Season 1, Episode 1: ‘1883’
In the series premiere, Elsa Dutton begins the show with her now-iconic monologue. It houses some of 1883‘s best quotes, to boot:
“I remember the first time I saw it. Tried to find words to describe it. But I couldn’t. Nothing had prepared me. No books. No teachers. Not even my parents. I heard a thousand stories… But none could describe this place. It must be witness to be understood. And yet, I’ve seen it. And I understand it less than when I first cast eyes on this place.
“Some called it the American Desert. Others, the Great Plains. But those phrases were invented by professors at universities. Surrounded by the illusion of order. And the fantasy of right and wrong. To know it, you must walk. Bleed until it’s dark. Drown in its rivers. Then its name becomes clear. It is Hell. And there are demons everywhere.”
“But if this is Hell, then I must be a demon, too. And I’m already dead.”
Then, Elsa ends the premiere by summarizing the dreams of her father, James Dutton (Tim McGraw):
“The road West is filled with failures. But failure isn’t what drove him. It was a dream. And the dream was coming true.”
‘1883’ Season 1, Episode 2: ‘Behind Us, A Cliff’
“Freedom is running wild through untamed land.”
As we catch up with Elsa in Episode 2, the young woman is still wildly hopeful for the journey ahead.
“The world here plays parlor tricks on your senses. I do not know what the word Texas means. But to me it means magic.”
“It seems even the trees are new to this place; scattered about in clusters like little villages. And everywhere: treasures. Everywhere a bounty just waiting to be scooped up.”
“18-years ago on this day, Lee surrendered to Grant in the home of Wilmer McClean in the village of Appomattox. A year later, I was born. It was Monday, April 9, 1883. And it was my birthday.”
“I looked to the right and saw my father somehow riding vertically towards the earth. Beyond him, cowboys and cattle pushed towards us; dust following them like a cloudy shadow. The light was soft and pale and pink, like God had decided to light this day with candles. And the whole of Texas spread out before me. It was the most magnificent thing I had ever seen.”
Then, Elsa ends 1883‘s second episode with a stirring reflection of the changing times.
“What began as a journey had become a retreat into the unknown. We were backing into the abyss; so worried our sins would follow us we didn’t bother watching where we walked. And behind us was a cliff.”
Season 1, Episode 3: ‘River’
By Episode 3, Elsa’s narration takes a darker turn as she witnesses the horrors of 1883‘s Westward Expansion.
“Death is everywhere on the prairie. In every form you can imagine. And a few your worst nightmare couldn’t muster.”
“Death hides in creek beds. Possesses animals. It hides in tall grass, waiting. With every death, our father moved camp a little further away. As if death was not the result of accidents and disease, but death was its own disease. And carelessness was contagious.”
“But of all the perils awaiting us – sickness and snakes, bad horses and bandits – there was one thing above all that sent terror through both man and beast… There was one word so feared it was barely spoken and barely whispered… River.”
levity still captivate her young mind, however. As Elsa watches her mother, Margaret (Faith Hill) herd cattle, she sees her as a woman – not solely a mother – for the first time:
“I watched her ride and I didn’t see my mother. I saw a woman. And the woman was magnificent.”
Season 1, Episode 4: ‘The Crossing’
“I knew that war. That war between what you should become, and what you could become.”
Elsa’s narration matures as the episodes do themselves. Episode 4 shows us a young lady on the cusp of womanhood; a transition that would fully take place by 1883‘s Episode 5.
“I had abandoned every memory of Tennessee as if I was born on this journey. But I wasn’t. We were leaving a place, and seeking another. And the journey was a necessary, miserable road between the two. Somehow I felt immune to the dangers of this place. As if the land and I had struck a deal. I could pass on heart so long as I loved it. And I did. I loved everything about it.
Through it all, Elsa Dutton’s most poignant 1883 quotes speak to the truth of man’s relationship with nature.
“But crossing the Brazos taught me there was no deal. No matter how much we love it, the land will never love us back.”
‘1883’ Season 1, Episode 5: ‘The Fangs of Freedom’
“We are in the land of no mercy now.”
By Episode 5’s end, Elsa Dutton is a changed person. To her mother, and some extent herself, she is a woman now. A woman changed by the heartbreaks of 1883‘s harsh reality.
