The character of the two-time loser, Jimmy Hurdstrom, who was forced to work on the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch to avoid being thrown into a cell, gained a following in the popular drama TV series entitled “Yellowstone.” His long path to becoming a valued cowboy on the ranch was one of the many great storylines in the cable TV series. Many viewers followed his journey, and empathized with him because his character seemed real as compared to the others. Rumors surfaced that he was written out of the show, and wouldn’t appear in the fifth season.
Become familiar with “Yellowstone”
‘Nothing happens in this valley I don’t know about.’ was a line uttered by its main character, John Dutton, in the neo-Western TV series “Yellowstone.” His family owned the largest ranch in the United States, and some people wanted to take a piece of it either by force, intimidation, or underhanded tactics. They received attacks in various forms from several groups, including commercial and residential real estate developers, an Indian reservation community, and the local government. Being diagnosed with a terminal illness worried him, as he knew that his children weren’t ready to protect the land that had been in their family for generations, and it didn’t help that there had been squabbling between the Dutton siblings. The fifth season this November 2022 could reek of more violence, as John continues to be pressed against the wall by his enemies.
The origins of the TV series
When Spike TV was rebranded in 2018, it became known as the Paramount Network, and programming content was changed to reach a wider market. The network greenlighted the production of its first scripted drama series, and Keith Fox, the President for Development and Production, had said that they aimed for the series to be a great franchise that could truly represent the network. They tapped the Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan to be its writer and director, confident that he was the best man for the job, as he’d written the screenplay for the critically acclaimed movies “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water.” They were right, as it not only flourished as a successful cable series, but two spin-offs were created out of it as well.
Get to know the generations of Duttons
John Dutton (Kevin Costner) was the widowed patriarch of the Dutton’s sixth-generation family, who’d made a promise to his father that he would never sell the ranch under any circumstances, and would do everything to keep it in the family for future the Dutton generations. He’s a little bit old-school and mostly preferred just to be on his horse. His one nod to things moving forward was his helicopter. John was married to Evelyn, who died when her horse was spooked and trampled her. They had four children: three boys and a girl, and her death was a big traumatic experience for the two youngest children as they were with her when the accident happened.
His eldest son, Lee Dutton (Dave Annable), was the heir apparent, but he died in the first season, making John recalibrate his plans for the future of the ranch. His second son, Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), was sent to a university to become a lawyer. He was dying to prove himself to his father and everyone on the ranch that he was capable. In later seasons, it was revealed that he wasn’t a Dutton, but was adopted when he was just a toddler.
His third child was his only daughter, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), who had an assertive and strong personality, and whom John leaned on the most when the family had problems. Viewers of “Yellowstone” couldn’t help but root for her character because, despite her feisty and sometimes suicidal personality, she was loyal to her father. Initially, she worked in a bank and was successful in navigating the corporate ladder, but later on worked for her father. Her affection for John was quite strong, but she would sometimes act out as if she was still a rebellious teen. Beth said that the women in their family didn’t live past 40, so she might as well enjoy her time.
Among his children, John saw more of himself in his youngest son, Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes), than in the others, but they had a hard time being together in the same room because Kayce hated him. He told Kayce that someday his own son would test him and face the consequences of making the wrong choices. Kayce had a wife named Monica Long (Kelsey Asbille) and a son Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill), who gave the viewers another side of John, the gentler one who often smiled whenever he was in the vicinity of his grandson. John’s enemies described Tate as the one whom John loved the most in his family, and when he was kidnapped, John personally killed one of the bosses who ordered it.
Highlights of Jimmy Hurdstrom in “Yellowstone”
There were several notable supporting characters in “Yellowstone,” and one of them was Jimmy Hurdstrom played by Jefferson White; he had one of the most fascinating character developments in the story.
His introduction to the series, a loser and a drug dealer
Outside of the Montana cattle empire, some people didn’t have the benefit of the financial privilege that the Duttons had, and Jimmy Hurdstrom was one of them, being a low-ranked drug dealer who lived in a trailer park. He no longer had a family except for his loving grandfather, whose only wish was for Jimmy to become a better person.
