Spoilers below for the latest episode of Yellowstone, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched.
While Taylor Sheridan & Co. have never been shy about bringing bloodlust to each season of Yellowstone, the back half of Season 5 has been particularly brutal with character deaths. From the contract killing of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in the midseason premiere to Dawn Olivieri’s Sarah getting assassinated in the street, and now to the horse-clomping demise of Denim Richards’ beloved ranchhand Colby. It’s rough out here for a cowboy, and for heavy-hitting attorneys.
Following the shocking twists and turns of “Counting Coup,” Richards took to social media with a mournful photo of Colby’s cowboy duds, and opened up about his character’s untimely fate playing out amidst the high levels of secrecy in Season 5B. Speaking with Variety, the actor was asked if he sat down and enjoyed the episode like so many other millions of fans, and he explained why that was not his experience, saying:
I did not — I actually didn’t even watch it at all. I watched clips of it later on, but I have been replaying this moment all the time since May, and it’s been emotionally challenging just for me as an individual to be living with it.
No doubt much truth is embedded in those words, considering it's been six months or so of radio silence on Denim Richards' part as far as what he could talk about from the show. The promotional build-up to Yellowstone's return was pretty massive, with so much attention and speculation surrounding these (possibly) final episodes. He likely had to keep Colby's death at the forefront of his mind specifically to avoid slipping up and mentioning something.
Richards continued, and addressed how he felt watching the clip from the episode showcasing his selfless death-via-horse while trying to keep Carter safe. As he put it:
When I actually watched it saw how Taylor eloquently pieced all of this together, it was a beautiful way to go out if you were going to go out. But I was treating it like it was another day at the office. It was like a stress test for me. If you want to do these things, if you’re going to have a long career, you’re going to probably have one or two more of these types of things. So you’re gonna have to be able to handle them with a level of professionalism and class, and that’s what I’m trying to exercise myself in right now. Otherwise, I would probably be crying in every interview.
As the actor put it, it doesn't do much good for performers to get too worked up about their characters' deaths, since it's not so rare a fate, especially for episodic TV dramas. To treat each one as a major tragedy would get debilitating over time.
How Fan Responses To Colby's Death Surprised Denim Richards
As Richards put it, part of the reason why he was less invested in sharing that viewing experience with the show's fanbase stemmed from all the positivity and goodwill that viewers voiced for his character's romantic foibles with Jennifer Landon's Teeter. In his words:
There was so much excitement coming into this season, so many people saying, “Colby and Teeter, they’re finally going to get together, we’re finally going to see that moment!” I felt like yesterday would have just been too much for me. But of course, the moment that I went online and I started seeing the thousands of responses, I thought, ‘Wow, it really meant something.”
No doubt, quite a few fans out there were indeed angered by Colby's death, specifically in terms of how it shattered his and Teeter's relationship, and spoke mournfully about the couple's final conversation, as well as the way Ryan told her the news on horseback. I can understand why the thought of seeing such fraught-filled comments would keep him away from social media.
Thankfully, though, Denim Richards did venture online to see how fans were reacting, and was apparently taken aback by all the kindness and goodwill that viewers offered up. That had to be a weirdly awesome and encouraging way to follow up on the experience, knowing that his years portraying this character meant so much to so many. The bunkhouse will never be the same without him.
With just two episodes left to go in Season 5, Yellowstone airs Sunday nights on Paramount Network at 8:00 p.m. ET. Of course, even if Season 6 does happen the way fans are hoping, it sucks to think that Colby won’t be around for any of it.