“I think cities have weakened us as a species. There are no consequences there. Step into the streets without looking and the carriage merely stops or swerves; the only consequence an angry driver. But here? There can be no mistakes. Because here doesn’t care. The river doesn’t care if you can swim. The snake doesn’t care how much you love your children. And the wolf has no interest in your dreams. If you fail to beat the current, you will drown; if you get too close, you will be bitten. If you are too weak, you will be eaten.”
As Elsa and the man she’s come to love, Ennis (Eric Nelsen), become one, fate would reveal it had other plans.
“The whole world faded away. No stars or moon, no sky at all. No earth between my feet; no rock against my back. There was only us.”
‘Today My Eyes Died’
The tragic death of Ennis is the turning point for Elsa. A whimsical, hopeful child becomes a hardened, wary woman.
“I’d known death since I was a child. It’s everywhere. But it had never touched me. It had never placed it rotten finger on my heart. Until today. Today my eyes died. I see the world through my mother’s eyes now. Yes, freedom has fangs. And it sunk them in me. I chose to love him. He chose to love me back. Then chose to protect me. Then a man we’ve never met chose to kill him. And made me colorblind.”
“Maybe killing this man will get my eyes back. Maybe it won’t. But I chose to find out.”
With these words and brilliant 1883 quotes, the rest of Elsa Dutton‘s life begins.
Season 1, Episode 1: ‘1883’
In the series premiere, Elsa Dutton begins the show with her now-iconic monologue. It houses some of 1883‘s best quotes, to boot:
“I remember the first time I saw it. Tried to find words to describe it. But I couldn’t. Nothing had prepared me. No books. No teachers. Not even my parents. I heard a thousand stories… But none could describe this place. It must be witness to be understood. And yet, I’ve seen it. And I understand it less than when I first cast eyes on this place.
“Some called it the American Desert. Others, the Great Plains. But those phrases were invented by professors at universities. Surrounded by the illusion of order. And the fantasy of right and wrong. To know it, you must walk. Bleed until it’s dark. Drown in its rivers. Then its name becomes clear. It is Hell. And there are demons everywhere.”
“But if this is Hell, then I must be a demon, too. And I’m already dead.”
Then, Elsa ends the premiere by summarizing the dreams of her father, James Dutton (Tim McGraw):
“The road West is filled with failures. But failure isn’t what drove him. It was a dream. And the dream was coming true.”
‘1883’ Season 1, Episode 2: ‘Behind Us, A Cliff’
“Freedom is running wild through untamed land.”
As we catch up with Elsa in Episode 2, the young woman is still wildly hopeful for the journey ahead.
“The world here plays parlor tricks on your senses. I do not know what the word Texas means. But to me it means magic.”
“It seems even the trees are new to this place; scattered about in clusters like little villages. And everywhere: treasures. Everywhere a bounty just waiting to be scooped up.”
“18-years ago on this day, Lee surrendered to Grant in the home of Wilmer McClean in the village of Appomattox. A year later, I was born. It was Monday, April 9, 1883. And it was my birthday.”
“I looked to the right and saw my father somehow riding vertically towards the earth. Beyond him, cowboys and cattle pushed towards us; dust following them like a cloudy shadow. The light was soft and pale and pink, like God had decided to light this day with candles. And the whole of Texas spread out before me. It was the most magnificent thing I had ever seen.”
Then, Elsa ends 1883‘s second episode with a stirring reflection of the changing times.
“What began as a journey had become a retreat into the unknown. We were backing into the abyss; so worried our sins would follow us we didn’t bother watching where we walked. And behind us was a cliff.”
Season 1, Episode 3: ‘River’
By Episode 3, Elsa’s narration takes a darker turn as she witnesses the horrors of 1883‘s Westward Expansion.
“Death is everywhere on the prairie. In every form you can imagine. And a few your worst nightmare couldn’t muster.”
“Death hides in creek beds. Possesses animals. It hides in tall grass, waiting. With every death, our father moved camp a little further away. As if death was not the result of accidents and disease, but death was its own disease. And carelessness was contagious.”
“But of all the perils awaiting us – sickness and snakes, bad horses and bandits – there was one thing above all that sent terror through both man and beast… There was one word so feared it was barely spoken and barely whispered… River.”
Moments of levity still captivate her young mind, however. As Elsa watches her mother, Margaret (Faith Hill) herd cattle, she sees her as a woman – not solely a mother – for the first time:
“I watched her ride and I didn’t see my mother. I saw a woman. And the woman was magnificent.”
Season 1, Episode 4: ‘The Crossing’
“I knew that war. That war between what you should become, and what you could become.”
