Star dies suddenly: Kelsey Asbille’s memorable roles md20

Although Taylor Sheridan is seemingly set to bid farewell to Paramount once his contract expires in 2028, there’s no denying the lasting legacy of the network’s hit Western melodrama Yellowstone. The series not only put Sheridan and Paramount+ on the TV map but also spawned numerous spin-offs that are still in development. And yet, due to the ugly dispute between Sheridan and Kevin Costner that led to the latter’s sudden departure in Season 5, bittersweet feelings persist regarding Yellowstone‘s conclusion.

However, a year after the dust settled on Yellowstone‘s final season, there’s an even more galling moment that’s more problematic than Costner’s exit. In what can only be described as a vanity episode, Sheridan devotes far too much time and energy to his own supporting character, the ultra-cool cowboy Travis, in the penultimate episode meant to set up the series finale. A year later, it’s time to assess what the heck Sheridan was thinking about with Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 13, “Give the World Away.”

‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Part 2 Got off to a Rough Start With Costner’s Exit

Paramount Network

Following a lengthy dispute between Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and Oscar-winning star Kevin Costner, the decision was made to remove John Dutton from the series. Costner’s departure became a reality in the Part 2 premiere of Season 5, “Desire is All You Need,” when John Dutton was killed off-screen.

Costner, who wanted more time to focus on directing and starring in his new epic Western movie, Horizon: An American Saga, left the series after Sheridan and Paramount couldn’t accommodate his schedule. The two also had creative differences that couldn’t be reconciled, which led to Costner’s exit.

Despite hearing rumors of Costner’s potential exit before Part 2 premiered, fans were disappointed that Yellowstone‘s magnetic main character was unceremoniously offed, robbing them of conclusive storylines after Dutton had been sworn in as the Governor of Montana to start Season 5. Thanks to Sheridan’s deft writing, Season 5 overcame Costner’s loss by focusing on Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce Dutton’s (Luke Grimes) vicious revenge plot against Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), creating a Shakespearean family tragedy of epic proportions.

That leaves the real problem dogging Season 5. With just one more episode to stick the landing, Sheridan gave viewers the most random non-sequitur in Yellowstone history by focusing for far too long on his rough, tough, ultra-gruff cowboy character, Travis Wheatley.

What Happens in ‘Yellowstone’s Penultimate Episode?

In Yellowstone‘s penultimate episode, “Give the World Away,” only a small portion focuses on the Dutton family’s decision about their future. Kayce considers selling off the land at a cut rate to pay for the inheritance tax. Although Montana does not have an estate tax or inheritance tax, and this angle was entirely fabricated for the show, at least efforts were made to show what life would be like for the family now that the patriarch, John Dutton, is out of the picture.

Elsewhere, Jamie Dutton’s connection to Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) was exposed following her assassination. Sarah manipulated Jamie to gain access to John and orchestrate his murder. With such sensitive information coming to light, Jamie scrambles to stay out of trouble in a storyline that should have taken much bigger priority over the Yellowstone Ranch hangout, where Travis Wheatley struts his stuff as if he were suddenly the main character deserving of the spotlight.

With only one episode remaining in the series, Sheridan somehow felt the need to spend the majority of “Give the World Away” on his own side character, Travis Wheatley, a cigar-chomping cowboy tough-guy who looks good with his shirt off. Travis is a rodeo rider, professional horseman, and horse trainer affiliated with Bosque Ranch, who often buys horses from Yellowstone Ranch.

How Sheridan Nearly Ruined ‘Yellowstone’s Penultimate Episode

Paramount Network

In the series’ penultimate episode, “Give the World Away,” the livestock at Yellowstone Ranch is sold off in an auction. This encouraged Sheridan to devote far too much inconsequential screen time to Travis, with ridiculous efforts to make him seem like the coolest, sexiest, most carefree cowboy in the world.

One ludicrous scene has Travis bulging out of his sleeveless vest, as if he were Stallone in Rambo, casually smoking a cigar while a beer bottle sits by his side. The scene involves Travis and another cowboy playing strip poker with three attractive women, including Travis’ girlfriend Sadie (supermodel Bella Hadid), as a crowd of onlookers ooh-and-ah over Travis’ control of the game.

Nothing takes a viewer out of the drama faster than watching the showrunner distract from the main narrative to bolster his own character’s sense of coolness. It’s a tangential vanity project that adds absolutely nothing to the primary plot.

But if that wasn’t problematic enough, another protracted scene in “Give the World Away” spends way too much time depicting Travis’s rodeo skills. It’s almost as if Travis was set to compete on Sheridan’s reality TV show The Last Cowboy, with Sheridan wanting viewers to know he can ride and wrangle a horse with the best of them.

While that’s all well and good and fun to see, it could have been shown much earlier in the season rather than in the penultimate episode. Indeed, there were far higher stakes and dramatic consequences looming in the Duttons’ future than understanding Travis’s sex appeal.

It’s fair to speculate that Sheridan felt the need to pad out Season 5, which featured more episodes than previous seasons. Rather than the typical 9 to 10 episodes per season, Season 5 featured 14 episodes broken into two parts. The problem is that, for an episode that feels like pure filler that strays so far from the real drama, it needed to come out much earlier in Season 5. As it is, giving Travis time to shine one episode before the series finale is downright absurd. Yellowstone is streaming in its entirety on Peacock.