Who Is Elsa Dutton & Why Her Narration Is The Perfect Ending For Yellowstone

By Hannah Postlethwait

Published Dec 16, 2024

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Spoiler Alert for 1883 and Yellowstone season 5, episode 14, "Life Is A Promise"

Elsa Dutton narrates the end of the Dutton Ranch in Yellowstone season 5 finale, Kayce sells the land to the reservation.

Kayce's decision prompts Montana's Indigenous people to return the land to the way the Duttons found it, except for one vital piece. When some of the Broken Rock children knock over the Duttons' graves, Mo Brings Plenty stops them and reminds them that the family died protecting the land. When Mo returns an overturned grave to its upright position and dusts it off, it reads Elsa Dutton. The 1883 Yellowstone character speaks in her thick southern accent, and the narration plays over breathtaking scenes of her family's former ranch.

Who Elsa Dutton Is & How Is She Related To John Dutton III's Family

Elsa Dutton Is John Dutton III's Great-Aunt

Elsa Dutton was the only daughter of James and Margaret Dutton. They are also parents to John I, Elsa's brother and the namesake of Kevin Costner's John Dutton III. Looking at the Dutton family tree, James Dutton is a first-generation Dutton, and John Dutton III is a fifth-generation Dutton, which means James was John III's great-great-grandfather. Thus, based on what's known, Elsa is John III's great-aunt. While she never has children, Elsa's family creates a rich legacy in Montana after her death, paving the way for the Yellowstone story.

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While Elsa isn't able to populate the ranch with next-generation Duttons due to her unfortunate fate, Elsa's younger brother, John, carries on the family's legacy. John grows up and marries Emma Dutton, and they have a son named Jack. John Dutton I and his son played a vital role in 1923, which tells the story of the Duttons in Montana after 1883. Currently, the connection between Elsa and her brothers, Spencer and Jack, to John III isn't explicitly clear due to an unfinished prequel story. Luckily, however, 1923 season 2 begins solving the Yellowstone Dutton family's biggest mystery.

Elsa Dutton's Story & Death Happened In The Yellowstone Spinoff, 1883

1883 Centers Elsa Dutton's Coming-Of-Age

Yellowstone introduced Isabel May as Elsa Dutton in 1883, the Yellowstone prequel story released in 2021 that explains the Duttons' Montana origins. In the prequel, Elsa's family makes a northwestern journey from Texas to Montana on their equivalent to the Oregon Trail in search of a better life. The family starts from Texas after leaving Tennessee, and the golden-haired Yellowstone character travels with her parents, James and Margaret, and her brother, John, in a 1883. While their journey is harrowing, Elsa falls in love with the wild land, basking in its wonder as others perish.

As Elsa succumbs to the poison of an infected arrow that pierces her stomach, the family resolves that they will settle wherever she dies.

1883 centers on May's character, with viewers experiencing the caravan from Elsa's eyes. However, 1883 was the first and last of May's Elsa. While her brother John I lives on and stars in 1923, Elsa's death in 1883 marks the end of her family's journey. As Elsa succumbs to the poison of an infected arrow that pierces her stomach, the family resolves that they will settle wherever she dies. The family travels through Montana, and Elsa picks her final resting place, the future location of her family's massive ranch. Elsa's death is pivotal for the family, marking their Montana beginnings.

What Elsa Dutton's Narration Wraps Up Yellowstone

Elsa's Narration Is Vital To the Dutton's Story

Elsa Dutton's narration wraps up Yellowstone because her story is the catalyst for the entire series, and it's fitting she would send it off. 1883 is a remarkable saga because while it's only 1 season, it impacts the rest of the franchise. Although Elsa dies at the end of 1883, she returns in 1923 to narrate the series, telling what happened to her family after they settled in Paradise Valley in 1883. In the 1923 series premiere, Elsa explains how her father and mother died, prompting Jacob and Cara Dutton to take over in the 1923 Yellowstone story.

Elsa Dutton wraps up Yellowstone not only because she narrates 1883 and 1923. Elsa is responsible for her family settling in Montana's Paradise Valley, so it's a fitting tribute that the pioneer's narration closes out the ranch. In her narration in the Yellowstone season 5 finale, Elsa describes her family's journey, telling the conclusion of 1883, saying:

141 years ago, my father was told of this valley, and here's where we stayed. Seven generations. My father was told they would come for this land, and he promised to return it. Nowhere was that promise written. It faded with my father's death, but somehow lived in the spirit of this place.

Elsa describes how a man can't own wild land without blanketing it in concrete, which her family never did. Elsa's monologue adds a rich depth for Yellowstone viewers who watched the Duttons' 1883 story and witnessed her family making a deal with Spotted Eagle to settle in Paradise Valley. Elsa's father makes a promise to the Indigenous people of Montana that he will return the land to their people in seven generations. Therefore, Elsa brings her family's story to a satisfying conclusion while returning Isabel May's narration, which is the perfect touch to a memorable Yellowstone series finale.