Elsa’s narration matures as the episodes do themselves. Episode 4 shows us a young lady on the cusp of womanhood; a transition that would fully take place by 1883‘s Episode 5.
“I had abandoned every memory of Tennessee as if I was born on this journey. But I wasn’t. We were leaving a place, and seeking another. And the journey was a necessary, miserable road between the two. Somehow I felt immune to the dangers of this place. As if the land and I had struck a deal. I could pass on heart so long as I loved it. And I did. I loved everything about it.
Through it all, Elsa Dutton’s most poignant 1883 quotes speak to the truth of man’s relationship with nature.
“But crossing the Brazos taught me there was no deal. No matter how much we love it, the land will never love us back.”
‘1883’ Season 1, Episode 5: ‘The Fangs of Freedom’
“We are in the land of no mercy now.”
By Episode 5’s end, Elsa Dutton is a changed person. To her mother, and some extent herself, she is a woman now. A woman changed by the heartbreaks of 1883‘s harsh reality.
“I think cities have weakened us as a species. There are no consequences there. Step into the streets without looking and the carriage merely stops or swerves; the only consequence an angry driver. But here? There can be no mistakes. Because here doesn’t care. The river doesn’t care if you can swim. The snake doesn’t care how much you love your children. And the wolf has no interest in your dreams. If you fail to beat the current, you will drown; if you get too close, you will be bitten. If you are too weak, you will be eaten.”
As Elsa and the man she’s come to love, Ennis (Eric Nelsen), become one, fate would reveal it had other plans.
“The whole world faded away. No stars or moon, no sky at all. No earth between my feet; no rock against my back. There was only us.”
‘Today My Eyes Died’
The tragic death of Ennis is the turning point for Elsa. A whimsical, hopeful child becomes a hardened, wary woman.
“I’d known death since I was a child. It’s everywhere. But it had never touched me. It had never placed it rotten finger on my heart. Until today. Today my eyes died. I see the world through my mother’s eyes now. Yes, freedom has fangs. And it sunk them in me. I chose to love him. He chose to love me back. Then chose to protect me. Then a man we’ve never met chose to kill him. And made me colorblind.”
“Maybe killing this man will get my eyes back. Maybe it won’t. But I chose to find out.”
With these words and brilliant 1883 quotes, the rest of Elsa Dutton‘s life begins.
In the series premiere, Elsa Dutton begins the show with her now-iconic monologue. It houses some of 1883‘s best quotes, to boot:
“I remember the first time I saw it. Tried to find words to describe it. But I couldn’t. Nothing had prepared me. No books. No teachers. Not even my parents. I heard a thousand stories… But none could describe this place. It must be witness to be understood. And yet, I’ve seen it. And I understand it less than when I first cast eyes on this place.
“Some called it the American Desert. Others, the Great Plains. But those phrases were invented by professors at universities. Surrounded by the illusion of order. And the fantasy of right and wrong. To know it, you must walk. Bleed until it’s dark. Drown in its rivers. Then its name becomes clear. It is Hell. And there are demons everywhere.”
“But if this is Hell, then I must be a demon, too. And I’m already dead.”
Then, Elsa ends the premiere by summarizing the dreams of her father, James Dutton (Tim McGraw):
“The road West is filled with failures. But failure isn’t what drove him. It was a dream. And the dream was coming true.”
‘1883’ Season 1, Episode 2: ‘Behind Us, A Cliff’
“Freedom is running wild through untamed land.”
As we catch up with Elsa in Episode 2, the young woman is still wildly hopeful for the journey ahead.
“The world here plays parlor tricks on your senses. I do not know what the word Texas means. But to me it means magic.”
“It seems even the trees are new to this place; scattered about in clusters like little villages. And everywhere: treasures. Everywhere a bounty just waiting to be scooped up.”
“18-years ago on this day, Lee surrendered to Grant in the home of Wilmer McClean in the village of Appomattox. A year later, I was born. It was Monday, April 9, 1883. And it was my birthday.”
“I looked to the right and saw my father somehow riding vertically towards the earth. Beyond him, cowboys and cattle pushed towards us; dust following them like a cloudy shadow. The light was soft and pale and pink, like God had decided to light this day with candles. And the whole of Texas spread out before me. It was the most magnificent thing I had ever seen.”
Then, Elsa ends 1883‘s second episode with a stirring reflection of the changing times.
“What began as a journey had become a retreat into the unknown. We were backing into the abyss; so worried our sins would follow us we didn’t bother watching where we walked. And behind us was a cliff.”
