User Reviews

It amazes me that people watch 10 hours of a show and still don't understand what it's about.

This show is about hope, freedom, and believing that there is a better life out there. Elsa represents all of this in this show. She's a dreamer. She doesn't see life as an obstacle; she sees the possibilities the world opens for her. Sure, she's also young and falls in love quickly, but these episodes do serve a purpose.

The journey is the story in this show. The journey into the unknown, a world of endless possibilities. A dream that is so far from us today. That's what makes watching this so electrifying. And it was beautiful.

What I mean is, this episode is so good it stands alone as almost a "mini movie." See where I'm coming from? The scenery, acting and soundtrack make it almost perfect television. That is a stout statement. I had no idea Tim McGraw could have so much depth and emotion. He should get an Emmy. Don't forget Sam Elliott! Good god he was amazing! It is engrossing, beyond well done television. I gave it a 9 (I feel terrible about it) because I would've thought seeing Margaret and James at the end starting to build a life together would've been a better choice than seeing Elsa riding off into the great prairie in the sky...but that's just me. The show was incredible. Can't wait to see what season 2 will bring.

This was possibly the most difficult thing I have ever watched, but I'm the better person for having done so. My daughter was taken from me by cancer two years ago, and my heart still aches, as it will until I see her again in Paradise.

I never prayed so hard for a character to survive an episode. But at least I can say that everything was handled perfectly. Elsa will be missed greatly, it's probably one of the best / most interesting characters that I can remember. I hope Isabel May gets some accolades for it, but not just her, Tim McGraw and Sam Elliott were absolutely wonderful too.

Just my opinion here of course but I have never watched a show that went from so good to so bad so fast. Early episodes were great. Around episode 5 it really started going down hill for me. Way too much Elsa. A character I became less and less interested in as the series progressed. She even became laughable toward the end. When she was walking around with an arrow through her liver saying she was fine, I found myself thinking that they stole that from Monty Python. I kept waiting for her to say that it was only a scratch. Anyway, disappointment for me. Still watching Yellowstone though.

All the highly rated reviews so far (two days after airing) seem to be from people emotionally invested in Elsa's story, looking for a big, theatrical moment for her exit. Well, from THAT perspective it certainly delivered -- right down to the little bird appearing at the spot she chose to be laid to rest. For those who have forgotten, that (plus leaning against a tree to "rest for a while") was a nod to one of the earliest S1 episodes of Yellowstone, where John Dutton (Costner) was leaning against a similar tree, trying to pick a place to bury HIS child, whose body he was embracing in a similar way.

So I get all the 10-star reviews, if that kind of melodrama is what you were looking for, you got it -- in spades. But for anyone who cared at all about ANY of the other story threads? You get short shrift. I guess Shea's story was adequately "completed," but Thomas + Noemi got just a nod, and Josef's even less (I'm presuming none of those characters appear at all in Season 2, since they are now widely geographically dispersed, there is no way for them to continue to interact -- so, I guess that's all the ending their stories ever get). Heck, we got LITERALLY nothing about the Duttons, or Yellowstone. What was that first winter like in Montana, before the non-Duttons pushed on for Oregon in the spring? How did the Duttons go about creating their ranch? I'm sure it must have been intense! But we will never know.

Nope, this was all The Elsa Show -- as it increasingly became in each of the episodes in the 2nd half of the season. Well, I'm glad all these ten-star raters got what they want I guess, if in exchange it means that next season, maybe I can get what brought ME here, the quality writing & multiple non-superficial story lines of the FIRST half of this season?

And allow me to leave things with a moment of reflection for poor Ennis. He was the hired cowhand & love of Elsa's life in the first half of the season -- until he was gone, and she'd fallen in love again before he was even cold in the ground. But hey, here's this gratuitous Elsa-in-Heaven scene tacked on to the end of Episode 10! (yes, Mr Sheridan, I got the meaning from Graham Green's dialog, confusing paradise & Heaven - you didn't need to hit me over the head with it!). Surely this would be also Ennis' curtain call - I mean him being dead & all too? Nope, just Sam there with her (somehow). Adding insult to injury, Elsa's final weird-accent voiceover refers to him as "the man I love" -- note the singular!

Let us pause a moment, then, in memory of Ennis. Even if Elsa does not ;)

I shall miss some of these characters and hope to see others develop in the next season. We all knew that we were seeing Elsa's last episode and I thought it was a touching and fine way to close her story. Kudos again to Taylor Sheridan for providing a great script for these fine actors! Will wait anxiously for next season.

I think we all knew after Elsa was gut shot by an arrow she was gonna die. Yes, there were some implausible scenes: Elsa riding point into the fort, looking fresh as a daisy while in a downward spiral. But the way she and her father interacted in the final scenes crushed me. As a dad with a daughter, it hit SO close to home. Great series, great series finale.

This was one of the best season finale I have seen in a long time. To lose who we lost in this episode with the beauty of how they were written off. The acting was beyond reproach. Well done Mr. Sheridan and crew.

This was a perfect ending of this show. I have a couple of objections below, but damn this was good. I was in tears the last 30min.

As usual it is the acting that really sales this show. From start to finish, the acting here has been absolutely amazing. I bow down to all the actors, great, great performance. Another highlight of the show, and in this final episode especially, are the sets and the beautiful outdoor scenes. On top of the scenes and stunning acting we have hunting beautiful music so of course you have to love the show for that combination alone. The story is great, set pieces, directing, light, clothes, it all smells and look fantastic. Brilliant job of everyone involved in this show and great production value.

My main objective to this ending goes back to the episode before this one. I am sorry, but the setup, the injuries, the contrivances, and Indians unable to read tracks even I would have manage to see and make out - yea, it still bothers me. The ending almost feels unearned because of it. The only other issue is that I do not like when they show a dead protagonist in the end riding off to her heaven - should always let the audience feel and work that out on their own.

But none of those objections can take away the quality which is this show. I give the finale a 9/10, which is what I almost give the show as a whole too. I would give the show around 8.5/10 so I will round it up but its a weak nine. One of the best TV shows I have seen, and definitely top 10 best shows in the past few years.

Arguably, many of the actors performances were great. But for me the best reason to keep tuning in each week was the amazing performance of Isabel May. I know many did not like her narration, but it drew me in. The prose was outstanding, vivid and poetic.

The down side is, I am not sure there is any reason to tune into a season 2 without that character. Looking forward to more from this actress in the future.

1883 was finalized terribly. I made an IMDb account just to say that this show started off so promising. And as each episode passed, it all went down hill. I am convinced that the writers wanted Elsa to be the true villain of the show. And then the audience doesn't even get to see how the Dutton family settles at the end, but the audience gets to see a montage of other settlers by the end. No pay off for the viewers at all. The suicidal finale to Shea's character meant that this whole show had no theme worth living for.

I hate to say it but I am glad Elsa is gone. Her character to me was unrealistic, more of an idol in Sheridan' mind for a vision of his loved ones. And she talked too much with a terrible accent. Let's move on please!!

This started so well and half way through it then became the Elsa show.

There were so many characters to explore. Such a wasted opportunity. Her promiscuous behaviour wasn't even realistic to the times it was set in.

It got so boring and every time a scene would flip back to her, I would think oh go away!

Even when there was a leg amputation, she walks in talking about she's hungry!!! Gosh!