1883: Limited Series

Based on: Prequel series to Yellowstone

Created & written by: Taylor Sheridan

Starring: 

Sam Elliott (Shea Brennan), Tim McGraw (James Dutton), Faith Hill (Margaret Dutton), Isabel May (Elsa Dutton), LaMonica Garrett (Thomas), Marc Rissmann (Josef), Audie Rick (John Dutton, Sr)

1883 trailer:

Following being blown away by the magnificence of 1923, I decided to give this other mini-sized prequel series a try. And I was again blown away. 

For those unfamiliar with the Yellowstone universe, Yellowstone itself came first, which is about a modern cattle ranching family (the Duttons) fighting against the encroaching spread of a nearby city. Yellowstone then spawned this prequel series, which is about the original Duttons traveling from Tennessee to Montana. The success of 1883 led to its own prequel series, 1923, which has in turn spawned one or two others, like Lawmen: Bass Reeves. 

To zoom in on 1883, we meet the Dutton patriarch, James, who's in Forth Worth, Texas, to meet his wife and kids. While in Forth Worth, he encounters army captain Shea Brennan who recruits James and his family to help escort a group of European immigrants across the States to Oregon. While I read that their journey doesn't technically follow the actual Oregon Trail, that still seemed to be the spirit of the show, and it was filled to the brim with all the same perils. 

The Dutton family

Over the course of the show's 10 episodes, immigrants and cattle herders alike are plagued by wagon accidents, snake bites, disease from contaminated water, falls from horses, inclement weather, drowning in rivers, scuffles amongst their own, attacks by raiders, and attacks by local indigenous tribes. Each of these events serves to thin the group by a startling number each episode, so that near the end, it's a legitimate question as to whether any of the original group would make it. 

Margaret Dutton sharing a drink and some downtime with a shop owner in a trading town the group passes

However, none of these tragedies would pull the heart of the viewer if the group didn't have a heart we were rooting for, and that heart is James Dutton's daughter Elsa. Elsa is about 16 when this series takes place, and her voiceover brings an optimistic and poetic warmth throughout each episode. Through this narration, we learn her philosophies on life and love before we even meet her character in the first episode, and her musings provide the strong heart that guides us through the traumatic events around her. 

One of my favorite episodes was "Lightning with the Yellow Hair," the same name Elsa is given by her Comanche lover, Sam (a name he took from a white man he killed), in reference to her racing speed and blonde hair. In the episode, the group faces threat from a tornado. It was fascinating to see the weather phenomenon on the plains, outside of any city or man-made landmark, where the only danger seemed to be from the horses and wagons being thrown about. 

Elsa sporting the handmade garment Sam's tribe gives her

The dynamics between the immigrants and ranchers made the other more interesting aspect of the series. Very ill-suited for wilderness travel, the immigrants continue butting heads with each other, stealing food and supplies from their own, and make consistently poor decisions with regard to survival and the elements. Tensions grew high within just a few episodes, and Shea--who's in charge of the whole group--is forced to lay down the law on multiple occasions. Shea doesn't crave power or authority, and whenever he steps in, it's simply in the name of quelling violence or dolling out necessary justice. More than once, he's forced to kill an accused thief or rapist in front of the whole group, setting down a standard of no-tolerance, which is necessary when the elements or raiders are your greater foe. 

Shea leads the group

Finally, the show's ending maintains status as the most heartbreaking I've ever seen. It's difficult (if not impossible) to get into this without spoilers, so I'll just state that not all of our beloved characters make it, and some of their fates are more than a little tragic. 

1883 is hugely worth the watch. Feel free to dive in without any Yellowstone franchise knowledge. I had watched 1923 prior, but that didn't inform this show at all. It truly stands on its own, and is incredibly worth its 10 hours. Also, as stated in the blog title, 1883 is considered by writer Taylor Sheridan to be a "limited series," with the show's standalone story completed and 1923 functioning as its natural sequel.