Season 1, Episode 3: ‘River’
By Episode 3, Elsa’s narration takes a darker turn as she witnesses the horrors of 1883‘s Westward Expansion.
“Death is everywhere on the prairie. In every form you can imagine. And a few your worst nightmare couldn’t muster.”
“Death hides in creek beds. Possesses animals. It hides in tall grass, waiting. With every death, our father moved camp a little further away. As if death was not the result of accidents and disease, but death was its own disease. And carelessness was contagious.”
“But of all the perils awaiting us – sickness and snakes, bad horses and bandits – there was one thing above all that sent terror through both man and beast… There was one word so feared it was barely spoken and barely whispered… River.”
levity still captivate her young mind, however. As Elsa watches her mother, Margaret (Faith Hill) herd cattle, she sees her as a woman – not solely a mother – for the first time:
“I watched her ride and I didn’t see my mother. I saw a woman. And the woman was magnificent.”
Season 1, Episode 4: ‘The Crossing’
“I knew that war. That war between what you should become, and what you could become.”
Elsa’s narration matures as the episodes do themselves. Episode 4 shows us a young lady on the cusp of womanhood; a transition that would fully take place by 1883‘s Episode 5.
“I had abandoned every memory of Tennessee as if I was born on this journey. But I wasn’t. We were leaving a place, and seeking another. And the journey was a necessary, miserable road between the two. Somehow I felt immune to the dangers of this place. As if the land and I had struck a deal. I could pass on heart so long as I loved it. And I did. I loved everything about it.
Through it all, Elsa Dutton’s most poignant 1883 quotes speak to the truth of man’s relationship with nature.
“But crossing the Brazos taught me there was no deal. No matter how much we love it, the land will never love us back.”
‘1883’ Season 1, Episode 5: ‘The Fangs of Freedom’
“We are in the land of no mercy now.”
By Episode 5’s end, Elsa Dutton is a changed person. To her mother, and some extent herself, she is a woman now. A woman changed by the heartbreaks of 1883‘s harsh reality.
“I think cities have weakened us as a species. There are no consequences there. Step into the streets without looking and the carriage merely stops or swerves; the only consequence an angry driver. But here? There can be no mistakes. Because here doesn’t care. The river doesn’t care if you can swim. The snake doesn’t care how much you love your children. And the wolf has no interest in your dreams. If you fail to beat the current, you will drown; if you get too close, you will be bitten. If you are too weak, you will be eaten.”
As Elsa and the man she’s come to love, Ennis (Eric Nelsen), become one, fate would reveal it had other plans.
“The whole world faded away. No stars or moon, no sky at all. No earth between my feet; no rock against my back. There was only us.”
‘Today My Eyes Died’
The tragic death of Ennis is the turning point for Elsa. A whimsical, hopeful child becomes a hardened, wary woman.
“I’d known death since I was a child. It’s everywhere. But it had never touched me. It had never placed it rotten finger on my heart. Until today. Today my eyes died. I see the world through my mother’s eyes now. Yes, freedom has fangs. And it sunk them in me. I chose to love him. He chose to love me back. Then chose to protect me. Then a man we’ve never met chose to kill him. And made me colorblind.”
“Maybe killing this man will get my eyes back. Maybe it won’t. But I chose to find out.”
With these words and brilliant 1883 quotes, the rest of Elsa Dutton‘s life begins.
Season 1, Episode 1: ‘1883’
In the series premiere, Elsa Dutton begins the show with her now-iconic monologue. It houses some of 1883‘s best quotes, to boot:
“I remember the first time I saw it. Tried to find words to describe it. But I couldn’t. Nothing had prepared me. No books. No teachers. Not even my parents. I heard a thousand stories… But none could describe this place. It must be witness to be understood. And yet, I’ve seen it. And I understand it less than when I first cast eyes on this place.
“Some called it the American Desert. Others, the Great Plains. But those phrases were invented by professors at universities. Surrounded by the illusion of order. And the fantasy of right and wrong. To know it, you must walk. Bleed until it’s dark. Drown in its rivers. Then its name becomes clear. It is Hell. And there are demons everywhere.”
“But if this is Hell, then I must be a demon, too. And I’m already dead.”
Then, Elsa ends the premiere by summarizing the dreams of her father, James Dutton (Tim McGraw):
“The road West is filled with failures. But failure isn’t what drove him. It was a dream. And the dream was coming true.”
‘1883’ Season 1, Episode 2: ‘Behind Us, A Cliff’
“Freedom is running wild through untamed land.”
