How Will ‘1883’ Season 1 End? ‘Dutton Rules’ Host Predictions
The season finale of 1883 is set for Sunday (Feb. 27), and it might surprise you to know that few fans agree on what's going to happen. The Yellowstone origin story seems to be pointing us in a certain direction, but is trusting our eyes a smart bet?
If you've not watched Ep. 9 of 1883, let this serve as your spoiler alert. Dutton Rules hosts Adison Haager and Billy Dukes are joined by Taste of Country's Sterling Whitaker to offer predictions based on what each has seen, read and heard about the show and the larger franchise. Each prediction shares one thing in common.
At the end of Ep. 9, Elsa Dutton's (Isabel May) life seemed to near its end, and she's just realized it. Her parents James and Margaret Dutton (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill) decide to lie to her and let her live out her final days instead of racing for medical care. James says wherever she dies, they'll stay, which could explain why they don't end up in Oregon.
Ep. 10 of 1883 begins streaming on Paramount+ on Sunday morning. The following was partially pulled from the most recent episode of the Dutton Rules podcast, available on Taste of Country, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you podcast.
Adison Haager: James, Margaret and the Dutton family are not going to get to Oregon. They will end up in Montana. Elsa's dying. I think Josef and his wife will die. I think Shea (Sam Elliott), Thomas (LaMonica Garrett) and Noemi (Gratiela Brancusi) go on to Oregon. The scene with Elsa and Shea where he's telling her (when she's grieving Ennis) let him see through your eyes and that part where she says he's taking his wife to the ocean ... part of me is hopeful that ends up happening. Whether or not we see that? I don't think so. I think they leave us believing those three go off and make it. I don't think we ever see Sam (Martin Sensmeier) again.
Billy Dukes: I do think we'll have one more pivotal event in Ep. 10. There will be one more action sequence that might take out a couple of characters and change the journey. For the most part, I agree with you. I think Elsa is going to die and I think that's where the Yellowstone ranch ends up being built. James, Margaret and John Sr. will live. I think Shea will die before the end of Ep. 10. I don't think we'll actually see Oregon. It will just be a situation where we're led to believe Noemi and Thomas end up getting there. I think most of the immigrants will get there as well and I think Josef and Rissa will live, if only because I don't think killing them serves any purpose. I'm not emotionally attached to Josef and Rissa at this point so it wouldn't do anything but be a cruel killing.
And then I don't think we'll see any of that whole cast of characters again after Season 1. I think (the show) will focus solely on the Dutton family and anybody else they meet while building up their life in Montana.
Sterling Whitaker: I agree with both of you on the main plot points, but I think maybe with a twist of redemption. I think Elsa will die, and the spot where they bury her is where the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is built. It helps to explain why future generations are so irrationally obsessed with the legacy of the land.
But I think maybe we get to see a few other main characters play out. I think almost all of the rest of the wagon train will die, and maybe we'll see Shea, Thomas and Noemi and a handful of others make it to Oregon. I think we'll get to see Shea play out his dream of seeing the ocean, and maybe the show ends as it began, with him contemplating taking his life ... only this time, he does. He's said all along, this is his last journey.