As much as we all loveYellowstonefor the show’s thrilling characters, picturesque landscapes, and memorable dialogue, the show isn’t always the sharpest when it comes to maintaining a multi-season continuity.Taylor Sheridan, for all his great work as a screenwriter, could use someone to help keep him in check whenever it comes to new episodes of the show. While some things are easily forgivable, there’sone glaring error in the show’s 2024 premiere, “Desire Is All You Need.” Does it have to do with John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) death? Nope. The fact that Jamie (Wes Bentley) didn’t actually want his father killed, but rather his sister? Nope. It has to do withForrie J. Smith’s lovable cowboy Lloyd.
Did ‘Yellowstone’ Retcon Lloyd’s Last Name?
Prior to Season 5 Part 2,Yellowstonehad always referred to Lloyd as “Lloyd Pierce.“That’s the name of the character that Smith is credited for playing on IMDb, and it’s the name most fans have come to know the old cowboy as over the years.But “Desire Is All You Need” changes all that. When Rip (Cole Hauser) is asked by Lloyd to pick up a bit for him down in Pampa, Texas, the longtime ranch foreman meets with legendary lorinerBilly Klapper,asking for an order from a “Lloyd Bridger.“Wait, what? You read that right. As far as we can tell, unless Lloyd was using an alias,Yellowstonehas officially renamed Lloyd Pierce as Lloyd Bridger, which is a bold move to make so close to the neo-Western’s apparent end.
Why this change? It’s hard to say. It’s possible thatTaylor Sheridan is trying to tie Lloyd’s roots to the founding of Montana. After all, back during the time of the mountain men in the mid-1800s, men likeJim Bridgerexplored the Rocky Mountains and paved their way through places like Montana. In fact, Bridger (who folks may recognize as being a character from the 2014 filmThe Revenant,which is based on historical events) blazed the Bridger Trail that went from Wyoming to Montana, thus avoiding the Bozeman Trail, which had been paved previously byJohn Bozeman. Yes, Bozeman is the namesake of the same Bozeman featured inYellowstone, a city bordered on the northeast by the Bridger Mountains named after Bridger.
‘Yellowstone’s Season 5 Return Lassos a Ratings Record For the Series
Everyone wants to know what happened to John Dutton.
We don’t know for sure if this is what Sheridan was thinking when he swapped Lloyd’s surname from his traditional Pierce to the more recognizable Bridger, but given the success of1883and1923(which will hopefully be coming back soon), tying the character further into the Last Best Place’s roots feels on-brand for the franchise.Lloyd actor Forrie J. Smith himself is from Helena, Montana, and it’s possible that his connection to the land is something Sheridan hoped to elaborate on with this change. That, or it could just be another of the show’s long list of continuity errors.
‘Yellowstone’ Sometimes Plays Fast and Loose With Its Continuity
Unfortunately,Yellowstonehas a history of continuity errors and plot inconsistenciesthat have long frustrated fans of the show. Sure, we keep coming back for the characters, but some falsehoods are too blatant to ignore. For starters, the show’s early years showed an always sunny Montana, and while the sun does often shine year-round,the ground is more often covered in snow than not. This is an error many fans pointed out duringthe death of Evelyn Dutton(Gretchen Mol) back in the first season. But that’s far from all. Missing gunshot wounds (“No Good Horses”), 2020s beer bottles in the 1990s (“Tall Drink of Water”),Kelly Reilly’s Beth surviving a bomb explosionafter being only a few feet from the blast(“The World is Purple”).
Of course, that’s far from everything. Characters like Lee Dutton (Dave Annable) or Robert Long (Jeremiah Bitsui) are largely forgotten about for far too long after they were killed in the show’s very first episode, including by their own families. Flashbacks and photographs that they should appear in actively omit them (especially Lee), as if they never existed. In fact, Robert is still never mentioned on the show, thoughLee finally returned in a vision in Season 4.Maybe we shouldn’t be thinking too hard aboutYellowstone, but rather enjoy the ride and experience each episode as it comes.
Yellowstone
A ranching family in Montana faces off against others encroaching on their land.
Yellowstoneairs Sundays on the Paramount Network. Previous seasons can be streamed on Peacock.
Watch on Peacock
