew that if she told the truth, he would have tried to hurt her or her kid, and therefore she might have felt it was best for the safety of her kid that she remained silent. But that wasn’t the end of her worries. Michael kept nagging her and showed up frequently at her doorstep, asking her to back his story so the investigators would drop all charges against him, but Naya, being a lawfully moral cop, didn’t want to lie for her own selfish reasons. She had also had a restraining order issued against Michael, but even that didn’t stop him from frequently threatening her and her kid. And therefore Naya was left with no option but to leave her life and her dreams behind to start again somewhere new. She quietly left LA with her kid to lead a peaceful life as a forest ranger.
But trust me, it didn’t just all happen in a day. It took a lot of time for Naya to gather enough courage to cut all ties with Michael and run away from the dark shadow he had cast upon her. It was something Naya’s senior, Special Agent Kyle Turner, mentioned to her. He told her that running away from a hostile environment may sound like the best solution, but oftentimes it’s the most difficult decision to make, especially in the case of domestic violence. And even though Naya had been able to leave her past behind, she couldn’t hide from her assailant for long. Michael picked up her trail and located her in Yosemite, bringing up the same demand as earlier: to back her story, and he would be out of their lives forever. Well, this time Naya wasn’t alone. She had Kyle with her, who, I suppose, knew the turmoil Naya was facing. I mean, he hinted that to her twice, so I believe he knew that she was a victim of domestic violence and therefore let her stay at his cabin so long as Michael was around. And trust me, Michael committed the worst mistake of his life by showing up at Kyle’s cabin. Not just that. He raised his hand against Kyle’s ex-wife, Jill, which broke all hell loose. Kyle punched and thrashed him so hard that he would remember it for a lifetime.
Untamed’s ending didn’t reveal what happened to Michael after he was arrested by the NPS. However, it could be assumed that he would end up serving a prison sentence, as he not only violated the restraining order but also assaulted a woman and tried to suffocate her. I mean, he might not have wanted to kill Jill, but he would be convicted for attempted murder if she pressed charges against him, and considering Jill had grown quite fond of Naya and her kid, I guess she would do that for her so she could live the rest of her life in peace, without constantly looking over her shoulder. In short, Michael is most likely rotting in some prison cell, and he wouldn’t be getting his job back, so it would be best for him to never make any kind of contact with Naya or Gael ever again.
As far as Naya is concerned, she received a letter of appreciation for her commendable efforts. In a very short span, she solved a major drug tracking case inside the park and also saved an ex-officer’s life, which wouldn’t go unnoticed. What I am trying to say is that she will get a promotion soon enough, so her new life isn’t bad at all, right? And she had started to like the calm and peace of the forest and grown fond of the wilderness, including Kyle’s horse. I don’t think she wants to go back to the hustle and bustle of the city again, which means she is going to spend the rest of her life in the woods. Or maybe not. Maybe she too will leave someday, just like Kyle, but until then, Yosemite National Park seems like a pretty decent spot to settle down.
