I give this series a B- overall. What I liked: acting, visuals, music. What I didn’t like: the story. None of these people were anywhere close to being prepared for the wagon journey they set out on. Shea is possibly the worst because he and Thomas agreed to guide a group of ill-prepared Germans who couldn’t hunt or swim, which ultimately cost most of them their lives. It probably would’ve cost all of them their lives if not for James agreeing to help out free of charge. I guess he wanted to do this so he could shoot himself on a beach, which it sucks that he took everyone else on a death journey with him. James isn’t much better. Led his family by train from Tennessee to Fort Worth, then by wagon to Montana. Not sure what exactly his motivations were for doing that, although I’ll admit maybe it was explained in episode 1 and I just forgot. It resulted in the death of his daughter, SIL, and niece. He may have been slightly better prepared, but they mentioned early on that his family wouldn’t survive the journey solo, so he had to buddy up with a band of misfits. Just seems stupid all around, and that’s not even counting the fact that apparently train travel to the American West was fairly accessible in 1883. And then Elsa… I actually liked her character but the inclusion of back-to-back Ennis/Sam head over heels love interests really degraded her story arc for me. They should’ve made Ennis just a casual fling to make the Sam part more authentic. I think Taylor Sheridan creates good environments but lacks substance. Probably done with his shows at this point, which is fine because there is plenty of better TV out there.