Why Yellowstone Fans Are Not Happy With That 1883 Opening Teaser
Despite its record-breaking Season 4 premiere and a 100% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, not all "Yellowstone" fans are happy with the show's current direction. With the recent release of the prequel "1883" and another spin-off on the horizon, the Western drama has spent a lot of time preparing fans for what's to come from its newly expanding franchise.
The latest episode, "No Kindness for the Coward," opens with a flashback to "Yellowstone" patriarch John Dutton's great-grandfather James (Tim McGraw) and his wife, Margaret (Faith Hill), in the old, wild west. The "1883" teaser follows James as he goes after horse thieves while Margaret stays home to care for their children. The scene ends with James returning from the violent confrontation and collapsing from a bullet wound.
The inclusion of this teaser is undoubtedly designed to entice "Yellowstone" viewers to check out "1883." However, fans on the show's subreddit gathered to discuss the episode and revealed why they weren't thrilled about the opening scene.
Fans think the 1883 promos are taking away from Yellowstone
Fans of "Yellowstone" have been critical of how hard its creators are pushing the upcoming spin-offs, and for them, being forced to watch a scene from "1883" in an episode of the original series only made matters worse. On Reddit, one user critiqued the length of the flashback. Others echoed this point, commenting on how jarring it was to start the episode with a scene from a different show. Across the "Yellowstone" subreddit, fans admitted they thought they had started watching the wrong show. "I was folding laundry and literally checked twice in the first 5-10 minutes to make sure I hadn't accidentally put on 1883," said u/polkadotcupcake.
"Imagine watching this season years from now not knowin 1883 was/is a thing, and all of a sudden you get that random a– scene?" wrote u/LluagorED, pointing out the irrelevancy of the "1883" flashback to the original show's narrative.
In a lengthy response, u/iangeredcharlesvane2 detailed the problems they have with how promotions for "1883" and "6666" are interfering with the original series. "I was trying to think of spin-off shows that got THIS MUCH screen time in the original show and came up empty — there is a reason they usually don't!" they exclaimed. "Fans get p***** as they are there for the show they like, and if they chose to watch a spin-off that's their choice."
Though "1883" has been a success for Paramount+ so far, "Yellowstone" fans seem to be questioning their loyalty to the franchise, and that should be cause for concern.