NFL
By: Brock Vierra
When Paramount announced 1883, a spinoff of show creator Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone, little did they know that they had struck gold. The series, beloved by its fans, was only meant to be a one-off. A ten-hour movie, a complete narrative. Those terms were echoed by Sheridan and thus, rumors of a sequel have yet to even begin let alone come to fruition. 1923, a somewhat sequel placing the Dutton family amidst the time of the great depression was released but the majority of the original characters in 1883 who lived have yet to make an appearance.
In 1883, spoilers ahead, we follow the origins of how the Dutton family settled in Montana as depicted in Yellowstone. Tim McGraw plays James Dutton. A patriarch of the Dutton family and a civil war veteran. We learn he’s from Tennessee, he was a captain in the Confederate army and his family consists of his wife, Margaret, his daughter Elsa, and his son Jack. At the end of the show, Elsa dies and the Duttons settle on her final resting spot in Montana. That’s 1883.
The Future of 1883
Now as much as I would love a more detailed story on the Dutton’s first years in Montana, via flashbacks in Yellowstone, we learn the fate of the Dutton’s before 1923. 1883’s story does incorporate some other characters that I would like to see another chapter be written about.
Thomas and Noemi are the two characters that I would love to see a sequel written about. Thomas, a former slave and Noemi, an immigrant from Europe who looks to be a gypsy get together after Noemi’s husband is murdered by a gang. Noemi reaches her heaven in Oregon when she not only finds the plot of land that her journey out west promised but also the love of her children, a love once extinguished through her children’s blame of their mother for their father’s murder.
As we follow the two, they begin their lives in the same way as the Dutton’s. Only in two different locations. As Thomas, the stepfather with gun training builds Noemi’s dream home, we can see the potential of how the relationship between Thomas and his stepsons grows. We could see the beginning of the new traditions an immigrant family forms in the new world. The threat of new settlers, the racist attitudes of manifest destiny, and the start of a blended family formed through the strength of parents who endured so much. Thomas and Noemi. The two against the world.
The Travels of Wade. Wade, the hired hand that accompanied the original caravan in 1883 departed with Colton as the Dutton’s pushed towards Elsa’s final resting spot. From the beginning of the story, Wade is always accompanied by someone. Whether that be Ennis or Colton, Wade has a partner to rely on. With an expectant departure for Colton from Wade once they reach their next destination, we the viewer have an opportunity to see Wade in a new light.
The veteran gunslinger who has first-person experience fighting Native Americans, feels like a lost soul searching for something that will never be found. However, his journey for that personal Northwest Passage could yield some interesting storylines.
The One-Legged Settler. Josef, an immigrant who lost his leg after a snake bite is last seen having made it to Oregon. Outside of Noemi and her children, Josef is the only European immigrant to have made it to Oregon. Suffering a grave price for his journey, Josef has been widowed and is now forced to build his home by himself without a leg. An awful situation turns bittersweet upon the realization that he’s finally free from the unjust chains put on him by his homeland.
The Long Spring. When Elsa Dutton departed from her darling Sam, a Native American warrior of Comanche descent, a promise was made that Elsa would return in the spring after settling her family. Obviously, Elsa never returns but a storyline of Sam throughout the years returning to the spot where he and Elsa promised to reunite, only to be stabbed by the reality that she isn’t coming is the heartbreaking reality that the Yellowstone franchise thrives on.
Perhaps a season two where a ten-episode series containing two episodes per character would cap a beautiful conclusion on an already wonderful story. At least it would be the further closure a person like myself needs from a series I love.
For future discussions, watch The Hot Seat below.
