1923's Lindy And Christy Scene Went On For Way Too Long
The following article contains mention of sexual violence.
"1923," part of the "Yellowstone" franchise, doesn't pull any punches when it comes to its often realistic portrayal of what life was like in the early 20th century. Part of this involves a storyline concerning forced assimilation in American Indian boarding schools where abuse ran rampant against indigenous children. It was also a different time when it came to the relationship between men and women, and many viewers have taken umbrage with certain depictions of these relationships.
Redditor u/WillBryantSC pointed out how unnecessary it was for Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) to abuse sex workers like Lindy (Madison Rogers) and Christy (Cailyn Rice). While the abuse was tough to watch on its own, it was the pure extent that had some viewers upset, like u/WillBryantSC writing, "We get it, he's evil. Including yet another softcore torture porn scene doesn't add to the character development or the plot in any way." Many others agreed that the scene depicted in Season 1 felt like overkill and that everyone knows what a bad guy Whitfield was even before the scene happened.
1923 fans thought the same point could come across in less time
Great care and attention went into Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) and her storylines, including the abuse she suffered at the hands of religious leaders. However, it appears some fans weren't as taken with the violence suffered by Lindy and Christy, regardless of how accurate to the time period it might've been. Many other Redditors took issue with the sequences and felt they were far too drawn out, to the point of blunting their impact. Redditor u/ksb012 pointed out, "I mean, the scenes do connect with the plot. It's to show that Whitfield gets off on manipulating people and pitting them against each other. He's doing the same thing to Jacob and Banner. Did we need the scenes to be as long and drawn out as they were? No."
There were quite a few people who admitted to fast-forwarding through the violent scenes because they dragged on for so long. Many agreed that Whitfield didn't need that much time to convince viewers he was a bad guy, especially considering the first season only has eight episodes, which isn't a ton of time to flesh out so many characters. U/WillBryantSC went on to say, "Getting hyperfocused on developing one aspect if a character is great if you have spare time to do it with. But they don't. That's why I think a scene like this would have made a better fit in a 15-16 episode series." It would appear that when it comes to this level of abuse, less is more.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.