Top 7 Characters in Yellowstone Franchise, Ranked

Things aren’t yet ready to wrap up after a pretty devastating finale of 1923’s season 2, with the Yellowstone franchise expanding its universe to more storylines with more new characters.

However, not all of those are good guys anyway, but Taylor Sheridan found ways to make them just as likeable — here’s our own top.

7. Spencer Dutton

Even though he’s featured in flashback scenes in several Yellowstone shows, it’s 1923 that gives Spencer Dutton, portrayed by Brandon Sklenar, enough time to prove himself as one of the best characters who sticks to the truth and justice despite his own hardships.

Raised by Jacob and Cara Dutton after his parents died, Spencer continues his challenging path as a member of the US military’s American Expeditionary Force during World War I, which leads to his drinking problems due to PTSD.

Things change when he meets his future wife Alexandra, but the show’s finale doesn’t let them have a happy ending either.

Spencer’s storyline is a solid proof of moral strength that kept him afloat even after a series of biggest tragedies.

6. Beth Dutton

John Dutton III’s only daughter might be one of the most compelling characters in the entire franchise just due to the fact that tragic events shaped her personality so that she could defend her own truth.

Though she could have been perceived as pretty arrogant in Yellowstone’s first seasons, Beth eventually proves herself as a shrewd dealmaker and a person loyal to her family’s values.

In the show’s final season Beth is justly chosen John’s right-hand person, showing that her father’s respect was what has driven her all along.

5. Elsa Dutton

James and Margaret’s eldest child, Elsa plays a pivotal role in 1883’s storyline not just because she’s one of the leading characters, but also due to the fact that she comes as a narrator, offering her own view on how things were in the Wild West back then.

Just like many other characters in Sheridan’s franchise, Elsa goes through several major losses and her personal discoveries before realising she’s not the same person anymore and eventually accepting it.

Even though Elsa doesn’t make it to 1883’s finale, her heartbreaking and pretty gruesome end somehow paves the way for what Yellowstone talks about, with the place she’s buried in becoming the Duttons’ famous ranch.

4. Shea Brennan

Sam Elliott’s character might be the most notable personification of the most compelling part of American history.

As captain Shea Brennan travels across the country alongside the Duttons, he lets them discover new pieces of his own story that eventually make a puzzle full of major historical events, encounters with influential people and personal tragedies.

Brennan’s backstory is what makes Sheridan’s 1883 even more credible, let alone the character’s pretty Western-ish personality.

3. John Dutton III

Kevin Costner’s character isn’t really the first option when it comes to Yellowstone’s best characters, considering many flaws that John has demonstrated all along and thus made it almost impossible to root for him anyway.

However, Costner’s performance is what makes the character look more like a real-life tough rancher whose land means to him more than anything else in the world.

Without Costner Yellowstone was doomed for a pretty unsatisfying ending, which is what the show’s season 5 proved last year.

2. Cara Dutton

Taylor Sheridan might have been slammed for writing female characters in a stereotypical way, but things were different with 1923’s Cara.

Throughout the series’ run, Helen Mirren’s character repeatedly proves herself as the head of the entire family, just like her husband Jacob, never thinking twice before taking a risk for the sake of her family and her land.

Apart from that, Cara is never silent when it comes to obvious injustice and bases her relationships with everyone else on nothing else but truth and honesty, which also makes her and Jacob’s couple one of the best duos on modern TV.

1. Rip Wheeler

Beth’s husband and John Dutton’s son-in-law, Rip Wheeler goes through a lot during Yellowstone’s five seasons, but this is what makes him change for the better after all.

Initially not even part of the immediate family, Rip eventually becomes John’s right-hand person and gets a top position on the list of potential owners of the Yellowstone ranch.

On top of that, Rip’s personality also brought him lots of fans who admired the way a seemingly fierce cowboy would transform into a simple and tender guy once Beth appears alongside.