Getty How did James Dutton, the character played by Tim McGraw, die?
As fans know, James Dutton was played by country singer Tim McGraw in “1883,” the prequel to the western series “Yellowstone.” With the Dutton family story picking up in “1923,” many fans want to know: Is James Dutton dead? If so: How did James Dutton die? What was his cause of death?
Stop reading if you don’t want spoilers for “1923” and “1883.”
The series “1923” stars Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton, the brother of James Dutton, who raised the sons of James and Margaret Dutton, who was played by McGraw’s real-life wife, Faith Hill.
In “1923,” the fates of James and Margaret Dutton are revealed through narration by Elsa Dutton, their deceased daughter from “1883,” but fans of “Yellowstone” already knew what happened to James Dutton because his likely death was shown in a flashback in that present-day series. Fans last saw James and Margaret Dutton in “1883” choosing the land for the Dutton family homestead in Montana on the spot where they buried their daughter, Elsa Dutton, who died from a poisoned arrow in a wagon train ambush.
It was theoretically possible for James and Margaret Dutton to still be alive in the year 1923, but, sadly, they are not. Furthermore, a lot of people thought that Ford was playing an older version of Tim McGraw’s character but, instead, he’s playing his brother. James and Margaret still live on through the modern-day Duttons because they had two sons who were raised by Jacob and his wife, Cara.
Here’s what you need to know:
James Dutton Was Shot by Horse Thieves, a Flashback Shown in ‘Yellowstone’
Episode one streamed on Sunday, December 18, 2022. But, according to Cinemaholic, James Dillard Dutton’s death was already shown in a flashback in “Yellowstone,” which follows the present-day life of his descendant, John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and family.
In a flashback, James Dutton is shown with gunshot wounds.
According to the Yellowstone Fandom site, James Dutton’s cause of death is being shot by horse thieves on the Yellowstone ranch.
The site reports that James Dutton died in 1893, meaning he only survived for 10 years on the Dutton ranch after arriving there.
“In 1893, 10 years after the start of 1883, he is running a ranch in Park County, Montana and is a deputized ranger in those parts. His youngest son, Spencer, is born later on and his eldest son, John, is a teenager. When hunting horse thieves, he was severely wounded in the firefight. Upon returning home, he was bleeding out and collapsed inside his home. He died at that moment,” that site explains.
The Flashback in Season 4 of Yellowstone Shows a Wounded James Dutton Making it Home
Fans of “Yellowstone” and close observers of it know that James Dutton’s death was shown in the 8th episode of season 4, which is called “No Kindness for the Coward,” according to Cinemaholic.
The flashback shows James chasing horse thieves, while his wife and two children have dinner back home.
He kills all but one of the thieves and gets his horses back, but then he realizes that he’s been shot and he collapses when he returns home. Although his actual death is not seen on screen, the scream of his wife, Margaret, makes it clear that he doesn’t survive.
As for Margaret, her fate is revealed in narration by Elsa in “1923.”
She says her uncle Jacob arrived “to find my mother frozen in a snowdrift and the two boys half-starved and barely able to speak.”
Fans know that James Dutton was the protagonist of “1883,” along with his wife and their daughter Elsa. He is a Civil War veteran who sets out west with his family in search of land and peace. The family’s arduous journey and the price they pay for it helps explain why the present-day Duttons cling so fiercely to the land, no matter how much money they are offered for it by rich developers, a constant theme in the show.
In “1923,” Jacob Dutton’s wife Cara Dutton is played by Helen Mirren.
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