Nov. 8, 2024

Yellowstone Season 1

Show Notes
Transcript

In this episode, Joe examines the introduction of the Dutton family empire, the murder of Lee Dutton, conflicts with developers and the reservation, and Kayce's return to the ranch. Features extensive discussion of Beth and Rip's complex relationship and Jamie's early loyalty struggles.

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Calarogu Shark Media. Welcome back to TV in the Basement,

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where we dive deep into the hottest shows on television.

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I'm your host, Journey Joe Mitchell, and today, folks, we're

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saddling up and riding into the wild world of Yellowstone

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Season one. And let me tell you, this ain't your

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grandpa's Western unless your grandpa was a machiavellian rancher with

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a helicopter and more family issues than a therapist's waiting room. Now,

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before we hit the trail, let's set the scene. Yellowstone

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introduces us to the Dutton family, headed by Kevin Costner's

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John Dutton, a man who runs his ranch like a

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kingdom and his family like well, let's just say he

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makes your strict dad look like mister Rogers. He's sitting

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on the largest contiguous ranch in the United States, and Folks,

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everybody and their cousin wants a piece of that pie.

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But here's the thing that sets Yellowstone apart. It's not

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just another cowboy show with pretty horses and prettier sunsets.

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Oh No, this is succession in cowboy boots the Godfather

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with cattle, and believe me, the stakes are higher than

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a Montana Mountain peak. Let's talk about the man of

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the hour. Kevin Costner is John Dutton. Folks, remember when

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Costner played the charming Lieutenant John Dunbar and dances with wolves. Well,

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you can throw that gentle soul right out the barn window.

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His John Dutton is more complicated than a bull rider's

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insurance policy. One minute he's showing tender love to his grandkid,

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the next he's orchestrating something that would make Michael Corleone

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say take it easy, there, partner. The show kicks off

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with a bang, literally a highway crash involving cattle that

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leads to one of the most intense scenes I've seen

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on television. Watching Dutton put down his injured horse sets

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the tone faster than a rattlesnake strike. It tells you

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everything you need to know. This is a show about

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tough choices, and nobody's hands are staying clean. And Folks,

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that scene isn't just for shock value. It's a perfect

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metaphor for the entire season. Sometime you have to do

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hard things to protect what's yours, even if it breaks

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your heart in the process. But the real gold here

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is the Dutton family dynamic. You've got Beth Dutton played

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by Kelly Riley, who throws around insults sharper than a

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ranch hands knife. Every time she opens her mouth. It's

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like watching a verbal assassin at work. And let me

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tell you about this one scene where she absolutely eviscerates

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a group of California land developers. It's like watching a

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lion toying with its prey, if the lion had a

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master's degree in psychological warfare and a vocabulary that would

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make a sailor blush and folks. Her scenes with Rip

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Wheeler Coole Houser, it's like watching two storms collide, beautiful, dangerous,

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and you can't look away. There's this one moment in

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the Barn that'll have you believing in toxic romance faster

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than a rattler's bite. The chemistry between these two could

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power all of Montana's electricity grid. Then there's Case Dutton.

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Luke Grimes, the prodigal son living on the reservation with

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his Native American wife and son, talk about being caught

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between two worlds. This guy's got more conflict in his

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life than a YouTube comments section. Every time he has

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to choose between his birth family and his chosen family.

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It's like watching someone try to straddle a barbed wire fence, painful, precarious,

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and bound to draw blood. And Wes Bentley is Jamie Dutton.

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He's like a pressure cooker in a suit, always trying

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to prove himself to Daddy dearest. You know that kid

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in school who got straight a's but still couldn't get

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their parents' approval. That's Jamie, except instead of grade school drama,

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he's dealing with murder, blackmail, and enough family secrets to

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fill the Grand Canyon. Now, some critics out there are saying, Joe,

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isn't this just a soap opera with horses? And to that,

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I say, you're darn right it is. But when the

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soap opera is this good, who's complaining. It's like complaining

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that your whiskey's too smooth or your stake's too tender.

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Sometimes the best things in life are a little over dramatic.

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Speaking of drama, let's talk about those ranch scenes, folks.

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This show makes ranch looks simultaneously gorgeous and brutal. The brandings,

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the cattle drives, it's all filmed like a painting come

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to life. If that painting included broken bones and cowboys

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getting thrown off horses. There's this one sequence where they're

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moving cattle through a mountain pass that's so beautiful it'll

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make you want to quit your day job and become

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a cowboy until you see someone get bucked off their

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horse and remember why you like your nice, safe desk job.

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The show doesn't shy away from the bigger picture either.

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We've got land developers, Native American reservations, political corruption. It's

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like watching a chess game where all the pieces are

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carrying six shooters. The conflict with Thomas Rainwater, Gil Birmingham

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and Dan Jenkins Danny Houston isn't just about land. It's

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about power, legacy and the changing face of the American

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West and folks. Watching these three titans clash over Montana's

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future is like watching three heavyweight boxers in a three

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way match. Nobody's getting out unscathed. The flashbacks to the

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the death of John's wife, the tension between Beth and Jamie.

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It's the kind of family drama that makes Thanksgiving dinner

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look like a picnic. There's one particular revelation about Beth

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and Jamie's past that'll hit you harder than a rodeo bull,

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and trust me, you'll never look at either character the

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same way again. And then there's Rip Wheeler. Folks. Kolhauser

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turns this character into something special. He's like a loyal

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guard dog with cowboy boots and a troubled past. His

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relationship with Beth is like watching two wounded animals circle

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each other, dangerous, fascinating, and occasionally heartbreaking. And when we

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finally learn his backstory, let's just say it explains why

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he fits in so perfectly with this family of beautiful disasters.

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The season builds to a finale that's more explosive than

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a Fourth of July fireworks show at a dynamite factory.

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Without spoiling too much for you newcomers out there, let's

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just say the Duttons learn that keeping an empire is

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harder than building one, and family loyalty gets tested more

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than a ranch hands rope. So what's the verdict. Well,

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if you're looking for a traditional Western with black hats

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and white hats, you might want a mosey On down

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the Trail, But if you want to show that takes

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the modern Western and injects it with Shakespeare level family drama,

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succession style power plays, and enough stunning Montanas scenery to

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make a postcard jealous saddle up partner. That's all for

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this extended episode of TV in the Basement. Until next time,

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keep your horses fed and your enemies closer. This is Journey.

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Joe Mitchell signing off.