Karl Puschmann: Is it too late to saddle up and get on the Yellowstone horse?

Kevin Costner plays John Dutton in Yellowstone.

REVIEW

As a phenomenon, the contemporary Western drama Yellowstone largely passed me by.

It moseyed on to screens in 2018 and at that time I was getting my cowboy kicks from the human-esque robots of the flashy sci-fi-western series Westworld. History has proven I backed the wrong horse there.

By its third season, Westworld had disappeared up its own robotic backside.

In contrast, Yellowstone was flourishing.

The series follows John Dutton and his family and the many and varied challenges and conflicts they face running and keeping ownership of the titular cattle ranch which is nestled up beside an Indian Reservation and the Yellowstone National Park.

Its intriguing and compelling storytelling saw the show herd up an audience of over 12 million in the States alone. It proved so popular that it’s since become the centre of its own Yellowstone Television Universe, with two spin-off prequels, 1883 and 1923, documenting the early years of the Dutton family’s trials and tribulations owning the fictional ranch, as well as two upcoming series, a further prequel 1944 and the contemporaneous series 6666 which is set on Texas’ real-life Four Sixes Ranch.

This, in case you hadn’t noticed, is a lot. And the main reason why I didn’t start watching the show, despite the many personal and critical recommendations that I should. I was so far behind and there was so much — some would argue too much — to take in, that I all but convinced myself that there was no point even starting.

Yellowstone follows John Dutton and his family and the many and varied challenges and conflicts they face running and keeping ownership of the titular cattle ranch.

But Fomo, or fear of missing out, is a powerful force and for the last month or so the Yellowstone fans in my life have been vocally excited about Monday’s release of the second half of the show’s fifth and final season on Sky 5 and Neon. I can’t blame them.

They’ve been waiting two long years to see how this cinematic series ends.

There had been hopes and speculation of a sixth season, but those were dashed when series star Kevin Costner rode off into the sunset for good after salary negotiations didn’t go his way.

Whether his character appears at all in this concluding chapter remains a mystery.

All the other familiar faces, however, are on board.

Nevertheless, they all said I should watch it. I decided to meet them halfway and watch the new trailer. I immediately wished I hadn’t.

After some stunningly cinematic and peaceful shots of the gorgeous Montana prairie, the trailer pivoted to a high-octane montage of gunfights, explosions, blood pacts, man fights, lady fights, a person on fire, a person being pushed off a cliff, an FBI raid, what looked like a Native American warband on horseback preparing for battle, and lots of very serious people saying very serious things like, “You destroy me, you destroy yourself” and, “The only thing left to do is to kill as much as you can before they kill you”.

It was brutally obvious that I’d been missing out on some great television.

For Yellowstone, its end truly is just the beginning.

As powerful as the trailer was, you can’t just mosey into a show halfway through its last season. You’d be more lost than a drunk cowboy stumbling home across a dark Montana desert. I knew the only way forward was to go all the way back to its movie-length start.

The series opens with a crash and a bang. Literally. We see Costner’s John Dutton comforting a prize horse before the camera pans out to show a violent car crash.

“I know you deserve better,” he whispers to the horse, while slowly raising a pistol under its head and saying, “The best I can offer is peace,” before shooting it.

It was a helluva intro to the world of the show. I was gripped. As I’ve gone on it’s been easy to see why it’s lassoed viewers to become the cultural phenomenon it has.

It offers all the political twists and personal betrayals of a drama, coupled with the brutal violence of an action flick.

And while Dutton is an archetype male fantasy — the strong, silent family man not afraid of doing whatever it takes or killing whoever it takes to protect his own — it certainly makes for entertaining viewing.

And besides, a good cowboy series needs a good cowboy lead.

So while I’m late to the rodeo, I’m pleased I haven’t missed it completely.

But even after I’ve finally caught up and am watching the end credits roll, I still won’t be done. Reports have leaked out that work on a sequel, The Madison, is already under way with Michelle Pfeiffer signed on and Matthew McConaughey tipped to lead.

For Yellowstone, at least, its end truly is just the beginning.