Warning: This article contains spoilers for the 1883 season 1 finale.
1883 stars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have shared their reactions to the show's devastating season 1 finale. The series, which premiered on Paramount+ on December 19, 2021, is a prequel to the megahit series Yellowstone following the events that led to the creation of the Wyoming ranch at the center of the series. It follows James (McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Hill) as they travel from Texas with the help of veteran frontiersman Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott).
The season finale followed up on the cliffhanger from season 1, episode 9, "Racing Clouds." At the end of the episode, Margaret and James' eldest daughter Elsa (Isabel May) was shot with an arrow. She survived the initial impact, but a spreading infection began to threaten her life. Considering that Elsa is the narrator of the series and season 2 has already been renewed, many fans expected her to eventually make a recovery, but the finale shocked everyone by having her succumb to her wound in a devastating turn of events.
Variety had the opportunity to sit down with real-life married couple Hill and McGraw to discuss how filming this intense finale affected them. McGraw itted that, as parents themselves, "the hardest part for us, I think, was to not be emotional too early." Hill agreed, saying that "it’s really hard, even now, to talk about, because once the tears start coming, I can’t stop them." Neither of them knows how this situation will affect their characters' marriage, though McGraw says he's "as anxious as anyone to see what happens." Read the full quote below:
Faith Hill: When I finally finished reading Episode 10 to him, we both just sat there and said, “My God, this is one of the most incredible stories we’ve ever read.” I knew the weight and responsibility of playing Margaret and telling the story and bringing her to life — I felt an enormous responsibility. I did not want to fail… It’s going to be a good thing that [fans] hate that ending, because it has to be that way and they know it. It’s gonna be devastating. Why would you watch stuff if it doesn’t purge your emotions?
Tim McGraw: The hardest part for us, I think, was to not be emotional too early. Both of our characters are really strong people and wanted to be strong for our family. So that was the hardest thing for us, because we do have daughters and because Isabella, when we first walked on set and saw her, we said, “My gosh, she looks she could be one of our daughters...” it’s hard as a parent, playing that role — you don’t want to go to any dark places in your mind about your kid. So you have to keep trying to block that out and still be in the moment with the character that you’re playing and the characters you’re playing opposite of, but the lines do get blurry.
Faith Hill: As a mom, I can’t even allow myself to go there. I cannot. It’s really hard, even now, to talk about, because once the tears start coming, I can’t stop them. I would tell the directors, if we start going, it’s going to be hard for me to stop. It’s painful… I honestly don’t know [how this will affect James and Margaret’s marriage.]. I think I’m still reeling and that’s the truth! I mean, I’m angry. Imagine knowing that your child is going to die and you cannot be by their side? I can’t even imagine it ever. I have not recovered. I really don’t know.
Tim McGraw: I have no idea [either]. You know, Taylor Sheridan is such a brilliant writer that I can only imagine what he’s going to come up with, and whatever I imagine is probably not even going to be close. So I don’t have any idea. I’m as anxious as anyone to see what happens.
This move is doubly shocking considering how drawn-out the character's death was. TV viewers are trained to expect that when a character's fate is in question at the end of the penultimate episode, that usually means the showrunner is ginning up drama for the season finale rather than actually planning to kill off the character. Combined with the fact that this incident was foreshadowed in the opening episode of the series, many binging stalwarts had no real expectation that Elsa would lose her battle with the infection.
1883 has certainly proven that it is willing to take big swings with its narrative. Because this time period hasn't been widely explored during the story of Yellowstone, fans of the original series have little to no idea what's around the corner for this branch of the Dutton family. It remains to be seen if 1883 season 2 will have a new narrator (and if that narrator will survive to season 3 if they're renewed again) or eschew one altogether as they're forced to restructure the series away from Elsa's important narrative lynchpin.
Source: Variety