Yet, it’s far from perfect. In fact, Yellowstone is arguably the worst show in its own franchise, given the critical acclaim garnered by its beautifully rendered spinoff prequel series, 1883 and 1923. The main show might have more swagger about it, but there are plenty of bones to pick out of its occasionally wayward plotting and frequently uneven characterizations.
The best episodes of Yellowstone are masterpieces of the neo-Western genre. On the flipside, the series delivers its fair share of cartoonish storylines, gratuitous scenes, and highly questionable perspectives on women and Native Americans. What’s more, rewatching it draws our attention to some harsh realities within the story of the show that we might well have missed in previous viewings.
The Plot Holes In Yellowstone Are Gaping
Take the resurrection of Dan Jenkins following his apparent death in Yellowstone season 1, for instance, or the unexploded bomb on the Beck brothers’ plane that’s never mentioned again. There’s also the murder of reporter Sarah Nguyen by Jamie Dutton, which is conveniently ruled a kayaking accident without a proper explanation.
The Duttons manage to forget that they have dinosaur bones buried on ranch land, too, and Rip Wheeler is somehow able to get married and to drive across state lines repeatedly without there being any documented record of his existence. Meanwhile, entire character arcs disappear without warning in later seasons of Yellowstone, as we’ll return to below.
Most Of The Dutton Family Should Be In Prison
Kevin Costner has suggested that Yellowstone’s central family “should all be in prison”, and when you rewatch the show it’s hard to disagree with him. The notorious “Train Station” full of bodies belonging to those who get on the wrong side of Costner’s character John Dutton speaks for itself.
Rip Wheeler’s Brutality Is Too Much
No one directly perpetrates more violent crimes in Yellowstone than John Dutton’s henchman, Rip, who later marries Beth Dutton. Between lynching Dan Jenkins, gouging a chunk out of Wade Morrow, and setting a rattlesnake on an unsuspecting Roarke Morris, Rip earns a fearsome reputation as the Dutton ranch’s most merciless enforcer.
A large proportion of Yellowstone’s darkest moments can be attributed to the character, whose profoundly tragic backstory, care and affection for Beth, and loyalty towards his father-in-law contrast starkly to the cruelty he exacts on almost everyone else. At its worst, Rip’s brutal violence is too much for us to handle.
Some Of The Show’s Best Characters Are Underused
While figures like Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton increasingly play leading roles in the series as it goes on, some of Yellowstone’s best characters are noticeably underused in later seasons. Most notable among these characters is Kayce Dutton’s wife, Monica, whose character development grinds to a standstill between seasons 3 and 5 of the show.
Another character notable by his absence from the subplots of later Yellowstone seasons is Gator, the Dutton family’s live-in chef. This lovable fan-favorite character is even missing from scenes where his presence is required for the continuity of the series, such as John Dutton’s funeral in season 5.
Yellowstone’s Treatment Of Female Characters Is Problematic
Monica Long Dutton being underused in Yellowstone is the very least of the show’s problematic portrayals of women. Even when Monica does appear in later seasons, she’s either objectified – as “bait” for a serial killer, for example – or cast primarily in the role of a child-bearer for the Dutton lineage.
The entire series is rife with this kind of latent misogyny, from the decision to have Beth Dutton force a jewelry store proprietor to strip as an act of vengeance, to the gratuitously staged attempted rape of Beth herself by a masked assailant. Yellowstone features admirably strong female characters, but the way it treats them is often cause for concern.
Kayce Is The Only Dutton Who Cares About Native American Rights
Yellowstone has faced criticism from actor Lily Gladstone about its representation of Native Americans, and her comments certainly tally with the Dutton family’s attitude towards those living in poverty across the land boundary from them on the Broken Rock reservation. The show’s first-episode gun battle perfectly encapsulates the sentiments of John Dutton towards his indigenous neighbors.
Even when he forms an alliance with Chief Rainwater, it’s a defensive action against a common enemy. To the bitter end, Dutton is determined to hold onto his ranch’s land, despite it being promised to Rainwater’s tribe as far back as the 19th century. The Dutton children and ranch hands have no real concern for Native Americans, either.
The only exception is Kayce Dutton, whose sympathies are sometimes split between his wife, Monica, and his own family. It’s Kayce who eventually sells the ranch land to Rainwater. But even he only does so out of necessity, with no other inheritance left to him by his father and Yellowstone not turning a profit.
Yellowstone Never Recovers From John Dutton’s Death
After Kevin Costner’s exit midway through season 5, Yellowstone’s divisive handling of John Dutton’s death began its unceremonious crawl to the final episode. Although Beth and Jamie Dutton’s fight to the death delivers a climactic finale, the show just isn’t the same without its central patriarch.
The second half of season 5 is relatively muted, while Bella Hadid’s controversial cameo in Yellowstone’s penultimate episode seems to be more in service of co-creator and writer Taylor Sheridan than the series itself. Unfortunately for Sheridan, his show’s lead character dying hours before the end of the story doesn’t quite work out like it does in The Godfather.
John Dutton Is Actually The Show’s Main Villain
Although the series has plenty of sinister antagonists, none of their crimes ultimately compare to the cumulative evil wrought by its central character. John Dutton is Yellowstone’s real villain, whose obsession with his unprofitable ranch leads him to commit murder on a massive scale, at the same time as roping his entire family and various underlings into this violent undertaking.
No Yellowstone Spinoff Will Ever Be As Dramatic
Yellowstone’s spinoff featuring Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler is confirmed, alongside another show set in the same universe but without the Duttons entitled The Madison. Neither of these shows will be able to match their parent series for sheer drama, however. Yellowstone itself is just too epic in scope, with too stellar a cast for any spinoff to compete with.
If 1883 and 1923 are anything to go by, no spinoff series will ever be able to offer the same level of dramatic intensity as the present-day Dutton ensemble. The quietly intimidating presence of Costner’s John Dutton, in particular, will be sorely lacking from any other show in the same universe, as will the fierce tension between Beth and Jamie Dutton.