John Dutton gave Jimmy another chance in life
After living a life of crime, Jimmy was given one last chance by John. It started when John was approached by Jimmy’s grandfather in one of the rodeo events in Montana, who’d heard that the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch was hiring, but John told him that he was hiring cowboys, not criminals. The old cowboy begged for his help in straightening out his grandson’s screwed-up life, and John took pity on him and agreed. He instructed his right hand and ranch foreman, Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), to bring Jimmy to the ranch.
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Jimmy was given the Yellowstone brand
Rip showed up in Jimmy’s trailer and used a Taser on him. When Jimmy woke up, he was tied to a chair about to be branded with the ranch logo, a Hooked Rocking Y. He tried to resist as he told Rip that he wasn’t a slave, but he was only given two options: he would be hauled back to jail and let the Sheriff deal with him, or he would be given an opportunity to prove himself and turn his life around. Rip told Jimmy that he could easily see in him that he didn’t deserve another chance, but it wasn’t up to him. Jimmy asked why John Dutton cared about him, and Rip said that he didn’t, but soon would. He then took the brand bravely and didn’t scream at all during the process.
Just went with the flow at first
Jimmy went to the ranch a few days later, and was thrown into a world that was totally unfamiliar to him. He started with doing janitorial responsibilities, his work included cleaning up the stables, scraping up dirt in the field, and following whatever Rip told him to do. Sometimes he was lost in his own world staring at the trout in the river instead of doing his job. Clearly, he didn’t want to be there, but knew he didn’t have any choice, so he just went with the flow.
His first horse riding lesson
For a time, Jimmy treated his stay at the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch as some kind of adventure, until he realized that John and Rip were serious about keeping him out of trouble by having him work real hard. When John had a tough time breaking a wild stallion, Rip used Jimmy to do it. It was kind of brutal because Jimmy didn’t even know how to ride a horse, much less break one in. He skipped a lot of steps for a beginner, as John and Rip wanted to give him a crash course; they tied his right hand to the front of the saddle and his feet to the stirrup with duct tape while his left hand was free to hold the reins, and instructed him to never let go. They warned him that the horse would hate it and put up much resistance. He rode the wild stallion inside a pen until sundown; it was like riding a mechanical bull or a bucking horse for hours. In the end, the horse was tamed, and Jimmy was so exhausted that he could barely walk, and vomited. John said that there might be a little cowboy in him, after all.
The Rip-Jimmy-Lloyd good cop-bad cop relationship
Rip’s intention was clear, and that was to make a cowboy out of Jimmy. On the next lesson, Rip had him riding with the rest of the ranch hands in herding cattle, and noticed that Jimmy struggled near the trees, and fell off the horse; he was told to get up and get back on it. It was another senior ranch hand named Lloyd who went after Jimmy’s horse as he took pity on the newbie’s situation. Jimmy then told Lloyd that he wasn’t cut out to be a ranch hand, but he was told, ‘Nobody is, Jimmy, it gotta be cut into you.’
Rip took him under his wing, which was the very same thing that John Dutton did for him when he was a kid. He showed him how to be a cowboy, but he had a long way to go. However, just when Jimmy believed that Rip had a soft spot for him, Rip disabused him of that idea. He didn’t want him to be complacent, so he was tough on him, unlike Lloyd who was gentler in dealing with him. Jimmy felt that Lloyd was more humane, but it was just like a bad-cop, good-cop thing.
Jimmy was saved by Rip and was overwhelmed
There was a time after a round of riding with the cattle that Jimmy saved a calf that was left behind, trapped in some bush, and brought it back home. A worker named Fred didn’t like what he did and so he bullied and taunted him for the good deed. Jimmy couldn’t take it any longer and fought back, but he was knocked down and told to stay down. When Rip saw what happened, he punched Fred even though Jimmy admitted that he started the fight. It was his first time being saved in a fight, which overwhelmed him. Afterward, Rip told Jimmy that people like Fred just worked there, and he saw thousands of workers come and go on the ranch but not them. They stayed and died on the ranch, because they were considered family by the Duttons as they carried the “Y” brand. He was told that on the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, no one touched a branded man. The “Y” brand was for life, and some sort of pride that they wore on the ranch.
