Nov. 8, 2024

Yellowstone Season 2

Show Notes
Transcript

In this episode, Joe analyzes the brutal war with the Beck brothers, Tate's kidnapping, Malcolm Beck's demise, and the increasing strain on the Dutton family bonds. Highlights Beth's corporate warfare and Dan Jenkins' shifting alliances.

Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed! You also get 20+ other shows on the network ad-free!

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:09.759
Calarugus Shark Media. Welcome back to TV in the Basement,

2
00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:12.480
where we dive deep into the hottest shows on television.

3
00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:16.399
I'm your host, Journey Joe Mitchell, and today, folks, we're

4
00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:19.800
heading back to Montana for Yellowstone season two. And let

5
00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:22.359
me tell you, if you thought season one was intense,

6
00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:26.600
this season's got more heat than a branding iron in July. Now,

7
00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:30.320
if season one was about establishing the Duttons empire, season

8
00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:32.520
two is about watching them try to hold onto it

9
00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:35.799
with both hands while wearing brass knuckles. The big bad

10
00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:40.240
this time around the Beck brothers, Malcolm and Teal, And Folks,

11
00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.320
these guys make the season one villains look like kindergarten

12
00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:45.920
bullies at a petting zoo. They're the kind of villains

13
00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:48.320
who don't just want to take your lunch money. They

14
00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:50.880
want to burn down the whole cafeteria and salt the

15
00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:53.840
earth it was built on. Let's talk about these Beck

16
00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:56.280
brothers for a minute. These guys are like if you

17
00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:59.920
took every sleazy business tycoon from an eighties movie, gave

18
00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.359
them a Montana makeover and cranked up the evil to eleven.

19
00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:06.879
Malcolm Beck, played by Neil McDonough brings the kind of

20
00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:08.840
menace that makes you want to check under your bed

21
00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:12.879
at night, and that signature McDonough intensity. It's like watching

22
00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:15.640
a rattlesnake in a three piece suit. But here's where

23
00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:18.640
things get interesting. The Becks forced the Duttons to do

24
00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:21.640
something we didn't see much in season one, play defense,

25
00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:25.120
and folks, watching John Dutton play defense is like watching

26
00:01:25.159 --> 00:01:27.840
a grizzly bear back into a corner. You know something

27
00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:30.799
explosive is coming and it ain't gonna be pretty. Kevin

28
00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:33.439
Costner continues to prove why he's worth every penny of

29
00:01:33.480 --> 00:01:36.680
that movie star paycheck. There's this scene where he's facing

30
00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:39.159
down Malcolm Beck that's got more tension than a guitar

31
00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:43.120
string in a tornado. Two alphas nose to nose, each

32
00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:46.239
promising the other's destruction. It's the kind of scene that

33
00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:49.640
reminds you why people still make Westerns. But the real

34
00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:53.920
MVP this season Beth Dutton. Kelly Riley takes Beth to

35
00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:57.040
new heights or depths, depending on how you look at it.

36
00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:00.319
She's still throwing around insults that could strip pain off

37
00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:02.959
a barn, but now we're seeing more of what makes

38
00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:06.480
Beth tick and folks. That clock is wound tighter than

39
00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.960
a rodeo bull's temper. Her confrontations with the Becks are

40
00:02:09.960 --> 00:02:12.319
like watching someone play chicken with a freight train while

41
00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:16.520
drinking tea. The Beth and Rip romance it continues to

42
00:02:16.520 --> 00:02:19.360
be hotter than a jalapino dipped in ghost pepper sauce.

43
00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:22.719
Coolhauser and Kelly Riley have the kind of chemistry that

44
00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:25.719
should come with a warning label. There's this one scene.

45
00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:28.599
No spoilers, but let's just say it involves a moonlit

46
00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:31.360
horse ride that'll have you believing in love again, even

47
00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:33.439
if that love comes with enough baggage to fill a

48
00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:37.800
cargo train. Meanwhile, Case Dutton's journey from reluctant son to

49
00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:40.680
ranch enforcer is like watching a wolf trying to remember

50
00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:43.639
how to run with the pack. Luke Grimes plays this

51
00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:47.719
transformation like a slow burn fuse. You know the explosions coming,

52
00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:52.639
but the anticipation might just kill you first. Speaking of transformations,

53
00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:55.680
Jamie Dutton's arc this season is darker than a mountain

54
00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:58.639
cave at midnight. Wes Bentley takes us on a journey

55
00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:01.080
that'll have you questioning every everything you thought you knew

56
00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:03.840
about the character. There's a scene with Beth that's so

57
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:07.240
brutal it makes their previous confrontations look like friendly game

58
00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.919
of cards. But it's not all family drama and death threats,

59
00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:14.599
though lord knows there's plenty of both. Season two also

60
00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:17.639
gives us some of the most spectacular ranch sequences yet.

61
00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:20.479
There's a cattle drive through a mountain pass that's shot

62
00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:23.560
so beautifully it belongs in a museum, and the action

63
00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:27.520
sequences they're like John Wick went country, traded his suit

64
00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:30.919
for wranglers, and decided to solve his problems Montana style.

65
00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:34.800
The show continues to tackle big themes the changing West,

66
00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:37.960
the price of progress, the cost of power, but now

67
00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:41.560
it's personal, really personal. When the Becks decide to hit

68
00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:44.280
the Duttons where it hurts, it sets up a finale

69
00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:48.240
that's more explosive than a dynamite fishing expedition. The last

70
00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:50.840
few episodes are like watching a runaway train loaded with

71
00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:54.479
nitroglycerin heading straight for a gasoline factory. You know it's

72
00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:56.840
going to be bad, but you can't look away. And

73
00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:59.759
can we talk about that finale, folks. I've seen a

74
00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:02.639
lot of TV in my day, but this, this is

75
00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:05.759
something else. It's the kind of episode that reminds you

76
00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:07.800
why we all fell in love with television in the

77
00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:11.680
first place. Without spoiling anything, let's just say it involves

78
00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:14.439
a rescue mission that makes Taken look like a game

79
00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:17.439
of hide and seek. The best part about season two

80
00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:20.439
it takes everything that worked in season one and turns

81
00:04:20.439 --> 00:04:23.439
it up to eleven. The stakes are higher, the villains

82
00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:28.000
are batter, the family drama is more intense, and, somehow impossibly,

83
00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:31.519
the Montana scenery is even more gorgeous. It's like the

84
00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:35.399
show looked at season one and said, hold my beer. Now.

85
00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:37.800
Some folks might say the show is getting too dark.

86
00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:41.240
To them, I say, have you met the Duttons. These

87
00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:44.680
people don't solve problems with strongly worded letters and group hugs.

88
00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:47.600
They're more the meet me at dawn with your lawyer

89
00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:50.879
and your gun type. And that's what makes Yellowstone work.

90
00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:53.480
It's a modern Western that's not afraid to get its

91
00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:56.879
hands dirty. So what's the verdict on season two? Well,

92
00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:59.560
if season one was the appetizer, this is the main course,

93
00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:03.319
served rare with a side of revenge. It's bigger, badder,

94
00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:05.879
and more addictive than a pile of Beth's favorite whiskey.

95
00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:08.839
The show has found its stride, and it's galloping full

96
00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:09.959
speed toward greatness.