When Yellowstone premiered in 2018, it took the world by storm due to its mix of neo-Western tropes, dark drama, and an incredible cast. Even the falling-out between Kevin Costner and series creator Taylor Sheridan didn’t stop fans from tuning in to the final season, with its successreflected in cable ratings and streaming charts alike. Despite its success, there’s one episode of Yellowstone that nobody really likes, at least according to IMDb: the Season 5 episode, “Give The World Away”.

“Give The World Away” ranks lowest among Yellowstone episodes, with a 7.1, compared to the show’s overall 8.6 rating and some fan-favorite episodes, which score as high as 9.2. The reason for this low rating is due to the heavy focus on Travis Wheatley, played by none other than Taylor Sheridan himself. Wheatley wasn’t a new character; he’d sporadically appeared throughout Yellowstone as an old friend of Costner’s John Dutton. It was the way that Wheatley’s character was utilized throughout the episode that seemed to turn fans off, and for good reason.

‘Yellowstone’s Penultimate Episode Feels Like a Monument to Taylor Sheridan

Image via Paramount

From the minute that Travis Wheatley appears on-screen, it feels less like Taylor Sheridan is scripting an episode of Yellowstone and more of a monument to his own ego. Wheatley is shown smoking cigars, with a vest open to reveal his muscles. He manages to impress Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) with his bull-riding skills, which isn’t an easy feat as Beth tends to be fairly stone-faced. Perhaps the most over-the-top scene is Wheatley’s introduction, in which he plays strip poker with three women, including his girlfriend Sadie (played by supermodel Bella Hadid). It feels like Sheridan is trying to build a backdoor pilot for a Travis Wheatley show.

The focus on Travis wouldn’t be nearly as bad if it had happened earlier in the season. Yet “Give The World Away” is the penultimate episode before the series finale. With most of the season focusing on the growing feud between Beth and her brother Jamie (Wes Bentley), not to mention the fate of the Dutton ranch, there should have been more screen time dedicated to those conflicts, not stroking Sheridan’s ego. Vulture‘s Ben Rosenstock didn’t mince any words when expressing his frustration at the focus on Wheatley:

“So much of this episode feels like a tribute to a supporting character who never did anything to deserve it … besides be played by the creator and writer of the show.”

The irony is that Sheridan’s shift from writing to acting stemmed from his frustration that he wasn’t getting to flex his creative muscles. “When you’re acting on a TV show [like I was], I’m not getting to tell a [story]. I was selling ad space at the end of the day. I was moving plot. I wasn’t telling a story,” he said in an interview. “Give The World Away” is strong proof that Sheridan’s talents lie behind the camera, rather than in front of it.

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