Isabel May

Isabel May plays Elsa Dutton in 1883, giving Taylor Sheridan's wagon-train Western both its central perspective and its narration. Before that, she played Katie Cooper in the comedy Alexa & Katie and Veronica Duncan in Young Sheldon.

Elsa is the performance that makes her stand out for me. May catches the impatience and excitement of someone encountering a much wider world, without losing the ordinary daughter underneath it. Her scenes with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill feel like a family, not a collection of speeches about family.

The narration asks something different of her. It is more lyrical than the conversation around the camp, but her delivery makes it feel like Elsa's attempt to understand what she is seeing. She also supplies the narration for 1923. That voice is a strong connection between the two prequels, although 1883 is where we spend time with the character herself.

Read my 1883 review for more on the performance and the series.