Why Yellowstone Fans Agree That Season 4 Is A Disappointment

"Yellowstone" has been a flagship series for the Paramount Network ever since its first episode aired in 2018. Indeed, across its four seasons, the intense drama has built up quite a passionate fanbase for itself. 

The modern-day Western explores the trials and tribulations of the powerful Dutton family, who do battle and work with the Wheelers on their expansive cattle ranch. The series also features Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), who lives with his tribe on a reservation that borders the Dutton property. All three factions, predictably, grapple for land and power and often end up teaming up against the outside forces who would do anything to see them suffer.

Four seasons into its run, the series remains a popular title for the Paramount Network. In fact, in early November, the premiere of "Yellowstone" Season 4 impressively pulled in 14.7 million viewers. However, fans of the show have begun to make waves with their opinions about the quality of its latest season. 

Discussing the show on the official "Yellowstone" subreddit, the series' fans believe they've finally begun to pinpoint why they're disappointed so far with its fourth season.

"This season is just off. Nothing really happening, the story feels like it's just dragging on," wrote u/Drexil38 in a Reddit thread dedicated to discussing the fifth installment of "Yellowstone" Season 4. The Reddit user argued that the show's focus on setting up its upcoming spin-offs has weakened its latest season. u/LPRIOT agreed, writing that the show "no longer has a clear direction" and seems to exist as "a vessel to market other shows and spin-offs."

u/carolinamary409 was specifically annoyed by the speed of the storytelling throughout "Yellowstone" Season 4, writing, "We are getting like two minutes of each storyline...it's driving me crazy." u/RideFree216 echoed their fellow fan's sentiment, admitting that they weren't sure at first if the show's pace had always been as slow as it has been throughout its current season. However, they ultimately concluded that "it's definitely just super slow though. There was more progression in the storyline in the 15 second clip for next week's episode than there was in this week's entire episode."

Unfortunately, "Yellowstone" fans will have to wait to see if the series ever returns to the quality of its previous seasons. New episodes of the show air Sunday nights at 8 p.m. EST on the Paramount Network.