Yellowstone has exploded in popularity in recent years, but the writing on the long-delayed season 5, part 2, has destroyed the Paramount Network drama’s most promising character. The sprawling western has always featured many interesting characters, seeing as many different storylines play simultaneously. This has helped to deliver narrative shifts that take the show in unpredictable directions and have helped Yellowstone grow into one of the most lucrative franchises of the past decade. None of that would have been possible without characters that shape and grow as the narrative progresses.
Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) was a late addition to the show, first appearing in Yellowstone season 5, episode 2, but she made her presence felt from the jump. There was every indication to believe that she’d never stop until she achieved Market Equities’ goal of taking down the Duttons and having free rein of their ranch. As a lawyer and business leader, Sarah had the skillset and resources to make the Dutton family squirm, but she never quite reached her full potential.
Sarah Atwood Started As Yellowstone’s Best Adversary
Yellowstone Has Featured a Wealth of Villains
Sarah had all the makings of being one of Yellowstone’s best characters. Her quick wit and forward-thinking approach gave the impression that she could steamroll through everyone who stood in her way to do Market Equities’ bidding. Unfortunately, she lost sight of that goal when she got too close to Jamie (Wes Bentley) and started making decisions that were inconsistent with who she was when she first appeared on-screen. Sarah had a reputation for getting things done, and Market Equities had been grappling with John Dutton (Kevin Costner) about his ranch for multiple seasons.
As a result, the company needed someone unafraid to go up against one of Montana’s most prominent families and live to tell the tale. The Duttons’ influence intensified after John was elected Governor of Montana, so there was only a tiny window of time for her to get her claws into the family and make their reputation fall apart to get the desired result. It’s rare for any character to go up against Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), but Sarah knew what she had to do to get the upper hand on the entire family, and going against one of TV’s fiercest characters was a sure-fire way to solidify her as one herself. Yellowstone was building towards a Sarah-Beth collision, but it never reached the screen.
Jamie has been the family’s black sheep for years, so Sarah’s approach to going after him and then carving out a relationship with him would have been a great way to accelerate her plans. There’s no question whether Sarah lost sight of the end goal when she became romantically involved with Jamie. From her perspective, they shared a common goal, and it seemed like she wanted to help him get revenge more than she wanted to do her job. When Yellowstone season 5, episode 8 concluded, she was the most interesting character because she was unafraid to make unilateral decisions but always considered the potential blowback. A no-holds-barred personality was just what the show needed to bring its endgame into focus. Sadly, her arc ended on such a sour note, and the reason for that is that Kevin Costner walked away.
Kevin Costner’s Exit Ruined Sarah Atwood in Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2
John Dutton Was Killed Off During The Midseason Premiere
Yellowstone was forced into uncharted territory at the beginning of Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2, when Kevin left the series after reported drama between him and creator Taylor Sheridan. In the aftermath, news broke that the series had been canceled, and the final episodes would accelerate some of the plots to bring the show to an earlier-than-planned conclusion. Thanks to that decision, Sarah was a completely different person than she was when she first appeared. Her quick wit and confident personality had been replaced by someone who buckled under pressure and made nonsensical decisions.
While it was inevitable Sarah would play a part in John’s death, it was a surprise that she was reduced to a plot device in one of Yellowstone‘s most polarizing developments. Her decision to be the person wheeling and dealing to pay a group of former marines to carry out the brutal killing didn’t feel true to the character in the slightest. She was the type of person to cover all of her bases, so having her make grave errors in judgment and having the shadowy group make John’s death look like suicide solidified that the character was no longer the strong-willed person from the beginning of the season.
There’s something to be said about a show that changes characters on a whim, and this isn’t the kind of development that Yellowstone was known for during its first four and a half seasons. The series has long been praised for its complicated characters that bare their souls, but there were so many better ways Yellowstone could have wrapped things up for Sarah. Making matters worse is that the entire show imploded during the final episodes because it lost focus on the plots and characters that made it such a success in the first place. Yellowstone became a self-indulgent shell of what it was when it premiered: a riveting Western that humanized its characters to tell a complex story.
Sarah Atwood Deserved A Better Final Arc On Yellowstone
Dawn Olivieri’s Promising Character Had a Low-Key Exit
Sarah may have been one of Yellowstone‘s newest characters, but she was immersed in one of its biggest plots, meaning that she deserved to have an impactful and warranted end. Yellowstone is known for killing off characters when viewers least expect it, but her death was no surprise. At some point, past actions catch up with everyone in this universe, and Sarah was no different. The major flaw is that the writing fell off a cliff after the first half of Yellowstone season 5 because the show was too focused on wrapping up storylines. It’s evident the showrunner had a vision of where the character was to go, but he just skipped too many steps to showcase her desperation.
Given her history and successful career, Sarah was not the type of person to make mistakes when the net was closing in, so it was surprising she did after taking down the Dutton family patriarch. If anything, her unique skillset was purpose-built for high-stakes situations that should have helped her to survive any attempt on her life. The primary flaw with Sarah’s death is that it happened so soon because she should have been a key player until the finish line. The only positive aspect of her premature demise is that it caused Jamie’s legacy to fall like a house of cards. Jamie has been an adversary since the Yellowstone series premiere despite having grown up as a Dutton.
While Jamie’s arc post-Sarah’s death was passable at best, Wes Bentley hasn’t had as much screen time because his character has burned bridges with everyone. This is another example of how Sarah being written out a few episodes too early negatively impacted the show. The most interesting aspect of the Sarah-Jamie dynamic is that they could conquer anything together.
Even though their final encounter was violent, they quickly reached a resolution because Jamie understood the error of his ways. That alone is no easy feat because Jamie has proven to be a stubborn man throughout his turn on the show. Killing off Sarah pushed him back onto the sidelines because there was no path forward that involved him finding an in with his family again. Sarah and Jamie would have been better as a one-two punch in the Yellowstone series finale because, had the writing still been strong, there would have been a compelling case for them to emerge victoriously amid a lot of blowback.
Yellowstone is the show least likely to get a Hollywood ending because the series has earned its stripes by taking risks and tapping into storytelling that isn’t synonymous with TV shows nowadays. With some care and better writing, Sarah’s arc could have culminated in her downfall, but it would have been far more believable if she had gone to jail for her crimes. Her handling of the increasing media attention would have been compelling because it would have thrust the character into the unknown and highlighted to her that sometimes, even the riskiest decisions don’t reap the rewards.
