Things will never be the same.
1883 Season 1 Episode 10 was a low-key episode, winding down the trip on the Oregon Trail.
Some never made it out of Texas. Others never made it to Wyoming. Some stayed in Montana, and others went the distance, only to say goodbye in the end.
No, we won’t have this shared experience again. When 1883 Season 2 premieres, it will be like starting over.
“This Is Not Your Heaven” primarily followed Elsa Dutton to her final resting place, the future home of the Dutton ranch.
Yellowstone, the national park, was born in 1872, but it’s hard to imagine at this point that the Yellowstone ranch was named in honor of it. No, with this family’s history, it makes more sense that the ranch would be named after the final resting place for Lightning with the Yellow Hair.
Whether it’s the truth or not doesn’t matter. Elsa is as indelible to the modern-day ranch as she was to their trip on the Oregon Trail.
Once Elsa got shot by a Lakota arrow (covered in manure), she had little chance of survival. When her liver was knicked, she had no chance whatsoever.
Thankfully, James and Margaret didn’t have to decide to put her out of her misery. But they did have to lie to her about her chances of survival.
Elsa: Wanna know my greatest fear about dyin’? It’s bein’ forgotten. And I can’t understand why, ’cause I won’t be here to know anyone forgot me. What a silly thing to scare me.
James: Nobody’s gonna forget you, Elsa. And you ain’t dyin’. You should be dead, but you pay about as much attention to the rules of nature as you pay of mine.
Elsa: You look at me like I’m dyin’.
James: I look at you for what you are — the most important thing to me on this planet. That comes with a lot of worry. ‘Cause I can’t replace you.
Elsa could read her father. His eyes told a tale he wasn’t ready to reveal, and it’s only because of her weakened state that Elsa was suckered into believing she wasn’t on death’s doorstep.
She saw the worry in his eyes, and for his sake as much as hers, she allowed herself some breathing room, painful as it was.
Elsa was an eternal optimist, believing the best in most even if they had the worst intentions. Most of all, she believed in herself and her ability to overcome. It was her driving force.
Seeing beauty where sorrow had dug hold was one of her superpowers. She had an unending capacity for empathy and compassion, which allowed her to connect with strangers, family, and everyone she met.
Wade: It was a helluva thing ridin’ with you.
Elsa: It was a helluva thing ridin’ with you.
Colton: It wasn’t the damndest drive that I was prettier ‘an you. You’ll always be the one that got away, Elsa.
Elsa: Colton, you gotta be pretty damned good lookin’ to think the one you never had got away from you. Go back to Texas, you pretty son of a bitch.
She had a keen insight into people’s decision-making process, knowing during 1883 Season 1 Episode 9 that following the other pioneers wouldn’t end well.
She knew that as much as she knew that the pioneers choosing not to follow them would be their demise and that Wade and Colton’s continued travels on the trail would lead them to unnamed graves.
So, when Elsa recognized her fate in her father’s eyes and broke down crying, we all cried. She knew he had lied to her, but the idea that she clung to his lies for her sliver of hope was heartbreaking.
Seeing Elsa’s hope disappear, her optimism turning to resignation, hurt like hell.
But Elsa gathered herself, focusing instead on her resting place. She would choose where her family would live. It wasn’t just where she would rest, but where the people she loved would thrive in her absence.
Elsa: You birds sure are smart. I understand it now.
James: Understand what?
Elsa: I know what it is. I’m not scared. Not scared, daddy.
Of course, Elsa would still communicate with us after death. She needed to share what to expect from heaven. It’s a place of your own creation, where all of your dreams come true.
There is a moment when your dreams and your memories merge together and form a perfect world. That is heaven, and each heaven is unique. It is the world of you. The land is filled with all you will do, and the sky is your imagination. My heaven is filled with good horses and open plains and wild cattle and a man who loves me. It is always sunrise in my world, and there are no storms. I am the only lightning. I know death now. I’ve seen it. It had no fangs. It smiled at me, and it was beautiful.
Elsa [after death]
For Elsa, that meant reuniting with Sam. When Sam first appeared in the field, waiting for his Yellow Hair, who wouldn’t arrive, it was just another shock of pain. When Lightning’s hooves came into view, I thought James had ridden Elsa’s horse to tell Sam of her fate.
I don’t know if Elsa created Sam in her heaven because I’d rather believe the two were joined again in the afterlife, whatever that meant.
Shea saw in Elsa a life fully lived, well beyond her years and even his. To Sam, Elsa lived more in her short life than anyone he knew.
I’ve lost a daughter, too. Time will come you’ll blame yourself, think it’s your fault for givin’ her so much rein. Maybe it is your fault. But I don’t say it is. I’ve watched this girl for the last six months, and she has outlived us all. I’m 75 years old, and she has out-smiled me, out-loved me, out-fought me. She’s outlived me. She’s outlived all of us.
Shea
Elsa and Sam reuniting makes sense, especially when taken with Shea’s final moments. Shea made it to the ocean, carrying his beloved Helen in his heart.
When he sensed her presence through a surprising beachfront hummingbird, Shea no longer needed his beating heart. It was full, and he took his life.
Josef had lost his leg and his wife, but he chose a homestead. It wasn’t the life of freedom he had imagined, but he persevered. He was one of only two of the pioneers to make it to their destination to start fresh.
Neomi was the other, with Thomas at her side. They found their future in Oregon, going the distance and falling in love along the way.
By the time the credits rolled, it was a year in the future, but we didn’t know how the Duttons managed their grief. Saying goodbye to everyone else, we have to wait for a cameo on another show in the Dutton universe or 1883 Season 2 to see what comes next.
With her incredible spirit, I can’t help but think that Elsa disapproves of the Dutton family that we know in 2022. They’ve got fight in ’em, but they also fight too much.
Elsa saw things much differently, and it seems like she’d have a thing or two to say about her brother’s descendants. How quickly did the lights go out for the Duttons she left behind?
Will Season 2 end by catching us up to James dropping dead in front of Margaret and his sons? How much can they take before the happiness that surrounded them before their journey disappears entirely?
The finale also foretold the end of the Duttons at the Yellowstone. Spotted Eagle gave them seven generations to enjoy the land where Elsa lay, and at that time, he prophecied, his descendants would return to reclaim it.
James thought that was a pretty good deal. I’m not so sure his great-grandson would concur, or his great grandson’s grandson, but that suggests that two generations are remaining before they will move beyond Montana.
It’s been a helluva ride. We’ve reached the end of the road, and it’s time to plant roots. What that will look like remains to be seen. Another time jump?
Share your thoughts about the finale below.
Were you moved to tears (sobs) as I was? Were you taken by surprise that Elsa wasn’t the only character that was lost, whether by death or continuing their journey, leaving the others behind?
How do you imagine next season will look?
We’ll see you again with other spinoffs and Yellowstone itself!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.