Welcome to the “What Chase Is Watching” newsletter written by “The Sports Renaissance Man” Chase Thomas. This is a section of the newsletter where I write about what I am watching. Who would have guessed? I do hope that you enjoy it and add your email below so you never miss an issue. This newsletter is delivered to your inbox, not your doorstep, daily. Happy reading.

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John Dutton, like Tony Soprano, is not a good person. Bear with me, folks, as I dip my toes into the Taylor Sheridan drama for the first time this week here at SRM. Being a Taylor Sheridan fan, I am growing used to leaders on the program with a quiet, gloomy edge about them. In “Mayor of Kingstown”, another Sheridan-led drama that I enjoyed very much, is led by Jeremy Renner in a role similar to the role Kevin Costner has in “Yellowstone”. The two are leaders in their respective families, but you don’t get the sense in the pilot that either is all that enthused about what they have to do to keep the family business humming, you know? Both must find a way to find comfort in moral ambiguity. Both must be experts at compartmentalizing what they actually do to make a buck every single day. Both must also not dwell on their circumstances all that much, or a cascade of unwanted emotions may quickly follow suit. For John, it’s in the barn after saying goodbye to one of his sons. For Mike, it’s in his car whenever that phone rings again.

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It’s hard being the kingpin in a world created by the brilliant Taylor Sheridan. From the pilot, I get the sense that “Yellowstone” is going to be a cynical adventure, much like “Sons of Anarchy” and “Mayor of Kingstown” where binging multiple episodes at once may not be the best way to spend your day. As the world’s largest Jake Gyllenhaal fan, I am more than fine spending time in this universe for a couple of seasons.

Back to my first note, though, on Head Dutton and Tony Soprano. Like Tony, John is running a business where the best of times are behind him. The difference, though, is that the odds of John being able to fend off those changes and decline in their way of life seems to be a bit more realistic than Tony and the mob. Only time will, I suppose. This is my leading thought as I dive into the program and write this recap from a power-ranking perspective.

Is Kayce Dutton going to fill the Jax Teller role in “Yellowstone”? Asking for a friend. Kayce, to me, was the single most interesting character in the pilot episode. The way Kayce was introduced, for one, was a memorable one. At the beginning, we only know that Kayce is this Wild Horse Rangler guy, and that’s about it. He’s clearly a man who walks to the beat of his own drum, but he is also a man who seems to be Going Through It. It was smart for the writers to hold off before revealing that this wild cowboy was in fact a Dutton. Not only is he a Dutton, but he lives on an Indian reservation and has no interest in being a Dutton. We do not know why that is yet, but we do know the man is running from something. Maybe it’s just the name, but maybe it’s more.

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Throughout the episode, we see Kayce as a cowboy, a father, a husband, a son and a cold-blooded killer all rolled up into one complicated figure. His line before shooting his wife’s brother in the face about the afterlife, or lack thereof, was especially poignant. This is a conflicted man who is so dang tired of the conflicts. His dismay when he learns from Felix Long that he must leave while the competing interests fight was tough to watch. He made his choices, but as Felix reminds him, some things are not up to him and his original family will always be his family. 

She’s a lot. A lot, a lot. Not to compare every character to “Sons of Anarchy” but did anyone else not immediately get Gemma Teller vibes from the only daughter of Mr. John Dutton’s? She’s smart, independent, ruthless and does not hide the fact that she will do whatever it takes to protect her family and their interests. Getting that poor guy in that meeting to tell her “thank you” for sending his kids to college after forcing him into a brutal merger was a gnarly spectacle. 

I’m not really all that intrigued by the hidden love affair with Rip, who will we get to in a second, but I am into any situation where a grown man completely miscasts who Beth Dutton is as a person. 

Mr. Rainwater has high aspirations. He wants to make changes. He is the leader of the Broken Rock Indian Reservation. Unlike most folks who know of John Dutton, he does not seem the least bit fearful of Mr. Dutton. There are two competing camps against John Dutton. Mr. Paradise Valley Fella and Thomas Rainwater. The two both have a monetary interest in tearing down the town which Dutton and his family built. However, with Rainwater it’s personal, and it goes back to his childhood, and the nature in which he learned of his true Native American heritage. With Mr. Paradise Valley Fella, it’s strictly business. 

Every criminal family needs a Rip Wheeler. Outside of the occasional music festival, this Yellowstone-branded grizzly bear of a person is a consummate professional criminal. He takes pride in his criminal workings and expects Jimmy, who we will get to in a second, to share in that pride that he has the privilege of committing crimes for the most powerful family in town. 

Now, the poor guy may excel in explosives in waterways, but he does not excel in his taste in women. There is nothing about dating Beth Dutton that seems all that fun if you’re Rip. You already have a stressful job as the lead muscle of the Dutton family, do you need the added stress of wondering if Beth might come around and offer up some genuine emotion? 

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