Yellowstone fans can’t get enough of Beth Dutton, and Kelly Reilly thinks there’s a profound reason for the attachment to the lovable rogue.
Beth Dutton truly is a force of nature. She’s compared herself to a tornado and a cockroach in the past, so it tracks that Kelly Reilly, the star behind the Yellowstone character, thinks there’s something “primal” in Beth that fans can get behind.
While Yellowstone is largely dominated by men, Beth Dutton is arguably the best Yellowstone character of them all. In a landscape of gun-toting, cattle-herding badasses, she takes the crown as the most dangerous and formidable Dutton in the entire Yellowstone timeline. Suffice to say, fans of the drama series love Beth, but why?
Well, who better to ask than Yellowstone cast member Kelly Reilly? Speaking to Esquire, she said: “With women, you’re supposed to be the Virgin Mary, or you’re the whore. It’s like this gray area of in-between, which is where all women live — or human beings live — which is the truth. Somewhere in that, there is a primal thing that Beth kind of touches on, which I think is what makes her such a unique character.”
In particular, Beth Dutton seemingly has an army of adoring fans who see the character as something of a role model. We know Beth doesn’t stand for any shit, and Reilly thinks women are able to take strength from the way Beth operates.
“There’s something that I think people are responding to, where we’re supposed to be nice all the time, especially women. Right? I’m not talking about female empowerment, but there is that to it, where women are empowered by her,” Reilly added.
She’s not wrong, either. Historically, women have been poorly written, especially by male writers. So often, female characters are either relegated to redundant roles or they’re amped up to be frustrating caricatures of what a strong, independent woman actually is. Beth is certainly strong, but never has it felt insincere or unconvincing. Sure, she’s a little larger than life, but her character arc has the depth to pull it off.
Credit where credit’s due, Taylor Sheridan is pretty damn good at writing women characters. I’d be the first to admit that, while I consider Yellowstone one of the best TV series around, some of the writing is a touch cheesy. But with Beth, 1883’s Elsa Dutton, and even Sicario’s Kate Macer, Sheridan has a knack for treading that line between powerful women and tired clichés.
We can’t wait to see what Beth gets up to in Yellowstone season 5 part 2, but until then, you could always reminisce about the best Beth Dutton quotes with us. Or, you can look ahead to the Yellowstone 1923 season 2 release date, the Yellowstone 6666 release date, or find out more about Yellowstone 1944.