As we catch up with Elsa in Episode 2, the young woman is still wildly hopeful for the journey ahead.
“The world here plays parlor tricks on your senses. I do not know what the word Texas means. But to me it means magic.”
“It seems even the trees are new to this place; scattered about in clusters like little villages. And everywhere: treasures. Everywhere a bounty just waiting to be scooped up.”
“18-years ago on this day, Lee surrendered to Grant in the home of Wilmer McClean in the village of Appomattox. A year later, I was born. It was Monday, April 9, 1883. And it was my birthday.”
“I looked to the right and saw my father somehow riding vertically towards the earth. Beyond him, cowboys and cattle pushed towards us; dust following them like a cloudy shadow. The light was soft and pale and pink, like God had decided to light this day with candles. And the whole of Texas spread out before me. It was the most magnificent thing I had ever seen.”
Then, Elsa ends 1883‘s second episode with a stirring reflection of the changing times.
“What began as a journey had become a retreat into the unknown. We were backing into the abyss; so worried our sins would follow us we didn’t bother watching where we walked. And behind us was a cliff.”
Season 1, Episode 3: ‘River’
By Episode 3, Elsa’s narration takes a darker turn as she witnesses the horrors of 1883‘s Westward Expansion.
“Death is everywhere on the prairie. In every form you can imagine. And a few your worst nightmare couldn’t muster.”
“Death hides in creek beds. Possesses animals. It hides in tall grass, waiting. With every death, our father moved camp a little further away. As if death was not the result of accidents and disease, but death was its own disease. And carelessness was contagious.”
“But of all the perils awaiting us – sickness and snakes, bad horses and bandits – there was one thing above all that sent terror through both man and beast… There was one word so feared it was barely spoken and barely whispered… River.”
Moments of levity still captivate her young mind, however. As Elsa watches her mother, Margaret (Faith Hill) herd cattle, she sees her as a woman – not solely a mother – for the first time:
“I watched her ride and I didn’t see my mother. I saw a woman. And the woman was magnificent.”
Season 1, Episode 4: ‘The Crossing’
“I knew that war. That war between what you should become, and what you could become.”
Elsa’s narration matures as the episodes do themselves. Episode 4 shows us a young lady on the cusp of womanhood; a transition that would fully take place by 1883‘s Episode 5.
“I had abandoned every memory of Tennessee as if I was born on this journey. But I wasn’t. We were leaving a place, and seeking another. And the journey was a necessary, miserable road between the two. Somehow I felt immune to the dangers of this place. As if the land and I had struck a deal. I could pass on heart so long as I loved it. And I did. I loved everything about it.
Through it all, Elsa Dutton’s most poignant 1883 quotes speak to the truth of man’s relationship with nature.
“But crossing the Brazos taught me there was no deal. No matter how much we love it, the land will never love us back.”
‘1883’ Season 1, Episode 5: ‘The Fangs of Freedom’
“We are in the land of no mercy now.”
By Episode 5’s end, Elsa Dutton is a changed person. To her mother, and some extent herself, she is a woman now. A woman changed by the heartbreaks of 1883‘s harsh reality.
“I think cities have weakened us as a species. There are no consequences there. Step into the streets without looking and the carriage merely stops or swerves; the only consequence an angry driver. But here? There can be no mistakes. Because here doesn’t care. The river doesn’t care if you can swim. The snake doesn’t care how much you love your children. And the wolf has no interest in your dreams. If you fail to beat the current, you will drown; if you get too close, you will be bitten. If you are too weak, you will be eaten.”
As Elsa and the man she’s come to love, Ennis (Eric Nelsen), become one, fate would reveal it had other plans.
“The whole world faded away. No stars or moon, no sky at all. No earth between my feet; no rock against my back. There was only us.”
‘Today My Eyes Died’
The tragic death of Ennis is the turning point for Elsa. A whimsical, hopeful child becomes a hardened, wary woman.
“I’d known death since I was a child. It’s everywhere. But it had never touched me. It had never placed it rotten finger on my heart. Until today. Today my eyes died. I see the world through my mother’s eyes now. Yes, freedom has fangs. And it sunk them in me. I chose to love him. He chose to love me back. Then chose to protect me. Then a man we’ve never met chose to kill him. And made me colorblind.”
“Maybe killing this man will get my eyes back. Maybe it won’t. But I chose to find out.”
With these words and brilliant 1883 quotes, the rest of Elsa Dutton‘s life begins.