Blurry Eyes
Nov. 6th, 2023 09:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jakebeThe weekend was good for the most part. We truly live in a Golden Age of Television, and we're watching so much great stuff! I'm learning a lot about storytelling, pacing, how to use setting to reinforce your themes, all kinds of things! I haven't yet put that into practice in my own writing, but let's call this process "churning the mulch".
Yellowstone, Season 1: I've been resisting this show because of the audience, I'll admit. It's one of the big populist success stories in recent years, and given that it's part of the CBS ecosystem that means catering to middle America and the Fox News crowd in unpleasant ways. But after watching this I have to say Yellowstone is the real deal.
It comes across as "Dallas" for the 2020's; the Dutton family is the 1% and their awful behavior is tempered by the trauma and toxic relationships they have to endure. Patriarch John is a harsh, no-nonsense widower with an estranged relationship between all four children. The oldest son is the heir apparent, ready to take on the Yellowstone Ranch when John hangs up his spurs; the middle son is a lawyer and aspiring politician whose eager maneuvering is met with disrespect from his father and siblings; and the youngest son is a true cowboy with a Native American wife who lives on the neighboring reservation with his own boy. The daughter is...a live wire, let's say, who serves as the Dutton "fixer" utilizing methods none of the sons are savvy enough for.
The Dutton family is, of course, attacked on all sides by people who want their obscene wealth and power. The past is represented by Chief Rainwater, the leader of the reservation who wants to buy the land that was stolen from his people and fleece the white people who come to his casinos until there's nothing left. The future is represented by a wealthy CA billionaire who wants to buy the ranch and build condos, country clubs for the ultra-rich, that kind of thing. John and his family are stuck in the middle, believing themselves to be good stewards of the land and the one thing that stands between capitalism and the natural beauty of Montana.
Because it's a modern-day show, "Yellowstone" has all the trappings of prestige TV. Very high production values spent on a shorter episode count that nonetheless still burns through a 22-part season in only 10. Honest-to-Frith movie stars (Kevin Costner, Danny Huston, Wes Bentley) "slumming" it in a buzzy project. Every episode written and directed by an auteur whose vision makes the whole thing work. To hear the cast talk about Sheridan, you'd think they were in some kind of strange theatre cult. CBS is definitely high on his supply, too. There've been two spinoffs already with two more on the way, with a "sequel" show set to go once the mothership ends its five-season run next year.
Which leads me to believe that this is a story that's going to burn itself out sooner rather than later. Season 1 already had a number of credulity-straining plot points, but as the season goes on you learn to shrug and say to yourself, "Forget it, Jakebe, it's Yellowstone." But the more the show relies on those twists to keep the engagement high, the less successful they'll be as a distraction for the show's flaws.
For one, the show might move TOO fast. So much happens amongst its sprawling cast that some situations that would drive an entire season's worth of plot are all but forgotten an episode or two later. Shootout between the Dutton ranch hands and Native Americans on tribal territory? There are just enough consequences to get the survivors in trouble, but the show doesn't show how that violence affects the citizens of the reservation, or the Native community's relationship to the rich-as-fuck MT ranchers surrounding them. Later, two tourists die on Dutton land in some truly insane circumstances, but the lingering plot thread from the incident is all about the dead bear nearby who was shot in self-defense. "Yellowstone" occasionally has something to say about important issues from a perspective we don't hear often, but for the most part it doesn't handle its topical elements with much care.
And that's a shame, because as pure entertainment it works really well. The performances among the ensemble cast are nearly faultless, and the dialogue is so good it carries those questionable plots further than it should. The season ends in true buckaroo fashion, eschewing the fireworks and cliffhanger escalation for something quieter, a denouement that doubles as table-setting for season 2. It's an interesting decision after the breathless roller coaster of season 1. Despite my quibbles with the show overall, there's no question I'm coming back for more.
Yellowstone, Season 1: I've been resisting this show because of the audience, I'll admit. It's one of the big populist success stories in recent years, and given that it's part of the CBS ecosystem that means catering to middle America and the Fox News crowd in unpleasant ways. But after watching this I have to say Yellowstone is the real deal.
It comes across as "Dallas" for the 2020's; the Dutton family is the 1% and their awful behavior is tempered by the trauma and toxic relationships they have to endure. Patriarch John is a harsh, no-nonsense widower with an estranged relationship between all four children. The oldest son is the heir apparent, ready to take on the Yellowstone Ranch when John hangs up his spurs; the middle son is a lawyer and aspiring politician whose eager maneuvering is met with disrespect from his father and siblings; and the youngest son is a true cowboy with a Native American wife who lives on the neighboring reservation with his own boy. The daughter is...a live wire, let's say, who serves as the Dutton "fixer" utilizing methods none of the sons are savvy enough for.
The Dutton family is, of course, attacked on all sides by people who want their obscene wealth and power. The past is represented by Chief Rainwater, the leader of the reservation who wants to buy the land that was stolen from his people and fleece the white people who come to his casinos until there's nothing left. The future is represented by a wealthy CA billionaire who wants to buy the ranch and build condos, country clubs for the ultra-rich, that kind of thing. John and his family are stuck in the middle, believing themselves to be good stewards of the land and the one thing that stands between capitalism and the natural beauty of Montana.
Because it's a modern-day show, "Yellowstone" has all the trappings of prestige TV. Very high production values spent on a shorter episode count that nonetheless still burns through a 22-part season in only 10. Honest-to-Frith movie stars (Kevin Costner, Danny Huston, Wes Bentley) "slumming" it in a buzzy project. Every episode written and directed by an auteur whose vision makes the whole thing work. To hear the cast talk about Sheridan, you'd think they were in some kind of strange theatre cult. CBS is definitely high on his supply, too. There've been two spinoffs already with two more on the way, with a "sequel" show set to go once the mothership ends its five-season run next year.
Which leads me to believe that this is a story that's going to burn itself out sooner rather than later. Season 1 already had a number of credulity-straining plot points, but as the season goes on you learn to shrug and say to yourself, "Forget it, Jakebe, it's Yellowstone." But the more the show relies on those twists to keep the engagement high, the less successful they'll be as a distraction for the show's flaws.
For one, the show might move TOO fast. So much happens amongst its sprawling cast that some situations that would drive an entire season's worth of plot are all but forgotten an episode or two later. Shootout between the Dutton ranch hands and Native Americans on tribal territory? There are just enough consequences to get the survivors in trouble, but the show doesn't show how that violence affects the citizens of the reservation, or the Native community's relationship to the rich-as-fuck MT ranchers surrounding them. Later, two tourists die on Dutton land in some truly insane circumstances, but the lingering plot thread from the incident is all about the dead bear nearby who was shot in self-defense. "Yellowstone" occasionally has something to say about important issues from a perspective we don't hear often, but for the most part it doesn't handle its topical elements with much care.
And that's a shame, because as pure entertainment it works really well. The performances among the ensemble cast are nearly faultless, and the dialogue is so good it carries those questionable plots further than it should. The season ends in true buckaroo fashion, eschewing the fireworks and cliffhanger escalation for something quieter, a denouement that doubles as table-setting for season 2. It's an interesting decision after the breathless roller coaster of season 1. Despite my quibbles with the show overall, there's no question I'm coming back for more.
