Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’ Season 6 Confirms a Harsh Reality About the Neo-Western Franchise
The premature conclusion of Taylor Sheridan’s flagship neo-Western Yellowstone left the door open for a continuation of the primary narrative in a sequel series, which has thus far been fulfilled by Dutton Ranch. Through seven episodes, it’s managed to satisfy fans of the original Yellowstone with a Beth and Rip-centric story that echoes the drama, sudden violence, and intrigue of its predecessor. The addition of a stellar supporting cast and new setting has provided enough to make the show feel like a new adventure.
However, there are still plenty of parallels and narrative threads that have carried over from the original show, making it feel like Yellowstone season 6. For example, Beth and Rip’s adopted son Carter’s relationship with ranch princess Oreana Jackson has so far played out in the exact same fashion that Beth and Rip’s own sordid courtship did in their youth. While that particular plot element is obviously intentional, other echoes of the original show, like the struggle to survive on a cattle farm in the 21st century, expose one of the harsh realities of Dutton Ranch, and the Yellowstone franchise in general.
‘Dutton Ranch’s Modern Setting Forces It To Repeat a Lot of ‘Yellowstone’
Yellowstone centered around a famous legacy ranch that was struggling financially behind the scenes thanks in large part to its owner refusing to adapt to modern business practices. That’s the setting you essentially have to have in order to keep the true Western cowboy elements that made the show a particularly powerful bit of escapism for those confined to modern suburbs and cities. Unfortunately, in keeping with those cowboy elements, Dutton Ranch has painted itself into a corner, as it once again needs to face the realities and struggles of a modern legacy ranch if it’s supposed to remain grounded and realistic.
Where Beth and Rip worked desperately to keep the Yellowstone afloat and secure, they’re now doing the exact same thing for the Ten-Petal Ranch and Beaulah Jackson. It’s an unavoidable side effect of keeping the same characters and aesthetic from the original show in a modern setting, and while it isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does put the show at risk of feeling repetitive and boring. The modern setting, with modern laws, regulations, and lines of communication, limits the storytelling potential of Dutton Ranch.
Therein also lies the brilliance of the Yellowstone prequel series. Each Yellowstone spinoff focuses on a different generation of Duttons, and drastically alters the world of the show via the passage of time. 1883 was a grueling adventure story that dealt with the trials of American expansion westward in the period following the Civil War, while 1923 dealt with the forward march of business and industry in America, and the greed that follows, while also examining the immigrant experience in the early 20th century. The upcoming spinoff 1944 will be able to provide a view of the home front of WWII America, providing yet another lens through which to tell stories that the modern sequel series simply can’t replicate.
‘Dutton Ranch’ Has Still Done an Admirable Job in Carving Its Own Path
To be clear, the storytelling limitations haven’t held back Dutton Ranch through most of its first season. Episode 7 in particular flipped the script on Yellowstone, with Jai Courtney’s volatile Rob-Will Jackson emerging as a bona fide neo-Western baddie. Throughout Yellowstone John Dutton’s biggest pain point was that none of his children wanted the Yellowstone ranch to carry on his legacy. With Dutton Ranch, Beaulah’s son Rob-Will wants it so bad that he’ll kill people and blackmail his mother to get it. Taking away Beth and Rip’s leverage is another clever twist, and they are employees of a boss they can’t fully trust on what is definitely a hostile ranch, as opposed to calling the shots on the land that was their home. The sequel series has some inevitably repetitive elements to it, but so far it hasn’t dampened the quality.