These 9 Paul Souter moments from Untamed reflect the brilliance of Sam Neill

Untamed is the new Netflix miniseries that has caught everyone’s attention with its gritty narrative that tells the story of Eric Bana’s Kyle Turner, an ISB agent, who tries to investigate the death of an unknown woman who fell from El Capitan in the Yosemite National Park.

The miniseries, with just eight episodes, follows an intriguing tale that begins with the death of a woman. As Kyle investigates, more details about illegal drug-related activities in the national park come to light. Bana does a great job in portraying the stoic and struggling ISB agent, who is hell bent on finding the truth about the woman. The rest of the cast of Untamed join him in giving incredible performances that make it one of the must-watch series.

Sam Neill, who plays Paul Souter, the chief ranger of the national park, has played his character with nuance. Souter is often seen in the series, helping and guiding Kyle since he knows he struggles sometimes. He becomes an important part of Kyle’s life, but he also has a secret that ties him to the case.

This article lists the best Paul Souter moments from Untamed that prove the brilliance and talent of veteran actor Sam Neill.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer's opinion and contains spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

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These 9 Paul Souter moments from Untamed reflect the brilliance of Sam Neill

9) Souter advises Kyle (Episode 1)

As someone who has known Kyle for a long time and understands him better, Sam Neill’s Souter also happens to know his struggles. In the first episode of Untamed, Souter confronts Kyle on his behaviour with his rangers and advises him to treat them better. Kyle replies that the rangers should keep a little distance from him.

However, Souter tells him to come to him if he is going through something before it's too late, depicting the deep understanding between the two. Neill’s acting in this scene is commendable as he begins with a lighthearted tone, but when Kyle gets a little harsh, he replies with a kind and supportive tone and effortlessly deals with Kyle’s temper.

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8) Checks up on Naya (Episode 2)

Sam Neill’s Souter is one of the positive presences in Untamed as he not only tries to be there for Kyle but also is very helpful to other rangers. In episode 2 of the murder mystery series, Souter checks up on Naya, who has recently moved to Yosemite from LA and is a single mother.

Souter asks her about her son, Gael, whether he is having any difficulty with moving to a new place, to which Naya replies that everything is alright. While the series deals with the investigation of a murder, these moments of Neill checking up on his colleagues are some of the most heartwarming ones.

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7) Shows Naya a bunch of bracelets similar to Lucy’s (Episode 2)

From early on, Souter was trying to get himself involved in the case in Untamed. He even tries to find out what Kyle is investigating or has investigated through Naya, who shows him a bracelet that Kyle had found.

He later shows a bunch of similar bracelets to Naya, throwing her off guard, as she then thinks that they could belong to anyone. While at first it looked like Souter was trying to help them out, after the revelation of the killer at the end, it does appear like he was just trying to hamper the investigation.

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6) Tries to persuade Kyle (Episode 2)

From the beginning of the series, Bana’s Kyle has been struggling with the death of his son, Caleb, which is the cause of Souter trying to keep a watch on him. In episode 2, after talking to Kyle’s ex-wife, Jill, Souter tries to persuade Kyle to give up on the case and shift to a new place.

He tells him that he has spent too much time in this place, and a change of scenery might be better for him right now. But as he brings up Kyle’s son in the topic to make him understand that he should move on now, their conversation ends abruptly as Kyle leaves. Sam Neill portrays Souter as someone who deeply cares about Kyle, which he does, but he also tries to save himself by persuading Kyle multiple times to leave Yosemite.

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5) Souter stops Kyle from attacking Shane (Episode 4)

Kyle’s meeting with Shane in episode 4 of Untamed brought forth the complex history between the two, as the scene was filled with tension. Shane tried to provoke Kyle, and he was about to lose his cool until Souter arrived.

Souter digressed their conversation and began talking about the song that was playing in the bar, and asked Kyle to leave with him. While they were leaving, Shane again attempted to rile up Kyle, but his attempt failed as Souter did not let Kyle go.

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4) Souter finally lashes out at Kyle (Episode 4)

Souter’s job did not end after he stopped Kyle from indulging in a fight with Shane in the Untamed Episode 4, as he also had to confront Kyle as he was losing control. He finally lashes out at Kyle by directly telling him that whatever was happening or had happened was not his fault, not with his son or with Lucy Cook, the unknown woman who died in the park.

He also urges him to leave Yosemite for his own sanity. From the beginning of Untamed, Souter tried to calmly approach Kyle and convince him to leave the place, but as Kyle’s struggles increased, he also couldn’t control himself and finally let it all out. Sam Neill’s dialogue delivery in this scene was filled with care for Kyle but also desperation to get Kyle off the case and to have him leave Yosemite. He did not, once, let anyone suspect him of being a culprit with his brilliant acting.

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3) Souter reprimands Kyle (Episode 5)

While him trying to stop Kyle and Shane from getting into a fight didn’t help for a long time, as it ended up happening in episode 5 of Untamed. In the episode, Kyle confronts Shane for his involvement in drug-related activities in the park, leading to a fight between the two in front of several other people.

Souter tried to avoid this fight but looked visibly angry and disappointed with what Kyle had done, which later resulted in him being suspended. Souter does reprimand Kyle, but his efforts appear to be half-hearted, perhaps due to his feeling a bit relieved, as Kyle’s mistake might be fruitful for him.

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2) Souter does not help Kyle when he is suspended (Episode 6)

While he appeared to be one of the few people who looked out for Kyle, he also did not help when Hamilton spoke ill about him or when he suspended Kyle for his fight with Shane. This was one of the moments that depicted early on that Souter was only pretending to support Kyle. He was actually trying to help himself, since if Kyle was suspended, he wouldn’t be able to look at Lucy's case.

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1) Souter’s confession to Kyle (Episode 6)

In the finale of Untamed, Kyle finally discovers the missing link, which happens to be his mentor, Paul Souter. He confronts him about Lucy, who tells him that Lucy was his daughter, and he wanted to do everything to make her life better, but also stay away from his family.

But Kyle then asked him to cooperate as his house would be searched in Lucy's case, which prompted him to finally reveal the truth that it was he who killed her. After trying to appear to be helpful in the case, Souter finally had to reveal the truth. The brilliance of Sam Neill’s acting is depicted in how he, to appear as a good and kind person, tried to persuade Kyle to leave Yosemite for his own benefit.

He was at the centre of Lucy’s murder, but was still not suspected of it until the very last, which shows how Neill portrayed the character to his best in appearing as just a helpful and compassionate mentor.

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