Elsa Dutton was the only daughter of James Dutton and Margaret Dutton as revealed in the Yellowstone spin-off show 1883. Elsa Dutton perished in the Dutton family's journey to Montana and she was buried right where the Dutton family ranch came up with the family raising a home on the land for nearly seven generations.
The season five finale of Yellowstone recently concluded with mixed reviews to boot. Among the many highlights of the finale episode, Elsa Dutton's narration that wraps up the Yellowstone saga is a memorable one.
The background of the celebrated Yellowstone character and Dutton family patriarch John Dutton III was first explored by Taylor Sheridan in the spin-off show 1883 which first premiered back in 2021. 1883 chronicled the journey of the Dutton family as they left their previous life behind at Tenessee and migrated northwest journeying through Texas to Montana.
Eventually the family decided to settle down in the Paradise Valley to honour it as the final resting place of their daughter after she succumbed to her injuries from a poisoned arrow.
The Dutton family ranch was thus set up on land borrowed from the indigenous Montana community and after striking a deal with the Native American leader Spotted Eagle. Here's everything we know.
Yellowstone: Elsa Dutton's character and background explained
Actress Isabella May portrays the character of Elsa Dutton on 1883. She had also done narration on another of Yellowstone's prequel shows called 1923. Her character, Elsa Dutton holds immense significance in the universe of the Dutton family.
It was owing to Elsa Dutton's role in her family on 1883 and due to her sudden death that the Dutton family decided to settle down in the Paradise Valley. James Dutton made a vow to settle down wherever Elsa died, as she was on the verge of succumbing to her injuries following her encounter with a poisoned arrow. The land that was Paradise Valley initially belonged to the Native American community headed by Spotted Eagle.
James Dutton struck up a deal with Spotted Eagle on condition that the original owners of the land will rise up in seven generations and take back the land from the Duttons. This foreshadowing eventually came to fruition when Kayce Dutton sold the ranch to the Black Rock Indian Reservation at the end of Yellowstone's final season.
According to the Dutton family tree, Elsa Dutton is John Dutton III's great aunt. Her narration on the finale went on as:
"141 years ago, my father was told of this valley, and here's where we stayed. Seven generations. My father was told they would come for this land, and he promised to return it. Nowhere was that promise written. It faded with my father's death, but somehow lived in the spirit of this place."
Isabel May opens up about landing the character of Elsa Dutton
In a January, 2022 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actress Isabel May spoke at length about the process of landing the role of Elsa Dutton. She commented:
"I was the only person to audition for Elsa, Taylor was doing another project called Mayor of Kingstown, and in March 2021, something like that, he flew three girls out to Texas, including myself. So I auditioned for that, and I was terribly wrong for it.”
Although May returned home in low spirits, she soon received a call back:
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"I don’t know what happened or what it was about myself or our interaction that sparked something in him, but Elsa came to life after our meeting. He called two weeks later and said, ‘You’re Elsa Dutton. I want you to be Elsa Dutton. Please be Elsa Dutton.’ And I said, ‘Well, of course, I’ll be Elsa Dutton because you’re Taylor Sheridan and it’s my dream to work with you."
All the episodes of Yellowstone are available on Paramount+.
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