How Taylor Sheridan’s Best Western Tarnished Its Own Legacy md20

At the center of the gripping drama is patriarch John Dutton. A stoic antihero full of grit and resilience, John Dutton is the ultimate loyal protector of his family, his land, and his legacy, and a true throwback to the classic Western antihero. Yes, John is the heart and soul of Yellowstone, and, sadly, its biggest failing.

Yellowstone Became The Definitive TV Western Of The 21st Century

Westerns have been a huge part of television since the medium took off, and this continued into the 21st century with modern Western TV hits like Longmire and Justified. But in terms of sheer popularity and impact, Yellowstone by far outshines its contemporaries.

Whereas these Western shows are told in a very modern way, Yellowstone is a modern story but told as a classic Western. Its themes of family, loyalty, greed, power, and frontier justice get to the heart of the genre, while the show never forgets the current time period it’s living in.

Yellowstone directly confronts the “myth of the American West.” Sure, the cinematography of Montana’s stunning vistas and John Dutton’s rich land is breathtaking, and through its beauty, you understand why he fights so hard to keep it. But Yellowstone never romanticizes this way of life, and the viewer feels John’s weariness and the toll that preserving his way of life takes.

Ultimately, the show resonated so deeply because it speaks to an audience so constantly underserved — the working class. Many of today’s prestige dramas are about the wealthy and elite, from Succession to The White Lotus to even fantasy shows like Game of Thrones. Yes, the Duttons are rich, but they struggle in ways the main characters from these other series don’t.

Furthermore, almost every main character in Yellowstone who isn’t a Dutton — mostly the cowboys and ranch hands — is living paycheck to paycheck. The show never glamorizes cowboy life, either. It’s honest work, yes, but it’s hard and often thankless, and it’s an industry that’s also dying. Yellowstone makes sure you know that while honoring everything this life stands for.

Kevin Costner’s Controversial Exit Changed The Trajectory Of Yellowstone

Sadly, John Dutton’s story wasn’t able to reach a natural conclusion, as Yellowstone had to make a hard pivot with the controversial departure of lead actor Kevin Costner. Yellowstone‘s fifth and final season was split into two parts, and while Costner starred in part 1, he was absent for part 2.

Multiple reasons for Costner’s Yellowstone exit have been cited, namely creative differences, pay, and scheduling conflicts. Based on the actor’s statements, it seems that the latter issue was the biggest factor in his decision to leave the show.

Shooting a season of Yellowstone is a lengthy process, and Costner disagreed with splitting season 5 into two parts, particularly because it prevented him from working on his own Western passion project, the Horizon: An American Saga film franchise.

However, despite Costner’s frustrations and potential legal issues with Yellowstone, he remains complimentary of both the series and Sheridan. In a statement to People, he said,

“I loved the show. I liked the people on the show. I liked what it was about. I love that world… There was a moment where that show for me stopped for 14 months. That’s the fact. I could have done a lot of things in that time, but I wasn’t aware that that [hold-up] was going to happen… I read all the stories. I was disappointed that nobody on their side … ever stepped up to defend what it was I actually did for them. There came a moment where I thought, ‘Wow, when is somebody going to say something about what I have done versus what I haven’t done?”

Unfortunately, Costner’s exit left a Yellowstone Ranch-sized hole in the series. While Yellowstone‘s other characters, from John’s fiery loose-cannon daughter Beth to his loyal enforcer Rip, are great, John Dutton was Yellowstone. Costner’s Hollywood legacy in the Western genre made him the perfect protagonist, and through his absence, all air was leaked out of the show.

Yellowstone Tarnished Its Own Legacy With John Dutton’s Death

Given that Yellowstone was John Dutton’s story and that his death was never meant to be part of the show, Costner’s exit forced Sheridan to completely alter Yellowstone‘s ending and the episodes leading up to it. The finished project was never going to be the creator’s original vision, but what we got ultimately failed the series and its protagonist.

When Yellowstone season 5, part 2 premiered, John’s death was initially presented as a suicide, as it was in the wee hours of the morning of his impeachment trial. This made no sense, as John wasn’t remotely suicidal, and only served to invoke the ire and confusion of the viewers, who were already going to the show’s final installment on edge because of John’s absence.

