If 1923 Really Brings Back This Character, It Could Risk Yellowstone Season 5’s Worst Mistake

Yellowstone season 5 was the end of the show, and for many longtime fans, it felt underwhelming. Kevin Costner’s departure from Yellowstone certainly didn’t help, but there was also a general sense that the story of the Dutton family should have amounted to more.

There were plenty of reasons why Yellowstone season 5 failed to live up to expectations, but one of the more salient problems with the show’s final outing was Taylor Sheridan himself. Sheridan’s writing was fine, but his Yellowstone character hurt that show, and it could be a bad omen for Charles Goodnight in 1923.

Charles Goodnight May Let Taylor Sheridan Act In 1923 Season 2, But It Could Repeat Yellowstone’s Mistake

Runs His Horse & Teonna Are On Goodnight’s Ranch in 1923 & Sheridan May Reprise His 1883 Role

In the premiere of 1923 season 2, Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) and Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna) discovered they had wandered onto a ranch after meeting a cowboy.

As the cowboy explained, the land they were on belonged to a “Mr. Goodnight,” and Taylor Sheridan played Charles Goodnight in 1883. Runs His Horse (Michael Spears) then declared he was going to try to meet with Goodnight, which means Sheridan could reprise his 1883 role in 1923 season 2. While it’s far from confirmed that Sheridan will play Goodnight again, reprising his character may be more trouble than it’s worth.

If Taylor Sheridan does seize his opportunity to appear in 1923 season 2 as Charles Goodnight, it has the potential to be just as divisive as his appearance as Travis Wheatley in Yellowstone. If 1923 takes a few moments to focus on Charles Goodnight and have him interact with Teonna and her group, it will only detract from the rest of the show’s more interesting stories.

Watching Goodnight brag about his relationship with Quanah Parker wouldn’t be nearly as interesting as moving closer to the confrontation between Teonna, Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane), and Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché), for example.

Why Taylor Sheridan’s Travis Wheatley Was One Of The Worst Parts Of Yellowstone Season 5

Travis Stole Precious Time That Could Have Developed Yellowstone’s More Interesting Stories

Charles Goodnight’s potential appearance in 1923 season 2 is also extremely reminiscent to one of Yellowstone season 5’s worst mistakes: Travis Wheatley. Taylor Sheridan had appeared as Travis in a handful of Yellowstone episodes dating back to season 1, but in Yellowstone season 5, he became a major part of the show.

In fact, Travis got such a massive role in Yellowstone season 5 that he stole precious time away from the much more pressing stories of the show’s main characters. The ending of Yellowstone already felt rushed, and Travis only made it worse.

A great example of the effect Travis had on Yellowstone is his story with Beth (Kelly Reilly). In the final episodes of the show, instead of pursuing her revenge against Jamie (Wes Bentley), Yellowstone had Beth deal with Travis for an extended period of time.

That time was quite valuable, and it would have been put to better use by exploring the ends of some of Sheridan’s most beloved characters rather than exploring the life of a small recurring character. Travis was fine as a bit of comedic humor that appeared once a season, but once he became a central figure of Yellowstone, the show suffered.

Taylor Sheridan Has To Figure Out How To Avoid His Travis Mistake In Yellowstone Before Acting In Another Of His Shows

Sheridan Has To Go Back To Sparingly Playing Cameo Characters In His Shows

Travis Wheatley is just a sign of a problem that has been happening in several of Taylor Sheridan’s cameo appearances. Even Cody Spears, Sheridan’s Lioness character and the second most recent role he played, got an overly important role in the ending of the show, and he stole time away from Joe’s (Zoe Saldaña) story.

 Sheridan has to figure out how to write a cameo character who adds to the overall story of his shows instead of feeling like an unnecessary self-insert before he makes another on-screen appearance. Unfortunately, Sheridan may not have learned that lesson in time for 1923 season 2.

1923 Season 2 Release Schedule

Episode #
Title
Release Date

1
The Killing Season
February 22

2
The Rapist Is Winter
March 2

3
Wrap Thee In Terror
March 9

4
TBA
March 16

5
TBA
March 23

6
TBA
March 30

7
TBA
April 6

8
TBA
April 13

One of the oddest parts of Sheridan’s recent indulgent cameos is that he used to be much better at them. Sheridan’s characters in Hell or High Water and 1883 were both prime examples of a good cameo: they were important for a bit, they did their thing, and they promptly left, so their respective stories could refocus on the main characters.

If Goodnight does appear in 1923 season 2, and he’s like Travis in Yellowstone rather than the cowboy in Hell or High Water, he may end up exacerbating 1923‘s already slow pace and bringing Teonna’s story to a grinding halt.