![]() ![]() When he admits to her that he has no real goals beyond accumulating power and protecting his family’s holdings, she improbably coos, “That’s the most idealistic thing I’ve ever heard a politician say.” He then makes a joke about how there must be something inherently sexy about the break room they’re in and she says, “It’s not the break room … It’s you.” Yeeeesh. Even the relatively minor character of Jamie Dutton’s campaign manager is a total disaster: all breathless and googly-eyed in the presence of a strong man (or whatever Jamie is). Yellowstone’s ladies take center stage for much of this episode - which isn’t really a good thing, given the troubles Sheridan has writing women. At the least, I’m damn sure going to remember it more than anything else in “A Monster Is Among Us.” (Maybe not since the most recent season of Twin Peaks.) There’s a real “What the hell?” kind of kick to that sequence. ![]() Still, I have to admit: It’s been a while since I’ve seen anything on TV quite as perversely nutty as that cliffhanger scene. People just keep dying on this ranch, in increasingly bizarre ways, and yet I think thus far maybe two of these incidents have been investigated? Perhaps three? But also - once again - we’re given no indication that anyone’s ever going to mention this terrible, freakish tragedy for the rest of the season. For one thing, once again, Sheridan leans on random violence and bloodshed to goose up a Yellowstone episode. Then the bear suddenly shows up and lunges at Rip, and he shoots it dead. One panics, slips, and drops and then the other lets himself plummet. Rip tells them his rope can only hold one of them, and warns that when he yanks one up, the balance will be upset, and the other will fall. Later, while hunting for that rogue bear, Rip finds two of those same tourists, balanced precariously on either end of a thick tree branch, pivoted on a cliffside outcropping, high off the ground. But then John fires his shotgun in the air, growls, “This is America… we don’t share land here,” and they scatter. At first they refuse to leave, because they don’t believe that one man could actually own so much wide-open land. This hour opens with John Dutton getting annoyed at a busload of sightseers trespassing on his property, gawking at a bear. So let’s talk about the Asian tourists, shall we? But I also kept thinking that the most crazily entertaining pieces in this episode are the ones that would be jettisoned immediately if show were more … well, let’s say “normal.” If they did, would that be wise? I spent most of “A Monster Is Among Us” being either bored or baffled, I confess. Next year, might Paramount urge creator Taylor Sheridan to rip everything else out and rebuild? But are they happy with the product? The show has solid bones, no doubt. ![]() The Paramount Network executives are undoubtedly happy with Yellowstone’s numbers. After this week’s “A Monster Is Among Us” there are three episodes remaining in Yellowstone’s first season - but not in the series as a whole, because this has been one of the most-watched scripted dramas on cable this summer, and has already been renewed for another year. ![]()
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