1883 stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill reflect on Elsa’s heartbreaking death in the show’s season 1 finale. Acting as a prequel to Taylor Sheridan’s hit show Yellowstone, 1883 chronicles the Dutton family’s trek west across the U.S. to what would eventually become their ranch in Paradise Valley. The show was a hit with both audiences and critics, with many praising its unflinching depiction of the American West and the strong performances from McGraw, Hill, Isabel May, and Sam Elliot.
McGraw and Hill, who are married in real life, star as James and Margaret Dutton, respectively, with May playing Elsa, their on-screen daughter. Elsa acts as the narrator for the show and it’s her moving journey of self-discovery that is very much at the core of 1883. It was heartbreaking for many viewers, then, when the series finale saw the character succumb to an arrow wound she had sustained one episode earlier. The heartbreaking moment comes at the very end of 1883‘s finale with James holding his daughter beneath a tree in Paradise Valley as she quietly passes away.
In a new interview on EW‘s The Awardist podcast, McGraw and Hill reflect on filming Elsa’s heartbreaking death, explaining that having three daughters made the moment particularly difficult to film. McGraw reveals that he and May were both “a blubbering mess” while shooting Elsa’s death and he says that May asked about his daughters at one point just before a take, which McGraw says, “tore [him] apart.” Check out Hill and McGraw’s full comments below:
Hill: “There’s a few places within the series that I seriously can not even speak about because I had to go to such places to get what was needed. That was tough, what she said. ‘See you in the valley.’ … I can’t imagine not being with my child in their final moments of life.”
McGraw: “We shot it maybe three or four times. The very first time, Isabel and I both were just a blubbering mess. The scene that we ended up using — and I think it was the next to the last take we took — she’s laying on my lap and we’re getting ready to shoot and she just looks up at me and says, ‘What’s the thing you love most about your daughters?’ And then they said, ‘action,’ and it just tore me apart.”
While McGraw’s experience shooting Elsa’s death was undoubtedly emotional, Hill’s comment highlights how it might have been even more painful for her character. After it becomes clear that Elsa will not survive her wound, it is decided that James and Elsa will leave Margaret and the wagon convoy in order to make it to Paradise Valley before Elsa’s death. As Hill explains, Margaret has to say goodbye knowing that she won’t be with her daughter when she dies, a moment that is made even more emotional when Elsa says, “See you in the valley.”
With the announcement that 1883 season 2 will focus on legendary lawman Bass Reeves, it’s unclear if McGraw and Hill will be returning to reprise their roles. With Elsa acting as the lens through which the audience experienced 1883‘s story, it remains to be seen how the show will push forward without her. While there are still a lot of question marks regarding 1883 season 2, Elsa’s death in the season 1 finale seems to have been just as emotional for the stars shooting it as it was for audiences to witness.
