After five seasons of scintillating drama, the story of the Dutton brood, who were caught between the weight of their forebears and their actions, which were interwoven into the complex tapestry of the family’s internal dynamics, finally reached a conclusion. While the finale certainly generated as much buzz as anticipated among its hordes of fans, for many, it felt disappointing, especially knowing what could’ve been. Here’s why many fans feel hard done by Yellowstone’s ending and why it simply never lived up to expectations or the show’s potential.
‘Yellowstone’ and the Elephant Not in the Room
Cast
Kevin Costner
Finn Little
Anybody feel like we’ve seen this all before? Not with Game of Thrones, but another wildly popular show that became infamous for the departure of one person from it. The year was 2011, and the world was eight seasons into a show everybody loved. Most audiences agreed it really only centered around one magnetic character, no matter how many other great ones there were.
In a swift twist of fate, words like tiger’s blood went viral, and the brilliant sitcom that Two and a Half Men was had lost its main star in Charlie Sheen. It famously went on to try and replace him but ultimately failed to ever muster the same electric buzz and uniqueness that only he could bring to it. The same is true of Yellowstone.
Yellowstone’s world-building shines through its complex characters. Here are some untold stories, from Rip’s haunted past to Angela’s fierce activism.
The show had managed to perform miracles by crossing the great divide and making unapologetic conservatism seem cool amid an industry that thrived on distancing itself from such things. However, most critics and audiences alike agreed that most of this feat was only made possible because of the magnetism, charm, and sheer brilliance of Kevin Costner’s epic performance as John Dutton III. It was this exact reason why the show and its ending, despite all the brilliance that came before it, simply fell flat. Without Costner, Yellowstone, despite its best efforts to pretend it could hold the same stature without him, simply could not maintain the same allure it once had, even with other standout performances from the remaining cast.
‘Yellowstone’ Did the Best It Could Under the Circumstances
When it came down to it, Kevin Costner’s gravitas as an actor and as the lead of the series for four and a half seasons was simply too important for the show, which many say was starting to run out of gas anyway. The spin-offs have continued to find success with big-name actors in other leading roles, like Harrison Ford in 1923 and Tim McGraw and Sam Elliot in 1883, but with Yellowstone, finding a truly satisfying ending couldn’t happen without at least a bit of Costner, who was absent for the entirety of Season 5B.
Without Costner, in the end, characters like Beth and Jamie never quite seemed to do their characters’ stories justice. Of course, perhaps even the end never quite felt like the end at all since a Beth and Rip spin-off is already in development. Like the dark cloud always following the Dutton dynasty, the show simply couldn’t ever fully shake off the loss of Kevin Costner, causing this once-great show to fizzle out. Sadly, as it was with Charlie Harper, in the great fall out between Taylor Sheridan and Kevin Costner, it was the fans who ultimately lost. Yellowstone is streaming on Peacock.
