Taylor Sheridan’s writing on Yellowstone is usually praised by fans. On the hit neo-Western, he has created intense, complex characters that fans can both relate to and fear at the same time.
But Lloyd’s (Forrie J. Smith) arc in Season 4, was one storyline that left fans questioning Taylor’s motives.
In previous seasons, Lloyd was seen as one of the most trusted hands on The Dutton Ranch – he also wears the Yellowstone brand on his chest, meaning he was chosen by John Dutton (Kevin Costner) to remain on the ranch for life.
His loyalty to the ranch, friendship with Rip (Cole Hauser) and the Dutton family is what left fans confused in season 4 when Lloyd started doing things that seemed out of character.
During Season 4, Lloyd started brawling with Walker (Ryan Bingham) over the barrel racers that oddly had moved into the bunk house on the ranch.
Lloyd even went so far as to smash Walker’s guitar and stab him – although he did throw the knife instead of actually pushing it in himself.
Their drama led Rip and Lloyd to fight, even though Rip had previously tried to kill off Walker and Lloyd and Rip seemed to be incredibly close.
All of the out of character actions led one fan to take to Reddit to voice their concerns.
“I’m in season 4 and I’m not happy with how Rip is treating Lloyd. He was beefing with Walker for the longest and picking on him constantly. Even tried to kill him when Kaycee was the boss. Walker gets in Lloyd’s face and antagonizes him but Lloyd gets punished. Then Rip makes the voice comment (about Lloyd) ” because of what he is to us, he still alive” the fan started the thread.
Another weighed in on the “annoying” storylines: “Between the spinning horses and the Lloyd/Walker fight, watching season 4 was like sticking a fork in my eye. I was put off by Rip and everyone’s treatment of Lloyd too. The barrel racers living in the bunk was annoying too. Why did that just go on and on???”
While a third added: “I mean John even asked if walker is such a problem why is he still here? Also, Lloyd told tell Rip about how he was feeling before it all escalated. Rip being the leader should have been kicked the girls out. He was like I don’t know how much more my pride can take. And Rip basically told him to get over it.”
“Most of the writing in the show is full of holes like this. The whole beef with Walker never made any sense to begin with,” a fourth pointed out.
Lloyd’s storyline eventually got back on track and so did his relationship with Rip – he was even the Best Man when Rip married Beth (Kelly Reilly).
The Bunk House drama also seemed to calm down after season 4 with the first half of season 5 focusing on John’s new job as the Governor of Montana and the relationship between Beth and Jamie (Wes Bentley) continuing to grow more violent.
Fans will get to see how Taylor wraps up all the Yellowstone storylines when Season 5B premieres on November 10, 2024.
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