Yellowstone: Season 3 (Blu-Ray)
Blu-Ray Reviews | Dec 15th, 2020
Starring: Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Josh Holloway, Kelsey Asbille, Brecken Merrill, Jefferson White, Gil Birmingham, Denim Richards, Ian Bohen, Eden Brolin, Jennifer Landon
Created By: Taylor Sheridan, John Linson
Studio: Paramount
Buy On Amazon.com
Yellowstone continues to be one of my favorite shows from the last few years. The first and second season were filled with a lot of awesome moments. The third season took a few episodes to establish a new arc but ended just as good as the previous two seasons.
After the events of the first 2 seasons of Yellowstone surrounding the Dutton family and their Ranch, John (Kevin Costner) resigns as livestock commissioner and names Jamie (Wes Bentley) as successor. Kayce (Luke Grimes) & the ranch spend some time out in the wilderness to be around the cattle for the summer until things start to get a little dicey around the area. Beth (Kelly Reilly) encounters Roarke Morris (Josh Holloway) on their property one day and eventually finds out why he’s there and what his plans are for the valley. The Duttons have to go up against new enemies, as well as old ones. Some allies turn against them, some former enemies come to their aid, and there’s a lot to process this season. I’d go into each character’s main storyline here but then I’d just be giving it away then.
It’s something about this show that I just love, despite some of its flaws. Obviously having Kevin Costner on Yellowstone is one thing, but the rest of the cast is great as well. I thought after the first season, Costner might not be around for long but that didn’t end up happening. Even if he was off the show, all the characters are well established now that Yellowstone would continue to be one of the most watched dramas on TV without him. Taylor Sheridan’s style, writing and vision make the show what it is though. Having the show film up in Montana and up in the Northwest helps the shows a great deal. It’s just beautifully shot. It says something about a show or movie when they actually film in the location it’s about. Plus he includes things you don’t usually see on other westerns/cowboy shows & movies, or Native American movies/tv shows as well.
Not only do I like the drama parts, the little comedic elements I really enjoy too. Most of them come from the “bunk house” crew and their antics. There’s a new character, Teeter, that joins the bunk house, played by Michael Landon’s daughter Jennifer. Plus, a familiar face returns as well. For Teeter, it will be a character people either love or hate. It took me a few episodes to like her but adds a different mix to the group. You either can’t understand her or you know she’s going to say something out of left field. Josh Holloway being added to the show is a nice coup in a way. Always loved him in Lost but haven’t really watched anything he’s done since. Think he fits in well as the sort of villain of the show. Not like that gives anything away – just watch the trailer.
As far as storylines go, the beginning episodes with the Duttons out in the camp for a few episodes was sort of boring in a sense. Taylor wanted to show what a day in a life of a cowboy might be. Plus having some more character depth never hurt anybody either. Things get ramped up in a major way a few episodes in. I’m happy they gave Monica something more to do in the third season and it makes sense she would be working with Chief Rainwater. Having her helping out with missing girls on the reservation is a problem in real life and was interesting to see them bring that to light on the show.
Beth is a highlight for me and Kelly Reilly is just remarkable in the role. Rip has been a favorite of mine too, played by Cole Hauser. It’s interesting to see him go from extremely hard-ass (country mob boss in a way) to a complete teddy bear when Beth is around. We learn some things about why she despises Jamie so much, plus one of the biggest reveals of the season involves Jamie himself. The stuff with Jimmy and his new girlfriend was amusing for a bit, and liked how Denim Richards and Ian Bohen have more to do as well. I like where Kayce’s story is going and feel like he’s the lead of the show, after Costner of course. Who knows what happens with them because of that crazy cliffhanger ending. Shit is going to go down in season 4!
Fans of the show will be happy to know there’s plenty of special features to watch. There’s Behind The Stories of most episodes, The Making Yellowstone featurette, and a few other smaller featurettes. The Behind The Story featurettes are good because the cast & crew dissect each episode. Nice recap of each episode and you can watch some of these after the episodes air. I guess they use the same interviews as Inside Yellowstone. The Making Yellowstone: Season 3 was great and in-depth of shooting the third season. Went into all aspects of filming on location, the storylines, certain scenes, characters and all that kind of stuff. Really good stuff!
Yellowstone Season 3 took a few episodes to re-charge but in the end, it’s quite the explosive season (certainly the finale). Makes you want to re-watch all 3 seasons and fall in love with the show all over again. At least that’s what I know I’ll be doing when Season 4 premieres hopefully in 2021. If you haven’t seen Yellowstone yet, now is the time to catch up because it’s a beautifully shot, entertaining as hell drama with some excellent acting to boot.
Features:
Behind The Story
Meaner Than Evil: Making Yellowstone: Season Three
Working the Yellowstone: Director/Stephen Kay
Working the Yellowstone: SFX Supervisor/Garry Elmendorf
Inside Yellowstone: Season 3
Yellowstone: Stories from the Bunkhouse
Video:
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.00:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.00:1
Audio:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Subtitles:
English SDH
Bottom Line: One of the best dramas on TV right now!
Running Time: 431 mins
Rating: NR
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
