REVIEW #250 Yellow Stone (S1-S5 Part 1)

Yellowstone follows John Dutton and his family who are 6th generation owners of the largest ranch in Montana, The Yellowstone Ranch. The Duttons face a fight against everyone who wants to take their land from them, with shifting alliances, unsolved murders and political affairs all threatening their legacy. 

The best way I could describe Yellowstone is Peaky Blinders meets Cowboys in the modern Wild West. Its array of compelling characters immediately hooks you into its wonderfully written storyline and to top everything off, we witness beautiful organic visuals captured on a real ranch in Montana. What I loved about this show is that they never glamorise any of their characters, yet you fall in love with them nonetheless. These aren’t heroes, the majority all partake in some really dark acts, yet the writing almost makes you believe in their cause and route for them no matter what they do. Perhaps it’s the theme of family and protecting them no matter what, that audiences find relatable. It includes a wide variety of antagonists and not all of them remain that way, in true crime drama fashion, allegiances are made with the most unlikely of people and that’s never been more accurate for Yellowstone. 

I’ve never wanted to be a cowboy more, the show makes the 4am starts and the days on horseback seem appealing and that intrigue certainly helps keep your attention for all five seasons. It has a perfect blend of action and drama, battles fort face to face and behind the scenes, which is why I find it so reminiscent of a show like Peaky Blinders. But amongst all of the drama, there are so many wholesome and heartwarming scenes that just highlight ranch life. For example, showcasing a day of cattle branding but not in the barbaric way that it can often be described but in the true caring fashion, from owners that genuinely care for the animals they tend to. This is complimented by a wonderful musical score that is frequent throughout all five seasons, which certainly helps put a smile on your face. The cinematography is simply outstanding, utilising the beautiful Montana scenery to create amazing frames that could fill several highlight reels. What a show and I can’t wait for the second part of season 5!

There aren’t many negatives to present for Yellowstone but what I would highlight is the lack of a true antagonist for the second half of season 4 and into season 5. The Jamie villain arc seems to have gone on for way to long and although by the time the season 5 mid season finale comes around, it is reaching its climax, I do think that it had become a little stale. The character arc as a whole is an interesting one, don’t get me wrong, but it has lasted over three seasons and its predictability didn’t help its case. I would also say that for a lot of season 4 Kaycee was a little wasted or under-utilised as a character. He left the ranch, rented a house and then didn’t do anything. They had built up such an amazing character arc for him and it almost seemed like they just didn’t know what to do with him, so tucked him away, which was a real shame. But I hope he has a big role to play in the second half of season 5 due to be released in the summer.

Overall (9.2/10)

Thanks for reading.

Callan