Yellowstone fans think they’ve worked out why Season 5 feels so different

Yellowstone Season 5 feels like a big shift from earlier seasons of the Taylor Sheridan series, and fans think they’ve worked out the reason.

As the Western show went on, a certain shift became noticeable, especially when it came to Season 5. While we’re still technically only half a season down (Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 is due to arrive in November), the first eight episodes were enough for fans to clock that something was amiss.

While not the lowest-ranking season of the Taylor Sheridan show — that title would go to Season 1, which only has 57% on Rotten Tomatoes — it is the second-lowest. But Dutton devotees have come up with a very simple explanation for what they view as a drop in quality, and it all has to do with Sheridan himself. Namely, his workload.

On the Yellowstone subreddit, one fan asked why Season 5 suffered from such a dip in quality. What came was a wave of responses that pointed to the writer and creator himself as the source.

As one fan wrote: “I blame Taylor Sheridan, he was the writer. I don’t know if he was purposely trying to drag Season 5 out. Or he was just overwhelmed writing other shows. I have read he has said he has the whole upcoming storyline in his head, even how it will end. But yeah, a lot of fans were disappointed in the first half of Season 5.”

Another agreed, adding: “Sheridan writes all of this himself. And he’s involved with 827 other projects, so he’s stretched a little thin.”

“Like others have posted, Taylor Sheridan is the problem,” said a third. “If he would just focus on what he started and finished it before doing all these other shows, he may be better off. And he would probably be richer too…”

“I feel the same. I didn’t even finish the episodes. It feels like TS has too many irons in the fire. And the quality is clearly suffering,” said one comment. While another person wrote: “Sheridan treated the show like a preview for his other shows.”

While it’s easy to point to the creator of Yellowstone as the reason for an underwhelming season, there are other elements at play. Yes, Sheridan is also juggling a number of other projects, including 1923 Season 2, 6666, and Yellowstone 2024 (to name a few), but Season 5 was also thematically different.

At this point in the show, John Dutton has become Governor of Montana. It’s a strategic move so he can protect his land, but he didn’t want the role. As such, he spends a lot of time away from his ranch and feels unsatisfied. The show’s atmosphere and narrative naturally reflects this. Plus, with half a season still to go, Part 1 served as more of a set-up than a well-rounded story.

Although Part 2 will never be what it was intended to be (thanks to an early cancellation), it’ll at least give the show a chance to redeem itself.

For more, check out our guides to Yellowstone 1944 and 1883 Season 2. You can also check out the best Yellowstone episodes. Or, find out everything you need to know about the Yellowstone cast.