‘Yellowstone’ Fans Are Turning on Their Favorite Characters

‘Yellowstone’ Fans Are Turning on Their Favorite Characters

We’ve reached the midpoint of Yellowstone season 4, and after a bloody opener and some power moves played by new and old characters, fans are wondering: what next? Also: what is happening now? And: wait, c’mon, why, what is this Lloyd love triangle crap?

Which is to say, reactions so far to the season have been slightly muted. After the promise of never-before-seen carnage, the season has gone full nighttime soap—with cliffhanger baby-momma reveals, fiery relationship drama, and lots of really really sad-looking children. Also: sex, lies, and jealousy. Let’s call it The Young and the Restless Cowboy, write a bible for a 25-season order, and call it a day.

Most gripes have been directed at the treatment of familiar characters, once major players in the story’s plot, now left with little narrative real estate. Character matchups we were hoping to see thus far include: Beth vs Caroline Warner, Beth vs Angela Blue Thunder, Beth vs Roarke, John vs Rainwater, John vs Monica, Monica vs the Duttons, Kayce vs 100,000 bad guys. While we got the final matchup, the season has been short on actually satisfying powerplays. Warner is, so far, a very small threat. Angela hasn’t even shown up. And Roarke took a little snake hickey and is probably dead in a ditch.

All the drama surrounding the airfield, the reservation, the ranch, and Market Equities has been substituted for vague threats arising from Garrett Randall. If he really is the biggest threat to the Dutton ranch, he sure is taking a while to show himself.

But the real disappointment has come with two of Yellowstone’s fan favorites: Beth and Rip. Beth, instead of squaring off against the aforementioned foes, has only had a few strange antagonisms. As for Rip, well, we suppose tough love is his only love.

What’s going on with Beth?

Photo credit: Paramount
Photo credit: Paramount

We love Beth, because she moves things. She sits in a room, she speaks, and things happen. One Redditor pointed out the crux of the problem: Beth, instead of simply moving the plot with decisions, is mostly left vocalizing her power—or, as this Redditor put it: “Anyone else think they are trying to make Beth too badass? If every other word out of your mouth has to be some badass saying to seem badass, then ur not BA.”

Beth has become something of a caricature who’s injected into each scene either for cringe comedy or to bully another character (like Jamie). We assume this will get better as Beth’s war on Market Equities figures more into each episode. For now, Beth is having to elevate the bad-assery of the series without really doing anything. Which is not BA.

The main issue some have with Beth, however, has to do with the Carter storyline—her illegally-adopted child with whom she seeks to reconcile her own parental traumas. She responds to all this by neglecting him in a petty and not altogether coherent way. He wanted to buy more clothes. She said “no.” He’s been shoveling shit ever since.

Fans want this storyline over with, as it’s been an unnecessary side-story to what we really want out of Beth: sophisticated warfare against all of the Dutton enemies.

Is Rip just a dick now?

Photo credit: Paramount
Photo credit: Paramount

Yes, Rip is still probably the best character on the show, and we love him, and, at this point, we just want him to clean up every messy storyline—mostly by murdering Lloyd or Walker, or both, and just getting all Bunkhouse drama over with.

The Lloyd/Rip feud is a distraction, and the roots of their conflict is not entirely clear. Plenty of fighting happens in the bunkhouse. Rip had also asked Lloyd to be his best man. The pissing contest between Lloyd and Walker, and Rip’s annoyance in getting involved, is all just some petty bullshit at this point.

Fans are also growing tired of Rip’s treatment of Carter. As one Reditor put it: “I thought Carter was gonna be a really interesting storyline for Beth and Rip. So far he adds nothing to the show. The way Rip talks to him is also so cringey.”

Others have been more sympathetic to the writing so far, noting that perhaps Carter and Lloyd’s storylines are there to force Rip into self-reflection—mostly concerning his loyalty to John, and whether a life spent on the ranch is worth it. (Lloyd, after all, is just a lonely older version of Rip.)

Beth’s Carter struggle might exist to help her reevaluate the lessons her own mother passed on to her. Perhaps this, too, is a turning away from John.

It’s tough to judge a season so quickly, and we’re hoping the next five episodes make some of these lackluster storylines shine. Until then, give Beth and Rip someone actually formidable to punch.

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