Landman Season 1's Finale Had The Satisfying Death That Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone Season 5 Was Missing

By Sean Morrison

Published Jan 18, 2025

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The ending of ending of Yellowstone didn't fully live up to the hype. Many longtime fans found fault with Yellowstone season 5, part 2, and one of the most common criticisms was how it handled the deaths of its major characters. None of the show's major deaths were very satisfying, but Landman had no such problem.

In contrast to Yellowstone, the Landman season 2. One of the things it did best, however, was also exactly what Yellowstone did worse. Landman handled the death of one of its major characters significantly better than Yellowstone did, and it may be proof that Landman could be Taylor Sheridan's next major TV franchise.

Yellowstone Season 5's Biggest Deaths Didn't Land The Way They Should Have

John, Jamie, & Sarah Atwoods' Deaths In Yellowstone All Felt Underwhelming In Some Way

There were three major deaths in Yellowstone season 5, part 2: John Dutton III (Kevin Costner), Jamie (Wes Bentley), and Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri). Unfortunately, all three of their deaths were underwhelming in their own ways. John's death was rushed after Jamie's fate in Yellowstone and Beth's revenge was anti-climactically jammed into the end of the show despite being built up for multiple seasons. Even Sarah's death was more of a shock twist than a fitting end to a villain of her stature.

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Kevin Costner and Harrison Ford in Yellowstone and 1923

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After making fans wait years to see how all of Yellowstone's intriguing plots could be satisfyingly resolved, the show floundered at the last minute. Instead of giving John a warrior's death, he was quickly and messily disposed of to make room for other characters. Instead of giving Beth the satisfaction of killing Jamie, Rip burst in to kill him in mere moments. Instead of letting Sarah stew in her failure to tear down the Duttons, she was shot dead right as she started to realize she was in danger. All of them were lacking in some way, but Taylor Sheridan got to fix those mistakes.

Monty's Landman Death Nailed The Emotion That Yellowstone Was Missing

Monty's Death In Landman Had More Buildup & Grief Than Yellowstone's Three Major Deaths

Even though all of Yellowstone season 5, part 2's major deaths left something to be desired, Landman proved that Taylor Sheridan can still nail a character's demise. When Monty Miller (Jon Hamm) finally died in Landman, his death didn't feel rushed or anti-climactic. A lot of that was due to Demi Moore and Billy Bob Thornton's tremendous acting, as they were able to convey all the grief and tragedy that Monty's death entailed. For instance, when Cami fully climbs on top of Monty's lifeless body and begins weeping, she gave the moment an almost uncomfortably heartbreaking quality.

Then, when the moment came, Landman took its time and let the emotions surrounding Monty's death stew for a while.

The biggest reason Monty's death felt so much more satisfying that John, Jamie, or Sarah's was because Landman did a lot more to earn it than Yellowstone did. Landman spent the entire season foreshadowing Monty's heart problems and establishing how important he was not only to M-Tex but also as a friend and husband. Then, when the moment came, Landman took its time and let the emotions surrounding Monty's death stew for a while. On top of that, Monty's death opened new opportunities for the rest of the cast of Landman's stories, and the entire ordeal worked much better than Yellowstone's major deaths.

Is Landman Now Truly Yellowstone's Replacement?

Landman Has A Lot Of Potential, But Yellowstone Leaves Big Shoes To Fill

It's clear that Taylor Sheridan was able to get Landman season 1 over the finish line better than he could manage with Yellowstone season 5, part 2. In fact, now that Yellowstone is over, many viewers may be wondering whether Landman could be the replacement show Sheridan has been searching for. It certainly has a lot going for it: Landman has a star-studded cast, an extremely strong first season that opened a wealth of new possibilities for season 2, and a story that has enough steam to get to a satisfying conclusion. If Sheridan plays his cards right, Landman could very well be his new franchise.

Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Hamm from Landman

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That being said, Landman still has a long way to go before it can really be considered a Yellowstone replacement. One of the biggest advantages Yellowstone had was how easily it could spawn spinoff shows. Any moment in the nearly 150 years that the Dutton family owned the ranch made for a great premise, and it was extremely easy to create a new ancestor that had their own period-specific problems to overcome. Landman could conceivably do a spinoff about Cooper (Jacob Lofland) trying to become an oilman himself, but other than that, there's not much room for growth yet.

Taylor Sheridan's and Potential Series and Movies	Release Dates
1923 season 2	February 23, 2025
6666 Yellowstone spinoff	TBD
Empire of the Summer Moon	TBD
The Madison Yellowstone spinoff	TBD
Mayor of Kingstown season 4	TBD
Tulsa King season 3	TBD
Beth Dutton & Rip Wheeler Yellowstone Spinoff	TBD
Landman season 2	Unconfirmed
1944 Yellowstone Spinoff	Unconfirmed

For the most part, however, the only thing that will definitively answer whether Landman is the new Yellowstone is time. In a few years, Landman may introduce enough new characters and interesting parts of Tommy's backstory to warrant spinoff shows, and it may grow into a franchise unto itself. For now, though, it's impossible to say what the future holds, or if Landman can maintain the momentum its first season built up. On the bright side, no matter what happens, Landman can still be proud that it beat Yellowstone in one key area.