Bitter Yellowstone Fans Have a Huge Bone to Pick With 1923
Yellowstone is one of the most popular neo-Western dramas at the moment.
The story of the Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana and have been trying to consolidate their position for generations, has really captured the hearts of fans.
The series spawned an entire franchise, followed by two prequels, 1883 and 1923, and the upcoming Bass Reeves, 6666 and 1944. But while Yellowstone is on the verge of being cancelled after season 5 due to a conflict with Kevin Costner, fans have something to say about the quality of 1923. It seems that not everyone is happy with the abundance of spin-offs, as people are hoping for some thoughtful work to be done in the series.
1923 is the sequel to 1883, in which the Dutton family, with memories of the Civil War still fresh, travels across the country to finally settle in Montana.
By 1923, however, the owners of the Dutton Ranch were experiencing hard times: Prohibition and the early stages of the Great Depression, which began much earlier in Montana than in other parts of the country.
Alas, despite an intriguing and highly dramatic premise and a stellar cast, neither the script, the direction, nor anything else impressed fans.
"It's way too theatrical at this point. I can't believe this is the follow up to the brilliance that 1883 was. All of the episodes feel like filler. Nothing ever happens. These storylines are useless," Reddit user hangthedj12 says, criticizing the plot.
In addition, fans of the franchise clearly disliked the female characters for being unnecessarily over-sexualized:
"The sex scenes, the women always naked, s&m, do not really make sense with this show, is it trying to be game of thrones light? Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford and Timothy Dalton don't need to have that to get viewers. The women are portrayed horribly, over the top in all his shows. It's embarrassing. Pick a lane Taylor," Redditor Both_Big5966 complains.
In addition, audiences were unhappy with the trivialization of Native Americans (especially in comparison to Yellowstone), excessive cruelty in the animal-killing scenes, plot holes, and the acting and directing in general.
All in all, it seems that creator Taylor Sheridan's over-ambitiousness in taking on new projects in the franchise failed him as quantity began to trump quality. What a frustrating experience!