1923

In Season 2, a young woman is depicted preying on other women, physically and sexually abusing them with her rich male companion. Viewers on Reddit describe this portrayal as suggesting that 'queer people are apparently predatory rapists'. Furthermore, Season 2 includes a 'male rape' scene, which some viewers associate with queer themes of sexual violence within the show. Earlier in Season 1, a Movieguide review notes a scene with a 'depiction of a nun's perverse lesbian feelings'.

The show features bloody battle sequences and shootouts with visible injury detail, such as bullet wounds and briefly scalped heads. Cruel violence is prominently displayed in scenes at the American Indian boarding school, where young Native American women like Teonna Rainwater suffer vicious punishments, including repeated beatings with a paddle by a priest after being hit and humiliated by a nun. In Season 2, sexual violence escalates, with Donald Whitfield keeping Christy tied up in a closet and having Lindy torture and rape her, dehumanizing Christy as a 'doll' to 'play' with.

Season 1 includes sex scenes with breast and buttock nudity, though not close-up action. Later in Season 1 and escalating in Season 2, the series features sexual sadism where sex workers are whipped, and a character derives pleasure from inflicting pain. Season 2's premiere contains sexually intense moments described as 'darker and more sadistic than anything ever seen in Yellowstone,' including a scene where an upper-class train passenger sexually assaults Alexandra. A woman is also subjected to sexual acts while her hands and legs are tied to a bed for the sexual gratification of a man and a woman.

Offensive language like the 'f-word' is used multiple times throughout the series. Milder terms such as 'hell,' 'bitch,' 'bastard,' 'shit,' and 'God' are also used frequently, with God's name abused on several occasions, including in the form of 'g-ddamn'. Racial slurs like 'm-ck,' 'paddy,' and 'jock' are also directed at Irish or Scottish men.

Scenes at the Native American boarding school involve extreme physical and psychological abuse of children, which viewers found shocking and in need of trigger warnings. Spencer Dutton's storyline in Africa includes encounters with man-eating lions and leopards, depicting life-or-death struggles against dangerous animals. The sexual sadism and assault depicted, particularly in Season 2, contribute significantly to the intense and disturbing nature of the content.

The Catholic-run American Indian boarding school is a central location for explicit abuse, with nuns and priests inflicting 'cruel violence' and 'vicious punishments' on young Native American women. Sister Mary and Father Renaud are depicted as abusive figures, with Sister Mary physically assaulting Teonna, and Father Renaud overseeing brutal paddlings. Movieguide notes a 'very marked negative view of the Catholic Church as an institution without mercy or charity and devoid of the Grace of Christ'.