Why Jimmy's Intense Yellowstone Branding Scene Looked So Real

Taylor Sheridan's cowboys-in-crime show, "Yellowstone," has featured some crazy moments during its five-season run, but one detail that's embedded in the lore of the Dutton family history is the hiring method it applies for its ranch hands. Should a lucky soul be deemed good enough to work at the Yellowstone ranch, the final part of the induction process involves them undergoing the horrific ordeal of being branded like cattle, symbolizing their lifelong allegiance to the family they'll never be able to part ways with.

One lucky staff member who checks all the boxes is Jefferson White's Jimmy Hurdstrom, who, even after swearing his allegiance to the family by way of branding, still manages to move on to new pastures and get one of the show's best endings as a result. Even so, Jimmy's scorching initiation step with that now unmistakable 'Y' had to be a good sell according to White, as Sheridan himself was directing the scene. "It was very important to him that that scene feel real," White explained to Taste of Country, who revealed that a co-star suggested how to get the moment just right. "Part of what was important to accomplishing that effect was smoke, sort of rising off the brand. The only way we figured out how to accomplish that was for Cole Hauser ... to use an actually super-heated brand." It was then, thanks to some technical ingenuity, that things heated up in just the right way, albeit in a fashion that might not have been considered entirely safe at the time.

Thanks to some clever work behind the scenes and a process that absolutely should not be tried at home, White explained that Hauser, who plays Rip Wheeler on the show, fashioned a piece of leather stretched across some wood that was placed over his chest. It was thanks to this and some careful camera placement that they were able to replicate the infamous Dutton work branding process with the smoke, the smell, and the whole shebang.

For White, it's a moment in his career that he'll never forget, mainly because of the scent that filled the air when Jimmy got "branded" for life in one of the show's pivotal scenes. "I will never forget the smell, which was very sort of potent and authentic," White recalled. "And I'll never forget the heat that rose off of the brand at that moment."

Even after going through that gruelling process that has otherwise kept former Yellowstone ranch staff stuck on the site until its closure in the final season, Jimmy still managed to make it out. His next place of work will be in one of the many "Yellowstone" spin-offs, "6666," which is still in early development. The only hope is that the trial phase won't be anywhere near as tough or involve potential third-degree burns like his last gig did. Then again, given that his on-screen boss will be Travis Wheatley, who Sheridan also plays, we don't hold out much hope. Fingers crossed, Jimmy has a union rep.