‘The Ranch’ Part 7 Ending: Who Shot [SPOILER]?

The Ranch Part 7 ended… with a bang. Literally.

Earlier today, the first ten episodes of the final season of The Ranch premiered on Netflix. While the new season dealt with familiar topics — Colt and Abby’s tumultuous relationship, Beau and Joanne’s romance, Colt and Beau’s continual battle with Lisa Neumann of Neumann’s Hill — Part 7 also concluded with a whodunit.

One of the major storylines from the new season is the continuing downward spiral of Mary (Megyn Price), Rooster’s ex-girlfriend and Luke’s ex-wife. As the season progresses, Mary goes from an impromptu marriage in Las Vegas to doing heroin to reconnecting with her menacing ex-husband Nick (Josh Burrow). Ranch hands may remember Nick from the Part 5 finale in which he broke into Rooster’s cabin, pulled a gun, and delivered a threatening ultimatum: “You got two choices: Either take that bag and disappear or you can just disappear.”

In the Part 7 finale, Abby (Elisha Cuthbert) informs Beau, Colt, and Luke that Nick is back in town. While Luke is unfamiliar with Mary’s ex-husband, Colt basically blames Nick for Rooster’s death. One by one, Beau, Colt, and Luke take off to confront Nick.

Part 7 ends with Nick entering his trailer and asking “What the fuck are you doing here?” followed by a gunshot. Fade to black. So who’s the culprit? Who (presumably) shot Nick? We’ll have to wait until Part 8 for an answer, but here’s a quick rundown of the likely suspects.

BEAU BENNETT

The Ranch would have you believe that Beau is the most likely culprit. In the Part 6 episode “Reckless,” Beau is the one who forces Nick to leave town.

Beau: Get your shit together and go.
Nick: Why the fuck would I listen to you?
Beau: Because I’m a 72-year-old man who wouldn’t mind spending the rest of his life in an eight-by-ten cell.

In the final moments of Part 7, Beau grabs a gun and tells Abby and Joanne that he’s going to “do what he should’ve done last time.” All signs point to Beau, which is why I don’t think it’s him. A more likely option is that Abby calls the cops after Colt leaves, Officer Wilkerson is the one in the trailer, Nick reaches for a gun or draws on him, and Wilkerson shoots Nick.

Officer Wilkerson

COLT BENNETT

As stated above, Colt blames Nick for Rooster’s death, so he definitely has the motive to shoot him. The two have a history of bad blood, even getting into a fistfight during the first episode of Part 6.

Having Ashton Kutcher’s Colt become an actual murderer as the series winds down doesn’t seem like a viable option. I’d be very, very surprised if Colt’s the one who pulled the trigger.

LUKE MATTHEWS

I don’t think Nick even knows Luke so his “What the fuck are you doing here?” question doesn’t make sense if Luke’s in his trailer. Luke as the shooter only works if Dax Shepard isn’t unavailable for Part 8 due to his commitment to Bless This Miss and even then it’s a stretch.

The not-so-obvious suspects:

ROOSTER

Rooster returning to shoot Nick is technically possible but extremely unlikely.

MARY

From a storytelling perspective, this (or the above Wilkerson option) seems like the most likely option. Part 7 highlighted Mary’s struggles, so the character shooting her ex-husband makes sense narratively. She has a tumultuous history with Nick, and Mary’s only a recurring character, so sending her to prison wouldn’t have a tremendous impact on the final ten episodes. Another option is that Colt, Beau, and Luke help her cover-up the crime (or they could all claim it was self-defense).

Who shot Nick? We’ll have to wait until Part 8 to find out.

RELATED: Who Is Josh Burrow? Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Nick From ‘The Ranch’

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