The consensus among “Yellowstone” fans seems to be that season 4 was a bit lackluster in comparison to the others. Fans didn’t really get all they wanted out of the new season; they felt that the spin-offs were front and center, instead of the original story.
Whether or not that’s true is hard to say. It’s all subjective, of course, and everyone is allowed their opinion. But we do have a few storylines from fans that they would have liked to see in season 4.
Among the wishful thinking, there were thoughts about how this season seemed to lack something that the others had. “1883” came out last December as well, and Tyler Sheridan is setting up for “6666.” Things on “Yellowstone” are kind of leaning in that direction. So, what did fans really want to see, and how can Sheridan remedy the situation?
First of all, fans want more story and less setup for spin-offs. There also seemed to be more horse tricks and general ranch life than fans thought was strictly necessary. They’re also getting tired of the Bunkhouse storylines and drama. The argument is, we know how things work on the Dutton ranch, we’ve been seeing it for 4 seasons; let’s get into the meat of the story.
A lot of comments on the thread wanted more “OG ‘Yellowstone,'” meaning “land and legal disputes, political wrangling and machinations; more interactions with the tribe; more dynamic scenes […] with the whole family,” as one fan wrote.
Another commented in the same vein, writing, “continue focus on balance of development, maintaining local lifestyle and livelihood and the reservation dynamic.”
Fans Discuss What They’d Like to See on ‘Yellowstone’
It seems like Taylor Sheridan made some creative choices on “Yellowstone” that aren’t sitting well with his fans. There were mentions of the attacks on the Duttons in season 3 not seeming like a big deal. Additionally, fans didn’t like how Lloyd was treated, or the fact that Kayce didn’t have a lot of screen time. Things didn’t seem coherent in later episodes, where the beginning of the season was strong.
One fan laid out exactly what they would have changed in season 4. They began by explaining that transitional episodes in shows are normal; a few episodes used to set up spin-offs, or big, separate, character moments. These are more like filler episodes, and they’re normal. But, as the “Yellowstone” fan explains, transitional seasons are not normal. Nor are they fun.
As for what they would change, they began, “Take out trying to transition Jimmy to 6666 and fill that time with trying to figure out whodunit and, no, it wasn’t just Garrett Randall, but a mixture of Market Equities, the militia, and Garrett Randall. Everyone is executed simultaneously in an homage to Godfather Part II while John is sipping bourbon next to the fire.”
Next, they wrote that the Market Equities versus Beth storyline “went where you knew it was going to go from the beginning.” It was predictable, and played out. They suggest getting it out of the way in the mid-season climax; let her get her revenge in the second half of the season. Additionally, the end of the season could have introduced Summer as a “major player in season 5.”
Overall, fans liked the season, but not as much as they liked previous “Yellowstone” seasons.