The yellow stone prequel 1923 includes a narrator to fill in the blanks of the Dutton family history. The series premiere captivated fans with John and Spencer Dutton and introduced a whole new set of characters. In 1883, Isabel May played Elsa Dutton, the eldest son of James and Margaret. May also narrates the series, but his character died in episode 10. Is Isabel May still narrating? 1923?
[Warning: 1923 premiere spoilers ahead.]
Isabel May’s character, Elsa Dutton, narrated ‘1883’
Actress Isabel May got her break in a leading role when Taylor Sheridan chose her in the yellow stone prequel, 1883. May played Elsa Dutton, the eldest daughter of Margaret and James. Along with her brother John, Elsa accompanied her parents on the perilous journey to western Montana.
Unfortunately, Elsa did not survive the trip. She received an arrow in the stomach during a conflict with a group of Native Americans and died days later in his father’s arms. James and Margaret decided to settle in the place where Elsa was buried, leading them to choose Montana as their new home.
Elsa by Isabel May also narrates 1883. “Playing a character who tells her own story, as well as the story of all the other characters, is humbling considering the fact that Taylor [Sheridan]The words of are so rich and powerful and moving,” May said in a video from Supreme.
Elsa is the narrator of ‘1923’ although she died years ago
Although Elsa died at the end of 1883she still serves as narrator of 1923. In the series premiere, Elsa fills in the blanks about what happened to her parents, James and Margaret. “On my father’s death, my mother wrote to her brother begging him to bring her family to this wild land and save hers,” Elsa explains.
“A year later, he arrived to find my mother frozen in a snowdrift, her two children half-starved and barely able to speak. She raised them as her own and took my father’s dream and turned it into an empire. Then the empire collapsed.”
Elsa also gives an ominous warning. “My father had three children. Only one would live to see their own children grow up,” she says. “Only one would carry the fate of this family through the depression and all the other hells the 20th century threw at them.”
Fans have mixed feelings about Elsa’s narration.
Fans now know that Isabel May’s character Elsa serves as the narrator of 1923. However, some viewers did not enjoy Elsa’s voiceover in 1883. “The narration is bad”, one Reddit user wrote. “Elsa is a good character. The show is amazing. The narration is just unnecessary and she takes you out of the moment”.
However, other fans thoroughly enjoyed watching the show through Elsa’s point of view and were excited to hear her voice in 1923. “In the first two minutes, when the narration kicks in, I immediately got goosebumps all over my body and tears welled up in my eyes,” wrote a fan on Reddit.
Another viewer added: “As soon as I heard her voice, I looked at my husband and said, ‘Hey, that’s Elsa!’ I’m sad he’s not on this show, but I hope it works like all Taylor Sheridan shows.”
new episodes of 1923 are released on Sundays on Paramount+.