Iconic creator Taylor Sheridan’s worst mistake in Yellowstone was not following through promised storylines and abandoning stories mid-way!

 

Yellowstone Season 5 Ending Messed Up 1883’s Iconic Prophecy

Taylor Sheridan’s grandeur of Yellowstone and its plot was overshadowed by the countless plot holes and storylines that Sheridan simply forgot to pick up on during the 5 seasons of this Kevin Costner show.

Well, amongst the plethora of bloody fights and cowboy soap operas, Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone managed to hold onto that last straw of hope by trying to conclude the main saga of Yellowstone and John Dutton’s storyline. However, in hopes of trying to finish off the show, Taylor Sheridan seemed to forget the prophecy that was made in the prequel show 1883.

Yellowstone Season 5 Ending Messed Up 1883’s Iconic Prophecy

While Taylor Sheridan was grappling with the core storyline of Yellowstone, he began working on a prequel show titled 1883. The mini-series depicted the events of the year 1883 when the Duttons fled Texas to seek a better future in Montana. They meet Native Americans, and finally, the Yellowstone Ranch is established, where confrontations are more in number than cowboys.

Two characters standing in a still from 1883.
A still from 1883 | Credits: Linson Entertainment

Well, in that iconic show, a Native American by the name of Spotted Eagle tells James Dutton (Tim McGraw) that the Yellowstone Ranch will be in the hands of Native Americans after seven generations of Duttons have lived there.

Considering it as a prophecy, fans waited for the seventh generation of the Dutton household to give up the Yellowstone Ranch or fight it out with the Native Americans for the property. Well, none of it happened during the finale of Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone, and Kayce simply gave up the Ranch even though she wasn’t the seventh generation of the Dutton family.

It was James Dutton who had heard the prophecy from Spotted Eagle that the Ranch would go back to the Native Americans after the Duttons’ seventh generation. So, here’s the list of generations of the Dutton family and how Kayce Dutton wasn’t of the seventh generation.

It all started with James Dutton in 1883, Spencer Dutton, John Dutton Jr., John Dutton III (Kevin Costner), Kayce Dutton, and finally Tate Dutton (the seventh generation). Therefore, Tate… not Kayce was supposed to give the ranch back to the Native Americans in the Taylor Sheridan show.

Fans have claimed that this was completely lazy writing on Taylor Sheridan’s part and that the creator forgot to count the number of generations after which the prophecy was supposed to take place. However, we think that Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone was headed towards its doom ever since the Kevin Costner drama started.

Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Was Doomed After The Kevin Costner Drama

It was back in 2024 that Taylor Sheridan and lead star Kevin Costner got into an argument while working on Yellowstone. With no choice, Costner decided to walk out of the show, and Taylor Sheridan had to kill off the actor’s character (which was very disrespectful for an iconic character like John Dutton).

Kevin Costner as John Dutton looking to his left with a curious look in Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone.
Kevin Costner in a still from Yellowstone | Credits: Linson Entertainment

Kevin Costner left; his character was killed, and fans hated it. The entire show went downhill after Kevin Costner left.

Although Sheridan was known to abandon storylines and give one-dimensional characteristics to the female characters, Costner’s departure from the show brought everything that was wrong with Yellowstone to the forefront.

The storyline became loose, and the endings were rushed and felt unnatural. Even the decision to just hand over the Yellowstone Ranch after years of fighting and bloodshed felt like a poor man’s dream of giving up power. Of course, the show was bound to fail at some point, but Taylor Sheridan had the potential to turn it great. Do you think Yellowstone lived up to its potential? Let us know your thoughts below.

Yellowstone is available to stream on Peacock (USA).