1883: A Sad Farewell to Season One

Spoiler Alert!!! If you have not seen the last episode to Season 1, Do not read if you have not watched the finale of “1883,” streaming now on Paramount Plus.

What an emotional ending to such a strong character in 1883, the spin-off from Yellowstone. Written by Taylor Sheridan, the narrator of this first season will no longer be telling the story. Elsa Dutton, played wonderfully by Isabel May, was struck by an arrow in Episode 9. James and Margaret Dutton, played by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, give her hope knowing she was going to die.

Tim and Faith shared their thoughts with Emily Longeretta of Variety as they were reading the scripts leading up to Episode 9 and Episode 10.

“When we got the final two, we literally couldn’t read them to each other because we were crying so much — I mean, ugly, boohoo crying,” says McGraw. “I was a blubbering idiot. It was just so well-written, so devastating and heartbreaking, but at the same time, so on point and poignant for what ‘Yellowstone’ turned out to be. It just gives you all the reasons in the world why they fight so hard for that land and and why their family fights so hard for to keep what they have. It just made perfect sense.”

My wife and I can totally understand and agree. We both wiped tears as we see James Dutton hold his daughter as she passes away in his arms. We shared how it must have felt to lose a daughter knowing our daughter has  characteristics like Elsa.

Tim and Faith also shared in the same article:

So it was challenging for you to read it, but how did you tap into that while filming those heavy final scenes with Isabel?

MCGRAW: The hardest part for us, I think, was to not be emotional too early. Both of our characters are really strong people and wanted to be strong for our family. So that was the hardest thing for us, because we do have daughters and because Isabella, when we first walked on set and saw her, we said, “My gosh, she looks she could be one of our daughters.” It was great casting. But you do become emotionally invested and you do bring your real-life situation into the way you act. You find that piece of your life or a piece of who you are and you can sort of put it under a magnifying glass. It does expose all those emotions, and it’s hard as a parent, playing that role — you don’t want to go to any dark places in your mind about your kid. So you have to keep trying to block that out and still be in the moment with the character that you’re playing and the characters you’re playing opposite of, but the lines do get blurry.

What a season. So grateful to Taylor Sheridan and everyone involved in bringing #1883TV to life.

It’s been absolutely incredible getting to work alongside the entire cast and crew. pic.twitter.com/bgCfUxOBsW

— Tim McGraw (@TheTimMcGraw) February 27, 2022

The ending of this episode also shows Sam Elliott’s character, Shea Brennan, sitting and admiring the ocean from the Oregon shore. As they pan away and pull the camera away from him, there is a gunshot. One would have to think that he just finished his last ride.

As a big fan of 1883, I can only imagine who becomes the narrator for Season 2. Taylor Sheridan has done an outstanding job of writing and tying them into viewer’s emotions.

Let me know what you thought about the ending and what you hope for in Season 2.

Be blessed and happy streaming!!!