Yellowstone's Jefferson White Gets As Stumped By Those Jimmy Cliffhangers As Rest Of Us
In "Yellowstone," the Dutton ranch comes above all else, and there is no more obvious representation of this than poor Jimmy Hurdstrom (Jefferson White). Maligned for actions that landed him in prison, the Duttons give him a way to redeem himself. His only option is to accept a brand from Yellowstone's chief handler, Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), in his most upsetting scene of Season 1. Barbaric or not, Jimmy accepts this offer. Regrettably, for the new ranch hand, this is only the beginning of his torment.
The road to being a cowboy is not easy, and Rip is there every step of the way to ensure that Jimmy pays his dues. Jimmy shows a penchant for riding bucking horses, but this talent starts a dangerous pattern. Time after time, the impressionable ranch hand incurs fractured spines, shattered hips, and even one disconcerting bear chase. Jimmy never seems to catch a break, but what is even worse is the gauntlet that the fans are put through. Episodes typically land on cliffhangers where viewers — as well as White himself — don't know if the character will be alive or dead in the next episode.
Life kicks poor Jimmy when he's down
Over the scope of the show, most of Jimmy's cliffhangers can be distilled into one factor: Accidents. Jimmy's unfortunate lot in life to have his life threatened is so frequent on the show that Jefferson White even laid out all of his character's accidents in "Stories From the Bunkhouse." The most prevalent injuries were of course Jimmy's constant horse incidents. But though it seems like a running joke to many of the actors, White has cause for concern. Whenever he gets a new episode, he has to wonder if his character will survive this time.
"It's been a series of cliffhangers for me," White admitted to ScreenRant Plus in an exclusive interview. "You know, there's been a couple times where I read a script that ended with 'Jimmy lays face down in the dirt, motionless.' And you know, making any art, making any sort of creative project is a real exercise in trust."
Trust is paramount, especially when working actors want to make sure they come back season after season. After Jimmy's character arc getting trained at The Four Sixes Ranch, he seemed to be in a good place. However, White has not yet reprised his character in the most recent season of "Yellowstone." Speaking to Den of Geek, the actor teased some juicy details to come in Season 5 but as of yet, there is no joy. Viewers can only hope that the last episode wasn't curtains for their favorite punching bag.