I’m Gonna Defend Taylor Sheridan

Yellowstone‘s penultimate episode left even the most loyal fans breathing fire. John Dutton’s death has nothing on Taylor Sheridan’s decision to lead Season 5, Episode 13.

Some labeled the extracurricular activities and gratuitous horsemanship with a four-letter word we can’t use, at the risk of upsetting the all-powerful Google gods.

Vulture chose another graphic adjective to describe Sheridan’s choices for his own character, Travis.

Google Taylor Sheridan’s name on Monday (Dec. 9) to get a feel for media response to his character’s biggest episode yet. Fans also had thoughts.

Was casting supermodel Bella Hadid to play his girlfriend, and then having her and Beth Dutton — a notorious, no-time-for-nonsense kinda gal — spend 35 seconds ogling his horsemanship skills too much?

Perhaps.

It was a flex, but I’ll be the one to stand up and say Taylor Sheridan deserves a flex.

• Yellowstone Season 5, Ep. 13 aired on Sunday (Dec. 8). One episode remains in the series.
• The Dutton Rules podcast breaks down what happened during this week’s episode.
• Consider this your spoiler alert warning.

Related: Yellowstone, Season 5 Episode 13 Recap

Zoom out from Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch to appreciate what Ep. 13 really was: It was the rehearsal dinner before the wedding, when everyone important gathers in a less formal setting to get their flowers.

Characters we hadn’t thought about all season (or longer!) showed up to speak a few lines and collect a paycheck. Laramie (Hassie Harrison) gave her on-screen boyfriend Walker (real-life husband Ryan Bingham) a kiss. Jimmy’s wife Emily (Kathryn Kelly) yucked it up with the ranch hands.

Former Governor Lynelle Perry (Wendy Muniz) showed up for an anecdote. Jamie Dutton’s baby’s mother Christina (Katherine Cunningham) stole a scene.

I mentioned Hadid, but did you also catch her real-life boyfriend Adan Banuelos riding horses? Several other rodeo stars joined him — Sheridan enjoys few things more than casting authentic stars to play parts, as epitomized by the return — the RETURN! — of trail wagon chef Charlie Ferguson.

Musically, this episode spilled over. Turnpike Troubadours played several songs from the stage, but Brothers Osborne, Jackson Dean, Sam Barber, Ward Davis and Hayes Carll were all involved.

This was the last chance for the show’s creator to play Oprah: “You get a part, you get a part and you get a part!”

Sheridan also loves to re-cast actors in other shows he’s created. See Dave Annable (Lee Dutton) and Dawn Olivieri (Sarah Atwood), who are already working on Lioness. Agent Hendon (actor James Jordan) has been in just about everything Sheridan’s created. We did a full list of these instances in 2022 and it has only grown since then.

The first 25 minutes of Ep. 13 were Travis (Sheridan) heavy. In addition to his rodeo behavior, there is not one, but two strip poker scenes. The second involves Beth, who agrees to strip after losing a hand to the shirtless horse trainer.

No, that doesn’t fit with her character at all, but consider this before getting too angry …

Yellowstone and Sheridan overcame a lot to get here. There was pandemic and an absurd streaming deal that finds the series on a rival’s platform. Then there were two Hollywood strikes, the big star leaving midway through Season 5, and a very turbulent political climate.

Name three more pre-2020 series that still thrive in 2024!

Season 5 of Yellowstone has been far from perfect, but Taylor Sheridan landed the plane. If he wants to beat his own chest once or twice on the way out the door, I’ll let him.