Speaking with Variety, the actor was asked if he sat down and enjoyed the episode like so many other millions of fans, and he explained why that was not his experience, saying: I did not — I actually didn’t even watch it at all.

Colby dies by risking his life for another character. After younger ranch hand Carter gets cornered by a wild horse, Colby distracts the horse so that Carter can escape. Then, the horse tramples Colby, ultimately killing him.

The audience is "embodying what the children are feeling in their gut but can’t see," explains Christina Voros of flashing back to the night that explained the fate of Kevin Costner's character, John Dutton.