review based on the first three episodes
When Yellowstone first debuted back in 2018, it revitalized the western drama, a genre that had seemingly been left in the past. Since then, it’s remained one of the most highly anticipated and viewed shows with each new season. In the meantime, writer and creator Taylor Sheridan has continued to develop other original shows for Paramount, like Mayor of Kingstown, and Tulsa King, while also expanding the Yellowstone story with the prequel series 1883 and the upcoming 1923. Between his work for Paramount and successful film credits, he’s proven his talent for writing, but through the first three episodes, it’s possible he’s stretched himself a little thin, as the latest season of Yellowstone seems to be just meandering through a very general outline of a narrative, without any real focus.
As always, the main plot is centered around the Dutton’s desire to protect Montana, and most importantly their ranch, and the show picks up this year as John Dutton (Kevin Costner, Man of Steel) is elected Governor. It’s not a position he sought for himself, or one he wants, but friend and sometimes love interest Senator Lynelle Perry (Wendy Moniz, The Guardian), convinced him that as a Governor not seeking reelection, he can evoke real change. Costner is as resolute as ever in his role, delivering speeches and proceeding with his promise to revoke contracts with Market Equities. It’s an interesting dilemma, as he wants to protect the land, but does so at great cost to the state.
The most interesting drama that could unfold this season involves Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley, Interstellar), who despite being a very intelligent lawyer, consistently allows himself to be manipulated by everyone around him, most of all by his sister Beth (Kelly Reilly, Pride & Prejudice). The latest looking to gain some leverage on him is Market Equities hotshot lawyer Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri, 1883), who instantly sees him as an easy mark. She will most certainly try and pit him against his family, but Beth is still holding his leash with photos of him disposing of his murdered father’s body. He will likely find himself in yet another impossible situation as things evolve.
Beth continues to be Beth, and the show depends heavily on her character. The only problem with that is that we have yet to see any real growth from her. She’s essentially the same character now as she was when we first met her. She remains entirely unhinged outside of her relationship with her father and Rip (Cole Hauser, 2 Fast 2 Furious). Also, as smart as she is with business dealings and getting what she wants, she continues to be a walking contradiction, nonsensical, and causes unnecessary drama. Obviously, she’s endured relentless trauma both mentally and physically, so her mindset can easily be justified, but it’s taxing to watch her endlessly refuse to take stock of the positives that she does have and remove herself from some of the pitfalls. The only reason the character and some of her actions and dialogue still work is that Kelly Reilly is an absolute force, who is long overdue for an Emmy nomination for the role.
Beyond John resenting the obligations of his new position of power and the sibling struggle of Beth and Jamie, the season has featured a litany of middling subplots. There is a senseless but tragic loss for Kayce (Luke Grimes, American Sniper) and Monica (Kelsey Asbille, Fargo), which seemed like trauma just to give them something to do early. We get a love interest (Lainey Wilson) for Ryan (Ian Bohen, Teen Wolf), which is fine, but there’s not even enough screen time for Teeter (Jen Landon, Animal Kingdom) and Colby (Denim Richards, Good Trouble) as it is. There are threats to Thomas Rainwater’s (Gil Birmingham, Twilight) hold over the reservation with protests and internal pressure, which hopefully will finally develop into something, and then we get a little history lesson about the wolf population in Yellowstone.
From the beginning, the series has incorporated flashbacks, sometimes to show pivotal moments from a character’s past, but also for very loose tie-ins to a current narrative, or even just to promote a spin-off. That has continued into Season 5, and while Josh Lucas is great as a younger John Dutton, and Kyle Red Silverstein has Rip’s mannerisms down as well, their time on screen seems unnecessary, at least for now. Sometimes the dialogue is a strength of the show, mostly with powerfully delivered monologues, but other times, it’s laughable. There was some very poorly written dialogue during the early flashback sequence in episode 3, “Tall Drink of Water,” which just further illustrates why these scenes can be a hindrance.
The obvious expectation for a season of Yellowstone is gorgeous scenery, lots of horseback riding, and some cowboying for the sake of authenticity. It still checks all those boxes, but since the exciting cliffhanger conclusion of season three, it’s been lacking a clear and worthy adversary, with legitimate stakes. There are some candidates to fill that role now, between Atwood, and Angela Blue Thunder (Q’orianka Kilcher, The Alienist), who has been clamoring to really carve out a place for herself in the show as a more aggressive leader for the reservation. Most likely it will be the struggle between Beth and Jamie that will prove to have the biggest ramifications, but in what will be the longest season of the show yet, at 14 episodes, this needs to be the most dynamic.
There are a lot of interesting characters that pop up in Yellowstone, and then seemingly their storyline goes nowhere, much like a lot of subplots and questions that are left unresolved. With an always expanding cast, it’s tough to give everyone an adequate amount of focus, so over time, it leaves things feeling a bit disjointed. Hopefully over the course of this season, Sheridan will start to shake out the most important bits of the story and begin to focus on those, but it’s entirely possible that he’ll remain happy playing things out like a western soap opera. Even if that is the case, there is enough to love about the show, and its talented ensemble cast, that it would remain popular, but it’s proven in the past that it’s capable of more.
