The Yellowstone Callback You Missed Early In 1883

"1883," the highly anticipated prequel series to the Paramount Network's hit drama "Yellowstone," is finally here. The series introduces fans to the ancestors of the Dutton family as they fight to build their ranching empire amidst the brutality of the Wild West, and promises to provide the entire history of how the Duttons first came to stake their claim on the Yellowstone ranch without skipping over any of the messy details. Like its predecessor, "1883" is a story as much about manifest destiny and westward expansion as it is about the way the Western frontier can turn men into monsters. And even though the two shows take place over a hundred years apart, the parallels between them are easy to see.

Since the series is a prequel to the main "Yellowstone" story, it's only natural that there will be plenty of references to the original scattered throughout "1883." In fact, one such Easter egg actually occurs in the very first shot of the new series, and it appears to be a direct homage to one of the most iconic scenes in all of "Yellowstone."

The very first scene of "1883" parallels the opening scene in the inaugural episode of "Yellowstone." In the pilot of "Yellowstone," we open on John Dutton (Kevin Costner) emerging from the wreckage of a brutal car crash, with dead men all around him. Meanwhile, "1883" begins with Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) emerging from the burning wreckage of a crashed carriage, her companions lying dead on the ground beside her.

It's a subtle little callback for those who remember the shocking first scene of the original series, though in "1883," the reason for the crash is a bit different. Elsa Dutton's carriage is attacked by Native Americans, and her traveling party is massacred right before her eyes. She is wounded by an arrow but retaliates against her attackers with a silver revolver. It's worth mentioning the opening scene of "Yellowstone" features John Dutton using a similar gun to put a wounded horse out of its misery.

Each opening kicks off their respective series in a fiery fashion, but where the "Yellowstone" scene ends with the police arriving, in "1883," the last shot of the opening is of Elsa Dutton being charged at by more Native Americans. Her fate is left open-ended, and fans will just have to wait until the story circles back to this point to find out what happens next.