We all cringed at the TV when we saw Jimmy get back on a horse after John Dutton forbade him. Well, Yellowstone actor Jefferson White defends his decision.
Jimmy is kind of a goofball, and his noodly self is prone to injury. So in season three of Yellowstone, after he breaks darn near everything in his fragile little body, we were happy to hear John Dutton forbid him from being a rodeo star anymore.
Jefferson White, the actor who plays Jimmy, disagrees, however.
Jimmy has always been a loner and needed someone or something to depend on. He found that in rodeo.
“It feels like the rodeo is the first time that Jimmy felt a kind of independent sense of belonging,” explains White. “It’s like an identity that’s just his.”
Yellowstone Romance
In Jimmy’s defense, he found more than just a hobby in rodeo. It was there that he met Mia, who he is absolutely smitten with. How can he not be, though? She is the only person that doesn’t see Jimmy as a liability.
“His whole life he’s never really had anyone that believed in him or saw him the way he wanted to be seen. Mia feels like the first person in his life who’s seen him how he wants to be seen, which is as this confident, successful rodeo cowboy. She sees something in him that no one else ever has, and that’s huge for him.”
Why Does Jimmy Get Back on the Horse?
On the other hand, John is the top-dog on the ranch and not a person you want to get on their bad side. When Jimmy initially got hurt, it was John that paid all the medical bills, which, considering that he had to pull out a journal to list all the injuries, couldn’t have been cheap. John’s only stipulation to him footing the bill was that Jimmy has to quit rodeoing.
What does Jimmy do? He completely ignores the one rule John gave him.
“I don’t think he’s made a decision but for him, getting on that horse represents the possibility,” explains White. “He wants to believe he can do it. He wants to believe he’s free to make a decision. More than anything, he wants to feel some sense of personal agency, some sense of getting to choose. I don’t think he’s making a choice there, he’s just trying to feel free to make a choice.”
Despite Jimmy’s odd demeanor, you just can’t help but love him. We are eagerly waiting for season four to air so we can see how John Dutton fairs with being lied to.
[H/T TV Insider]
