Why 1883 Was Killed [SPOILER]
A death in the season 1 finale of 1883 marked the end of the search for Paradise Valley and opened a new chapter in the story of Yellowstone's Dutton Ranch.
Warning: the following contains SPOILERS for 1883.
The season 1 finale in 1883 killed off its most important character, and while the death was tragic, it was necessary in order for the Duttons' story to move in a worthwhile direction. That character is none other than Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), the daughter of Yellowstone Dutton Ranch founders Margaret (Fish Hill) and James Dutton (Tim McGraw). Elsa is the protagonist of the Yellowstone prequel series. Elsa Dutton's cause of death began when she was shot by a poisoned arrow during the attack on the caravan.
This scene was previewed in the 1883 pilot and then fully fleshed out in the 1883 Season 1 Episode 9 "Racing Clouds". After a group of ferocious Lakota warriors find their settlement destroyed and their families murdered, they discover that the 1883 settlers caravan is moving away from the scene of the crime. Although the settlers had nothing to do with the massacre, the Lakota chief (Tocala Black Elk) in 1883 logically held the caravan responsible. However, the horse thieves who had defiled the Lakota settlement were elsewhere, even under attack by James, Thomas (LaMonica Garrett) and Shay Brennan (Sam Elliot). Killed for the Lakota. Misunderstanding arises from this Most of the people in the caravan were brutally slaughtered, and Elsa took a poisoned arrow to the liver.
What Happened To Elsa Dutton In The 1883 Finale
Elsa successfully arrives at Fort Casper, but the resident doctor is rude and unable to help Elsa, and Elsa's infection gradually worsens. Shea then discovers that Fort Casper is run by the Wyoming Cattlemen's Association, which employs the horse thief they had killed earlier, so they quickly leave and head north to Montana. Meanwhile, James and Margaret agree to settle where Elsa died. An Aboriginal man then pointed James to Paradise Valley, where she and Elsa rode to let Elsa pick out a grave for himself. By the end of 1883 Season 1, the 1883 series' protagonist and narrator, Elsa Dutton, had finally died of an infection.
Why Does Elsa Die In 1883?
In the 1883 finale, neither the Lakota nor the Dutton were responsible for the death of Elsa Dutton. The Lakota Warriors reacted logically to the situation. In the late 1800s, the westward expansion of the United States was facilitated by the Louisiana Purchase, which provided a legal precedent for white settlers not only to claim Native American land, but to do so by any means necessary, which Often includes the removal and massacre of Aboriginal settlements.
The Lakota are Just to protect their land and people from the white colonists who were killing Native Americans even before Louisiana was purchased in 1803. In short, Elsa Dutton's death can only really be blamed on the white genocide of Native Americans. Elsa's ultimate fate reminds us that 1883 is based on true stories and real lives of settlers in the late 1800s, however uncomfortable those real stories may be.
How 1883 Season 2's Bass Reeves Story Will Build On Elsa's
No official release date has been set for season 2 of 1883, but the story of season 2 revolves around Bath Reeves, the first black Vice-American Marshall west of the Mississippi River. Although set in the same era, 1883 Season 2 retold Bas Reeves' true story, pushing Sheridan's new Westworld to further explore the country's early racial politics, the first season's take on America's Westward The extension of the examination of how expansion tramples covers indigenous peoples as a whole.
This is also true from the first season in 1883, but the difference in the second season is that Bas Reeves is a real historical figure who is able to speak various Native languages, which makes him a United States marshal vital to peace efforts 1875. According to Bass Reeves' real-life history, he was also a quick draw who killed 14 men and shot down more than 3,000 criminals without actually getting hurt himself -- while raising a family with 10 children family. While this may seem more like myth than history, the details of Bas Reeves' life are verifiable historical facts that went on to inspire many cowboys, heroes, and leading men in classic mid-20th-century westerns. In turn, these heroic cowboys were the obvious inspiration for the character of Elsa Dutton.
Elsa's Death In 1883 Is Pivotal For Yellowstone
Elsa Dutton died in 1883 to end the story of how the Dutton family discovered Paradise Valley, which is ultimately a lesson in the dark, brutal history of white America, borrowed by Taylor Sheridan Pushing his new-western universe. In fact, the circumstances of Elsa's death not only foreshadow tensions between the Dutton family and the Broken Rock Indian Reservation in Yellowstone, but they may have spoiled the season 5 finale of Yellowstone. This is because, before Elsa died, the location of Paradise Valley was revealed to James by a native who later warned James that his people would take It was returned after Dutton had owned the land for seven generations - James replied that after seven generations they could take the land back.
In the 1883 finale, Elsa Dutton's fate answers the question of what the family had to give up to own the land, revealing why the Duttons have such a deep connection to Paradise Valley. It's also important to remember that Elsa isn't just the protagonist, she's 1883's narrator. Elsa is the heart and soul of the show, and her fate embraces not only the social commentary and overarching themes of 1883, but the rest of Taylor Sheridan's new Westworld.
