The Unforgettable End of Yellowstone: A Controversial Milestone for Taylor Sheridan

Although it may have originally been intended to go longer, the hit neo-Western drama Yellowstone came to an end with the season 5 finale, which unfortunately earned an undesirable record within the Yellowstone franchise. Each season of Yellowstone and its spinoffs prior to the back half of season 5 earned generally positive reviews, regardless of review platform. However, the over-stuffed six episodes that closed the show out once and for all were met with mixed reviews for a plethora of reasons, virtually all of which stem from Kevin Costner’s early departure from the show.

Costner left the show to pursue his passion project, the epic four-part Western drama series Horizon: An American Saga, and in doing so essentially hit the fast-forward button on Yellowstone. It’s widely accepted that the ultimate ending to the series occurred as intended, with Kayce Dutton fulfilling the 1883 prophecy and selling the land of the Yellowstone Ranch to Thomas Rainwater and the Broken Rock Tribe. Most Yellowstone fans also believe that John Dutton was always going to meet a violent end, but the fallout from his off-screen death yielded an unwanted record for the series finale.

Yellowstone Season 5’s Finale Is The Franchise’s Lowest-Rated Ending On IMDb

Yellowstone’s Season Finales Are Typically Among Its Strongest Episodes

Most of Taylor Sheridan’s shows, Yellowstone in particular, are marked by strong season finales. In the specific case of 1883, which had only one season, the series finale was among the highest-rated episodes on IMDB that Sheridan has ever produced. However, the series finale of Yellowstone carries the ignominious designation as the lowest-rated season finale of any Yellowstone season, including the spin-offs.

While IMDB is of course not the ultimate authority when it comes to judging the quality of a TV show, it’s a good reflection of the general public’s opinion of a specific episode or movie. The IMDB score summarizes the ratings of its registered users on a weighted average, and there are enough registered users on IMDB that it’s a fairly accurate representation of the consensus. IMDB also has some of the most granular data on individual episodes as opposed to an entire season of TV, as other platforms typically highlight.

Why Yellowstone’s Series Finale Has The Franchise’s Lowest Finale Rating

A Completely Satisfying Conclusion Was Next-To-Impossible

With Kevin Costner leaving the show midway through season 5, and no prior setup for his sudden departure, it was always going to be a nearly impossible task for Sheridan and his writers to come up with a perfectly satisfying conclusion to all the narratives that had been built up across four and a half seasons of television. With just six mega-sized episodes in which to wrap everything up, Yellowstone had to address the murder of John Dutton, put an end to Jamie and Beth’s deadly conflict, write off all the ranchers, and fulfill the 1883 prophecy.

Despite a truly admirable attempt by Sheridan and his team, the final six episodes were simply unsatisfying. Everything was actually wrapped up neatly, down to each of the ranchers getting a send-off, which is impressive enough. Chances are good that the upcoming Yellowstone spinoffs like 6666 and Beth & Rip’s spinoff series will address some of the events of the season 5 finale, and audiences will likely see some familiar faces floating in and out. However, that still won’t make up for the disappointing series finale of the flagship Yellowstone show, which is what yielded the record-breakingly poor IMDB rating.