Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone faced several problems. including the exit of Kevin Costner, in the later seasons. As the series prepares to go out with a bang in its finale season, fans couldn’t help but notice the quality drop in the series even before Costner left the show. However, fans still continue to admire Sheridan’s creations and find the nuanced details in his Western shows.
Recently, Reddit fans caught on to one such detail in his shows. Fans drew a parallel between the first episode of the first season of Yellowstone and the final episode of 1883, where the deaths of major characters are depicted.
Fans Find One Parallel Between Major Deaths in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone and 1883
Taylor Sheridan explored the conflicts between ranch owners and land developers, set against the backdrop of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch in Montana, in his neo-Western drama Yellowstone. The success of the Kevin Costner-led show spawned the prequel show 1883. The series focused on an earlier generation of the family who first settled on the land that would later become the Dutton Ranch.
Yellowstone kicked off the first episode with the shocking death of the eldest son of John Dutton, Lee Dutton. He was crucial in building the Yellowstone Ranch with his father and was meant to take over the Ranch once his father passed away. However, he was mortally wounded by Robert Long and died shortly after. He was buried at the family grave site.
Similarly, in the 1883 series, Elsa Dutton, the daughter of James Dutton, gets mortally wounded in the penultimate episode. She was hit by an arrow in the torso, fired by a Lakota warrior. She too died later in the finale episode and was buried at Paradise Valley in Montana.
Redditor u/tsiemann drew one heartbreaking parallel between both the death scenes in Yellowstone and 1883. In the former, Kevin Costner‘s John Dutton sits under a tree at the burial site, lays Lee’s body on his lap, and says the line, “We’ll just rest here a bit.” Similarly, Tim McGraw‘s James Dutton also takes Elsa under a tree as she is dying and says the line, “Rest for a bit.”
Fans appreciated the brilliant writing of Sheridan in both these scenes and how he connected the two scenes. For some fans, it was heartbreaking, as Redditor u/sugar1441 shared, “I noticed that too and it broke my heart all over again!”. Another fan u/mecholben also noticed the involvement of birds in both scenes, commenting, “Plus both scenes involved birds.”
Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Reportedly Saw A Drop In Quality In Season 4
While the Yellowstone Season 4 opening broke several records with its opening, not everyone was satisfied with the fourth season (via The Atlantic). Some felt that the fourth season lost the magical touch of the series. Critic Paul Tassi of Forbes shared that he did not like the fourth season of the series and listed several reasons for it.
Unlike the first three seasons, John Dutton was no longer the main protagonist. Tassi noted that Costner’s Dutton patriarch had lost his edge and did not have much to do in the season. Similar was the case with Kelly Reilly‘s Beth Dutton who did not make any major impact. Tassi was also not impressed with the Jimmy Hurdstrom arc in the season and was totally against giving the character a spinoff show.
The fifth season also did not disappoint Paramount with its viewer count, but hardcore fans feel that the series has run past its prime. Yellowstone is now available for streaming on Peacock while 1883 is available on Paramount+.
