Netflix‘s hit Western drama Ransom Canyon returned with its highly-anticipated sophomore season on July 23, and fan-favorite couple Quinn (Minka Kelly) and Staten (Josh Duhamel) finally got a happy ending.

“It felt like at this point in their story they deserved a little bit of a change; they deserved a little bit of happiness,” creator and showrunner April Blair told Decider over Zoom. “We came in Season 1 on that love story, and that longing and separation that had been going on already for decades. So I felt like it was time, and we have plenty of other will-they-won’t-theys…”

The growing list of Ransom Canyon love triangles gained a shocking new trio in Season 2 when beloved couple Lauren (Lizzy Greene) and Lucas (Garrett Wareing) broke up, and Lauren got together with Lucas’ older brother, Kit (Casey W. Johnson).

“I got the cut for Episode 7, Season 1, the tornado episode, and it wasn’t intended to be that, but all of a sudden we were recognizing that there was a ton of chemistry and tension [between Lauren and Kit]. So we wanted to explore that,” Blair told Decider when asked about the controverisal twist. “It was definitely 50/50 in the writers’ room. Half were like, ‘We’ve got to do it, that’s who I’m rooting for!’ And then to the others, I was like, ‘Well, if it’s like this fiery of a debate in the room about it, I think it’ll be fun and bring that online.’”

Though Netflix hasn’t officially renewed Ransom Canyon for a third season yet, Blair confirmed that the writers’ room is already back in action plotting the show’s next dramatic, romantic, and surprising chapter.

In celebration of Ransom Canyon Season 2’s premiere, Blair spoke with Decider about what lies ahead for Staten and Quinn, landing Country stars Thomas Rhett and Jordan Davis, Sidney’s wherabouts, what the future holds for Yancy and Ellie, Eoin Macken and Andrew Liner’s departure from the show, Season 3 teases, and more.

DECIDER: Let’s start with Ransom Canyon‘s core couple, Quinn and Staten. People love a good will-they-won’t-they slow burn, so I feel like you could have kept it going a bit longer if you wanted. Why did you want them to be together by the end of the season? 

APRIL BLAIR: It felt like at this point in their story they deserved a little bit of a change; they deserved a little bit of happiness. We came in Season 1 on that love story, and that longing and separation that had been going on already for decades. So I felt like it was time, and we have plenty of other will-they-won’t-theys. So, it felt like giving them a little bit of a new turn in the road. We’re in the writers’ room for Season 3 now, and I feel like falling in love is the easy part. You realize. And then once you’re together, it’s all the hurdles and bumps in the road that come with that. Do you really know someone completely until you live with them and try to make a life with them? So there are still lots of fun complications.

One of the more controversial storylines for me as a Lucas lover was Lauren and Kit getting together. Why was that a connection you were eager to explore? And was there any debate about it in the writers’ room? 

Yeah. I mean, honestly, I got the cut for Episode 7, the tornado episode in Season 1, and it wasn’t intended to be that, but all of a sudden we were recognizing that there was a ton of chemistry and tension there. And so we wanted to explore that. It was definitely 50/50 in the writers’ room. Half were like, “We’ve got to do it, that’s who I’m rooting for!” And then to the others, I was like, “Well, if it’s like this fiery of a debate in the room about it, I think it’ll be fun and bring that online.” And then when Season 1 came out, there were tons of memes and things about Kit and Lauren. So on a practical level, that’s how it went down.

But I think emotionally for me, Lauren and Lucas are like — if we could do the show for 10 seasons or 12 seasons — I would say they’re probably the Quinn and Staten of their generation. I think they’re meant to be. In my head, they are endgame. I just think in Season 2 when Staten’s waiting at the cabin for Quinn, and she comes, and he’s like, “You thought fate was keeping us apart, but like fate was just keeping us apart until we were ready for each other. And you needed to live other lives, and have other loves…” I think that’s where Lauren and Lucas are right now. I think they are fated. They’re each other’s North Star. But I think they need to live a little first. 

