Taylor Sheridan’s hugely popular neo-Western series Yellowstone isn’t for the faint of heart, but the show still would have gone too far if it included one particular cut scene.

Throughout five seasons, Yellowstone‘s Dutton family ruthlessly defends their massive Montana ranch against hordes of bitter enemies, and as a result, the show has many disturbing moments.

Between all the Machiavellian scheming and the many trips to the train station in Yellowstone, almost every Dutton has blood on their hands. This makes it entirely unsurprising when their foes strike back — often violently and without mercy. But when the most innocent Dutton of all gets caught in the crossfire, the show reaches a whole new level of dark.

Yellowstone Originally Planned To Show Tate Getting Kidnapped In Season 2

The Kidnapping Scene Was Even Filmed

Yellowstone season 2’s primary antagonists, the Beck brothers, are perhaps the best villains in any Taylor Sheridan show. They’re certainly the most brutal, as their fight against the Duttons sees them resort to all kinds of unspeakably underhanded tactics, which include orchestrating the kidnapping of Tate Dutton, Kayce and Monica’s young son.

In season 2, episode 9, “Enemies by Monday,” the Duttons vs. Becks feud continues to amp up. John finds some respite in spending time with Tate. But when he instructs Tate to feed his horse at night, the Dutton family patriarch unwittingly leaves his grandson vulnerable.

After Tate doesn’t return, John, Kayce, Monica, and the ranch hands frantically search the property. Their search continues into the night, with no sign of the boy until John finds strange tire tracks in the field. It’s there that Kayce discovers one of Tate’s boots, signalling that the youngest Dutton has been taken.

It’s a gut-wrenching moment, but it was originally supposed to look a lot different. Brecken Merrill, the actor who plays Tate, shared an Instagram post in which he revealed that the scene of Tate getting kidnapped was actually shot and intended to be in the show. The picture shows a smiling Merrill posing with Yellowstone‘s stunt coordinator and an actor dressed in camouflage who played one of Tate’s kidnappers.

For any Yellowstone fan wanting to see what filming the show was like, Becken Merrill’s Instagram account is a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes images and videos.

In the post’s caption, Merrill explains the reason for the scene being cut, saying, “in the end it was decided not showing it happen added to the tension and suspense. I agree!” Merrill went on to say that the scene was “fun to shoot,” which is a relief to hear, considering how dark it is.

Why Tate’s Kidnapping Would Have Been Too Disturbing To Watch

Yellowstone Shows Enough Of Tate’s Trauma

It’s one thing for Yellowstone to show the physical and mental trauma of the Duttons’ violent lifestyle on the adults, but seeing how brutally it affects Tate — a child — is hard to stomach. Though he’s eventually rescued one episode later, in the Yellowstone season 2 finale, he is far from okay.

It’s revealed that the Beck brothers enlisted white supremacists to kidnap and hold Tate. They shave his head and leave him so traumatized that when Kayce bursts in to rescue his son, Tate is so terrified that he initially thinks he’s under attack again. If that’s not bad enough, the season premiere sees Tate suffering from intense PTSD.

From a storytelling standpoint, it makes sense that the Duttons’ enemies would target the family’s most vulnerable members. It’s also realistic to show Tate being so affected by his extreme ordeal.

Seeing the aftermath of Tate’s kidnapping was difficult enough — we didn’t need to see it actually happen, too.

But while I appreciate that Yellowstone is a bloody Western, there’s only so much trauma inflicted on a child that I can watch before I have to tap out. Seeing the aftermath of Tate’s kidnapping was difficult enough — we didn’t need to see it actually happen, too.

It Was More Intense Watching The Duttons Discover That Tate Was Taken

This Is Why The Kidnapping Scene Was Cut

In terms of gripping, edge-of-your-seat drama, Taylor Sheridan knows what he’s doing, and I agree with Merrill when he said that not showing Tate’s kidnapping ratcheted up the tension and suspense.

We knew something would go terribly wrong when Tate left the gate unlocked, and then putting us back in John’s perspective as he realizes his grandson should be back by now fills us with a sense of dread that hits harder than a full-on kidnapping scene.

It’s also much more powerful when Kayce and Monica discover Tate’s boot because from there, we’re as in the dark as they are about what exactly happened to Tate.

As Yellowstone has a mostly adult audience, we strongly empathize with the parents of a kidnapped child. Showing this storyline the way they did was in keeping with the engrossing drama that makes Yellowstone great, and it avoids gratuitous child trauma.