Finn Little plays Carter in Yellowstone, and his unanticipated growth spurt after season 4 changed his season 5 storyline. Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) is one of the best characters in the Yellowstone universe, including prequel series 1883 and 1923.

At first, Beth comes off as a cold, prickly, and sometimes downright mean character who has a massive chip on her shoulder. Her protective nature can be destructive, and there are points in the show where it’s unclear if Beth wants to save the ranch or burn it down.

One of the best quotes in Yellowstone is Beth describing herself as a tornado and everyone else as the trailer park. This tough exterior is formed by past trauma; the loss of her mother at a young age and the death of her older brother Lee (Dave Annable), who dies in Yellowstone‘s first episode.

Another painful aspect of Beth’s life is her inability to have children, caused by an abortion that she was not privy to the full consequences of. Since then, she has put aside the idea of ever being a mother — that is, until Carter shows up.

Carter Started Off As Beth & Rip’s Surrogate Son

Carter Represents Changed Beth And Rip’s Domestic Dynamic

Carter first appears in season 4, episode 1, “Half the Money”. Beth finds him hanging out outside the hospital, where his neglectful father is dying. The two strike up a friendship and after Carter’s father passes and with his mother not in the picture, the police come to take him away.

Instead, Carter claims Beth is his guardian. Surprised at first, Beth goes along with the ruse, takes the young boy under her wing, and brings him to Yellowstone Ranch.

Rip (Cole Hauser) wants nothing to do with Carter at first, and for a time, he manages to keep Beth grounded, reminding her, “He’s not our son. No matter who he becomes, he never will be. Nobody will.” It’s not that Rip doesn’t want Beth to have a child; he just doesn’t want to see his wife hurt again if Carter leaves.

Carter’s acceptance of Beth and Rip’s tough love and willingness to stick around the ranch can’t help but impress them. Through Carter, Beth becomes the mother she always secretly wanted to be. Meanwhile, Carter is able to confront his past and forge a new identity for himself at Yellowstone.

Finn Little’s Growth Spurt Means Carter Isn’t The Cute Yellowstone Kid Anymore

The Actor Grew To 6′ 1″ And Looks Like A Young Man Now Rather Than A Young Boy

Yellowstone season 5, however, does not follow up on the relationship between Beth, Rip, and Carter. The character is pushed into the background save for episode 6, “Cigarettes, Whiskey, a Meadow and You” when, in a side story, he develops a mutual attraction with a girl named Halie (Orli Gottesman).

One of the reasons for this reduced screen time could be because of the growth spurt Little had between seasons 4 and 5.

Little was a small kid in season 4, but he has since shot up to 6′ 1″, looking far older than he did a year ago (via Esquire). Fans were quick to notice, some commenting on Little’s Instagram (via ET):

“OMG your growing up to be a handsome young man ❤️.”

And another commenting:

“My, how you have grown in just one year. 😍.”

Hauser even said that he was surprised to see how tall his cast mate had grown:

“Yeah, he went from, like, a little pudgy kid to all of the sudden lean and tall, and I think he’s 6-foot-1. He came in this year and he looked at me and he’s like, ‘You ain’t gonna f**k with me this year, Cole.'”

Carter’s diminished role in the show is most likely because he no longer looks the part of an impressionable young boy Beth could see herself nurturing. Yellowstone season 5 part 2 is still coming though, and it could be the time for Carter to reenter the story in a significant way. His relationship with Beth and Rip could provide an emotional and complex story for the end of the series.

Other Child Actors Who Had Major Character Changes As They Grew Up

Lost, The Walking Dead, And Stranger Things Ran Into Some Of The Same Aging Issues

Image via MovieStillsDB

Having child actors on long-running shows means that eventually, these series will have to deal with them getting older, as with Carter on Yellowstone. This can be especially tricky for shows that are meant to take place over a relatively short period of time while the production lasts several years.

Such was the case for Lost and the character of Walt (Malcolm David Kelley). Walt was introduced in the first episode as the youngest of the plane crash survivors. Walt was set up to be a key character in the story, even having unexplained powers tied to the mysterious nature of the island.

However, the show seemed to recognize that they had painted themselves into a corner with the character as Kelley was going to age out of the role quickly given the timeline of the story.

While it was several months between the end of season 1 and the beginning of season 2, in the story’s context, only seconds passed. Therefore, it was decided that The Others would kidnap Walt and he barely appeared in the show again.

The Walking Dead is another show that takes place in a shorter time frame, which was a growing issue for the character of Carl (Chandler Riggs), the son of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and a main actor in the cast.

However, while the rest of the adult characters were barely aging, there was no hiding how much older Riggs looked in this post-apocalyptic setting. It resulted in Carl becoming a darker character over time compared to the innocent young boy he was before, and he was eventually killed off much earlier than his comic book counterpart.

Another issue comes with shows that depict their young characters in school, cementing them at a certain age only to have the actors become unconvincing as school-aged children. Stranger Things started off with a very young ensemble believably playing youngsters in school.

However, the series continued with the school setting always being key, but the actors gradually got older and much taller than their characters.

With the main actors now in their early 20s, Stranger Things season 5 will reportedly feature a time jump to help explain the older appearances. Though noticeable, Carter on Yellowstone is just one of many examples of young actors growing up faster than the show expected.

Release Date

2018 – 2024-00-00

Network

Paramount Network

Showrunner

Taylor Sheridan

Directors

Stephen Kay, Taylor Sheridan, Christina Alexandra Voros, Guy Ferland, John Dahl

Writers

John Coveny, Ian McCulloch