Okay, twist! I love to hear it. Just when it looks like Kit’s going to skip town, Laura catches him and says, “I don’t want you to go.” Is it safe to say we’ll be seeing more of them in Season 3?

Yeah, for sure.

I know he’s already slept with Ashley, but what impact will that continue to have on Lucas? 

I think he was in his Good Boy Era in Season 1, and Season 2 was his Sad Boy Era. And I think he needs to have his own moment. And he needs to have his love affairs and grow as a person and figure out what he wants, because he’s been a pleaser. He’s trying to make everybody happy. So I think moving forward in Season 3 it’s like Lucas’ Me Era. 

I really loved the music festival storyline this season. What was it like bringing those ambitious scenes to life? And how did Thomas Rhett and Jordan Davis get involved in the show? 

The music, the set pieces — it was a big undertaking, that festival. We were trying to find someone who would fit the bill and be a big draw, and we had a list with Thomas Rhett and Jordan Davis on it, and one of our writer/EPs, Joe Fazio, was like, “Wait a minute, they did a duet together, those two guys!” And we were like, “What?!” They weren’t even on the same label, didn’t even have any of the same reps, but we begged a lot of people. And truth be told, both guys really like giving back to their community. When we reached out to Thomas Rhett, he was doing charity work in Africa with his family, and we pitched him what the concept of the music festival was: that small towns in middle America are dying, and those little mom and pop stores are being replaced by Amazon. So how do you protect and save this small town that’s going through a hard time? They’d do this charity thing. And Thomas and Jordan really liked that, so both came on. We’re actually releasing separate footage of the concert so you can watch it uninterrupted all the way through. And at the end, there’s a scene with those two guys backstage, and they talk about why they came and did it. And it’s very funny. 

Oh, I love that. Quinn also reveals she has plans to turn the Lone Star into the Ryman, so I hope we can see more musical guests down the line. 

Yeah. I always loved Nashville and that kind of soapy intergenerational drama, but one that has this musical element. So in Season 1, we had Charley Crockett, who performed live at Gracie’s, so we had to level up and do a music festival. So for Season 3, we’re really looking at, “How do you keep bringing music back on the canvas, but in fresh ways each time?” So we’re looking at working on a character who enters the picture, who’s a country music singer to keep integrating it more and more. 

When the season ends, Sidney still hasn’t been found by the cops. Have we seen the last of her, or does she still pose a threat to Ransom Canyon and Yancy in the future?

I’m not sure when we’ll see her again, but her in the wind is a much bigger threat. And this drives a wedge between Yancy and Ellie. She was always drawn to the bad boy, and kind of intoxicated by it. But then she has this new little being that she’s responsible for, and now she has to start moving forward and thinking with her head instead of her heart. I think that’s her journey of Season 3, but to keep that activated, I think you need Sidney to be in the wind. In my mind, she’s wearing something fabulous on a beach in Mauritius. 

Just giving everyone anxiety from afar. 

Yeah, like conning some old guy out of his savings account. She’s having a good time, but her being out there and still something that Ellie’s afraid of, I think we need that as an engine. 

We saw Yancy work hard to change for the better, only for Ellie to ask him to step back from his daughter’s life. So what impact will that have on him in the future? And is there a world in which we see Ellie and Kai grow closer as she seeks that new level of safety? 

Yeah. I think Yancy’s journey moving forward is winning back his family, and he will stop at nothing to do it. And we definitely need the physical manifestation of that fight between Ellie’s head and her heart. I think Yancy is her heart, but Kai seems like the person you choose if you were thinking rationally, right? He’s a source of protection, and we’ve seeded in the first two seasons little hints that Kai and Ellie have this history from back in the day and that they dated. He was sort of her first bad boyfriend. And he tells the story to Sidney at Gracie’s in Season 2 that he used to be in juvie and that he’s reformed.

