1883's Taylor Sheridan Confirms What We Suspected About Isabel May's On-Set Behavior

Contains spoilers for 1883

The gut-wrenching finale of the first season of "1883" finally revealed the fate of fan favorite and series narrator Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), something that had been teased at since the very first episode. Elsa was gravely wounded following an attack on her wagon train by a group of Native Americans, and spends much of the finale knowing for certain that she will die before they reach their destination. She makes her father (Tim McGraw) promise that she can pick her final resting spot, and near the end of the episode the two reach the land that would eventually become Yellowstone Ranch. "This is the spot," she tells James, and the two sit beneath a tree, where Elsa passes peacefully in her father's arms.

It's a tragic, heartbreaking ending for a character that was in many ways the heart and soul of the entire series, and who was beloved by fans and cast alike. During a recent interview with Deadline, "Yellowstone" and "1883" creator Taylor Sheridan reaffirmed just how important Elsa is to the series as a whole. He revealed that Isabel May's portrayal of Elsa is what "unlocked" the show for him, and he said that working with her was nothing short of incredible.

"The greatest compliment you can pay an actor is to say they brought your imagination to life," Sheridan explained. "That's what she did." Sheridan went on to describe how May's performance perfectly encapsulated the "innocence and hope" of a young America, and how she manages to keep the show bright no matter how brutal the journey might get. "I wanted her to be that one vibrant thing, and never lose that as she became wiser through the journey."

Sheridan went on to say that he hopes to work with May again in future projects, calling her a "generational talent" and praising her once again for her acting chops. From the way Sheridan talks about her, it's clear that Isabel May's performance is really what helped him find the meaning within the series, and that she managed to bring his vision to life in ways he could have scarcely imagined. This revelation about how crucial May was behind the scenes makes Elsa's death all the more heartbreaking, and one has to wonder what the next season of "1883" will look like without Elsa Dutton around to keep things bright.