One of the Comanche introduces himself to Elsa as Sam, a name he took from the man who killed his wife. The two race their horses; Elsa wins and Sam nicknames her "Lightning With The Yellow Hair".
My father's hunting their killers right now, and if he's hunting them, he'll find them,” Elsa tells the men. Taking in the news, the leader asks Elsa her name. She responds, “Lightning with the yellow hair,” in Comanche.
And because this is one of the few shows in which that phrase might be taken literally, allow me to clarify: Elsa gets married in Sunday's episode. The groom? Handsome Sam, the Comanche man she met [checks notes] last episode.
The scene continues and Elsa manages to talk the Lakota warriors down by explaining that her husband is Comanche, and she speaks to them in their language. They let her live and she wanders back to the wagons, still with an arrow lodged in her midriff.
Elsa Dutton
Spirited Elsa (Isabel May) was the eldest child of James and Margaret Dutton and served as the narrator of 1883. Passionate and willful, Elsa was a skilled horseback rider and cowgirl, much to her mother's chagrin.
Margaret Dutton
She was the mother to three children (whom we meet in 1883), Elsa, John, and Spencer.
John Dutton Sr. John Dutton Jr. Claire Dutton was the sister of James Dutton. Claire and her daughter, Mary Abel, joined her brother, James, and the rest of his family in Fort Worth, Texas, after her husband, Henry, passed away.
While that might just be a detail for ... However, despite getting the parents' approval, Sam and Elsa do not marry, at least not in a traditional sense. During her conversation with Margaret, Elsa states that she believes God has sent Sam into her life, and she already considers him a husband.
The two then ride off where Sam tells Elsa that he chose his name after a man named Sam killed his wife; he wanted to take the man's name after taking the man's life. (Sam killed Sam.) Sam gives Elsa a nickname, “Lightning Yellow Hair.”
Yellowstone fans know that Duttons have been buried in the same spot in Montana for over a century. The Dutton family cemetery makes more sense after 1883 revealed that Elsa was the first person to be buried on the land.
Meanwhile, fan-favorite Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) made good on his promise to see the Pacific Ocean so his late wife could “use [his] eyes to see the world” — then promptly shot himself.
Elsa Dutton - John's great aunt
Elsa is the sister of John Dutton Senior, but her relationship with Costner's character is more complicated. As John Dutton Junior came into the mix, Elsa is Costner's character's great aunt.
Indeed, as there are no condoms or any other reliable form of birth control in the frontier, there's a real possibility that Ennis really did impregnate Elsa. Sadly, before 1883 could even drop any clues that Elsa was pregnant, Ennis died in the next episode while Elsa died during the finale.
This symbolic act sees the Indians rally together and ride. Off the back of this, Elsa decides to stay with the Indians now.
Before she is killed, she yells the words Sam taught her, which stuns the tribe's leader. Elsa then explains that James is hunting the real killers, and the tribe rides off.
In order to prove that theory, Elsa decides they should race. James claps his hands together in delight, while Elsa ends up winning. After, she cuts off some of her hair and hands it over to Sam, a memento after he called her “Lightning Yellow Hair.” In return, he hands over a trinket of his own given she won the race.
The episode ends with Elsa and Sam making a dramatic public declaration of their love, which is met with disapproval from some of the others on the wagon train.
Fans of the show 1883 will recognize Martin Sensmeier as Sam. Sam, a fan favorite, is a Comanche Warrior who is a love interest of Elsa Dutton.
In Comancheria, the settlers pay a tax to the Comanche to cross their land. One of the Comanche introduces himself to Elsa as Sam, a name he took from the man who killed his wife. The two race their horses; Elsa wins and Sam nicknames her "Lightning With The Yellow Hair".
Throughout the episode, Elsa's narration is used to fill in the gaps of what has happened to the Dutton clan in the four decades that have passed since the events of "1883."
She is believed to be either 17 or 18 years old. Elsa stated that her birthday was April 9, one year after the surrender at Appomattox (which would be 1866).
Phyllis Mary Randall was Phyllis Mary Dutton, John's sister.”
Spencer had a deceased older sister named Elsa who died in either 1883 or 1884, and an older brother named John. His aunt Claire (the sister of his father), her husband Henry and their daughter Mary Abel all died before he was born. His brother John later worked for their uncle Jacob Dutton and aunt Cara.
Spencer Dutton
The younger brother of John Dutton Sr. (and the youngest child of 1883's James and Margaret Dutton, born after that show's conclusion) Spencer served in WWI and remains haunted by his experiences.