That backstory is all due to Justin Johnson-Cortez, who plays Kai. Very early in Season 1, he was like, “Here’s my idea for my character: We never even have to say it, but I feel like I was her first bad boyfriend. And then when I got my stuff straight, and when I cleaned up my act and went to the police academy, she got bored and left. And like, she’s always chasing, but for him, it’s like, this is my one true love. And she has just turned away.” So we’ve always played with that. I think moving forward, she would be drawn back to this person from her past who feels a little safe to her, because he’s the opposite of everything she finds herself in. 

Yancy also learns that there potentially is oil on his land, which Ellie calls more danger. How does that business opportunity and the relationship with Freddie shape the next chapter of his story? 

In a huge way. It won’t go exactly as expected for him, but I think that treasure hunt mentality and structure will be in Season 3. If Season 2 was all about the con, Season 3 is sort all about Yancy’s hunt for the thing that will save his family. And there’s got to be value, and where is it, and where does it lie, and there are twists and turns.  And Ellie’s right, it does bring dangerous elements. And we send him down a rabbit hole in Season 3, but he comes out of it. 

Since you’re already back in the writers’ room, what else can you tease about Season 3?

I’m trying to think of spoilers. Oh, in Season 3, someone very important in Lucas and Kit’s past comes back. This season we got to meet Quinn’s mom, and really get under the hood of that. And we even built even more of a story between Staten and his dad this season. So we’re going to keep trying to build out people’s worlds.

Are we ever seeing Steve Howey as Staten’s little brother Levi again?

I sure hope so. He’s always very busy, Steve Howey. I feel like next time we need something important. He’s just that great touchstone of the prophet you go see in the woods; he’s like the hobbit or something. 

We gained new characters this season, but Davis and Reid also left Ransom Canyon to live in Austin. What can you say about those departures, and is there any potential for them to return?

I would love for them to return. I think the Collins family returning just to fuck stuff up as a new Big Bad would be hilarious in the future. Eoin Macken and Andrew Liner are amazing actors and really cool people. The real reason behind it was purely based on a construct from Season 1 that I take responsibility for. I think I tried to have, particularly with Davis, have him be two things. He was the antagonist, but he was also the other part of this love triangle. And ultimately, I think that’s a very hard thing to carry; to service both of those things. Because nobody’s rooting for her to end up with the guy who’s doing all the bad stuff. We really wanted Quinn to have a choice to make and feel like we would have been torn between who’s the better person. And it just felt with what we had tried to set up with Davis in Season 1, you were never going to pick the one who was screwing everybody over. So we wanted to start fresh there and give her a real obstacle and a real choice with Oliver, who’s played by Ben Robson. On paper, maybe he’s even the better choice. He’s kind of fabulous. Her dog loves him. He’s making cheese boards. He’s a musician, too. But still her heart is drawn to Staten. So we wanted that to be a real hill to climb. And it felt like we needed to start with something new. 

This season also went from 10 to eight episodes. Was that a story decision, and will that be the case for Season 3 as well?

Season 3 is currently eight episodes also. It was just a more practical decision, but I feel like, eight is fun. It’s a ride. You kind of binge through them. I mean, obviously I came from doing network stuff. We were doing 22-episode seasons, so eight feels like a vacation. It’s easy to do, but it’s fun for storytelling, because there’s no lull. When you’re doing 12, 14, definitely 22, you have dips. And with eight, they all have to be great. They all have to be rocketing towards one big conclusion. So it’s been fun. I haven’t done eight quite so many times, so it’s a different structure, but I enjoyed it.

Before we wrap, any last words for fans of the show?

I think this season is a little lighter and more romance-forward. Season 1 was really about this journey of Staten’s, figuring out what happened in the death of his son and beginning to heal, and then Cap dying. It was a little more in the feels, and this is definitely the season of love and fun. I’m excited for people to see it. 

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Ransom Canyon Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.