1883 Finale: Tim McGraw, Faith Hill Talk [SPOILER]'s Devastating Death

SPOILERS ahead for 1883 Season 1 finale.

The 1883 Season 1 finale drew reactions from Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

The season finale picked off where Episode 9 left off, with the cliffhanger Racing Clouds. Margaret (Hill) and James' (McGraw) eldest daughter Elsa (Isabel May) was shot with an arrow towards the end of the episode. She survived the initial impact, but a rapidly growing infection put her life in jeopardy.

Many fans anticipated Elsa to recover given that she is the series' narrator and 1883 Season 2 has already been renewed, but the finale shocked everyone by having her succumb to her wound in a heartbreaking turn of events.

1883 Season 1 Finale Saw Elsa’s Death

Variety sat down with real-life married couple Hill and McGraw to talk about how filming this traumatic finale affected them. McGraw said that "the hardest part for us, I think, was not be emotional too early" as parents.

Hill agreed, saying, "it's really hard, even now, to talk about, because once the tears start coming, I can't stop them." Neither knows how this circumstance would impact their characters' marriage, though McGraw says he's "as anxious as anyone to see what happens."

Given how drawn-out the character's death was, this move is particularly unexpected. When a character's fate is in doubt at the end of the penultimate episode, TV viewers are trained to assume that the showrunner is creating drama for the season finale rather than truly intending to kill off the character.

When you consider that this tragedy was predicted in the first episode of the series, many binge-watchers didn't expect Elsa to lose her struggle with the infection.

What Will Happen in 1883 Season 2?

The prequel to the megahit series Yellowstone, 1883, which premiered on Paramount+ on Dec. 19, 2021, follows the events that led to the founding of the Wyoming ranch at the center of the series. It follows James and Margaret Dutton as they travel from Texas with the assistance of experienced frontiersman Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott).

1883 has clearly demonstrated its willingness to take risks with its narrative. Because this time period was not extensively explored in the Yellowstone plot, fans of the original series have little to no idea what lies in store for this branch of the Dutton family.

It's unclear whether 1883 Season 2 will feature a new narrator (and if that narrator will return for Season 3 if the show is renewed again) or will forego one entirely due to the series' need to reconstruct away from Elsa's character.