“Yellowstone” spinoff “1883” star Isabel May held nothing back in a June interview, where she described her reaction to learning the fate of the Dutton family in the follow-up series “1923.”
May’s character, Elsa Dutton, led the initial prequel series. Her character, the daughter of James Dutton and Margaret Dutton (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill), dies in the final episode after being shot with a poison arrow. Where she breathed her last breath was where the Dutton family settled their ranch, and brought us the incredible lineage that wove through to the modern-day series “Yellowstone.”
While May is clearly proud of her work on the series (and she should be — she’s one of the most talented young actors in history), she had quite a shock when it came to the follow-up series, “1923.” May’s character narrates the season, so she found out the fate of her on-screen family before anyone else.
The Hollywood Reporter (THR) asked May how she felt upon learning this fate. “Oh, brutal!” she replied. “Brutal! So sad. Really what hit me was Margaret, she was so wonderful. But yeah, a smack in the face I suppose.” She went on to note the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan, was always going “make it brutal, because that’s what life looked like then.”
James Dutton died of a gunshot wound, something portrayed in a “Yellowstone” flashback scene. Margaret then wrote to Jacob Dutton (played by Harrison Ford), to help her and her sons at their new ranch in the wake of her husband’s death, as we all know from “1923.”
By the time Jacob arrived, Margaret had frozen to death in a snowdrift, and her sons were nearly starved to death.
Beyond her shock, May is clearly enamored with working alongside Sheridan. Her entire interview sings both his praises, and praise for the entire production. It’s such a shame the ongoing writers strike might mean we won’t see another “Yellowstone” series from him for quite some time.