I had not seen Yellowstone prior to watching the 3 available episodes of 1883. However, I have now finished the first season of Yellowstone. So far I like 1883 better (that might just be because I like that time period.. I was a huge Deadwood fan). What are your thoughts on the show?
I am! I started Yellowstone and forgot about it. Then I started 1883 because I loved Godless, The Terror, The North Water, etc., and assumed it would be similar. But...
As mentioned, my knowledge of Yellowstone is verrrry minimal, but I know the Dutton family here goes on to be the Dutton family in the show. Nevertheless, I find the character development so far to be rather shallow. Sam Elliott is fantastic... because he's Sam Elliott. Tim McGraw's role is one dimensional, and Elsa is driving me nuts. My partner and I joked that every five minutes she seems to find something beautiful about Texas. I guess my issue is primarily that there's no conflict, not really. Everything is external and it's largely rendered moot because Sam Elliott/Tim McGraw is OP and the premise is calculated from the begining, i.e. that the Duttons survive and establish their ranch, so it's a foregone conclusion. Everything is set up very neatly: Elsa adapts almost instantly to life on the land; James is a war vet with Dead Eye skills you wouldn't believe; Margaret is Cool Girl. They wrote out Claire Dutton and Mary Abel almost instantly, which is a shame, because they could have provided some interesting inter-familial conflict.
That being said...
I still like it? I don't know, there is something compelling about it, possibly because of the setting, which is underused in contemporary film and television, yet we feel overexposed to it. The premise, as I mentioned, is compelling, and there are some beautiful shots (Sam Elliot's burning house montage lives rent free in my mind). I do wonder if it would be better served in picking a stronger tone. At the moment it's straddling family/adventure when I wonder if it wouldn't work better as a darker, grittier survivalist type story. The main issue, despite my earlier complaining, really is the lack of stakes. If all the characters already know how to do everything, what's the point? Where's the learning curve? What makes their destination 'worth it'?
TL;DR I enjoy whinging but I'll still watch it! I could go on but I'll stop, ha!
Edit: Realised I wasn't done... sorry. I binged it so I have thoughts.
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Thanks for the post. Never apologize for a long post, this was great! I actually agree with a lot of what you said now that you bring it up. I did notice a few things myself prior, like everyone's white teeth and Elsa's roots.. I joked in my head that I didn't realize they had hair dye/bleach back then. Sam Elliot is definitely what makes it worth the watch for me right now. The first two episodes I thought were pretty good and had a good pace. The third episode slowed down a bit for me. I also love that you brought up Claire and Mary Abel. I thought it was a wasted opportunity as well.. I guess we will see where they take the show and how it progresses.
I have now finished season 2 of Yellowstone and I can say it is extremely dramatized at certain times which really drives me nuts. Certain story lines/scenes just seem so unrealistic. Once again I really appreciate the reply and the thorough deep dive!
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