Of course, it’s quickly revealed that John did not, in fact, take his own life. His death was staged as a suicide, when he was actually murdered by a team of assassins hired by Sarah Atwood. This was unsatisfying, to say the least. In Yellowstone‘s rich rogues’ gallery of villains, Sarah wasn’t nearly as brutal as others, like the Beck brothers, and she had no personal connection to John himself.

A hired hit by a woman John never even met in person is cold, bland, and completely unpoetic — the exact opposite of everything that Yellowstone, a show full of passion and fire, is all about. Plus, having John bleed out on a bathroom floor in a mansion is all wrong for the death of the rancher, and an insult to the protagonist who defined the TV Western.

With John Dutton dead, Yellowstone became devoid of all stakes and urgency. While Beth and Kayce still fought to save the ranch and their father’s legacy, this was always John Dutton’s fight — they were just soldiers in his army. Without the general, Yellowstone was a shell of what it once was, and thus, the only way it could end was disappointingly.

How Other Shows Successfully Killed Off Their Main Character Where Yellowstone Failed

Given the unfortunate unraveling of events behind the Yellowstone scenes, Sheridan shouldn’t be blamed too harshly for the show’s weak ending. Where other TV shows that masterfully killed off their protagonists had these deaths already planned for the story, Sheridan was working with what he had. Still, he could have taken a page out of some of these shows’ playbooks.

Logan Roy’s death in Succession season 4 sent shockwaves throughout the audience, but in retrospect, it’s a twist we should have seen coming. The show is called Succession, after all — a successor needed to be chosen. Similarly, Six Feet Under started with the death of a major character, so we shouldn’t have been all that surprised when it prematurely killed off protagonist Nate Fisher.

Like John Dutton, Ned Stark — arguably the protagonist of Game of Thrones season 1 — was stoically loyal, which ultimately turned out to be his downfall. Cersei told him, “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die,” and because of who Ned was, he could never win, and thus, the only other result was death.

Essentially, all these character deaths were in keeping with the themes of the show. In contrast, John’s killing by a group of random assassins had nothing to do with the themes of Yellowstone or spoke to who the protagonist was as a character.

Yellowstone already had a baked-in potential death for John in that he had had colon cancer in season 1. We were also repeatedly made aware of John’s mortality throughout the series, so a natural death could have been the way to go here. It would show that while no human enemy could take John out, not even he could fight time and the inevitable.

In the season 5, part 1 episode, “Cigarettes, Whiskey, a Meadow, and You,” John’s good friend Emmett Walsh passes away in his sleep during a days-long herding. John considers this the perfect cowboy death, so wouldn’t something like this have been better for the Yellowstone protagonist?

If John had been sick, he would have been determined to go out on his own terms. Rather than having Costner’s body double splayed on a cold tile floor, Yellowstone could have shown him literally riding off into the sunset. This still wouldn’t have made Yellowstone‘s ending perfect, but it would have honored John Dutton.

There’s Still Plenty Of Hope For The Yellowstone Franchise

John Dutton’s death and the way it was handled may have been a bane on Yellowstone the series, but it certainly didn’t tarnish the epic TV Western franchise that Sheridan built. With interest and love for the Dutton family so great, Sheridan gave us two Yellowstone spinoffs, 1883 and 1923, chronicling previous Dutton generations.

Both shows were incredibly well-received and helped to flesh out Yellowstone‘s world while contributing to its legacy. And Sheridan’s not done with the beloved universe, either, as there are a whopping five Yellowstone spinoffs reported to be in development.

One of these shows, 6666, about the titular Texas ranch where Yellowstone fan-favorite character Jimmy now works, is currently on hold, so don’t be too eager for this one anytime soon. But 1944, another prequel series, and The Madison, a show about a New York family living in Montana and set in Yellowstone‘s universe, appear to be moving forward. Michelle Pfeiffer will star in and executive-produce the latter.

But perhaps the two Yellowstone spinoffs that will best uphold the franchise’s legacy are those centered on John’s surviving children, Kayce and Beth Dutton. Set to air on CBS, Y: Marshals is Kayce’s show and will see John’s youngest son joining the US Marshals. Beth’s, with the working title Dutton Ranch, will follow her life with husband Rip and adopted son Carter.

All of these premises are not only brimming with potential but fit in perfectly with the universe that Sheridan has built. He’s a brilliant creative who knows what he’s doing, and he has forever left his mark on the TV Western with the Yellowstone franchise — let’s just hope that no more of his lead actors quit.