Not long after Elsa (Isabel May) received assurances from her beloved Ennis (Eric Nelsen) that he would marry her, tragedy struck their wagon train: a gunfight with some marauding bandits took away the man who took Elsa's virginity. That's right: Ennis the cow herder is dead!
Unfortunately for the young couple, their honeymoon ended abruptly when Ennis, in an effort to protect Elsa and the others, from a dangerous group of bandits, was killed by gunshot in the final minutes of the latest installment.
Ennis' death came at the hands of bandits who attacked the Oregon-bound wagon train: He took a bullet to the chest and was gone quickly. Elsa Dutton, Ennis' love (played by Isabel May), killed his murderer immediately afterward, then collapsed in grief next to the fallen cowhand's body.
Elsa, who had decided to see her family in Oregon before returning to be with Sam, may be dead, but just as her spirit narrates the series (and the following 1923 series), so it's implied that her spirit reunites with Sam's in the afterlife. Whether this means that Sam too is dead is unknown, but it's not unlikely.
It also sets the stage for her relationship with Sam, who will later become her unofficial husband. Elsa grew exponentially through her short romance with Ennis, and her more serious relationship with Sam is a representation of that growth.
Ennis William Cosby (April 15, 1969 – January 16, 1997), the only son of American comedian Bill Cosby, was murdered on January 16, 1997, near Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, California. He was shot in the head by 18-year-old Mikhail Markhasev in a failed robbery attempt. Cosby was 27 years old.
Not long after Elsa (Isabel May) received assurances from her beloved Ennis (Eric Nelsen) that he would marry her, tragedy struck their wagon train: a gunfight with some marauding bandits took away the man who took Elsa's virginity. That's right: Ennis the cow herder is dead!
As sad as it is to say, that beacon of light has now been extinguished as Ennis was shot dead during Episode 5 of 1883. His dying words spoken to James Dutton were "I loved her."
Spencer is sibling to Elsa and John Sr. He is a former soldier-turned-big game hunter who is called home from Africa to help his family defend their land. While in Africa, Spencer meets and falls in love with Alex (Julia Schlaepfer), and they return to Montana together to help his family.
Elsa was also planning to split from the group to stay with Sam, but after many goodbyes, everyone decided they were going to Oregon anyway. Even Elsa decided to leave her boyfriend so she could find out where Oregon was, while planning to return to the plains in June to reunite with him.
Elsa also reveals that Margaret wrote to Jacob to come help her and her sons at the ranch in the aftermath. By the time he arrived, Jacob found Margaret had frozen to death in a snow drift, and the boys - John and Spencer - were nearly starved to death.
James Dutton : [rides up to Ennis who is watching the herd] If you want to court my daughter, you can. Ennis : [bewildered] Court her? James Dutton : [nods his head in approval] You can do it.
After Ennis and Jack went their separate ways, Ennis stopped on the roadside and tried to throw up because he felt "like someone was pulling his guts out hand over hand a yard at a time." This moment is a powerful expression of the emotional turmoil that Ennis is experiencing as he tries to reconcile his love for Jack ...
If you've watched the series (and read the headline), you know that Elsa ultimately passes away from an infected arrow wound in Montana, leading the family to settle in the place of her death. It was an incredibly powerful scene, and even as the actors performing it, McGraw and Hill said the whole thing was rough.
After Elsa and Ennis had sex in Episode 5 of 1883, there were several conversations of pregnancy and raising babies, which may be a premonition. Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill) warns her daughter that she won't help her raise the child if she's pregnant, which sends Elsa straight to Ennis.
Ennis gets a postcard from Jack which reads, "Ennis, see you in a couple weeks, fish should be jumping. Jack." The postmark is Childress, Texas, July 1972. A couple of weeks later, Jack is driving a blue Ford truck with a 1976-7 grill.
She dislikes Ennis's predilection for low-paying ranch work with long hours, and wants to settle down somewhere to raise her family. She eventually gets a job at a grocery store in Riverton. Jack's reunion with Ennis is the beginning of a gradual distancing between Alma and Ennis that eventually culminates in divorce.
The name Ennis comes from the word "Inis", meaning an island. The island was formed between two streams of the River Fergus. Inis Laoi (Calf Island), also known as Cluain Ramh Fhada (Long Rowing Meadow), lay in the River Fergus opposite Clonroad Fort, built in 1210 by the O'Brien kings of Thomond.
Ennis's parents died in an auto accident when he was young, and he was raised by his older brother and sister. Although he falls in love with Jack Twist during their summer on Brokeback Mountain, he marries Alma Beers and has two daughters.
Indeed, as there are no condoms or any other reliable form of birth control in the frontier, there's a real possibility that Ennis really did impregnate Elsa. Sadly, before 1883 could even drop any clues that Elsa was pregnant, Ennis died in the next episode while Elsa died during the finale.
Elysium is the first daughter of Elsa and Jack Frost, protagonists in Frozen and Rise of the Guardians. She is also a Princess of Arendelle and Junior Guardian of Winter.
In a stunning twist, Elsa decides that she will not make the rest of the journey to Oregon, opting to stay with Sam, marry him and make a life together. It's a decision that garners a great deal of pushback from James and especially Margaret (Faith Hill), who is not ready to relinquish control over her daughter yet.
