Yellowstone Fumbled Its Most Interesting Storyline

The hit Paramount series Yellowstone is well-regarded for building tension and having some of TV’s best storytelling payoffs. The world, characters and concept are enough for some fans to tune in each episode, but what keeps audiences coming back is Taylor Sheridan’s ability to craft great drama. With an IMDb score of 8.7/10 and an overall Rotten Tomatoes score of 84%, it’s fair to say that fans are engaged and enjoying the arc of the Dutton Family. Some of the most memorable moments of the series involve the Duttons’ ability to identify enemies and handle them in the cowboy way. This was the case at the end of the first two seasons and portrayed the Duttons as a formidable opponent for their enemies.

However, Taylor Sheridan made the great choice to present a bigger obstacle and reverse the trend for the series. At the end of the show’s third season finale, things went a little differently for the Dutton Family as their enemies found a way to gain the upper hand. With probably one of the most high-stakes season finales in recent memory, the Duttons found themselves scattered and beaten in ways fans had not seen before. It was one of the most surprising moments of the series and effectively ended the show’s third season with a baffling cliffhanger. As Yellowstone‘s fourth season played out, things were slowly revealed, and that epic moment finally paid off. However, it didn’t go the way fans expected.

Yellowstone Had a Chance to Allow a Major Character to Evolve

When fans experienced one of the most violent and shocking Yellowstone cliffhangers the series had ever done up to that point, it really shook people to their core. In a sequence that sees Beth Dutton nearly die in an explosion, Kayce Dutton almost gunned down at the Livestock Office, and John Dutton riddled with bullets on the side of a Montana road, there were many worries about audiences’ favorite characters. It seemed that someone with immense power and guts must have been behind the attack, orchestrating a hit on the most powerful family in Montana.

As the series picks up where it left off, the drama continues as Kayce is forced to fight his way out of trouble. The rest of the ranch also defends against an attack. Tate and Monica are thrown into the mix and Beth barely escapes her deadly inferno. John Dutton, on the other hand, takes the worst of it.

John Dutton’s injury puts him in a coma for a couple of months, and when he awakes, he is very quick to go looking for answers. Kayce and Rip slowly gather new information here and there along with other characters, and the militia that was hired is effectively dealt with. However, the storyline of the season quickly turns to the question of who orchestrated the attack. It’s a bit of a slow burn to get answers, but the writing is consistently good at making audiences wonder who it might have been. Eventually, as the show turns its attention more and more to the possibility of the estranged adopted son Jamie being the culprit, things get a lot more interesting. Jamie Dutton’s motives made the most sense for an attack on a family that continued to push him away more and more each season. However, by pointing the finger too directly at Jamie, it became clear that he likely wouldn’t be the actual mastermind behind the attack as it would have been too on the nose.

By making Jamie Dutton the person behind such a deadly and shocking attack, Yellowstone would have capitalized on a character arc that had been building toward a darker path for seasons. Jamie Dutton has more than a few reasons for wanting his adopted father shot and his adopted sister blown up. Between being stripped of titles he worked his whole life for, learning that he was secretly adopted, and having to endure Beth Dutton’s countless physical, verbal and emotional attacks, Jamie Dutton had more motive than anyone. Furthermore, making Jamie Dutton a mastermind of violence would have given the series its worst villain yet, created by the main characters. Jamie’s evolution would have been a key piece of storytelling for the Yellowstone series going forward. However, the second Taylor Sheridan made Jamie being the villain seem too obvious, he also made him not culpable. The reveal of who was actually behind it — and then how the storyline played out — wasn’t as compelling of a direction for the series.

Yellowstone’s Most Compelling Storyline Became Underwhelming

Everything was trending in the right direction for most of Yellowstone’s fourth season. After Kayce handles the militia and Rip crosses season three’s antagonist Roarke off the list, John and the Duttons have work to do finding the real enemy. Another well-written piece of season four was having the events of Season 3 finale sting a bit harder and take a bit longer to heal from. Many characters, including, John, Monice, Tate and Beth each deal with an element of PTSD in their own way and in their own time. Meanwhile, the series begins to put more of a focus on the evolving relationship between Jamie and his biological father, Garrett Randall. Jamie’s arc was continuing to trend in a direction that was more active for the character. Between buying a home and meeting his son for the first time, Jamie was on a well-developed path.

Unfortunately, where Taylor Sheridan wanted to go with the big militia arc was a little less interesting, more muddled, and more underwhelming for fans. In retrospect, the reveal should have been enough of a shock to make what followed interesting. While the fourth Yellowstone season plays out dramatically, it also misuses the character of Jamie Dutton. Jamie’s biological father, Garrett Randall, is eventually revealed to be the one who orchestrated that attack on the Duttons. He does it for revenge, and he does it for power, but he also does it to help propel his son Jamie in a greater direction. At this point in the season, the reveal actually works well and can allow Jamie to evolve in a more compelling way. How things play out and conclude in the fourth season finale, however, only manages to put Jamie in a worse place and the Duttons in the same place.

Change is important for the growth of a series, and in Yellowstone, there doesn’t seem to be as much change for the characters as it might first appear. While the stakes change and the Duttons face new threats, they still manage to overcome every obstacle they face. And since the death of Lee Dutton in the series premiere, there hasn’t been a major death in Yellowstone since. In order to really capitalize on the biggest moments, the writers sometimes have to really shake things up and change the playing field. Sometimes this means removing a player or allowing characters to make greater choices that affect the entire series. Jamie Dutton was still on track to make impactful, active choices by the time it was revealed that his father was behind those attacks. However, Jamie makes a choice out of fear that ultimately keeps him under the thumb of the Dutton Family, a place he has been for the entirety of the series. Jamie’s choice to kill his biological father, Garrett Randall, was less interesting than if he chose to back his father’s play and move against his adopted family.

Yellowstone Is Still Great Despite Its Worst Story Arc

Yellowstone still remains one of the more popular shows on television. Of the five seasons that have been released, one major story arc fumbled the ball. That’s a pretty good track record for a contemporary Western with a few problematic themes and messages. Jamie’s arc aside, Taylor Sheridan does a fantastic job crafting a series with interesting characters and consistent story development. With the series nearing its end, it remains to be seen whether Sheridan and company can stick the landing overall.

It remains to be seen how Yellowstone will be remembered. The militia arc of season four wasn’t exactly the most impactful series of events when all was said and done. However, for the time being, Yellowstone still remains one of the most engaging shows on television. It’s an entertaining binge-watch, and conversations around Yellowstone are consistently thought-provoking.