One Misogynistic Yellowstone Scene is a Warning Taylor Sheridan May Doom the Show by Repeating a Heinous Game of Thrones Mistake

For the fans of Yellowstone, the Taylor Sheridan classic is nothing more than a cowboy fantasy adventure that turned a bit too bloody, sociopathic, and brutal for Sunday family movie nights. However, for those who have really delved into the world of Yellowstone and lived to tell the tale, the Western series has far more to offer than rodeos and the expansive natural beauty of Montana.

With cutting slanders and high-stakes powerplay littering every frame of the series, the Kevin Costner drama is a modern-day Game of Thrones where the Duttons equate to the Lannisters and Yellowstone is their seat, i.e. King’s Landing. And they will stop at nothing to retain absolute power, control, and authority over their domain, no matter how many lives they need to exact in return.

Yellowstone is Merely a Modern-Day Game of Thrones

For some, invoking the HBO show is equivalent to heresy of the highest order. The George R.R. Martin adaptation that served to bring his epic high-fantasy tale, The Song of Ice and Fire, to the screens failed spectacularly when the showrunners ran out of source material to adapt and had to wing it in the writers’ room. The blunder that followed in Season 8 of the beloved show is a horror that shall never be named and a wrong that can never be righted.

Aside from the blatant similarities in the plot, script, and character outlines between Game of Thrones and Yellowstone, it looks as if Taylor Sheridan has unwittingly also mimicked the ending of the HBO show to the point where the last season of the show might even spell its doom.

With the series lead, Kevin Costner, nowhere to be seen, the falling out between the creator and the lead star concerning the filming schedule was an embarrassment, and the long 14-month wait between seasons, in Costner’s defense, was a valid enough reason to want to walk away. However, Taylor Sheridan could have saved Yellowstone from complete ruin only if he heeded 1 simple rule.

Is Yellowstone Headed Down the Same Path as Game of Thrones?

In this metaphorical similarity between the Paramount and HBO record-breaking shows, Kelly Reilly‘s Beth Dutton has just as much Cersei in her as she does Daenerys. With a power-hungry need coursing through her veins, the only daughter of John Dutton can be as ruthless and calculating as she can be maniacal. And to Taylor Sheridan’s credit, his writing did bring out the best (or should we say, the worst) in her character.

However, the similarities hardly end there. After a subtle breaking of the fourth wall, the audience might notice the characteristic changes in Beth Dutton, including minute details of her personality. While Kelly Reilly’s Beth Dutton was the picture of poise and lethal precision even in situations that put her life in harm’s way, it seems as though the new and improved trauma-ridden Beth shows an utter lack of self-control in dire situations, let alone exude complete dominance over her opponent.

As shown in her scene with Piper Perabo‘s Summer Higgins, a distraught and easily riled-up Beth who bares her claws and her teeth at the first chance she gets, breaking out into a fight with the woman who caught her father’s attention is a blow below the belt for everything that Beth Dutton stands for. She is vicious and is well-equipped to wear the other person down with simply a few cutting words, and to reduce Beth into a subpar role such as that is an unacceptable mistake.

If Beth’s arc is made to go downhill from here, it is better for the series to tie up its ending in 8 more episodes rather than continue to ruin a well-established, ruthless, cunning, and powerful character just for the sake of programming her with emotions and a conscience.

Like Daenerys Targaryen’s complete breakdown of personality after Missandei died in the middle of Season 8, Beth Dutton’s shift in character in the final season feels like a betrayal for the audience just as much as it does a disservice to the show. Just like the ruthless yet loyal queen who turned mad out of rage, the Beth Dutton of Yellowstone Season 1 is a far cry from the character that now inhabits the Season 5 arc of Yellowstone. And it’s high time Sheridan takes charge of the situation.

Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 will premiere exclusively on Paramount+ in November 2024.