Rip & Jimmy: A Lesson in Friendship @colehauser @_JeffersonWhite #Yellowstone pic.twitter.com/TMOgyjamcX
— Yellowstone (@Yellowstone) August 8, 2018
His first time to play Cowboy Poker
Jimmy along with other ranch hands played Cowboy Poker in one episode of “Yellowstone”. It was some sort of a card game in which players were seated at a card table inside a pen with a 2,000-pound bull. The one who stayed the longest at the table would be declared the winner. The game cards were irrelevant, as it was more about who had the guts to stay. Jimmy and the other players drank alcohol to boost their courage, but everyone jumped out of the way as the bull entered and went straight at them.
Met Mia, the barrel racer
In the third season, he had a romantic relationship with Mia, a barrel racer. When he went on to try rodeo to earn extra cash, he broke his neck and was hospitalized. John took care of the bills, and made him promise not to do rodeo anymore. Mia saw how happy Jimmy was doing rodeo, and how he risked his life doing what he loved, and that’s the guy she fell for. She told him to be that man so he could have her; if not, he would lose her. As terrified as he was, he got back on a horse, but fell once more, and was unconscious. He survived but needed therapy to get back on his feet. Jimmy broke his word to John, so he was sent to a ranch in Texas called 6666. John told him that it wasn’t a punishment, but an opportunity if he let it be. Mia said that if he went there, it would be over between them. He left.
Three gods in Texas, and Emily
“Yellowstone” fans were ecstatic that in the fifth episode of the fourth season, the iconic horse trainer in real life named Buster Welch made an appearance. Jimmy was taking a nap one afternoon, and woke up to a conversation between one of the senior ranch hands on the 6666 Ranch, and Buster who played himself in the series. The ranch hand later said that there were three gods in Texas: the Almighty, singer George Strait, and Buster Welch, and that Jimmy just met one of them. Jimmy was lucky to be around these people, who constantly shared nuggets of wisdom with him.
He also met Emily, a veterinary technician who helped him become accountable for his actions. She also encouraged him to dream and understand how to achieve them the right way. She didn’t push him into anything he didn’t like to do just to fit with what she wanted in life, which was the biggest mistake Mia did in Montana.
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Where was Jimmy Hurdstrom and what happened to him?
John Dutton’s instinct to send him away to the Texas ranch was one of the best things that happened to Jimmy. Before he left Montana, John told him to remember the brand that he carried on his chest because he would represent the Dutton ranch. Working at the 6666 Ranch helped him mature, and made him a real cowboy.
Fans were agitated that they wouldn’t see Jimmy again on “Yellowstone”, because the last time he was there, John and Jimmy had a conversation about the latter’s future. Apparently, John let Jimmy decide what he wanted to do with his life, which was a nod that he gained the trust that he wanted from John. The Yellowstone owner gave him and his fiancée, Emily, his blessing to start a new life together.
As Jimmy talked with Lloyd, he admitted that he wasn’t much of a fighter, and in Texas, he didn’t have to fight his neighbor to do his job, which was the case in Montana, as John Dutton had a lot of enemies who wanted a piece of his ranch. Everyone wished him the best as he decided to go back to Texas. Even Rip was proud of him, and told him that he would always have a place on the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.
To appease the fans on social media, Jefferson White confirmed that he would still be part of the fifth season of the show. During the promotion of the DVD release of the fourth season of the series he said, ‘I’m in season 5. Jimmy’s in season 5.’ The loyal viewers of the series still believed that while he was still part of “Yellowstone,” the writer was setting him up to join another spin-off series called “6666”, pronounced as Four Sixes. The new spin-off was announced over a year ago, but no exact date was given for its television premiere.
